Across Asia and the Middle East, rising incomes and accelerating investment in infrastructure have attracted multinationals eager to expand their global presence. But success in these high-growth emerging markets (HGEMs) often proves elusive.

The value of exports from America's foreign-trade zones increased by 13.7 percent in 2013, to a record high $79.5bn in merchandise exported, according to figures released by the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board in its Annual Report to Congress. At $835.8bn, the 2013 value of received merchandise into FTZs also reached a new high, surpassing the previous year’s record of $732.2bn – a 14.1 percent increase.

A vote for independence from the UK would have a negative effect on the Scottish shipping and offshore maritime sector, according to a survey by international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens.

With Burger King planning to relocate there after completing its buy of coffee-and-donut chain Tim Hortons for about $11.4bn, Canada is emerging as the latest tax haven for U.S. firms fleeing a high tax code at home.

The United States has the highest corporate income tax rate among the 34 industrialized nations of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the world trade group, says a new paper from the Tax Foundation.