Corporate extortion is likely to keep booming in 2014, and we don't mean extortion of corporations, as is practiced by Somali pirates or entrepreneurial Russians. We mean extortion by corporations.
Pockets of the U.S. are primed for growth thanks to pro-business regulatory environments, educated workforces and reasonable business costs. Leading the way is Virginia which tops Forbes' eighth annual list of the Best States for Business. Virginia has ranked second the past three years, but returns to the head of the pack for the first time since 2009.