New data from the US International Trade Administration reveals record highs for US merchandise exports for the first six months of 2013.

Delegates at the Remaking Cities Congress in Pittsburgh discussed issues such as 'soft factors' that can transform urban areas, and ideas that cities can 'steal' from one another.

The state of New York has launched an initiative aimed at creating tax-free zones to attract investment.

England's enterprise zones have been given a £100m injection to help complete infrastructure projects.

A research director at the India, China & America Institute says that the US's recent talks on trade agreements with European, Latin American and Asian countries are a response to China's growing economic influence on the world.

Rwanda's minister of finance, Claver Gatete, has said that the country is aiming to become a middle-income economy by 2020.

Switzerland-based heavy engineering company Satarem is investing $6bn to build a new large-scale oil refinery in Iraq.

The latest State Business Tax Climate Index by research group the Tax Foundation has found that the business climate has deteriorated in many US states.

A US business climate ranking by Pollina Corporate Real Estate and the American Economic Development Institute names Utah as the most pro-business state in the country, while Rhode Island is ranked at the bottom of the list.

Croatia is keen to adopt the euro as its currency, but that is unlikely to happen any time soon as the country struggles to meet the EU's five convergence criteria.