America loves a fierce individualist. And yes, there is something inspiring about the lone enterpriser or business executive blazing a path into the valuable future. And yet, while our culture will always celebrate the individual, the business world must acknowledge the truth behind the (alleged) Aristotle quote: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In other words, the near future will be all about innovation for sustainable value creation, led by teams.

The Bank expects that higher commodities, increasing investment and a general pick-up in the world economy should all boost the continent's growth to more than 5 percent. This comes at a time when global GDP is forecast to grow by an average of 2.4 percent this year.

Foreign direct investment is forecast to reach record levels in the coming years, hitting $54 billion a year by 2015, the Bank said.

Distell has signed a binding agreement with Burn Stewart owners CL World Brands Ltd and Angostura Ltd that will see it take over its three distilleries that are responsible for producing the Tobermory and Black Bottle brands, bottling hall in East Kilbride and its blending and warehousing facilities in Airdrie. It also operates a sales and marketing branch in Taiwan and holds a majority stake in a spirits distribution arm in the USA.

The prototype tube lighting LED is said to be twice as efficient as those currently used in offices and industry across the globe, while offering the same amount of light.

Lighting is believed to account for almost 20 percent of global electricity consumption, therefore being able to halve the amount of energy used could potential bring huge cost and energy savings. The prototype tube lighting produces 200 lumens per watt (200lm/W) compared with 100lm/W for equivalent strip lighting and 15lm/W for traditional light bulbs.

The deal, which has been announced as being worth 7.5 billion euros, will see JAB adding the brand to what is already an impressive stable of similar products including Caribou Coffee and Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

JAB was already the largest shareholder in DE Master Blenders, which itself also owns Senseo coffee and Pickwick Tea, with a stake of more than 15 percent.

The move comes as Opel, which is also recognised for carrying the badge of Vauxhall in the UK, enters its fourteenth year of losing money. This long period of making loses has sparked a great deal of speculation that the business might be sold.

Despite these rumours, GM’s chief executive, Dan Akerson said: “As a global automotive company, GM needs a strong presence in Europe and therefore we see Opel as key to our success. As such it continues to enjoy the full support of its parent company.”

Hot on the heels of achieving the long awaited approval from the federal government of Australia to proceed with its Wiluna uranium mine Toro Energy has entered talks with seven potential partners in Japan, China and South Korea. Though Australia does not generate nuclear power domestically it is an extremely attractive source of nuclear fuel to Asian countries that do – politically and economically stable and geographically accessible.