USA and Canada

In the United States, Presidents’ Day falls between the birthdays of two of the nation’s most revered leaders—George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. As the country’s schoolchildren are constantly told, both men are remembered for their honesty, but would Washington and Lincoln make it in today’s business world?

Hailing the move as a historic step towards regional integration, the countries revealed the deal would eliminate up to 90 percent of merchandise tariffs between them with months, with the remaining ten percent disappearing by the end of the decade.

The countries also agreed to abolish the need for tourist and business visas, allowing their citizens, which have a combined population of 210 million people, to travel more easily between the four countries.

The US company, which specialises in using turbines mounted on tethered kites or wings to generate power, is to become part of Google X, the secretive research and development arm of the business.

As part of the deal, Actavis is offering $5 billion in shares to Warner Chilcott investors. If the deal clears regulatory hurdles, the company will be based in Ireland. It is estimated that the combined company would have annual sales of about $11 billion.

Actavis's drugs include treatments for deep vein thrombosis, asthma medication and attention deficit, while Warner Chilcott, which has manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico, Northern Ireland and Germany, focuses on gastroenterology, women's healthcare and dermatology.

The acquisition represents the largest deal completed by the search giant since its current CEO, Marissa Mayer, took over in July 2012.

It is understood that under the terms of the acquisition, Tumblr would continue to operate as an independent business, with its founder David Karp remaining in his role as head of the business.

Analysts say that by acquiring Tumblr, Yahoo will gain a larger social media presence and enhance its ability to attract younger audiences in its battle with internet rivals Google and Facebook.

The IEA believes that the level of these reserves will result in the US accounting for a third of new oil supplies, thus transforming it from the world's leading importer of oil into a net exporter.

"North America has set off a supply shock that is sending ripples throughout the world," said IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven.

Founded as a family owned mining company in Spain in 1952, OSSA is today active across the globe and recognised as being a leading figure in the underground construction sector specialising in three core business segments, those being construction, energy and mining.

Located 200 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Julia field is believed to contain as much as six billion barrels of oil and gas. The agreement between the two companies will see $4 billion ploughed into the field’s development, which Exxon and Statoil claim has a 40 year life span.

On May 8 Canada Fluorspar Inc (CFI) announced the third set of results from the diamond drilling program at its Director Vein on the company's St Lawrence project in Newfoundland, saying it is encouraged by the data that validates the trenching results from last year.