The reputation of European companies when it comes to new medical technologies and the continent's attractive regulatory environment is increasingly causing venture capitalists from the US to steer their investments across the Atlantic.

The rising price of labour is one reason for the decline in automotive manufacturing in the UK in recent years, but this has not stopped Japanese car manufacturer Toyota from increasing its operations in the country. UK deputy managing director Tony Walker explains why such labour costs should not stop the UK from being a successful car producing country.

Derby was one of the key cities in the UK during the Industrial Revolution, and that spirit has remained as it has set itself as one of the country's hubs for high-tech industries such as automotives and gaming.

fDi Magazine tasked a team of investment analysts and experts to assess the performance of the UK's local enterprise partnerships since they replaced the regional development agencies. The results were mixed, with a general feeling that the LEPs still have a lot to learn.

In many of the world's major cities, traffic gridlock comes as standard. With such high number of vehicles on the roads leading to heavy pollution and frustratingly long commuting times, the case for mass rapid-transit systems is becoming increasingly difficult for many cities to ignore.

As the global economic balance of power shifts from west to east, international financial centres in Asia are growing in prominence at the expense of their developed world counterparts. But is this shift a permanent one?

Birmingham in the UK has had to contend with an outdated image of it being a post-industrial ghost town in recent years, but while its inward investment figures are still dwarfed by London, its efforts to increase the level of investment it attracts are bearing fruit.