A politician’s hunger strike has led to a Japanese company altering its expansion plans in France. Courtney Fingar says he risks starving his constituency of future investment.

Diplomatic relations between Argentina and its much smaller neighbour Uruguay have reached crisis level over a $1.8bn plan by Spanish and Finnish companies to develop pulp mills in Uruguay.

Eager to underline the importance of innovation to the province’s economy, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty has created an entirely new ministry dedicated to innovation. And to prove that he is serious about it, he has named himself a minister.

There has been some resolution, of sorts, in the widely watched Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler case, which could have made US state inward investment incentives illegal.

In the US, tension from globalisation continues to find public expression on several fronts, none of which lend themselves to rapid calming or mitigation for those who are affected negatively.

Swiss food group Nestlé has finally started to clean up its social image in recognition that society’s expectations of big companies have changed.

The UK’s medium-sized businesses need a wake-up call to ensure they make the most of China’s economic boom, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Owners Survey.

Previously one of the few European countries without a national-level investment promotion agency, Spain is now co-ordinating efforts through its INTERES Invest in Spain agency.

Turkey’s sixth Real Estate Summit, held in Istanbul on May 2-3, attracted more than 3000 domestic and foreign investors, land developers, bankers and government urban planners.

Indian businesses are the most optimistic about the 2006 economy, according to a survey of 4000 businesses in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.

Honda will spend $1.2bn on expanding production capabilities in Japan and North America, the auto giant has announced. CEO Takeo Fukui said the new plants would help to boost sales by 34% by 2010.

The Invest Australia agency is in expansion mode, having come to the end of its first three-year business and funding cycle.

The CEOs of three companies operating in Singapore’s vibrant ICT sector – eSys, NCS and ST Electronics – tell Lawrence Yeo how they approach business and expansion in Asia.

Legal challenges from the world of foreign direct investment. By Luke Peterson.

Hemofarm Group, a Serbian medications producer, is in the process of investing €25m in the construction of a new pharmaceutical plant in Obninsk, in Russia’s Kaluga region.

Engineered in Malmesbury and made in Malaysia, Dyson vacuum cleaners have captured the market since their debut in 1993. The reason is a relentless focus on research, design and development, as chief executive Martin McCourt tells Courtney Fingar.

Karen E Thuermer speaks with Vermont governor James Douglas about his passionate promotion of environmentally friendlier technology, which is earning the north-eastern state significant amounts of greenbacks.

Sporting events that attract international interest are golden opportunities for companies to increase brand recognition through sponsorship and investment, and for host countries, regions and cities to promote themselves to potential investors, Courtney Fingar reports.

An explosion in air cargo volume has stirred up tough competition among freight carriers. Boeing, with its huge investment programme for building and converting aeroplanes, seems to be winning, reports Karen E Thuermer.

Pilatus Aircraft may be a small company based in the Swiss Alps but its single-engine turboprop planes are in use around the world, writes Karen E Thuermer.

The US state of Arizona offers a unique business environment for aerospace and defence firms.

With its huge number of small family retailers, India has been slow to open up to foreign multinationals. But new FDI rules look set to change the landscape for single brand operators, Kala Rao reports.

Choosing a location for an Asia Pacific finance hub used to be easy. A more crowded field of competing cities has complicated the matter. So how should companies choose among them? Erika Morphy reports.

The public sector can enjoy late-mover advantages in shared services by learning from the private sector’s mistakes, says Courtney Fingar.

PricewaterhouseCoopers created a shared service centre in Birmingham in the late 1990s with a two-fold objective: to handle routine tax enquiries from clients and to meet the HR needs of internal customers – PwC employees – quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.

At the centre of the UK and with excellent travel and communications options, the West Midlands is an idyllic location for shared service centres.

Wales offers a low-cost but high-quality location for UK shared service centres, according to participants in fDi’s roundtable.

Konstantin Mudrack of HP believes that the shared services model will evolve around three main drivers in the next few years: globalisation, industrialisation of processes, and technological solutions.

The Republic of Cyprus has an optimistic economic growth story in shipping, services and tourism but faces a tighter labour market and political stalemate. Michael Marray reports in a series of articles.

Minister of finance Michalis Sarris insists that economic indicators prove Cyprus is on track for euro adoption.

Giorgos Lillikas, minister of commerce, industry and tourism, explains how Cyprus is attracting capital investment and know-how.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange is setting up a common trading platform with its Greek counterpart, giving Cypriot companies a greater international presence.

As Cypriot banks expand abroad they will become more attractive acquisition targets for foreign banks – forcing defensive moves towards consolidation.

EU accession has led to FDI flowing into Cyprus more freely as companies take advantage of its favourable tax rates and strategic location to do business in both Europe and the Middle East. Michael Marray reports.

The Spanish region of Murcia is sustaining economic growth and gaining experience in attracting investment, say participants in fDi’s roundtable.

Forget the black gold of its oil industry – Azerbaijan’s real treasure is its cultural status as the birthplace of Indo-European civilisation. As the country considers how to promote this to tourists, Courtney Fingar discovers her roots.

Azerbaijan is building on its Caspian Sea location with plenty of opportunities for investors in all areas from infrastructure to logistics.

When Sierra-Com decided to invest in Sierra Leone’s underdeveloped technology sector, it had to weigh up the risks of being a small company in a post-conflict market. That is where PRI came in, as Hal Bosher explains.

China is chasing energy and mineral resources in Africa, attracting criticism for its apparent willingness to deal with ‘despotic’ regimes. James Eedes reports.

The once-obscure Alien Tort Claims Act has become the stuff of nightmares for corporate legal departments. Is it a useful way to punish organisations for wrongdoing abroad or just a hindrance to free trade? Tom Blass reports.

Chloe Lee offers advice on how to guard intellectual property rights in China, suggesting that companies register their name and trademark as early as possible, even if they have no immediate plans for a presence there.

The European Commission is getting carried away in its intellectual property dispute with Microsoft and neglecting to consider what consumers want, argues Meir P Pugatch.

The cultural, bureaucratic and financial hurdles faced by Russia’s entrepreneurs lead many to set up shop abroad and limit the country’s ability to attract FDI. Bill Robinson suggests how the brain drain can be reversed.

Where statutory corporate income tax rates are being changed, they are most often being cut, especially in Europe, a global survey finds.

In just 10 years, many of the world’s leading companies have migrated to the shared service model, and more of them look set to follow, says Emma Beaumont.

Outsourcing isn’t beyond the means of SMEs, providing they avoid the pitfalls highlighted by The Trestle Group.