A new study has found Walmart's low- and poverty-wage workers cost the U.S. government an estimated $6.2 billion per year, a case of massive corporate welfare paid for by American taxpayers.

When General Motors emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments found themselves among the largest shareholders in one of the biggest automakers in the world and, currently, the governments want to liquidate.

Athens - The Greek government bond market rallied recently as the bonds were upgraded by rating agency Standard and Poor. The European Central Bank(ECB) announced that it would accept Greek government debt as collateral for routine lending operations.

A new study has found that a mere two cups of caffeinated coffee can make employees more resistant to unethical behaviour in the workplace.

Read how diamonds are attracting the eyes of investors and turning heads in both the business and tech markets as some key players dabble with creating man-made diamonds.

Paris - The ultra-deep Angolan offshore oil project called Kaombo generated the third huge contract in three days on Wednesday when French group Total picked two firms to carry out underwater engineering worth $3.5 billion.

Beijing - China's GDP grew at its weakest pace for 18 months in the March quarter, data showed on Wednesday, testing Beijing's resolve as its campaign to transform the world's number-two economy comes at the cost of a sharp slowdown.

Tokyo - Impatient shareholders are calling on the world's top firms to start spending some of the eye-popping $2.8 trillion in cash built up since the financial crisis, as analysts warn that their thriftiness could be holding back global growth.

Sydney - Global mining giant BHP Billiton lifted full-year iron ore guidance on Wednesday and posted better than expected March quarter output of 49.6 million tonnes.

Nicosia - Economic sanctions by Europe against Russia "would destroy Cyprus's economy," Nicosia's foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides said in a German newspaper interview published Wednesday."There are very strong economic ties between Cyprus and Russia.

Culture shock caused by job relocation is no laughing matter, and failure to recognize its existence can result in failed assignments, failed partnerships, or the loss of valued employees.

Washington - A U.S. project to provide badly-needed housing for hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by a 2010 earthquake has failed to live up to its promise and went over budget, a government audit said Tuesday.

New York - General Motors chief executive Mary Barra announced Tuesday the creation of a new team to enhance safety in the wake of an ignition-recall scandal that has engulfed the company.

Moscow - Russia's economy may not grow this year, the finance minister said Tuesday, warning that Ukraine standoff could see Moscow face its toughest times since the start of the global financial crisis.

Stockholm - Hand scanning has become an alternative payment method for people in a city in southern Sweden, researchers at Lund University said Monday.

After months of tension over the future of Sweden’s Kockums shipyards, a memorandum of understanding has been reached between the German owner and a prospective Swedish buyer. If approved, the deal would put the historic shipyards back in Swedish hands.

Paris - French oil group Total has found ways of reducing the cost of extracting ultra-deep Angolan offshore oil reserves by a fifth and has decided to go ahead with investment in the Kaombo project, the firm said on Monday.

Warsaw - French oil giant Total said Monday it has decided not to renew its only shale gas exploration licence in Poland, the latest setback in the country's efforts to grow the sector.

Moscow - The Russian stock markets and the ruble fell in early trading on Monday after clashes between pro-Russian forces and the Kiev authorities in eastern Ukraine.Western powers blame Russia for stirring up the trouble.