US biopharmaceutical firm, AbbVie has agreed to buy rival group, Shire for almost $55bn (€41bn), becoming the latest American healthcare company to shift its tax residence abroad in a record surge in industry deals.

The biggest gain in US exports in nine months helped narrow the trade deficit in March, pointing to a revival of global demand that will help the world’s largest economy strengthen.

A doctor who ran against Mitt Romney for Massachusetts governor a decade ago won the chance to challenge him again, this time as the Green Party's presidential nominee.

Washington: Confidence among US consumers plunged in August to the lowest level since May 1980, adding to concern that weak employment gains and volatility in the stock market will prompt households to retrench.

Experts are warning that economic activity in the longest US recession in 25 years could plunge as much as 6% this quarter – the largest decline since 1982.