Despite its strong rate of economic growth in recent years, China has been a disappointing place to invest. This can be explained, at least in part, by the dominance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which account for a large proportion of China's stock market indices.

The most active state for executions has confirmed supplies of pentobarbital will expire in September

The bill would make Uruguay the first country to have a government led legal marijuana industry

Delivering Kevin Pietersen back to the brink of full fitness is the latest triumph of England's backroom team, but it should be no surprise – they have the best support staff in the game.

Banks have disappointed government and they have disappointed the public, and yesterday Barclays disappointed the City. This time, the crushing disappointment wasn’t due to mis- selling or big bonuses – Barclays yesterday frustrated the Square Mile when it emerged it will pursue a £5bn-plus rights issue to plug the perceived hole in its balance sheet that the Bank of England’s capital requirements have revealed.

British American Tobacco has become the first tobacco company to launch an electronic cigarette in the UK, raising fears that it could eventually boost its profits with public money should the NHS begin prescribing ecigarettes as a smoking-cessation tool.

Keen to boost the economy and pacify a restive nation, politicians want to  decriminalise cultivation of marijuana

Genetics, stem cells and consistent dividends can offset the problems of expiring patents

Watch the videos below to take in tracks from this week's Playlist.

On a day when traders' screens turned red and the market dived more than 30 points, Shire was breaking records.

Scandal has seen a number of executives detained

Government’s immunisation advisors say the jab is 'highly unlikely to be cost effective'

Drugs giant insists there is no link with bribery crackdown as police swoop

As Astra’s new chief executive, Pascal Soriot, works out a treatment plan to turn around the struggling drug maker’s business, he is axing nearly 4,000 jobs – including hundreds in the UK – and streamlining research and development. But Astra’s $200m (£130m) new plant in Jiangsu province is still set to open this year.