The cost of living in the United States fell by a record amount in November, as the price of gasoline and other goods dropped sharply as Americans hit by recession cut their demand.

U.S Staples is in early-stage talks to buy Dutch office goods supplier Corporate Express.

Over recent months, a long list of consumer goods from China – everything from seafood to toothpaste to toys – have been the objects of recalls.

Bearing such freight as consumer goods, agricultural products and manufacturing shipments, thousands of semi trucks hurtle daily through the Midwest on the region's increasingly crowded web of highways and freeways.