As the physical home of the conserved 16th-century warship the Mary Rose, and the spiritual home of the UK navy, Portsmouth's prospects seem inextricably linked to the sea. However, with billions of pounds coming into the city in development grants, its future is looking assured on dry land and beyond.

Iceland's economic meltdown of 2008 made the country synonymous with the global recession at the time. However, with a cautious recovery now under way – thanks in no small part to a tourism boom – there is a determination in the country to ensure that this growth is better balanced, and it is looking to foreign investment to achieve this.

Beyond the US megacities, several second-tier cities – Seattle, Columbus, San Antonio, Minneapolis/St Paul, San Diego and Portland – are in search of FDI to promote their positions on the world stage. Karen E Thuermer discovers how a major new investment initiative could help them find it.

A diaspora has long been an invaluable source of income to those in developing countries. But channelling this capital into public projects that will benefit the country in the long term is a difficult task, and one which only a few are experiencing notable success in.

Within the space of two years, Cyprus has gone from being one of Europe's crisis countries to now having many causes for optimism, with its banks back in international favour and the island's tourism market showing a marked uptick.

At the turn of the millennium, after years of losing out on technology projects to established tech hubs, Chicago decided it was time to raise its game. Now its honour roll of successful start-ups includes Groupon and GrubHub.

Allegations of corruption have dealt a blow to several international pharmaceutical companies operating in China. Despite this, the long-term prognosis for the industry remains good, with huge growth potential in what is set to become the world's second largest drugs market by 2016.

Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Iceland's minister of industry and commerce, tells Courtney Fingar about how the country is fighting back after its very public financial crash, and looks ahead to its capital controls being lifted.

Hopes are high that the a more business-friendly India will emerge under the stewardship of new prime minister Narendra Modi. But the FDI fortunes of India’s states look to remain disparate until policies and regulations are better coordinated.