Ireland's corporation tax regime could be a key factor in whether the proposed merger between Allergan and Pfizer happens.
It has been confirmed that the pair are in talks to create the world's largest pharmaceutical firm - if they do join forces they will hope to benefit from Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax rate.
Allergan is based in Dublin - a merger could allow Pfizer to shift its tax residency to Ireland - meaning that it would pay the low Irish tax rate, instead of the 35% that it is currently paying in the US.
A person familiar with the negotiations has told Reuters that the issue of tax inversion is being discussed as part of the talks.
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Starbucks has met market expectations in its latest set of quarterly results, which were filed overnight - earnings rose to 43 cents a share, up from 37 cents a share.
The coffee company's revenue was up from $4.18bn in the corresponding period last year to $4.91bn.
Its share price did drop by close to 2.5% however, as Starbucks announced a soft forecast for the current quarter.
The Seattle-based firm opened 524 net new stores globally during the three months, including the first outlets in Panama and Azerbaijan.
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LinkedIn shares are on the rise after beating market expectations, its revenue rose from $568.3m to $779.6m - an increase of 37%.
During after-hours trading the company's share price climbed by as much as 12%.
This comes after the company revamped its flagship app, while the main areas of growth for the company are corporate recruitment, and a new feature which makes it easier for employees to recommend connections for vacancies where they work.
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Fresh data from the US shows that economic growth has slowed there - this comes one day after the Federal Reserve indicated that it intends to increase its baseline interest rate before the end of 2015.
GDP only increased by 1.5% between July and September when compared with the same period in 2014 - this is down from growth of 3.9% recorded in the second quarter.
The biggest factor which has slowed down the economy's output is companies running down stocks - rather than investing in new merchandise.
