The EU's Justice Commissioner says American companies like Google and Facebook must abide by a proposed new European law on data protection or face stiff penalties.
Europe has the largest market for carbon permits in the world. The idea is, the more a company has to pay for permits to pollute, the greater incentive it has to reduce pollution. But the economic slowdown has greatly reduced the cost of permits.
Last month, Peugeot secured a $9 billion lifeline from the French government to stay out of bankruptcy. In return, French politicians want the struggling company keep jobs, not cut them.