Law & Regulation

The former chief of the Internet unit at Enron has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for helping mislead investors in the fraud that sent Enron, the world's largest energy trader, into bankruptcy. Read More

This week, with a vote possible in the Senate on an energy plan, car companies retreated from their longstanding argument that any legislation to increase fuel economy standards would rob them of profits, force them to lay off workers and deprive consumers of the vehicles they wanted to buy. They are now lobbying for a modest increase in mileage standards, a position already adopted by Toyota, in the hopes of silencing calls for even tougher targets. Read More

Europe moves towards making significant changes to its emissions-trading system that could force large polluters to pay for most, if not all, permits to produce climate-changing gases. Read More

Thomson Corp. and Reuters Group PLC's ambitious plan to create the world's largest supplier of financial data and news could face regulatory hurdles as it would narrow the market to two main competitors from three. Read More

The week opened with the start of a four month trial against France's oil giant, Total, by groups like Friends of the Earth France. Read More

US Companies Face Record Number of Global Warming Resolutions Read More

South Africans have been denied the "biggest advance" in antiretroviral therapy over the last few years because of a lack of urgency in the drug registration process in South Africa, according to the Treatment Action Campaign. Read More

Wal-Mart, the controversial retailing giant, is under investigation in the US over allegations it is trying to pass off non-organic foods as organic. Read More

Canada has launched a dispute at the World Trade Organisation over the use of "trade-distorting" agricultural subsidies by the US. The dispute singles out payments to American corn farmers but also challenges the total level of US agricultural subsidies. Read More

New York City Comptroller William Thompson, who oversees the city's pension funds, on Tuesday called for a review of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s environmental policies and practices in Indonesia. Read More