As the economy spirals downward, concern is mounting that many of the nation's largest companies are being led by people who have no experience of steering through hard times.

Carmakers were rebuffed in their efforts to roll back planned restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions after a surprise vote yesterday by the European parliament's environmental committee.

Seth Riney is saving the planet one car journey at a time. As founder of PlanetTran, the livery service that uses only hybrid cars, Mr Riney operates a fleet of about 40 Toyota Priuses in Boston and San Francisco that boast an average fuel economy of 47 miles per gallon.

At 11 o'clock on the evening of July 31, Vincent de Rivaz, the chief executive of EDF's UK business, was sitting in his boss's temporary office in La Défense, on the western edge of Paris, when his Blackberry rang.

Sub-prime lender GE Money Home Lending has been fined £1.1m by the city watchdog for system failings that resulted in borrowers facing losses of more than £2.3m.

The UK government is lobbying for aviation to be excluded from an EU target to increase renewable energy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will give out fewer plastic shopping bags, and encourage shoppers to reuse and recycle them, as the retailer aims to slash its plastic bag waste by a third worldwide by 2013.

Development of alternative energy should create more than 20 million jobs around the world in coming decades as governments adopt policies to address the depletion of resources, according to a U.N. report released on Wednesday.

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