The Wall Street Journal-20080205-Politics - Economics- In Brief

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Politics & Economics: In Brief

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London to Charge $400 a Day

For Highly Polluting Trucks

Highly polluting trucks will have to pay £200 ($400) a day to drive into London under rules that took effect yesterday. Mayor Ken Livingstone says the "low emission zone" will improve air quality and reduce pollution-related deaths. Groups representing truckers say it will be expensive to implement and bring little benefit. The plan uses a network of cameras to monitor vehicles. License-plate numbers will be checked to see whether they meet European Union standards for exhaust emissions.

-- Associated Press

China's Main Highway Reopens

China's main north-south national highway reopened yesterday after weeks of snow and ice storms, easing transportation bottlenecks caused by winter storms that have stranded millions of people and disrupted food and fuel supplies as the Lunar New Year approaches. With the crisis apparently nearing an end, state media carried front-page statements by senior officials playing down the economic impact.

-- Associated Press

Euro Zone Factory Prices Rise

Prices of goods leaving the euro zone's factories rose at the fastest annual rate in more than two years in December but posted only moderate gains over the month as oil prices remained roughly unchanged between November and December. Food prices rose an annual 8.6%, the fastest pace since records began in 1985.