Biz Watch

Roadblocks for the SUV?
SUVs aren't cheap to begin with, but they may soon be getting a lot more expensive in France. Environment Minister Serge Lepeltier is pushing a new green-tinged plan this month that, beginning next year, would tax automobiles according to their size and the amount of their noxious emissions. Under the scheme, the biggest 4x4 would be subject to a surcharge as high as €3,500, while purchasers of small, clean cars would receive a rebate.

The plan is controversial in the French government and still needs final approval. But it reflects growing official sentiment against SUVs, which account for about 5% of car sales in France. Last month, Paris city council voted in principle to outlaw 4x4s in the capital, a symbolic move rather than a real ban. The French 4x4 Federation complains that the measures are an attempt to turn SUVs into "scapegoats for urban pollution" and denies that they pollute more than other vehicles. But French automakers Renault and Peugeot are sitting

INDICATORS Plastic Fantastic Purchases by credit and debit cards in Britain will this year total $500 billion, overtaking cash transactions for the first time. Blackened Market Tobacco giant Philip Morris agreed to pay the E.U. $1.25 billion in final settlement of lawsuits alleging complicity in smuggling cigarettes to evade duties. The money will go to an E.U. fund against contraband tobacco. How about soda options? In search of a $1 billion cut in operating costs, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote to employees warning of cuts in perks. The most famous of these, free beverages, he later cautioned, could involve a shift from cooler-based supplies to soda dispensers.

pretty — they don't make powerful off-road vehicles, and so may actually gain market share from Toyota, VW and others if the tax scheme goes ahead.

Viagra's Chinese Blues
In Beijing's "adult health centers", vying with ticklers, oils and fake genitalia, knockoff Viagra pills are a bestseller that have all but replaced the traditional cure for impotence — tiger penis. The struggle by Pfizer, Viagra's creator, to sell the real thing got even tougher last week when China's patent office overturned the drug's patent there, potentially handing the market to locally made generics. The decision hinged on Viagra's use for erectile dysfunction rather than its chemical composition — authorities said Pfizer's application had not clearly described the drug. "Hairsplitting" is what the U.S. China Business Council called it and "a negative signal to foreign companies looking to defend their property rights." Pfizer says its patent stays in effect while it appeals, but Chinese firms are already clamoring to legally make the drug. Says Lu Xinyu, marketing manager of drug-maker Beautiful Pearl Group, "I can't imagine how vicious the competition will be." — Matthew Forney/Beijing

Floating On Air
Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based independent broadcaster, is weighing a public offering on Doha's stock exchange within two or three years. To bolster its appeal to viewers and investors, an English-language version is planned as well as new documentary and children's channels.

The Bottom Line
	Instead of packing a hair drier, why not buy one when you get there?
		MICHAEL O'LEARY, CEO of no-frills airline Ryanair, on plans to save check-in expenses by restricting the free baggage allowance to carry-on luggage only