大象传媒

Japan's Takata Corporation is to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing and to pay one billion dollars in fines and compensation to settle an investigation by the US Justice Department. Airbags inflators made by the company have been linked to at least sixteen deaths worldwide, and prompted the largest vehicle safety recall in US history. Paul A. Eisenstein, publisher of The Detroit Bureau.com tells us that there was some surprise that the fine had not been more severe.

Is support for one of the European Union's founding pillars - the freedom of movement - crumbling? Many people who voted for Brexit in the UK, did so because they felt the country had lost control over the numbers of EU migrants. Yesterday, Austria's Chancellor said he'll ask the European Union to let local employers hire Austrians before other EU citizens, unless there are no suitable candidates. He said incomers were putting pressure on the jobs market. And today the Deputy Prime minister of the Netherlands told the 大象传媒 that the freedom of movement needs fundamental reform. Lodewijk Asscher told our Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed that support was falling across Europe for the rule, which he said was being used as a 'business model for lowering wages.'

Executive pay packets, by contrast, have been spiralling. This week Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the UK Labour party, rekindled the debate on high pay, saying that a 'cap' should be considered for the highest earners. But is that even possible and what impact might it have on economic growth? The economist Will Hutton was tasked by the government of David Cameron to look at limiting public sector pay. He's now Principal of Hertford College, Oxford. He explains why ultimately, he doesn鈥檛 think a maximum wage is achievable.

All this and more discussed with Peter Ryan, The ABC's Senior Business Correspondent.

(Photo: The logo of the Japanese auto parts maker, Takata, is displayed at a car showroom in Tokyo. Credit: Getty Images)