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| Mexico lower house greenlights electoral reform Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 05:28 PM PST  Mexico's lower house on Thursday gave general approval to an electoral reform demanded by the opposition, helping pave the way for Congress to focus on an energy bill at the center of President Enrique Pena Nieto's economic agenda. The bill, which was approved by the Senate on Wednesday, would be returned to Senators for a final vote if significant changes to the bill are made. Opposition conservatives have made their support for backing the energy overhaul conditional on passage of the electoral reform, which would allow lawmakers to serve consecutive terms in office. Full Story | Top |
| Winter storm brings icy blast to wide swath of United States Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 05:08 PM PST  By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - People from Texas to New York were bundling up on Thursday against a winter storm that closed schools and businesses, blanketed roads and power lines with ice and threatened to disrupt road travel across a wide swath of the United States. The southern plains and central region, including Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas were expected to be especially hard hit by the storm, according to the National Weather Service. In Little Rock, Arkansas, people scrambled to stock their cupboards as temperatures plunged. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon activated the state's 24-hour emergency operations center. Full Story | Top |
| Obama says he will propose NSA reforms Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 04:04 PM PST  President Barack Obama said on Thursday he intends to propose National Security Agency reforms to reassure Americans that their privacy is not being violated by the agency. "Part of what we're trying to do over the next month or so is, having done an independent review and brought a whole bunch of folks, civil libertarians and lawyers and others to examine what's being done, I'll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA and to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence," Obama said in an interview on the MSNBC television program "Hardball with Chris Matthews." A steady drip of revelations of NSA snooping has raised widespread concern about the reach of the agency's operations and its ability to pry into the affairs of private individuals as well as the communications of foreign leaders. The information comes from documents made public by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Obama said he would not comment on details of NSA programs, but that while revelations of the agency's activities have raised legitimate concerns, some aspects have been exaggerated. Full Story | Top |
| Renewable fuel backers try to change EPA's mind at hearing Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 04:03 PM PST  By Cezary Podkul WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of the renewable fuels industry turned out en masse on Thursday, desperate for the U.S. government to change course after last month announcing a plan to lower the amount of biofuels that must be added to the fuel supply in 2014. About 300 people attended a public meeting held by the Environmental Protection Agency on the Renewable Fuel Standard, proposed changes which have become one of the most divisive policy issues of the year. The number of stakeholders who signed up to testify - almost 150 - was 10 times or more the count at a similar meeting a year ago, an EPA official said. Robert Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, estimated that more than 100 of the speakers scheduled to testify were in favor of preserving the renewable fuel standard. Full Story | Top |
| Study casts doubt on whether extra vitamin D prevents disease Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 04:01 PM PST By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers cast doubt on the prevailing wisdom that vitamin D supplements can prevent conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, saying on Friday low vitamin D may be a consequence, not a cause, of ill health. The findings could have implications for millions of people who take vitamin D pills and other supplements to ward off illness - Americans spend an estimated $600 million a year on them alone. Vitamin D, sometimes known as the "sunshine vitamin" is made in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight and in found in foods like fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel. It is known to boost the uptake of calcium and bone formation, and some observational studies have also suggested a link between low levels of vitamin D and greater risks of many acute and chronic diseases. Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche Bank quits commodities, but keeps index funds Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 03:19 PM PST  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank, which is quitting trading in most raw materials markets, will retain its near $9 billion commodities index fund business, a strategy industry experts said helps the German bank profit from fees and maintain ties with some of the largest investors. A top-five financial player in commodities, Deutsche Bank said on Thursday it will cease trading energy, agriculture, base metals, coal and iron ore, while retaining precious metals and a limited number of financial derivatives traders. But the bank will continue to deal in commodity indexes, said spokeswoman Renee Calabro in New York. Industry experts said commodity indexes were shielded from the lower profit margins, higher capital requirements and growing political and regulatory scrutiny that were forcing banks out of proprietary and physical trading of commodities. Full Story | Top |
| Canada must do more to engage aboriginals on pipelines -report Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 03:09 PM PST  By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada must do more to build trust with aboriginal communities to win their support for resource projects such as oil pipelines and natural gas terminals, a government report said on Thursday. "There has not been a constructive dialogue about energy projects. Aboriginal leaders are prepared to engage and Canada will need to address issues on their agenda," Douglas Eyford, the federal government's special representative on west coast energy infrastructure, said in the 58-page report. Canada has long had poor relations with its million-strong native Indian population, which is largely beset with poverty, poor housing and high unemployment. Full Story | Top |
| Hurricane-force winds wreak havoc in Britain, head to Europe Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:58 PM PST  By Erik Kirschbaum and Belinda Goldsmith BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Hurricane-force Storm Xaver blasted towards mainland Europe on Thursday after cutting transport and power in northern Britain and killing three people in what meteorologists warned could be the worst storm to hit the continent in years. British authorities said the Thames Barrier, designed to protect London from flooding during exceptional tides, would shut on Thursday night and warned of "the most serious coastal tidal surge for over 60 years in England". Prime Minister David Cameron called two emergency meetings to discuss strategy. Two people were killed in Britain as the nation's weather office measured winds of up to 225 km per hour (140 mph) when the storm slammed Scotland and parts of England. Full Story | Top |
| Pilot whales head back to sea after beaching in Florida Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:37 PM PST By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Most of the pilot whales that were stranded in the Florida Everglades swam into deeper water on Thursday while rescuers tried to chase the rest out to sea by banging on pipes and revving their boat engines. Wildlife workers had hoped the cacophony would encourage the whales to leave the shallow water where dozens of short-finned pilot whales were first sighted on Tuesday afternoon in a remote part of the Everglades National Park. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said via Twitter that of the 51 whales originally stranded, 11 had died and five went missing overnight Wednesday. NOAA said the 35 swimming away were about 9 miles from shore, in about 18 feet of water, with about 10 or 15 miles to go before they reach deeper waters. Full Story | Top |
| TSX drops to six-week low on bank results, Fed fears Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:03 PM PST  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index dropped to a six-week low on Thursday after results from major banks weighed on financial shares and strong U.S. economic data heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve will scale back its monetary stimulus program. Shares of Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank fell after Canada's two biggest lenders reported quarterly results. RBC also said Chief Executive Gordon Nixon will step down next summer after 13 years in his position. Market focus returned to speculation about when the Fed would begin rolling back, or tapering, its bond buying program after a string of positive U.S. economic numbers this week strengthened the case for a Fed pullback. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: OSX, bondholders in talks to delay interest payment - sources Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:36 PM PST  By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Jeb Blount SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Tycoon Eike Batista's OSX Brasil SA and holders of the ailing shipbuilder's $500 million in bonds are in talks to delay an interest payment due on December 20, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation said. OSX filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11 after failing to get debt relief from creditors. One of the conditions is that OSX give up control, but not ownership, of the specialized ship that secured the bonds - the OSX-3 - to a captain and crew under the control of creditors, a third source added. OSX declined to confirm whether the talks are taking place. Full Story | Top |
| Investors dismayed as new Barrick chairman talks diversification Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:34 PM PST  By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp investors have taken in stride news that the world's largest gold producer may consider hedging its gold exposure, but they are roundly panning its plan for more diversification into other commodities. John Thornton, who was confirmed after markets closed on Wednesday as Barrick's next chairman, told reporters he would consider revisiting a hedging strategy for selling the company's output because of the volatility of gold prices. He also said he thinks Barrick, which already has a copper sideline, is well placed to look more at copper and perhaps at other commodities, once it puts its recent troubles behind it. That pronouncement stung some Barrick shareholders, many of whom are invested in the Toronto-based miner only because they see a bright future for the gold price. Full Story | Top |
| Insight - Fukushima water tanks: leaky and built with illegal labor Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:25 PM PST By Antoni Slodkowski NAHA, Japan (Reuters) - Storage tanks at the Fukushima nuclear plant like one that spilled almost 80,000 gallons of radioactive water this year were built in part by workers illegally hired in one of the poorest corners of Japan, say labor regulators and some of those involved in the work. "Even if we didn't agree with how things were being done, we had to keep quiet and work fast," said Yoshitatsu Uechi, 48, a mechanic and former bus driver, who was one of a crew of 17 workers recruited in Okinawa and sent to Fukushima in June 2012 - among the thousands of workers from across Japan who have put together the emergency water tanks and stabilized the plant after three reactor meltdowns that were triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Okinawa crew was recruited by Token Kogyo, an unregistered broker, and passed on to work at the Fukushima plant under the direction of Tec, a larger contractor which reported to construction firm Taisei Corp, records show. Full Story | Top |
| Coffins dug up at Philadelphia school grounds Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 12:31 PM PST  By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Workers digging in back of a Philadelphia elementary school have discovered several wooden coffins, likely from a century-old cemetery, authorities said. The caskets, along with headstones, were found as workers were preparing to plant grass for a green space at the William Dick Elementary School, authorities said. A cemetery is believed to have existed on the site years ago, said Mark McDonald, a city spokesman. Some caskets had been removed in the 1950s, when the school was built, McDonald said, adding: "Apparently they didn't do a thorough job." The caskets were part of two cemeteries, the Odd Fellows Cemetery and the smaller American Mechanics Cemetery, according to Thomas Keels, an area historian quoted in local media. Full Story | Top |
| Argentina, Repsol in talks regarding YPF compensation: Argentina Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 12:19 PM PST  Argentina has begun talks with Repsol about compensation to the Spanish oil major for last year´s nationalization of the South American country's top oil company, YPF , a government official said on Thursday. Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich told reporters that the long-awaited negotiations had begun but declined to elaborate on the progress or location of the talks. "Negotiations with Repsol have begun. Argentina and Repsol struck a preliminary deal last week over compensation for the 2012 seizure of the Spanish company's majority stake in YPF. Full Story | Top |
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