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| Brazilian tycoon Batista faces insider trading probes Friday, Apr 11, 2014 06:04 PM PDT  By Jeb Blount and Juliana Schincariol RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Eike Batista, who was Brazil's richest man for most of the past decade, is under investigation for allegedly engaging in insider trading while he chaired his now-bankrupt oil-producing and shipbuilding firms, securities industry watchdog CVM said on Friday. In a statement sent to Reuters, Rio de Janeiro-based CVM confirmed that Batista is a respondent in six of nine probes that executives of his Grupo EBX conglomerate are facing for breaching securities rules. In two of them, regulators are examining whether Batista allegedly took advantage of his access to privileged information. CVM also listed a dozen probes questioning financial and other data unveiled by oil company Óleo and Gás Participações SA, formerly known as OGX, and four more firms he controlled through EBX. Full Story | Top |
| Hints of possible deal on Ukraine gas emerge at G20 Friday, Apr 11, 2014 04:46 PM PDT By Lidia Kelly WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Behind statements that Russia will not budge in demanding Ukraine repay its debts for its natural gas deliveries, hints emerged at a meeting of G20 finance chiefs this week that a deal in which Moscow eases its stance might be in the works. Financial aid to Ukraine was a hot topic at a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading nations, but the country's gas crisis, which could threaten deliveries to Europe, topped discussions with Russia that were held on the sidelines. Moscow, which alienated Western powers by annexing Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, this month raised the price it charges Kiev for gas and said it awaits $2.2 billion in unpaid bills. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov reiterated the Kremlin's threats that it may switch to prepaid gas deliveries to Ukraine if payments don't start coming, but between the now-standard lines he signaled some room for maneuver. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sanctions Crimea gas company, in move aimed at Gazprom Friday, Apr 11, 2014 04:46 PM PDT By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a Crimea-based gas company, Chernomorneftegaz, effectively putting it off limits to Russia's state-controlled Gazprom, which was expected to bid for a stake in the company. The move, along with penalties on six Crimean separatists and a former Ukrainian official, is the third round of U.S. sanctions since the Ukraine crisis erupted and lays down a harder line ahead of talks among U.S., Russian, Ukrainian and EU officials in Geneva on Wednesday. Russian forces took over Crimea last month and Moscow annexed the Ukrainian region on March 18, angering Western powers who say Russia has massed forces on its border with Ukraine, possibly as a prelude to seizing more of the country. Russia denies having such plans. Full Story | Top |
| Amid 'gas war' talk, Russia reassures Europe on supply Friday, Apr 11, 2014 04:46 PM PDT By Natalia Zinets and Alexei Anishchuk KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to ease European fears of gas supply cuts on Friday after Brussels said it would stand with the new authorities in Kiev if the Kremlin carries out a threat to turn off the tap to Ukraine. Russia, which last month angered Western powers by annexing Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, has raised the price it charges Kiev for gas and said it owes Moscow $2.2 billion in unpaid bills. A repeat of that scenario could hurt Russia as well as EU customers for its gas because Moscow depends for its public revenues on selling gas in Europe. "I want to say again: We do not intend and do not plan to shut off the gas for Ukraine," Putin said in televised comments at a meeting of his advisory Security Council. Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Batista faces insider trading probes Friday, Apr 11, 2014 04:26 PM PDT By Jeb Blount and Juliana Schincariol RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Eike Batista, who was Brazil's richest man for most of the past decade, is under investigation by securities industry watchdog CVM for allegedly engaging in insider trading while he chaired his now-bankrupt oil-producing and shipbuilding firms. In a statement sent to Reuters late on Friday, Rio de Janeiro-based CVM confirmed that Batista is a respondent in six of nine probes that executives of his Grupo EBX conglomerate are facing for breaching securities rules. In two of them, regulators are examining whether Batista allegedly took advantage of his access to privileged information. CVM also listed a dozen probes questioning financial and other data unveiled by oil company Óleo and Gás Participações SA and four more firms he controlled through EBX. Full Story | Top |
| Senate energy leaders call for reports into U.S. crude export ban Friday, Apr 11, 2014 03:55 PM PDT  Senate energy committee leaders on Friday asked the Department of Energy to prepare reports examining issues relating to the country's ban on exporting crude amid record oil and gas production. Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska asked Adam Sieminski, head of the Energy Information Administration, the DOE's statistics arm, to prepare a number of reports on questions relevant to current crude export policies. The senators asked the EIA to investigate current and projected production of crude oil and condensates of different grades, the ability of U.S. refiners to process domestic crude oil and condensates, and logistics surrounding crude production, including transport by rail. Full Story | Top |
| Rare T.rex sets off from Montana on road trip bound for Smithsonian Friday, Apr 11, 2014 03:33 PM PDT  The rare and nearly intact skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex that roamed the earth 65 million years ago set off from Montana on Friday on a cross-country road trip, its first, bound for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. The fossil of the 38-foot-long carnivore, found on federal lands in Montana in 1988, has played a starring role in scientific research at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman since its excavation by paleontologists led by curator Jack Horner. The seven-ton skeleton of a dinosaur that may have been an opportunistic eater rather than a stone-cold killer is to be mounted at the Smithsonian Institution in an exhibit that will open in 2019 and is expected to attract 8 million visitors a year, Horner said. The dinosaur is on loan to the Smithsonian for 50 years. The so-called Wankel T.rex - named after Kathy Wankel who discovered it - was about 18-years-old when it died and is considered second for extensiveness and preservation only to "Sue," the famed T.rex at The Field Museum in Chicago, he said. Full Story | Top |
| J&J says halting development of Botox rival Friday, Apr 11, 2014 03:22 PM PDT (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said on Friday it was ending its efforts to bring to market a rival drug to Allergan Inc's popular Botox anti-wrinkle treatment. J&J had acquired the drug, PurTox, with its 2009 purchase of Mentor, a leading maker of breast implants for cosmetic augmentation and reconstructive surgery. "After careful consideration, our Mentor business has decided to discontinue its neurotoxin program, commonly known as PurTox, in order to focus on its core breast surgery business, where we are an established leader and see greater opportunities to benefit patients and grow our business," J&J spokesman Thomas Sanford said in an emailed statement. Ending the PurTox development program will result in the elimination of a small number of jobs in the United States, the company said. Full Story | Top |
| Feds issue warning: Hackers trying to exploit 'Heartbleed' bug Friday, Apr 11, 2014 02:59 PM PDT  Hackers are targeting vulnerable networks in an attempt to exploit the "Heartbleed" bug, the U.S. Government warned on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Ohio links fracking to earthquakes, announces tougher rules Friday, Apr 11, 2014 02:02 PM PDT By Edward McAllister NEW YORK (Reuters) - Recent small earthquakes in Ohio were likely triggered by fracking, state regulators said on Friday, a new link that could have implications for oil and gas drilling in the Buckeye State and beyond. In the strongest wording yet from the state linking energy drilling and quakes, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) said that injecting sand, water and chemicals deep underground to help release oil and gas may have produced tremors in Poland Township last month. The statement, in which the department announced stricter rules for oil and gas exploration in areas where seismic activity has occurred, comes after a steep rise in earthquakes in Ohio and other areas where intense drilling has taken place. Full Story | Top |
| TSX hits two-week low as U.S. selloff deepens Friday, Apr 11, 2014 01:56 PM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index dropped on Friday to its lowest in two weeks after a prolonged slump in the U.S. technology and biotechnology sectors weighed on the appetite for equities and helped pull down shares in most major groups. The anxiety that some share prices might have run ahead of themselves, combined with uncertainty about the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy, remained a drag on sentiment. "There's obviously a correction going on," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 50.31 points, or 0.35 percent, at 14,257.69. Full Story | Top |
| Nasdaq ends below 4,000 for first time since early February Friday, Apr 11, 2014 01:37 PM PDT  By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid in a volatile session on Friday, with the Nasdaq closing below the 4,000 mark for the first time since early February. Selling accelerated late in the afternoon, with the biotech and other momentum stocks again leading the Nasdaq sharply lower. JPMorgan's disappointing earnings also gave investors a reason to sell some bank stocks. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 2.6 percent and the Nasdaq lost 3.1 percent, the biggest weekly decline for both indexes since June 2012. Full Story | Top |
| Iran's oil exports surge above West's sanctions cap: IEA Friday, Apr 11, 2014 12:53 PM PDT  By Ron Bousso and Timothy Gardner LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's crude oil exports have surged to their highest in 20 months, far exceeding a 1 million barrel-per-day limit set by the West under an interim deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear program. The International Energy Agency's monthly report revised February's global crude imports from Iran upwards by 240,000 bpd to 1.65 million barrels per day, the highest since June 2012. Under an interim deal signed in November between Iran and six world powers - known as the P5+1 - that came into effect on January 20, Iran's exports are supposed to be held to an average 1 million bpd through July 20. Tough international sanctions over the past two years have cut Iran's oil exports by about half. Full Story | Top |
| Petrobras HQ raided by Brazil police in money-laundering probe Friday, Apr 11, 2014 12:51 PM PDT  By Rodrigo Viga Gaier RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's Federal Police raided the headquarters of state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA in Rio de Janeiro on Friday as part of a money-laundering probe, two sources with direct knowledge of the operation told Reuters. In a statement Friday, the police said they were exercising 23 search and arrest warrants in the cities of Sao Paulo, Campinas, Rio de Janeiro, Macae and Niteroi as part of its "Operação Lava Jato," which is an investigation of money laundering by currency exchange houses. Petrobras, as the oil company is known, said in a note that Federal Police agents were received by Chief Executive Officer Maria das Graças Foster and that the officers ordered the company to provide documentation relating to "a specific contract." Petrobras did not confirm the motive for the search. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says Germany, others willing to help with Ukraine's gas crisis Friday, Apr 11, 2014 12:12 PM PDT Russia's finance minister said on Friday that his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, and other ministers from the Group of 20 leading nations have expressed willingness to help resolve Ukraine's gas crisis. Schaeuble met on the sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund spring meeting in Washington and gas deliveries to Ukraine dominated the bilateral talk, Anton Siluanov said. "Schaeuble and others are interested in a fast resolve of Ukraine's (gas) conflict and in the country's ability to repay its obligations," Siluanov said. Full Story | Top |
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