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| Suncor first-quarter profit rises on oil prices, weak currency Monday, Apr 28, 2014 07:48 PM PDT  Suncor Energy Inc , Canada's largest oil and gas company, said on Monday its first-quarter profit rose 36 percent on strong oil prices and a lower Canadian dollar The company, Canada's dominant oil sands producer, reported net income of C$1.49 billion ($1.35 billion), or C$1.01 per share, up from C$1.09 billion, or 72 Canadian cents, in the first quarter of 2013. Nearly all its output during the quarter was crude oil, compared with 92 percent in the year-prior period, though production lagged as its operations in Libya remained shut in. The company produced 545,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 596,100 boepd. The price of Western Canada Select crude, the Canadian benchmark, averaged $75.55 per barrel in the first quarter, up 21 percent from a year earlier, while the Canadian dollar was worth an average of 91 U.S. cents, compared with 99 U.S. cents in the first quarter of 2013. Full Story | Top |
| EnergySolutions sues NDA after losing $12 billion deal Monday, Apr 28, 2014 06:03 PM PDT EnergySolutions said it was taking Britain's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to court after losing out on a $12 billion (7.13 billion pounds) contract to decommission the country's oldest nuclear sites. EnergySolutions, the incumbent manager of 10 nuclear sites, told Reuters it had filed the lawsuit in a British High Court. The company had asked the NDA earlier this month to explain why it had awarded Texas-based Fluor and engineering company Babcock preferred bidder status for what is one of Britain's largest-ever government outsourcing contracts. An NDA spokeswoman said the competition process had been carried out in "a robust manner" in compliance with European Union guidelines, adding that the contract was set to deliver savings in excess of 1 billion pounds against EnergySolutions' previous plan. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sanctions Putin allies as Ukraine violence goes on Monday, Apr 28, 2014 04:49 PM PDT  By Maria Tsvetkova and Thomas Grove DONETSK/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - The United States imposed new sanctions on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, prompting Moscow to denounce "Cold War" tactics amid more violence in eastern Ukraine. The move to ban visas and freeze assets of the likes of Putin's friend Igor Sechin, head of oil giant Rosneft, also drew fire from President Barack Obama's domestic critics, who called it a "slap on the wrist." EU states added 15 more Russians and Ukrainians to their blacklist and will reveal them on Tuesday. The new round of U.S. sanctions, following those imposed last month when Russia annexed Crimea, barely registered in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow rebels were holding a group of German and other OSCE military observers for a fourth day. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers say latest Russia sanctions too mild, to seek more Monday, Apr 28, 2014 04:10 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Republican lawmakers said on Monday the latest sanctions imposed on Russian individuals and companies are too mild to deter Moscow from further action in Ukraine and promised to offer legislation as soon as this week to pressure the Obama administration to take stronger action. Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who earlier this month visited Ukraine and neighboring countries, called the new sanctions "just a slap on the wrist," and said it was time for measures that would affect the Russian economy. "Until you hit three or four of the large banks - the financial institutions - until you hit one of the energy producers at least, Gazprom, or someone, I just don't think it's going to have the effect on Putin to change his behavior," Corker told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. He said he likely would introduce legislation this week seeking to strengthen NATO, impose tough sanctions on Russian energy and some of its "significant" financial institutions and provide military aid and other assistance to Ukraine and neighboring countries. Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer move to join tax-driven deal-making raises red flags in U.S Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:58 PM PDT  A wave of tax-driven overseas deal-making by U.S. companies gained momentum with drugmaker Pfizer Inc's announcement on Monday that it had made takeover bids for UK rival AstraZeneca Plc , fueling political concerns about tax "reflagging" strategies. Pfizer said it wants to buy AstraZeneca and merge the two companies into a UK holding company with a UK tax domicile, while maintaining its operational headquarters in New York. It would likely be the largest deal ever done that included such a so-called tax "inversion." If a deal goes through - which is far from certain given AstraZeneca has so far rejected Pfizer's overtures - it would likely mean a loss of corporate tax revenue for the United States, and a lower effective tax rate for the combined entity than the two companies pay now. For 2013, Pfizer disclosed an effective rate of 27.5 percent and global cash income tax paid of $2.87 billion, including income taxes paid to the U.S. government and other state and foreign tax authorities, based on company filings. Full Story | Top |
| Fuel cell maker Ballard Power posts smaller-than-expected loss Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:57 PM PDT (Reuters) - Canadian fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems Inc posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by higher revenue from its engineering services and material handling businesses. Revenue from Ballard's engineering services business, which counts Volkswagen AG among its customers, rose nearly threefold in the first quarter ended March 31. Ballard said it expected to begin supplying fuel cell stacks to service Plug Power Inc's order with Wal-Mart Stores Inc in the second half of this year. Full Story | Top |
| Actavis sues U.S. drug regulator over generic Celebrex Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:40 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Actavis Plc said on Monday it has sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, challenging its decision to award exclusive rights to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to sell a generic version of Pfizer Inc's blockbuster painkiller Celebrex. A similar lawsuit was announced Friday by Mylan Inc over generic drug marketing exclusivity for Celebrex. Actavis alleges that FDA improperly awarded sole exclusivity to Teva despite an earlier ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that resulted in the expiration of that entitlement. Full Story | Top |
| Toyota withdrawal a bombshell, economic blow to California city Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:32 PM PDT By Tim Reid TORRANCE, CA (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's decision to move its North American sales headquarters from California to Texas was met by disbelief in Torrance, this Los Angeles exurb where the Japanese car manufacturer has run its U.S. operations since 1982. Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto, looking grim, said outside city hall on Monday that he had been blindsided by the move. A few feet away sat Pat Simpson, a Torrance resident for over 60 years, with her head in her hands. Scotto said his first inkling of Toyota's decision to move to Plano, Texas, came last Thursday, when he was told by Toyota to expect a phone call at 9.45 a.m. on Monday - just before the company was to make its decision official. Full Story | Top |
| Libya says Jordan to handover jailed Islamist to get kidnapped ambassador Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:28 PM PDT By Feras Bosalum TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Jordan has agreed to handover a Libyan Islamist to Tripoli to secure the release of its ambassador kidnapped in the North African country two weeks ago, Libya's state news agency LANA said on Monday. Jordan's ambassador to Libya, Fawaz al-Itan, was snatched by gunmen who demanded the release of Mohamed Dersi, a Libyan Islamist militant jailed for life in 2007 for plotting to blow up the main airport in Jordan. Sohar Banun, an undersecretary in Libya's justice ministry, said both countries had agreed that the ambassador would be released in exchange for Jordan reducing Dersi's sentence and allowing him to complete his jail term in Libya, LANA said. Full Story | Top |
| Toyota move to Texas is latest blow to Southern California Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:26 PM PDT  By Robin Respaut and Paul Lienert NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. said it will move its U.S. sales headquarters from southern California to suburban Dallas, delivering the latest blow to California in a fight for jobs with arch-rival Texas, whose Governor Rick Perry has been actively poaching businesses from the Golden State. The relocation from Torrance, a Los Angeles-area city of about 150,000, will bring much of the Japanese automaker's U.S. operations under one roof in Plano, Texas, including sales, service, marketing, advertising and quality. Also moving to Texas will be some manufacturing staff now based in Erlanger, Kentucky, and corporate operations staff based in New York City. Toyota is the largest employer in Torrance, accounting for more than 5 percent of all jobs in the city with 3,837 workers in 2013, according to the city's annual financial report. Full Story | Top |
| Colombian rebels torch convoy repairing Ecopetrol pipeline Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:13 PM PDT By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - A Colombian rebel group stopped and set fire to 12 vehicles transporting contractors and equipment to repair a pipeline on behalf of state-owned oil company Ecopetrol, police officials said on Monday. No one was killed or injured in Sunday's attack by the National Liberation Army, or ELN, in a rural area in Norte de Santander province, near the border with Venezuela. The convoy was intercepted and torched as it headed to carry out repairs on the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline that has been halted for the last month after several bomb attacks by the ELN and the FARC, another rebel group. Flow along the 780-km pipeline, with capacity to transport 210,000 barrels of crude from oil fields in northern Arauca province, has also been halted by a local indigenous community, which has refused to allow workers onto its land to do repairs. Full Story | Top |
| New U.S. sanctions on Putin allies cause few ripples Monday, Apr 28, 2014 03:06 PM PDT By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed fresh sanctions on Russian firms and government officials on Monday, a move that financial markets largely shrugged off and U.S. Republican lawmakers dismissed as too little to deter Moscow from further action in Ukraine. The reaction underscored the dilemma facing President Barack Obama: how to use sanctions to punish Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine without hurting European countries and foreign companies with deep financial ties to Russia. Washington slapped sanctions on seven Russian government officials and 17 companies linked to President Vladimir Putin, in response to what the White House said was Moscow's failure to adhere to an April 17 agreement on ways to resolve the crisis. Full Story | Top |
| S&P 500, Dow end up after late rebound; Apple, Pfizer lift Monday, Apr 28, 2014 02:31 PM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended higher on Monday after a volatile session, as gains in Apple and Pfizer helped offset another round of selling in some high-growth tech shares. The Dow also managed to end the session with a modest gain, while the Nasdaq closed slightly lower after rebounding from a fall of over 1 percent. A flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the pharmaceutical sector increased speculation of further deal-making. Shares of Pfizer gained 4.2 percent to $32.04 after the U.S. drugmaker was said to be working on its next move in a potential bid to take over Britain's AstraZeneca Plc . Full Story | Top |
| Scientists find MERS virus antibodies that may lead to treatments Monday, Apr 28, 2014 01:56 PM PDT By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found natural human antibodies to the newly-emerging Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus and say their discovery marks a step towards developing treatments for the often fatal disease. MERS, a SARS-like viral disease first detected in 2012 that has caused outbreaks in the Middle East and sporadic cases around the world, has raised international alarm in recent weeks with a surge in infections and deaths in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials confirmed 26 more MERS cases and 10 deaths at the weekend, bringing the toll in the kingdom alone to 339 confirmed cases, of which 102 have been fatal. There is currently no cure or vaccine for MERS - a severe respiratory disease which causes cough, fever, shortness of breath, and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure. Full Story | Top |
| France meets Alstom bidders with pledge to protect jobs Monday, Apr 28, 2014 01:54 PM PDT  By Natalie Huet and Benjamin Mallet PARIS (Reuters) - France said it would defend jobs and its national interest as it met suitors eyeing a breakup of engineering group Alstom on Monday and suggested it preferred Germany's Siemens over U.S. giant General Electric. President Francois Hollande held talks with GE boss Jeff Immelt on Monday morning and sat down later with Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser to discuss the fate of Alstom, the maker of the country's prestigious TGV high-speed trains and turbines for power plants. "We won't let Alstom sell this national champion behind the back of its shareholders, its employees and the French government," Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg wrote on his official Twitter account before the meetings started, accusing Alstom's CEO Patrick Kron of "a breach of national ethics". Alstom, which is battling with big debts and falling demand, was bailed out by the French government in 2004 but now needs help again. Full Story | Top |
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