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| Oil sector withholding info on rail cargoes: U.S. regulator Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:19 PM PDT By Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. transport regulators on Friday scolded the oil industry for not sharing important information on the kinds of rail shipments that have been involved in a number of fiery train derailments. The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group that represents oil industry companies, disputed the accusations. In letters to regulators and testimony to lawmakers, leaders of trade groups like the API have said since January that they will share results of their tests on fuel from North Dakota's booming Bakken oil patch, where the derailed trains were loaded. But the Department of Transportation said the industry has dragged its feet in cooperating with regulators who are trying to understand why several recent derailments of freight trains carrying crude oil also resulted in explosions. Full Story | Top |
| Hagel, ahead of China trip, urges military restraint in cyberspace Friday, Mar 28, 2014 02:51 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, pushing for openness ahead of a trip to China, said on Friday in an unusual live broadcast from a secretive base the Pentagon would exercise restraint in using the military in cyberspace and urged other nations to do so as well. In his first remarks on cyber security since becoming defense secretary last year, Hagel told a retirement ceremony for Cyber Command chief General Keith Alexander that the Pentagon sought to be "open and transparent" about its cyber capabilities and intentions with both allies and competitors. "The United States does not seek to militarize cyberspace," Hagel he told an audience at Fort Meade, Maryland, the home of Cyber Command and the NSA signals spy service. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to stress support for Central Asia after Crimea Friday, Mar 28, 2014 02:12 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official will travel to two countries in Central Asia next week to emphasize U.S. support for the independence of post-Soviet states after Russia's annexation of Crimea. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal, Washington's point person for South and Central Asia, will visit Kazakhstan from March 31 to April 2 and Kyrgyzstan from April 2-4. "In both countries Assistant Secretary Biswal will re-affirm the U.S. commitment to continued engagement and partnership with the countries of the region for stability and prosperity," the State Department said in a statement. A State Department official added that would "affirm our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries and for all post-Soviet states." The U.S. visit will come two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine, another former Soviet state. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. FDA approves Biogen's hemophilia B drug Alprolix Friday, Mar 28, 2014 02:11 PM PDT Biogen Idec Inc has won U.S. approval for its long-acting hemophilia B treatment Alprolix, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. Hemophilia B is a rare, inherited disorder in which a person's blood does not clot properly, which can lead to prolonged bleeding and bruising. Biogen is developing the drug in partnership with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB. Patients with hemophilia A lack or have reduced levels of coagulation factor VIII. Full Story | Top |
| Court finds fault with federal water transfer regulation Friday, Mar 28, 2014 01:57 PM PDT By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday threw out a federal regulation that allowed government agencies to transfer water between different water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, without needing to safeguard for pollution. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to go back to the drawing board on one aspect of the 2008 regulation. The regulation, known as the water transfers rule, exempts transfers from the national water discharge permit program that is administered by the EPA. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street ends higher but biotech selloff weighs Friday, Mar 28, 2014 01:49 PM PDT  By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended up on Friday but off their session highs as a late afternoon selloff in the biotechnology sector weighed on the overall market. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell nearly 3 percent for the week, marking its worst week since October 2012. The three major U.S. stock indexes had been significantly higher in most of the morning and early afternoon trade following comments from China's Premier Li Keqiang indicating that the country's government was ready to take steps to support its slowing economy. But a 2.8 percent drop in the Nasdaq biotechnology index led the major indexes to session lows. Full Story | Top |
| BMW to invest $1 billion to expand U.S. production by 50 percent Friday, Mar 28, 2014 01:39 PM PDT  By Harriet McLeod and Edward Taylor SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA (Reuters) - BMW will expand production capacity in the United States by 50 percent and introduce another new offroad model, the German luxury carmaker said on Friday, in what amounts to a $1 billion bet on sport utility vehicles (SUVs). BMW said that as well as the new X4 SUV, its U.S. factory would make a new X7 SUV. Ramping up production capacity at Spartanburg, South Carolina to 450,000 cars by 2016 will make it BMW's largest factory, the company said. The red X7, which was rolled out from a cloud of white smoke before a crowd of workers and dignitaries including U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, is part of a strategy to help the German automaker cut it's dependence on fragile European markets, which accounted for 44 percent of group sales in 2013. Full Story | Top |
| TSX climbs on U.S. data, China; BlackBerry tumbles Friday, Mar 28, 2014 01:33 PM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as positive U.S. economic data and hopes of a Chinese government stimulus helped drive up shares of natural resource companies. But one sore spot was a 6.5 percent drop in shares of BlackBerry after the company reported a quarterly loss and a sharp drop in revenue as its smartphone sales continued to slide. China's Premier Li Keqiang said that Beijing was ready to support the world's second-biggest economy, a major market for Canada's natural resources, and signaled a willingness to drive infrastructure investment. "I call it 'QE brunch coming to China'," said Adrian Mastracci, portfolio manager at KCM Wealth Management. Full Story | Top |
| Texas responders extend oil cleanup in Matagorda Bay after spill Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:34 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Responders from the Matagorda Incident Command Post in Port O'Connor, Texas, extended their cleanup efforts to mitigate the environmental effects of a fuel oil spill that occurred in the Houston Ship Channel last weekend, the Texas City "Y" Response Unified Command said in an update on Friday. Members of the public are discouraged from accessing south Matagorda Island until the command announces that response operations are complete, the agency said. The channel was shut on Saturday when a Kirby Inland Marine fuel oil barge collided with a cargo ship near the entrance to Galveston Bay, spilling 4,000 barrels, or 168,000 gallons (636,000 liters), of heavy, black fuel oil. Full Story | Top |
| Obama considers new climate regulations for oil, gas sector Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:31 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday it will take a hard look at whether new regulations are needed to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, part of President Barack Obama's plan to address climate change. The suggestion drew a sharp rebuke from the main oil and gas lobby group. The American Petroleum Institute said its members were already taking steps that will cut emissions and expressed concern that more regulations could put a damper on natural gas drilling by raising costs. But environmental groups said regulations are needed to make sure all players take action to reduce methane emissions. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Oil sector withholds information about rail cargoes - U.S. regulator Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:21 PM PDT By Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. transport regulators on Friday criticized the oil industry for not sharing important information about the kinds of rail shipments that were involved in a number of recent fiery derailments. In letters with regulators and testimony to lawmakers, leaders of trade groups like the American Petroleum Institute have said since January that they will share results of their tests on fuel from North Dakota's Bakken oil patch, where the derailed trains were loaded. But despite those assurances, the Department of Transportation said, the oil industry has largely declined to cooperate with regulators trying to understand why several recent fuel derailments led to explosions of uncommon force. "The overall and ongoing lack of cooperation is disappointing, slows progress, and certainly raises concerns." An oil industry representative on Friday said that examining North Dakota crude was an ongoing process. Full Story | Top |
| Injunction eased so PA fracking foe can go to hospital, grocery Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:57 AM PDT  By David DeKok SUNBURY, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A judge on Friday loosened an injunction restricting the movements of a Pennsylvania anti-fracking activist to allow her access to her local hospital, grocery and other places declared off-limits because they sat atop land leased for gas extraction. Until Judge Kenneth Seamans eased the terms of the injunction, Vera Scroggins, 63, of Brackney, Pennsylvania was banned from 40 percent of the land in Susquehanna County, where she lives and which is leased by Texas-based Cabot Oil & Gas Co for gas extraction. Seamans, the sole judge in Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas in Montrose, Pennsylvania, issued a new injunction on Friday barring Scroggins from the active gas extraction operations of the company and the access roads that serve them. Full Story | Top |
| EU antitrust chief seeks to insulate Gazprom probe from Crimea Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:52 AM PDT  The European Union is seeking to insulate its probe of Russia's gas export monopoly, Gazprom, which is suspected of anti-competitive behavior, from larger concerns about Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Europe's top antitrust enforcer said on Friday. Gazprom, the world's top gas producer and supplier of around 30 percent of Europe's gas needs, has been under EU investigation since September 2012 for suspected anti-competitive behavior, including overcharging customers and blocking rival suppliers. Full Story | Top |
| Chairman candidate says Telecom Italia must act as true public company Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:38 AM PDT  By Lisa Jucca MILAN (Reuters) - Giuseppe Recchi, the frontrunner to become chairman of Telecom Italia, said Italy's largest telecoms group by market value must act as a true public company and as chairman he would represent all shareholders equally. In his first interview since he became a candidate for the post, Recchi, who will leave his job as chairman of oil major Eni if elected by Telecom Italia shareholders on April 16, said he would ensure good corporate governance practices. The board of Telecom Italia, which has competitor Telefonica and three Italian financial institutions as its core shareholders, has been accused by investors of not caring for the interest of smaller shareholders. Full Story | Top |
| LME tightens 'Chinese Wall' rules on warehouses, traders Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:37 AM PDT  By Eric Onstad LONDON (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) pressed on with reforms to its warehousing network on Friday, unveiling tighter "Chinese Wall" restrictions a day after a court ruling forced the LME to halt a plan to cut delivery backlogs. The LME said it would bolster rules on firms that both trade on the exchange and own metals warehouses to ensure there was no improper flow of information or conflict of interest. The rules apply to parties such as bank Goldman Sachs and commodity group Glencore, which both trade metals and own metals storage facilities. The LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said in a statement that an external review found current restrictions between traders and warehouses were generally adequate. Full Story | Top |
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