Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 2-Online gaming groups licensed in New Jersey, speeding U.S. re-entry

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UPDATE 2-Online gaming groups licensed in New Jersey, speeding U.S. re-entry Nov 9th 2013, 02:45 Fri Nov 8, 2013 9:45pm EST By Joseph Menn Nov 8 (Reuters) - Who granted these licenses? New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement The state of New Jersey granted its first online gambling licenses to several big international gaming companies on Friday, dramatically speeding their re-entry to the lucrative U.S. market. New Jersey joins Nevada and Delaware in permitting online poker and it is more populous than those states. New Jersey also will allow its residents to play electronic versions of other casino games. Bills to legalize online gambling are pending in California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and more states are likely to follow, eventually letting residents of those states gamble against people in other regulated states. New Jersey's action also is a landmark for the issue of suitability, in which regulators weigh the conduct of the online gaming companies before allowing them into an industry with historic corruption. State gaming authorities gave "transactional waivers," which do not preclude additional regulatory scrutiny, to companies including the parent of PartyPoker, which dominated online cash card games in the United States for years. PartyPoker pulled out of the U.S. market in 2006, when Congress strengthened federal gambling. It later paid $105 million in a non-prosection agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and admitted violating wire fraud and other statutes before the 2006 law took effect. Other recipients of waivers on Friday were 888 Holdings , and the online affiliate of Las Vegas' Caesars' Entertainment Corp. Two controversial PartyPoker co-founders are divesting their stakes in order to get their company back into the United States. New Jersey did not approve PokerStars, a company that kept going in the United States after Congress' 2006 law on internet gambling. PokerStars spokesman Eric Hollreiser said the company's New Jersey application "remains under review" and that "we remain committed to working with them to complete the process." Both PokerStars and PartyPoker's parent, Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, had focused their licensing efforts on New Jersey. "We're excited to see the launch of internet gaming in New Jersey," said American Gaming Association Chief Executive Geoff Freeman. "New Jersey will send a strong message to all states." Even with online casinos outlawed, Americans contribute an estimated $3 billion to a roughly $33 billion world market, Freeman said. Combined with recent actions in other states, the New Jersey decision suggests it could be hard for PokerStars to reach the American market. Last year, the Isle-of-Man-based company forfeited $731 million to settle U.S. government fraud claims and acquire rival Full Tilt poker, which shut down after a similar lawsuit. U.S. authorities also filed criminal charges against the founders of both companies. Even PartyPoker's re-entry was more difficult than many in the industry had expected. Parent Bwin.party pulled out of many of what it called "gray markets" with uncertain laws and jettisoned several PartyPoker executives, filling its top ranks from the other side of a merger with Bwin. The most dramatic concession was the agreement by PartyPoker co-founders Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon to divest their shares, which combined for 14.3 percent of Bwin.party. As reported last week, they will put their stakes into funds that will sell off the stock to others during the next three years. Even as the two co-founders leave the stage, they will benefit from any share-price gains from the U.S. return. Parasol, an American and former phone-sex and Web-porn investor, became a billionaire when Bwin.party predecessor PartyGaming sold stock to the public in London. Advisers said she left her home country long ago to avoid U.S. legal scrutiny. Bwin.party said it would launch poker and casino games under the land-based casino license of its partner in New Jersey, Borgata Casino, owned by Boyd Gaming Corp's and MGM Resorts, using both Borgata's and its own brands, including www.partypoker.com, beginning Nov. 26. PokerStars could still be approved but it is very unlikely without at least the same sort of divestiture that Bwin.party agreed to, according to a consultant who spoke on condition he not be named because he works with New Jersey applicants. "PokerStars will not simply coast into the New Jersey internet gambling market," the consultant said. He said PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg, who remains a criminal defendant in a U.S. case, would have to divest, and even then the role of his son, the current chief executive, could be a factor. CEO Mark Scheinberg personally forfeited $50 million to end a Justice Department inquiry in June, although he did not admit wrongdoing. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: U.S. popcorn makers could face long, expensive road to lose trans fats

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U.S. popcorn makers could face long, expensive road to lose trans fats Nov 9th 2013, 01:20 By Curtis Skinner NEW YORK Fri Nov 8, 2013 8:20pm EST NEW YORK Nov 8 (Reuters) - Microwave popcorn makers could face a long and difficult task ridding their snacks of trans fats, if a U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposal to ban the additives goes into effect. Just ask Orville Redenbacher. Redenbacher's, a division of ConAgra Foods Inc, spent six years changing its leading line of popcorn, company scientists said on Friday, a day after the FDA made its proposal, which the government said would save 7,000 lives a year. The Popcorn Board, an industry trade group, said Americans munch 16 billion quarts of popped popcorn a year, and more than two-thirds of that is eaten in the home. $985.7 million worth of unpopped kernels were sold in 2010, down 2.2 percent from five years earlier. Popcorn also is the source of a substantial amount of the trans fats consumed by Americans. Diamond Foods Inc - owner of Pop Secret - and American Pop Corn Company - owner of Jolly Time - still use the suspect fat in some products. Diamond Foods fell 4.6 percent from its open on the news Thursday, but pared losses before Friday's close. American Pop Corn Company is not publicly traded. Redenbacher's ditched the fats in all of their products starting in 2006, because of the health concerns. Initial research and development of switching to a trans fat free oil was four years. It took two years more to change the entire product line. "We've mastered it, and I'm not going to tell you how we did it," laughed Pamela Newell, a senior director of product development at ConAgra. It took "a lot of money," she added, since many replacement oil blends limited or reduced the flavor of the popcorn. Partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of the fats in foods, have long been prized by microwavable popcorn companies for their high melting point. The fat keeps oil solid until the package is heated, so unpopped bags don't ooze. It also provides a taste and texture in the mouth which isn't easy to replicate, popcorn makers say. But when consumed, trans fats increase bad cholesterol, a leading cause coronary artery disease. Since 2005, trans fat usage has fallen precipitously - the Grocery Manufacturers Association said manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amounts of trans fats in their food products by more than 73 percent. But further reduction could prevent 20,000 heart attacks as well as the 7,000 deaths from heart disease a year, the FDA said. Sales from ConAgra's consumer food segments rose 8 percent in fiscal 2013, due in part to Redenbacher's, according to the company's most recent annual report. Diamond Foods' Pop Secret still produces a half-dozen products - including the Movie Theatre Butter and Homestyle varieties - that carry between 4.5 and 5 grams of the harmful fat per serving. The brand, which was purchased from General Mills in 2008, has been central to the company's 3.3 percent growth in its core snack sales segment, said Diamond CEO Brian Driscoll during the most recent quarterly conference call. Diamond Foods said it was reviewing the FDA plan and declined to make executives available for interview on Friday. American Pop Corn Company, which owns the Jolly Time brand also has trans fats in some of its products. The company works closely with Boulder Brands Inc's Smart Balance, an early developer of trans fat-free food products, including microwavable popcorn. Smart Balance executive vice president, John Becker, said that he hadn't talked with the American Pop Corn Company about the FDA's proposal, and American could not be reached for comment on Friday. The ban would follow more limited restrictions across the country. New York City banned the use of trans fats in restaurants, including their use for deep-frying foods, and many restaurants and fast food chains, including McDonald's Corp , have eliminated their use. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: Luminant to end work on license for new North Texas reactors

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Luminant to end work on license for new North Texas reactors Nov 8th 2013, 23:53 HOUSTON Fri Nov 8, 2013 6:53pm EST HOUSTON Nov 8 (Reuters) - Dallas-based Luminant, a unit of privately held Energy Future Holdings Corp, will suspend work to obtain approval to build two new nuclear reactors in North Texas, the company said in a letter to regulators. Citing a decision by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to shift its focus to the restart of nuclear power plants in Japan rather than U.S. nuclear development, Luminant officials "concluded that it does not make sense to continue to expend Luminant or NRC resources" on the license application for Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4, according to a letter sent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 2008, Luminant filed an application with the NRC for two Mitsubishi 1,700-megawatt U.S. Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (APWR) to be built at the existing two-unit Comanche Peak nuclear station in North Texas. The Mitsubishi design required NRC certification prior to Luminant obtaining a license to move forward to build the new reactors. Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems this said it was committed to obtaining the NRC certification for its USAPWR design "under an extended schedule," according to a release. Luminant's decision to suspend work on the new reactors follows similar action by other power companies. With the high cost of nuclear construction, the low cost of natural gas and stagnating power demand, analysts expect no new reactors to be built in the United States for several years, other than those already under construction in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Earlier this year, Duke Energy, the largest U.S. electric utility, dropped plans to build new nuclear reactors, two in North Carolina and one in Florida, citing slow growth in power demand and regulatory delay. Luminant is the largest power generating company in Texas. Its parent, Energy Future Holdings, is working to restructure debt taken on in a 2007 leveraged buyout. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: U.S. ethanol expansion limited by 'blend wall' -Vilsack

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U.S. ethanol expansion limited by 'blend wall' -Vilsack Nov 8th 2013, 23:07 By Kay Henderson JOHNSTON, Iowa Fri Nov 8, 2013 6:07pm EST JOHNSTON, Iowa Nov 8 (Reuters) - Lower gasoline demand in the United States is slowing ethanol expansion no matter how much the government mandates the grain-based additive be blended into the nation's fuel supply, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday. "We are bumping up against this thing called the 'blend wall,' where essentially there's no other place to put the ethanol unless we have increased blend rates," Vilsack said during a taping of public television program Iowa Press. The Environmental Protection Agency as early as next week is expected to propose reducing the so-called Renewable Fuel Standard from its existing target of 18.15 billion gallons of biofuels for 2014 as outlined in the current law. Oil refiners have lobbied the government to slash the mandate. They argue they cannot inject more than the traditional 10 percent ethanol blend into gasoline without risking damage to car engines - the so-called "blend wall" that Vilsack referenced in his remarks. The EPA has said fuel blends with as much as 15 percent ethanol, or E-15, are safe for vehicles made in 2001 or later. But few gas stations sell the higher blend outside of the Corn Belt. Better fuel efficiency in modern vehicles has also helped lead to an overall decline in gasoline demand. "I think EPA's got a difficult task because they are faced with the fact that those standards were set on the premise that we as a country would consume more and more gasoline from year to year," Vilsack said. "The reality is, with fuel efficient vehicles, we are consuming less (gasoline). So the assumption upon which those numbers was based was incorrect." Vilsack is a former governor of Iowa, the No. 1 corn producing state. He said efforts by some U.S. legislators to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard "concerns me." Rather, the country should move to expand the distribution network of ethanol and promote its use in aviation and marine fuel, Vilsack said. USDA, in the first supply and demand forecast since before last month's partial U.S. government shutdown, on Friday boosted its estimate for the U.S. corn crop to a record 13.989 billion bushels. Use of corn in making ethanol was left unchanged at 4.9 billion bushels, USDA said. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-Crude on derailed train headed to Fla. terminal, Shell plant

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UPDATE 1-Crude on derailed train headed to Fla. terminal, Shell plant Nov 8th 2013, 22:44 Fri Nov 8, 2013 5:44pm EST NEW YORK Nov 8 (Reuters) - Crude oil on a 90-car train that derailed in western Alabama on Friday was bound for a Shell chemicals plant near Mobile via Genesis Energy LP's rail offloading facility in Walnut Hill, Florida, officials and sources said on Friday. The train that was hauling roughly 65,000 barrels of crude derailed early on Friday morning, bursting into flames hundreds of feet high. Genesis' 75,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) transshipment facility was still able to receive crude on Genesee & Wyoming's Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway in spite of the incident, a top company official said. "Our facilities are still operational and still able to receive rail cars," Genesis CFO Bob Deere said. "They've routed around areas where the accident occurred." The year-old facility is used to transfer crude into the firm's Jay Pipeline System, which runs to a 80,000-bpd Shell Chemical LP plant and other pipelines. Shell had not yet taken legal possession of the crude shipment, according to a source familiar with the matter. During the third quarter, the Jay Pipeline System transported about 40,000 bpd, Deere said. The system comprises 100 miles (160 km) of pipeline and approximately 230,000 barrels of above ground storage, the company said on its website. Genesis Energy is a midstream energy master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, whose assets include pipelines, storage terminals, and trucking operations. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-ICE's takeover of NYSE to close on Nov. 13

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UPDATE 1-ICE's takeover of NYSE to close on Nov. 13 Nov 8th 2013, 23:21 Fri Nov 8, 2013 6:21pm EST By John McCrank Nov 8 (Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange Inc said its takeover of NYSE Euronext would close on Nov. 13, after clearing final regulatory hurdles on Friday. The derivatives exchange and clearing house operator said in December it would buy the owner of the New York Stock Exchange in a deal that also gives ICE control of Liffe, Europe's No. 2 derivatives market. The transaction had been expected to close on Monday, Nov. 4, but ICE said on Wednesday that while there were no substantive issues remaining, certain European regulators needed more time to review the takeover. The deal, which consists of around 75 percent shares and 25 percent cash, was worth 10.9 billion as of Nov. 1. Shares of ICE and NYSE will cease to trade after Tuesday, Nov. 12, and the shares of the merged company will begin trading the next day under the ticker symbol "ICE" on the New York Stock Exchange. ICE Chief Executive Jeff Sprecher, who helped start the company in 2000 and built it up through a series of deals, said on a call with analysts on Tuesday that ICE would move quickly to integrate the parts of NYSE it plans to keep, while unloading other parts of the business. Sprecher has had a history of eliminating the trading floors of the exchanges his company has bought, but has vowed to keep open the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, which traces its origins back to an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street in 1792. ICE said in December it expects to cut the majority of $450 million of run-rate expenses from the combined company by the second full year after the deal closes. NYSE's website says the company has 2,993 employees, while ICE had 1,121 employees as of Sept. 30, according to a recent regulatory filing. ICE also plans to spin off Euronext, which includes the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon stock exchanges, in an IPO likely some time next year. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: Utech to become Obama's top climate, energy adviser

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Utech to become Obama's top climate, energy adviser Nov 8th 2013, 17:09 WASHINGTON Fri Nov 8, 2013 12:09pm EST WASHINGTON Nov 8 (Reuters) - Dan Utech, a long-time Washington insider on environmental issues, will become President Barack Obama's top adviser on energy and climate change, a White House official said on Friday, a role that will involve tough decisions on power plants and TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL pipeline. The move had been widely expected after the Obama administration said earlier this month that Heather Zichal, who served five years in the position, would step down. Her last day is Friday. Utech will help Obama implement his climate action plan, which involves limiting carbon emissions from power plants and the pipeline project that would link Canada's oil sands with refineries in Texas. Obama set a June 2014 deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency to propose limits on existing power plants, one of the top U.S. greenhouse gas sources. The rules need to be finalized a year after that. A decision on the Keystone XL pipeline is expected next year, after the State Department and other agencies weigh in on whether the project is in the national interest. Obama said in August he could not approve the project if it significantly worsened climate change. Utech, the deputy director for climate at the White House, was also a one-time adviser to former Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Before that he served as an aide in the U.S. Senate for a decade, working on energy and environmental issues. "Dan Utech is a worthy successor to Heather Zichal," said Daniel Weiss, a senior fellow and director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress. "He brings keen analytical and political skill to the challenge of making President Obama's Climate Action Plan into reality." Zichal was "a trusted advisor" and "has been a strong and steady voice for policies that reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, protect public health and our environment, and combat the threat of global climate change," Obama said in a statement. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: Canada PM: foolish for foreign investment rules to be too clear

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Canada PM: foolish for foreign investment rules to be too clear Nov 8th 2013, 17:21 TORONTO Fri Nov 8, 2013 12:21pm EST TORONTO Nov 8 (Reuters) - It would be foolish for Canadian rules on foreign investment to be too clear because Ottawa needs a certain amount of discretion when considering takeover bids, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday. Canada last year laid down strict limits on what kinds of investment foreign state-owned enterprises could make in the energy sector. Some potential investors, particularly in Asia, say they are now not sure what kinds of takeover bids would be allowed. "When you are dealing with large state investors - foreign governments as the investor - I think it would be foolish for the Canadian government to provide absolute clarity. It is absolutely necessary, when the investor is a foreign government, for the government of Canada to be able to exercise its discretion and have direct conversations with those foreign investors," Harper told a business audience in Toronto.

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Reuters: Regulatory News: California power grid OKs mutual sharing of energy with other states

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California power grid OKs mutual sharing of energy with other states Nov 8th 2013, 16:18 Fri Nov 8, 2013 11:18am EST Nov 8 (Reuters) - California's power grid operator approved a new market design that will increase reliability and reduce costs by integrating generation resources from utilities outside the state to help balance the growing use of intermittent renewable resources. Nevada power company NV Energy Inc said in a release Thursday it plans to seek permission from Nevada regulators to join California's new "energy imbalance market" after completing studies on the benefits of the new market. The California Independent System Operator, which operates the power grid for much of the state, said the energy imbalance market, which its board of governors approved on Thursday, will allow power companies, known as balancing authorities, from across the West to participate in its real-time energy markets. PacifiCorp, a unit of U.S. conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc's MidAmerican Energy Holdings unit, was the first company to partner with the California ISO on the energy imbalance market. MidAmerican Energy is also in the process of buying NV Energy and hopes to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2014. PacifiCorp has been working with the ISO to implement the new market, which is expected to go live on Oct. 1, 2014, the ISO said. PacifiCorp controls two balancing authorities serving more than 1.8 million customers in parts of six states. The company operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington and Northern California, and as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. The ISO said the new market will match energy needs with the lowest cost resources in all participants' service areas, which is expected to reduce costs while increasing reliability. Moreover, by having PacifiCorp and possibly NV Energy join the energy imbalance market, the California ISO said all of the companies will have access to all of their generation to help keep their grids in balance as the number of intermittent renewable resources like wind and solar power increase. Without an energy imbalance market, the ISO said operators generally must rely on generation assets within their service area for any last minute balancing. The biggest power companies participating in the California electric market include units of Edison International, PG&E Corp, Sempra Energy, NRG Energy Inc , Dynegy Inc and AES Corp. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-FSB to name 29 banks on too-big-to-fail list - Russia

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UPDATE 1-FSB to name 29 banks on too-big-to-fail list - Russia Nov 8th 2013, 15:49 Fri Nov 8, 2013 10:49am EST MOSCOW Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Financial Stability Board, a global regulatory body, will name 29 banks worldwide that are "too big to fail" in an updated list that will be published next week, Russia's top international finance official said on Friday. "Among the 29 banks there will be Chinese institutions," Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said, referring to large banks that will have to hold a larger capital buffer than their smaller local rivals from 2016. After the failure of Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, taxpayers were called on to shore up lenders in Britain and the United States whose demise could have caused global financial chaos. Since then, governments have backed rules to make safer the "bulge bracket" banks whose balance sheets may be too large for national governments to shore up on their own, hence the 'too big to fail' label. The FSB, which coordinates global regulation for the Group of 20 leading economies, last year named Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JP Morgan Chase as the banks required to have the largest cushion. Storchak, who was speaking at a news conference in Moscow after a scheduled plenary meeting of the FSB, said that there will be some replacements in the updated list. An original list drafted in 2011 had 29 banks and was shortened by one to 28 a year ago. Banks are required to hold additional equity of between 1 and 2.5 percent of risk-weighted assets depending on which risk 'bucket' they are assigned to. FSB Secretary General Svein Andresen told the same press conference that priorities are to ensure that the globally systemic important banks have adequate loss-absorbing capacity if they do fail. "The point here is to ensure that when these financial institutions have exhausted their own equity capital, it is not the public purse that pays for saving systematically important banks," Andresen said. "That means that there need to be coordination arrangements across many countries to deal with the problems of these massive institutions." Some bankers say that solving the too-big-to-fail issue will be hard but that success would make other post-crisis reforms almost irrelevant. The FSB is also working on addressing the problematic side of shadow banking, paying increased attention to China, where according to various estimates, shadow banking amounts to 40 percent to 70 percent of gross domestic product. China is to submit its own report on the size of the phenomenon by the end of the year, Andresen said. Storchak said the issue was problematic. "Authors (of a report delivered at Friday's meeting) were forced to conclude that the work of the Chinese statistical services until now does not make it possible to reliably estimate the size of the problem," Storchak said. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: Nigeria considers law to fine oil firms over spills

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Nigeria considers law to fine oil firms over spills Nov 8th 2013, 16:34 Fri Nov 8, 2013 11:34am EST * New law could cost oil firms tens of millions a year * Hundreds of oil spills occur every year in Niger Delta * Rights groups criticise regulator, oil firms over spills By Joe Brock ABUJA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Nigerian legislators are considering a law to impose new fines on operators responsible for oil spills, a measure that could face major foreign companies with penalties running into tens of millions of dollars a year. There are hundreds of leaks every year from pipelines that pass through the creeks and swamplands of the Niger Delta, damaging the environment and the profits of oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell and Italy's Eni. Many of these spills are caused by oil theft and pipeline sabotage, a crime committed daily in the Niger Delta, where frustrations among millions of people in poverty run high. There have also been rarer cases of large oil spills in deep offshore projects. Currently oil companies are required to fund the clean-up of each spill and usually pay compensation to local communities affected, if it was the company's fault. The law being considered by the national assembly, seen by Reuters on Friday, would impose new fines on oil firms when they are responsible for spills and strengthen the regulator's powers, including being able to force firms to shut operations. Every barrel of oil spilled onshore or in coastal water would incur a fine of 200,000 naira ($1,300), while shallow water spillages would be penalised 175,000 naira per barrel and deep offshore leaks would cost 150,000 naira a barrel. Shell's website said that in 2008 more than 50,000 barrels were spilled due to operational issues. Under the new law, this could incur a fine of 10 billion naira ($63 million). Environmental campaigners say this is an underestimate and the real figure could be several times that. In later years far less was spilled due to the company's error, it says. Oil companies would have to report oil spills within 24 hours to the regulator or be fined 500,000 naira per day thereafter. They would also have to submit 0.05 percent of their operating budget to help fund the regulator. "Only if polluting the environment becomes more costly than cleaning it up will the situation change for the better," said Senator Bukola Saraki, head of the senate's environment board. Saraki's team said they hoped a vote on the bill would be held by the end of the year. A Shell spokesman declined to comment on the proposed law. Legislation is often difficult to enforce in Nigeria, where a patronage culture and widespread corruption create loopholes, according to watchdogs including Transparency International. Clauses in the new law say the new regulator would set the salaries and benefits for its members itself and it would be allowed to accept gifts, including property and cash. Amnesty International critized Shell this week, saying it manipulated the results of oil spill investigations to avoid paying fines or damaging its reputation. The company strongly denied the allegations. Amnesty also criticised the Nigerian government for not having a more well-equipped oil spill regulator. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: New German govt would put moratorium on fracking -party officials

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New German govt would put moratorium on fracking -party officials Nov 8th 2013, 16:12 BERLIN Fri Nov 8, 2013 11:12am EST BERLIN Nov 8 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats have agreed in coalition talks to put a moratorium on fracking for shale gas, leading members of the two parties said on Friday. Ute Vogt, a Social Democrat (SPD) leader on environment issues in the talks, said that as a result fracking will not be possible in Germany before it is clear that the technology is safe. "We've agreed to a moratorium," she told reporters. Shale gas fracking has so far been banned in Germany and the stance of the potential new government reinforces prospects that unconventional gas exploration will not be pursued in the country. Katherina Reiche, a leader in Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), said the use of chemicals that could damage the environment should be banned. Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, which involves pumping water and chemicals at high pressure thousands of metres below the ground to release gas from shale, has created an energy boom in the United States. But it is criticised by environmentalists, who warn of potential seismic effects and water pollution. Opinion is split on whether to embrace it as a path to cheaper energy. Due to environmental concerns, the previous centre-right German government made up of Merkel's conservatives and the defeated pro-business Free Democrats had suspended plans to regulate fracking until after September's election. Merkel's government had drawn up legislation laying out conditions for exploration and imposing restrictions on where drilling could take place, but that was put on hold. If the moratorium is put in place, Germany will join countries including France in turning its back on the technology. The government's stance determines whether oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil and Wintershall get a chance to assess the potential of shale gas in Germany, which in the long run could use the resource to lower its dependency on gas imports that come mainly from Russia. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-FDA staff flag safety fears over Sanofi MS drug Lemtrada

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UPDATE 1-FDA staff flag safety fears over Sanofi MS drug Lemtrada Nov 8th 2013, 14:32 Fri Nov 8, 2013 9:32am EST Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. regulatory officials have raised concerns about "multiple serious and potentially fatal safety issues" in patients given Sanofi's new multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada, fuelling uncertainty about whether it will be approved. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff said in a report prepared ahead of a Nov. 13 advisory panel that the risks might be too great to justify approval, unless the drug showed "substantial clinical benefit". Shares in Sanofi fell 2 percent after the documents were posted on the FDA's website on Friday. Lemtrada, also known as alemtuzumab, is given via an intravenous drip for five days and for three days one year later. It is designed to re-programme the immune system. Sanofi acquired it when it bought U.S. biotech firm Genzyme for $20.1 billion in 2011. Lemtrada's prospects were at centre-stage in that drawn-out takeover battle, leading to an eventual deal that included listed contingent value rights linked to Lemtrada's future success.

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Reuters: Regulatory News: FDA staff raise safety concerns over Sanofi MS drug Lemtrada

Reuters: Regulatory News Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

FDA staff raise safety concerns over Sanofi MS drug Lemtrada Nov 8th 2013, 14:16 Fri Nov 8, 2013 9:16am EST Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. regulatory officials raised concerns about "multiple serious and potentially fatal safety issues" in patients given Sanofi's new multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada, raising concerns over its approval. Shares in Sanofi fell 2 percent after the documents were posted on the FDA's website on Friday.

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Reuters: Regulatory News: FSB to name 29 banks on too-big-to-fail list - Russia

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FSB to name 29 banks on too-big-to-fail list - Russia Nov 8th 2013, 13:54 MOSCOW Fri Nov 8, 2013 8:54am EST MOSCOW Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Financial Stability Board, a global regulatory body, will name 29 banks that are "too big to fail" in a final list due to be published next week, Russia's top international finance official said on Friday. "Among the 29 banks, there will be Chinese institutions," Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said, referring to large banks that will have to hold more capital than smaller local rivals from 2016 to guard against financial instability. Storchak was speaking at a news conference in Moscow during a visit by FSB Secretary General Svein Andresen. The FSB coordinates global financial regulation for the Group of 20 leading economies.

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Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-Q3 market slump knocks broker Tullet Prebon's revenue

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UPDATE 1-Q3 market slump knocks broker Tullet Prebon's revenue Nov 8th 2013, 14:01 Fri Nov 8, 2013 9:01am EST * Q3 revenue 252 million pounds vs 276 million a year ago * Hit by low trading activity as traders wait for Fed * Shares drop 4 percent By Clare Hutchison LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon posted a 9 percent drop in third-quarter revenue on Friday, hit by a slump in business while traders waited to see whether the U.S. central bank would withdraw monetary stimulus measures. Tullett, which like rival ICAP makes money by matching buyers and sellers of bonds, currencies and swaps, reported revenue for the four months from July to October of 252 million pounds ($404.35 million) compared to 276 million pounds a year earlier. Revenue was lower across Tullett's three major divisions - foreign exchange, treasuries and interest rate derivatives. Nine-month revenue was 692 million pounds, 5 percent lower than the 731 million pounds earned in the same period in 2012. Tullett's performance echoes that of a number of investment banks, which saw trading revenues battered in the third quarter, particularly in fixed income and currencies, following the Federal Reserve's surprise decision not to start withdrawing its monetary stimulus. Analysts said it was hard to see good news in the short term. "A significant recovery is not likely to materially manifest itself until there is the prospect of an increase in U.S. interest rates," said Numis analyst James Hamilton. "We believe the Banks will continue to reduce trading activities and restrict the growth of their balance sheets." Tullett's shares, down 4.4 percent to 303 pence, were among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 250 index at 1318 GMT. The tough trading environment is another burden for banks who are also having to comply with new rules on capital requirement, which for many means scaling back their trading operations in turn hurting brokers who rely on bank traders for large portions of their revenue. Tullett said uncertainty over the impact of new regulations relating to over-the-counter markets had also contributed to reduced trading. Global regulators decided after the financial crisis that derivatives like interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, previously bought and sold through dealers, should be traded on electronic platforms, centrally cleared and recorded, in the interest of improved clarity and lower risk. Tullett launched a swap execution facility (SEF) last month to comply with new U.S. rules on swaps trading. It is yet to publish trading volumes for its SEF. British competitor ICAP, the world's largest interdealer broker, will report its first half results on Nov. 13. Analysts expect ICAP's revenue for the six months to the end of September to fall to 742.49 million pounds from 746 million pounds in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters data. Link this Share this Digg this Email Print Reprints

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