Search

The article reports on the disclosure by federal scientists on December 17, 2010, led by Charlie Henry of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, that oil spill from BP PLC's well has seeped in the sediment of the Gulf of Mexico which could threaten marine life.

The article reports on the use of environmentally-friendly formulas by oil- and gas-drilling companies to address fears that they are contaminating water supplies when they tap deep rock formations.

This section offers news briefs concerning companies in the U.S., including the statement of Comcast Corp. President Neil Smit that the company has no plans to start charging broadband subscribers by their level of bandwidth consumption, the agreement of Aetna Inc. to acquire Medicity Inc. and the 20% increase in profit posted by AutoZone due to strong sales.

The article reports on the confidence of U.S. oil producer Anadarko Petroleum that the Mozambique gas site will be big enough to justify a liquefied natural gas project.

The article focuses on the claim of Kenneth Feinberg who oversees an oil-spill fund, that he would allow claimants affected by the marine oil spill in the U.S. to get temporary relief as they decide whether to seek a final lump-sum payment or to file a lawsuit against BP PLC and the other companies involved in the incident.

The article reports that oilfield-services company Halliburton Co. will face a presidential panel investigating the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster in the U.S. in 2010.

The reports on an offer by Douglas Miller, chief executive officer (CEO) of Exco Resources to take the company private.

The article reports on an increase in the earnings posted by Halliburton Co. for the third quarter of 2010.

The article focuses on U.S. shallow-water rig workers who are not eligible to receive compensation from BP PLC for lost wages after a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling was enacted by the government since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in April 2010, a case which is said to represent a gap in the safety nets established to help Gulf Coast residents when some of their critical industries were damaged.

Reports that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed regulations which would require airlines to report all pets, including fish and snakes, that die or are injured in transit. Response of airlines that the term "pets" is too vague, and that they may stop shipping animals; Concerns of animal breeders and pet shop owners that the rules would harm their industries; Perception of animal-rights activists that the regulations would help airlines become more competitive; Requirement of the proposal that airlines monitor the condition of animals they transport and report an injuries or deaths to the FAA.

Discusses the decision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to relax air pollution rules for electric utilities, oil refineries and other industrial sites as of November 2002.

Focuses on the ballot initiatives of different issues offered to voters in the 2002 elections in the U.S.

Reports on the ballot measure in Kentucky to remove state constitutional restrictions on corporations.

Deals with the request given by the Communications Workers of America to the U.S. government to bar WorldCom Inc. from receiving future federal contracts in an effort to punish the company for its accounting scandal.

Reports on the use of the Internet by U.S. high school students for selecting the college of their choice.

Reports on the efforts of officials in Louisiana, Montana and South Carolina in asking voters to approve constitutional amendments to allow more public funds to be invested in stocks in November 2002.

Deals with the concerns raised by several Supreme Court justices in the U.S. about whether overturning a 1998 copyright-extension law would make a mess of the full body of copyright law.

Reports on a copyright case between the music industry and Verizon Communications Inc. as of October 7, 2002.

Presents the results of the evaluation conducted the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on weight-loss advertisements from broadcast and cable television.

The article states that U.S. financial services firm Capital One Financial Corp. agreed in August 2015 to purchase a health-care financing business owned by U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) for $9 billion. The article states that following the completion of the transaction, GE will have sold about $78 billion of financial assets in 2015, and will be closer to reducing the ending net investment of the firm GE Capital. The article presents comments from Capital One commercial bank president Michael Slocum.

The article states that the U.S. central bank the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the agencies the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) informed U.S. banks such as Wells Fargo & Co., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Bank of America Corp. that many large loans issued to oil-and-gas industry firms were substandard as of mid-2015. According to the article, a substandard loan rating indicates that regulators are skeptical about the ability of borrowers to repay or question the value of loan-backing assets.

The article discusses the impact of the June 17, 2015, death of U.S. bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. vice chairman James B. Lee Jr. on the company's leadership group. According to the article, Lee was J.P. Morgan's representative in dealing with corporate executives and had established a significant business partnership with J.P. Morgan chief executive James Dimon. The article presents comments from Dimon.

The article states that U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) was close to an agreement with Canadian pension fund Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to sell its private-equity-lending unit GE Capital loans in June 2015. According to the article, the agreement included assets of over $10 billion. The article states that the sale was part of GE's effort to sell off most of its GE Capital business.

The article reports that investment-banking and securities firm Jefferies Group LLC, a unit of private-equity firm Leucadia National Corp. has made an emergency financing deal with foreign-exchange broker FXCM Inc. Topics include Jefferies' role in a similar 2012 deal with investment service Knight Capital Group Inc. and Jefferies profit from it; the terms of its deal with FXCM; and Jefferies' position in the market.

The article discusses bidding on the Swiss packaging company SIG Combibloc by private equity firm Onex, focusing on how U.S. government regulations have impacted banks' willingness to invest in debt-laden takeovers. Other topics include the financial risk associated with debt-laden deals, the impact of unclear guidelines on lending, and oversight of banks by the U.S. Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The article discusses the reorganization of the energy company Kinder Morgan, focusing on the streamlining of business practices to increase company expansion. Other topics include the economic aspects of a master limited partnership, a brief history of Kinder Morgan, and Kinder Morgan's plans to develop more energy infrastructure.

The article discusses developments on August 5, 2014 regarding a type of merger called a tax inversion that U.S. firms can use to lower their taxes. Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. said its proposed buyout of European counterpart Alliance Boots GmbH would not be an inversion deal. The U.S. Treasury Department said it was looking into ways of restricting firms' ability to undertake inversions.

The article reports that on April 8, 2014 satellite-television service provider DirecTV reached an agreement with the cable-television channel Weather Channel that restores the latter to DirectTV's programming. DirectTV was said to be motivated by a desire to strengthen its relationship with hotel operator Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. DirecTV chief executive Mike White had previously sought a steep cut in the fee DirectTV pays to carry the Weather Channel.

The article reports that on December 10, 2013 food distributor Sysco Corp. announced it would buy rival US Foods for $3.5 billion, thus creating an entity with 27% of the food-distribution market in the U.S. John Graf of hotel operator Priory Hotel expressed concern that the merger would leave Sysco as the sole U.S. distributor able to supply the range of goods his business requires.

The article reports that hedge-fund company SAC Capital Advisors LP is seeking a buyer for SAC Re Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurance company SAC Capital founded in 2012. Hedge-fund firm Pine River Capital Management is among potential buyers SAC Capital has approached. SAC Capital is said to believe that charges filed by the U.S. government against itself and founder Steven A. Cohen would make it challenging for SAC Re to attract clients.

The article discusses the potential acquisition of the luxury retail chain company Neiman Marcus Group Inc. by the companies Ares Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as of September 2013. According to the article, the private-equity firms TPG and Warburg Pincus LLC have been seeking a buyer for Neiman Marcus.

The article discusses plans by Aubrey McClendon, a wildcatter and investor in oil and gas exploration, for equity and debt financing deals as of August 2013. Topics include McClendon's ouster as the chief executive of Chesapeake Energy Corp. in 2013, the purchase of drilling leases in Ohio by McClendon's company American Energy Partners LP, and McClendon's investments in Utica Shale projects.

The article reports that a group of private equity firms including Golden Gate Capital LLC and Bain Capital LLC is expected to announce in May 2013 that they have reached an agreement to buy software company BMC Software Inc. Elliott Management Corp., a shareholder of BMC, has been urging the company to take action to raise its stock price.

The article discusses investment policy as of 2013, with information on activist investors, sometimes called corporate raiders, as an asset class. Topics include investments in activists funds; shareholder activism for increased dividend payments; and campaigns by activist hedge-fund managers David Einhorn and William Ackman.

The article discusses the sale of food company H.J. Heinz Co. to private-equity firm 3G Capital and conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc., led by Warren Buffett. Information is provided on terms of the deal, its total value, and its impact on share prices of Heinz, which increased following the February 14, 2013 announcement. Meetings between 3G Chief Executive Jorge Paulo Lemann and Heinz Chief Executive William Johnson prior to the purchase are also covered, as well as Heinz's finances.

The article reports on the efforts of the stock exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. to find an investment partner, highlighting a potential deal between Nasdaq and the private equity firm Carlyle Group LP. The article also highlights its potential partnerships with the private investor CME Group Inc., the stock trader Ax Trading Group LLC, and the London Stock Exchange Group PLC, and explores how Nasdaq's transition to private ownership would impact its finances.

The article reports that Texas power company Energy Future Holdings Corp., formerly TXU Corp., may be split in 2013 after filing bankruptcy or restructuring its debt. The leveraged buyout of the company by private equity firms is discussed, as well as investment bank Evercore Partners Inc. and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP. The Oncor power distribution subsidiary, liabilities between subsidiaries, and company restructuring are also discussed.

The article reports that power company Energy Futures Holdings Corp. has hired restructuring experts at law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to help it cope with a debt load that totals over $40 billion. Details are presented about the company's performance since private-equity firms KKR & Co. and TPG acquired the firm, then known as TXU Corp., in a 2007 leveraged buyout.

The article discusses the January, 2013 purchase by a group of private-equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management LP of several supermarket chains from Supervalu Inc. including the latter's Albertson's Inc. stores. Commentary is also presented about the 2006 purchase of different portions of the Albertson's chain by Supervalu and Cerberus.

The article discusses the Chinese oil company Cnooc Ltd. and its acquisition of Canada's energy company Nexen Inc. Topics include China's investments in the North American oil industry, regulatory reviews of the deal by the U.S. and Canadian governments, and competition between energy companies in the Gulf of Mexico. INSET: Pumped Up.

The article reports that U.S. natural gas futures fell 5.7 percent on January 12, 2012 to their lowest level since 2009. It is noted that production of natural gas by U.S. energy industries companies increased by 10 percent in 2011 despite a 32 percent decline in prices. A Goodrich Petroleum Corp. decision to burn off the natural gas generated by one its oil wells due to an inability to transport it is used as an example of the excess supply of gas.

The article reports that Kinder Morgan Inc., an operator of pipelines for natural gas, has agreed to buy rival El Paso Corp. for $21.1 billion in stock and cash. A combined entity would become the fourth biggest energy firm in the U.S., and have pipelines extending into almost all major gas-producing areas of the nation.

The article presents news briefs on several topics including the sale of the Revel Casino Hotel in New Jersey to developer Glenn Straub, the withdrawal from sale by retailer Petco of pet treats made in China, and retailer Coach Inc.'s impending acquisition of shoe company Stuart Weitzman.

The article reports that energy company Encana Corp. will buy shale-oil producer Athlon Energy Inc. for $5.93 billion in a deal aimed at boosting oil's proportion of Athlon's total energy output.