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The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) is struggling to curb methane emissions despite efforts to identify and notify countries and companies about methane plumes. While world leaders and fossil fuel executives have pledged to reduce methane emissions, data shows that emissions from the fossil fuel industry remain close to record levels. IMEO's efforts to pinpoint methane sources have led to some companies taking action, but progress remains slow, highlighting the challenges in quickly addressing observed leaks. The urgency to curb methane emissions is crucial in slowing global warming, but significant improvements in technical capacity and strengthening of emissions reduction mandates are needed to achieve global targets. [Extracted from the article]

Jonathan Braun, a loan shark who was freed from prison by former President Donald Trump, has been arrested on charges of assaulting his wife and his 75-year-old father-in-law. Braun was also charged with evading bridge tolls and assaulting his wife on two occasions. Trump's commutation of Braun's sentence in 2021 drew attention, as Braun had served only two and a half years of a ten-year sentence for running a marijuana-smuggling ring. Braun's aggressive behavior and threats towards borrowers were also highlighted in court filings. [Extracted from the article]

Film producer David Ellison has made an offer to acquire Paramount Global, which includes a cash payout option for nonvoting shareholders at around $15 per share. The offer is for approximately 40% of the shares, with the remaining stock rolling over into the new company. Ellison's proposal aims to take over Paramount through a multi-step process, including buying out the Redstone family's controlling stake and merging his company, Skydance Media, with Paramount. The deal is currently being discussed and valued at $4.75 billion for Skydance. Paramount's annual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. [Extracted from the article]

Film producer David Ellison has made an offer to acquire Paramount Global, which includes a cash payout option for nonvoting shareholders at around $15 per share. This offer represents a premium of approximately 26% over the closing price on Friday. Ellison's proposal aims to take over Paramount through a multi-step process, including buying out the Redstone family's controlling stake and merging his company, Skydance Media, into Paramount. The decision now rests with Shari Redstone, Paramount's chair and the majority owner of the voting stock. [Extracted from the article]

Film producer David Ellison has made an offer for Paramount Global that includes a $15 per share cash payout option for nonvoting shareholders. This offer represents a 26% premium to the closing price on Friday. Ellison is seeking to take over Paramount through a multi-step process that involves buying out the Redstone family's controlling stake and merging his company into Paramount. A special committee of Paramount shareholders has recommended Ellison's latest terms, and the final decision rests with Shari Redstone, Paramount's chair. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on Jonathan Braun, a predatory lender and drug smuggler who was granted clemency by U.S. President Donald Trump just before he left office in January 2021. The authors describe how Braun operates his lending business and the legal procedure called prejudgment attachment that is used by companies associated with Braun to collect debts. They find it difficult for New York to collect 77 million dollars in default judgment from Braun over his lending practices.

The article focuses on the scientists and environmental activists who are working to find methane gas leaks in America's largest oil field, known as the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and plug them up before they further impact global warming and climate change.

This article discusses the connection between hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman and a predatory lender called Delta Bridge Funding. Cooperman's foundation has invested over $100 million with Basepoint Capital, a private credit firm that funneled money to Delta Bridge. Delta Bridge is accused of engaging in illegal lending practices, charging interest rates as high as 820% per year. Cooperman claims to have no knowledge of Delta Bridge and its activities. The article highlights the risks associated with the private credit market and the potential for wealthy investors to unknowingly support predatory lending operations. [Extracted from the article]

Johnson & Johnson's children's cough syrup, Benylin Paediatric Syrup, was found to contain unsafe levels of a toxic industrial solvent and was sold in six African countries, including South Africa, where it was manufactured. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has recalled two batches of the syrup that were contaminated. J&J's consumer health division, which includes the factory producing Benylin, was spun off into a separate company called Kenvue Inc. No reports of illness or death have been reported. This incident is the ninth known case of industrial solvents being found in children's syrup medication in recent years. [Extracted from the article]

A Republican congressman, Representative Zach Nunn, has written a letter to the Treasury Department inquiring about the handling of American Club, a US insurance company that allegedly insured tanker ships carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. Nunn referenced a Bloomberg report that revealed American Club had covered 21 vessels suspected of transporting illicit Iranian oil, more than any of its larger competitors. The Treasury Department, responsible for overseeing sanctions, requires insurers to monitor whether the ships they cover are engaged in sanctioned activities. Nunn has asked the Treasury Department to investigate American Club's involvement in the sale of illicit Iranian oil and to explain its broader efforts to ensure American businesses comply with sanctions. American Club has stated that its compliance program is robust and that it would never knowingly insure a ship violating sanctions. The Treasury Department has not yet responded to the inquiry. [Extracted from the article]

Yellowstone Capital, a pioneer in high-risk lending known as merchant cash advance, has been sued by New York's attorney general for $1.4 billion. The lawsuit alleges that Yellowstone made illegal loans to small businesses, lending money at rates that exceeded usury limits. The company claimed that these rules did not apply because the transactions were considered "advances" on future revenue rather than loans. New York is also suing other companies and individuals associated with Yellowstone, seeking the recovery of interest and fees, as well as a lifetime ban from the industry for one of the founders. Yellowstone has previously faced settlements and lawsuits related to deceptive practices. [Extracted from the article]

Diversified Energy Co., the largest owner of US oil and natural gas wells, is facing criticism from short seller Snowcap Research. Snowcap claims that Diversified may struggle to meet obligations to plug inactive wells and that its debt load may prevent it from paying dividends. Diversified denies these allegations, stating that the report contains inaccuracies and is designed to negatively impact the company's share price. Snowcap, which focuses on environmental, social, and governance matters, has previously targeted other companies for improvement. Democrats on the US House Energy and Commerce Committee have also raised similar concerns about Diversified. [Extracted from the article]

House Democrats have launched an inquiry into Diversified Energy Co., the largest owner of US oil and gas wells, expressing concerns about the company's business model and its impact on taxpayers and the environment. The Democrats, led by New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone, have requested documents and information from Diversified regarding its methane emissions and business practices. Diversified specializes in purchasing old, unproductive wells and keeping them operational, which could result in the company abandoning thousands of wells and leaving cleanup costs to state governments. The company is also a significant methane emitter despite not being a top gas producer. [Extracted from the article]

House Democrats have launched an investigation into Diversified Energy Co., the largest owner of oil and gas wells in the US, citing concerns about the company's business model and its impact on taxpayers and the environment. The Democrats, led by New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone, have requested documents and information from Diversified regarding its methane emissions and business practices. Diversified specializes in buying old, unproductive wells and keeping them operational, which could result in significant cleanup costs and methane leaks. The company owns approximately 65,000 wells and was the fourth-largest methane emitter among oil and gas producers in 2022. [Extracted from the article]

The article reports on the issue of traffic accidents involving autonomous vehicles. It mentions the Autopilot safety feature in Tesla automobiles which manages potential hazards, the question of whether autonomous vehicles must be perfect before they are allowed on the road, and the views of Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk on the value of Autopilot.

The article discusses efforts by banks known as heartbeat trades to help exchange-traded funds (ETFs) evade capital gains taxes in the U.S. Topics include comparisons between mutual funds and ETFs in relation to tax law, particular concerns of index fund ETFs, and the relation of heartbeat trades to customer relations.

(Bloomberg) -- Jonathan Braun, the predatory lender freed from prison by former President Donald Trump, has been temporarily banned from the loan business by a New York judge. Braun and anyone working for him may not participate in business lending or collect on loans or advances, state Supreme Court Judge Andrew Borrok said in a Sept. 1 order. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization issued a global alert about a cold medicine made in India and sold in Iraq that was contaminated with toxic chemicals. The Cold Out sample was one of 33 Indian-made syrup bottles tested by Valisure as part of a Bloomberg investigation into the global trade in unsafe drugs. [Extracted from the article]

Contradicting an earlier statement from the Iraqi health ministry, Younis said the product had been authorized for import and sale throughout the country after receiving approval from Kurdistan. (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi health authorities are recalling an Indian-made cold syrup that Bloomberg News found to be tainted with a toxic chemical, according to an official in the nation's Kurdistan region. [Extracted from the article]

Valisure works with health-care companies including Kaiser Permanente to test drug products for quality. In response to the contamination episodes that came to light over the past year, Indian drug authorities in June began requiring the testing of cough syrups in a government lab prior to export. (Bloomberg) -- A cold medication made in India and sold in Iraq is tainted with toxic chemicals, a test commissioned by Bloomberg News shows, the latest in a series of alarming revelations about syrup medicines used by children around the world. [Extracted from the article]

A director at Riemann Labs Pvt. Ltd., an Indian drugmaker, told Bloomberg last month that the medicine which appeared in a photo obtained from Cameroonian health officials "looked like" Riemann medicine. (Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization said that a brand of children's medicine sold in Cameroon had more than 200 times the acceptable amount of toxic diethylene glycol. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The Indian manufacturer of a paracetamol syrup found to have been tainted with ethylene glycol in West Africa has defended its products, according to Reuters. The head of Liberia's medicine regulator, Keturah Smith-Chineh, told Bloomberg days later that no illness had been reported from the consumption of the medicine. [Extracted from the article]

Photographs of a box of Naturcold medication show a manufacturing license number matching that of Riemann Labs Pvt. Ltd., based in Indore in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. (Bloomberg) -- A variety of cough syrup suspected by Cameroonian authorities of killing a dozen children in the central African country in recent months bears markings indicating it was made in India. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Liberia joined a list of countries that have found contaminated medicine originating from India's $42 billion drugmaking industry. The West African nation confiscated 250 cartons of Para Clear, a children's paracetamol syrup made by an Ahmedabad-based manufacturer, after testing showed it contained toxic ethylene glycol, according to Liberian and Nigerian health officials. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Liberia has joined the list of countries that have found contaminated medicine originating from India's $42 billion drugmaking industry. The West African nation confiscated 250 cartons of Para Clear, a children's paracetamol syrup made by an Ahmedabad-based manufacturer, after testing showed that it contained toxic ethylene glycol, according to Liberian and Nigerian health officials. [Extracted from the article]

Court records show cash-advance firms have used the tactic hundreds of times. (Bloomberg) -- Lawmakers in Connecticut this week moved to end a powerful debt-collection tactic that allows lenders to lock up the bank accounts of small businesses across the country. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Tainted syrup medicine imported from India was the cause of an outbreak of kidney failure that killed more than 60 children in the West African nation of Gambia last year, according to a report by a team of international experts seen by Bloomberg. "The outbreak of AKI in children in the Gambia is attributable to medicines contaminated with DEG/EG", the committee concluded, referring to the two contaminants, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. [Extracted from the article]

LaForte and a group of others have been ordered to pay $219 million after settling a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit claiming his company, Par Funding, defrauded 1,200 investors, according to an FBI complaint filed Monday in federal court in Philadelphia. (Bloomberg) -- A lawyer attempting to collect millions of dollars from Joseph LaForte, the former boss of one of the nation's largest merchant cash advance companies, was ambushed and beaten on a Philadelphia street, apparently with a flashlight, the FBI said. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- An Indian drug maker blamed for the deaths of 20 children in Uzbekistan produced multiple batches of tainted cough syrup over more than a year, according to data from export records and the World Health Organization. In India, state and federal drug safety regulators conducted an inspection at Marion's plant last month after hearing from their counterparts in Uzbekistan. [Extracted from the article]

The article looks at corporate inversions, or the shift of a U.S. corporation's headquarters to another country on paper to avoid U.S. tax liability. It recounts the invention of the inversion as a tax avoidance strategy by attorney John Carroll Jr. and Charles Kraus, a financial executive at construction and engineering firm McDermott, in the 1980s. Topics include the U.S. Congress's unsuccessful attempts to prohibit inversions and recent inversions including fast food company Burger King.

"Among Democratic governors that have adopted oil and gas air methane regulations, Pennsylvania has put forward the worst rule in the nation", Garrington said. (Bloomberg) -- Pennsylvania is in the final stages of approving a new rule that would crack down on methane emissions from older oil and gas infrastructure, while exempting a vast number of low-producing wells. [Extracted from the article]

The article reports that more than $1 billion in United States (U.S.) federal aid money from the Small Business Administration (SBA) may have gone to phantom companies. The authors discuss the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grants approved during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and explore how they were fraudulently taken.

Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Diversified told investors its emissions had fallen, while the numbers it disclosed to regulators showed an increase. (Bloomberg) -- Diversified Energy Co. will increase the number of defunct oil and gas wells that it plugs each year and invest $15 million to find and fix leaks along its assets, executives told investors during a presentation Wednesday. [Extracted from the article]

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules require companies to inspect oil and gas wells regularly for leaks, but those rules apply only to new facilities. A representative for EOG said the company believes its methane-emissions performance in the Permian "compares favorably against others in the industry" and that it would review the data for accuracy. Keywords: EOG; ET; TRGP; BASIC; BUSINESS; CHM; CLIMATE; CMD; COS; GEN; GOV; INDUSTRIES; MARKETS; NORTHAM; NRG; OIL; SCIENCE; US; WORLD EN EOG ET TRGP BASIC BUSINESS CHM CLIMATE CMD COS GEN GOV INDUSTRIES MARKETS NORTHAM NRG OIL SCIENCE US WORLD When researchers flew over an Energy Transfer LP facility in the Permian Basin of West Texas two months ago, a NASA-designed sensor on their airplane detected a colossal plume of methane pouring into the air. [Extracted from the article]

The IRS has long contended that Renaissance mischaracterized profits from its flagship Medallion Fund, using a complex options arrangement to transform short-term capital gains into long-term gains, which are taxed at a lower rate. Read more: RenTech's Billion-Dollar Tax Cloud Darkens After IRS Ruling Under the terms of the deal, Simons and six other current and former members of Renaissance's board will pay 100% of the additional tax that would have been due if they had characterized the gains as short-term, as the IRS said they should. [Extracted from the article]

The IRS has long contended that Renaissance mischaracterized profits from its flagship Medallion Fund, using a complex options arrangement to transform short-term capital gains into long-term gains, which are taxed at a lower rate. Under the terms of the deal, Simons and six other current and former members of Renaissance's board will pay 100% of the additional tax that would have been due if they had characterized the gains as short-term, as the IRS said they should. [Extracted from the article]