BP denies US allegations of fixing natural gas market
US regulators have told BP to respond to allegations of natural gas market manipulation and threatened the firm with fines of close to $29m (£19m).
BP has 30 days to respond, but said the allegations were "without merit".
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Office of Enforcement alleges the offences took place in the Houston Ship Channel from September to November 2008.
FERC first posted the allegations in 2011 and is stepping up its inquiry.
The regulator claims that BP's Texas-based Southeast Gas Trading desk bought and sold physical gas at the Houston Ship Channel and Katy gas trading hubs, in a way designed to increase the value of BP's financial position.
Specifically, it "alleges that BP accomplished its fraud by using transportation capacity between the two markets uneconomically".
But Geoff Morrell, BP vice-president and head of US communications, said: "BP natural gas traders did not engage in any market manipulation in late 2008.
"BP is disappointed that the FERC has brought this action and we will vigorously defend against these allegations."
Mr Morrell added: "The FERC bases its allegations on a recorded two-minute phone conversation between a BP trainee and BP natural gas trader that the regulator has taken completely out of context.
"The recording does not support any allegation of wrongdoing. In fact, the trainee involved in the conversation states that his characterisation was incorrect and the trader never agrees with nor condones the trainee's statements.
"The trader also reacts strongly to the trainee's comments and interrupts him because the trainee's comments - as the trainee admits on the call - are incorrect and inappropriate.
"The trader also promptly reported the conversation and BP's compliance personnel acted appropriately in examining the trading at issue."
The total potential FERC fines include a penalty of $28m and $800,000 in profits and interest made in the alleged trading.
FERC had its powers boosted in 2005 following the California energy crisis and the Enron scandal.
Last month, it settled a power market manipulation case with JPMorgan Chase for $410m.
It also recently brought charges against Barclays for $453m relating to alleged manipulation of western US energy markets.
Barclays has said it will fight the charges.
HSBC mulls banker pay rises to combat bonus cap rules
HSBC is considering raising its bankers salaries in a bid to limit the impact of new rules which will cap bonuses at a maximum of double their salary.
Chairman Douglas Flint said increasing salaries was "one of the possibilities" of a "whole range of things" the bank was considering to maintain its competitive position.
"We have to be competitive," Mr Flint said, as the bank unveiled a 10% rise in pre-tax profits to $14.1bn (£9.2bn).
The rise came despite revenues falling.
The regulations, implemented by the European Union, will come into force from the start of next year.
Mr Flint said that around 80% of the bank's profits came from non-European markets, making it "very uncomfortable" in regions, such as Asia and the US, where its competitors did not face the same restrictions.
"These legislative changes...could have a highly damaging impact on our competitiveness position in many of our key markets, including those outside Europe," Mr Flint said.
HSBC said it would consult on how to best protect its competitive position.
The bank shaved 13% from its operating costs, helped by the sale of non-core businesses and lower bad debts.
"We have successfully progressed the repositioning of the business," said chief executive Stuart Gulliver.
HSBC is aiming to streamline the bank's operations by focusing on high-growth markets in Asia. The firm said it had closed or sold 11 non-core businesses since the start of the year. In total, it has sold or closed 54 businesses since 2011.
By May, the bank had cut 46,000 jobs. It said that it would reduce its headcount to between 240,000 and 250,000 over the next three years.
The profit was slightly below analysts' expectations and the shares, which have risen by over 40% in the past year, fell more than 3% after the results were issued.
HSBC was boosted by a 35% drop in loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions, compared with the same period last year.
"These results confirm the value which is being delivered from the continuing reshaping of the group and enforcing appropriate cost discipline," added Mr Gulliver.
HSBC said that despite the slower worldwide economic growth currently, it was "well positioned" to take advantage, once it picked up.
HSBC said it would pay a second interim dividend of $0.10 per share, taking the total for the first half to $0.20, up 11% on a year ago.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said all the key figures, including headline profit and return on capital, were either "strong or improving".
"The statement is safe and dependable, as is the current aspiration of banking investors."
South Korean concern as US overturns Apple iPhone ban
The South Korean government has said it is concerned about the US's move to overrule a sales ban of some older Apple and iPad models.
In June, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple infringed a patent of rival Samsung.
President Barack Obama's trade representative then vetoed the decisionbecause of its "effect on competitive conditions in the US economy".
South Korea said the move would affect the protection of patent rights.
It was the first time since 1987 that a presidential administration had vetoed an ITC import ban. The ban was set to take effect on 5 August.
The South Korean media denounced the US move as being "protectionism".
And the South Korean trade ministry said in a statement: "We express concerns about the negative impact that such a decision would have on the protection of patent rights."
It also called on the ITC and the Obama administration to make "fair and reasonable decisions".
Samsung now faces a decision on Friday to decide whether some of its phones and tablets infringed on Apple's patents and should be banned from imports into the US.
Apple and Samsung, the top two global smartphone makers, have been locked in a global patent war since 2011.
The now-overturned patent related to 3G wireless technology and the ability to transmit multiple services correctly and at the same time. The ITC ordered a halt on all imports and sales on AT&T-sold models of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3, iPhone 3GS as well as the iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G.
Some of those devices are no longer on sale in the US.
--BBC
China services sector growth steadies in July
China's services sector expanded slightly in July, an HSBC survey showed, indicating that growth in the sector had steadied.
The HSBC non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 51.3, unchanged from June. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.
The services sector accounts for nearly 43% of China's overall economy.
The data come amid concerns that China's economic growth rate may slow further in the coming months.
The world's second-largest economy has seen its pace of growth slow for two quarters in a row.
"China's service sector has stabilised at a relatively low level of growth," said Qu Hongbin, an economist at HSBC.
HSBC said that new business orders recovered from a 20-month low, but warned that profit margins in the sector continue to be squeezed.
"Without a sustained improvement in demand, services growth is likely to remain lacklustre, putting downside pressures to employment growth."
A similar official survey released over the weekend showed growth in China's non-manufacturing sector quickened in July.
The government's non-manufacturing PMI rose to 54.1 last month from 53.9 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
US employment up by 162,000 in July
The US economy added 162,000 new jobs in July, according to the US Labor Department.
The figure - which measures the number of jobs outside the US farming sector - was below economists' expectations of more than 180,000 and the government also cut its previous estimates for hiring in May and June.
Nonetheless, the new jobs helped the unemployment rate to fall to 7.4%.
That was down from 7.6% and is the lowest jobless rate in four years.
The news adds to the picture of a slowly growing US economy and may make its central bank more likely to end its monetary stimulus programme.
The Federal Reserve is currently buying $85bn a month in bonds which helps to keep borrowing costs low.
However, there is much speculation as to when the Fed will start to rein in this stimulus programme.
Its chairman, Ben Bernanke, has said that it might start cutting down the rate of bond buying by the end of the year and stop altogether by the middle of 2014, depending on the strength of the economy.
Earlier this week, figures showed that the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised pace of 1.7% in the second quarter of the year.
That was up from the growth rate for the first three months of 2013, which was revised lower to 1.1% from 1.8%.
EMANCIPATION DAY MESSAGE BY PREMIER
My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, today we observe August 1st as commemoration of the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1834. I pause to first recognize the sacrifices and efforts of those who have gone before us in the struggle for emancipation, these heroes included our own forefathers and champions for the right to freedom across the region. The historic acts of many were the catalysts for the change that led to the victory of the abolition of slavery.
Today as we celebrate here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we must give God thanks for his small mercies and ask for his deliverance as for us Turks and Caicos Islanders as our “full freedom” is still yet to come. Like our forefathers recognized, the act of emancipation though a significant and important achievement, true or full freedom was not then, and as we have come to learn, is still not fully within our grasp. August 1st merely marks or commemorates the commencement of a period of change, the enactment of legislation and the birth of a new movement. True liberation will only really come when there are changes in attitudes, beliefs and practices across barriers of race, nationality and socio-economic class. As our forefathers fought against the whips and chains, so too must we recognize that our battles still remain to be fought against political subjugation, economic suppression and racial discrimination. So cry out we must continue to do, as the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”.
I celebrate this emancipation day with mixed emotions, as even though we have won many battles, we as an Afro-Caribbean people have not yet won the war for full liberation and I ask the question, is our celebration premature? Many of us Turks and Caicos Islanders and our Caribbean brothers and sisters will forever be scarred by the whips of the colonial slave era, as the far reaching effects of oppression have gravely affected every aspect of our existence even in this 21st century. Where our former masters were compensated for losses of human property, we received nothing hence our foundations for economic instability and our continued dependence on former empires in one way or another. The fight for literacy, education, justice and socioeconomic parity continues to be an uphill struggle across the region and where our sister territories speak of scars of Colonialism, some of us are still bleeding from wounds more recently inflicted. The CARICOM position on Reparation as a means of easing the pain and erasing the burden and the recent book by Professor Sir Hilary McD. Beckles, “Britain’s Black Debt” speak to our claims as a region for recompense.
Many acclaimed historians, psychologists, musicians, politicians and social activists have attributed the fact that many Caribbean people and Caribbean nations are yet to achieve their maximum potential as a direct result of the damage dealt by slavery. It is essential that we as a people recognize that the power for change lies within us and that the truth is that we must first become the change that we seek by overcoming personal challenges of self-hatred as a race and as a people. We must seek to destroy on a personal level, feelings of envy and jealousy for our own brothers and sisters and to instead together build each other up. If we are to prosper and be dominant as a nation and as a region we must not allow our own lack of self-regard to be the specter of slavery that this generation falls prey to. In the words of the great Bob Marley “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”.
My Turks and Caicos Islanders, as a people we must first understand the true meaning of liberation; we must next continue the fight to determine the destiny of our nation and the destiny of our people. Jose Marti said “The first duty of a man is to think for himself”, and until that time comes when we are the ones to make our own decisions in our best interests we will not be free! Another great philosopher said, ”It is better to die on one’s feet than to live on ones knees” so until that time comes when we are no longer told that we cannot survive unless we are still a dependent territory, we will not be free! Until we believe in ourselves as people and a nation and until we believe that Almighty God will guide and protect us all as a new nation we cannot be truly free!
Let us liberate our minds, our spirits and our nation as we move each other forward into the promise of our future. I leave you with these words to reflect upon today and charge you to be reminded of the true meaning of this day, as it speaks to how much still remains for us to accomplish as a people as we aspire to reach our goal of true freedom.
May god bless us and may God bless these our Turks and Caicos Islands.
Dr. The Hon. Rufus W. Ewing
Premier
Dell shares jump 5.5% as board agrees to new buyout offer
Dell's shares have risen 5.5% after the firm's board accepted a new buyout offer from founder Michael Dell.
The latest proposal add a one-off payment of 13 cents a share to last week's $13.75 a share offer.
Mr Dell, together with investment firm Silver Lake, is trying to buy back the computer giant he founded in 1984.
Shareholders had been due to vote on Friday on the offer, but the addition of the dividend means a new proposal has to be drafted and put to them.
They will now vote at a special meeting on 12 September.
Resistance
Mr Dell, who owns 16% of the company he founded while still at college, wants to reorganise the business which has been moving away from making computers and into providing technology services.
But shareholders have been resisting, led by billionaire Carl Icahn, who has argued that Mr Dell has undervalued the company.
Mr Icahn has an 8.7% stake in the company and is trying to take control of the company along with Southeastern Asset Management.
On Thursday, he began a legal challenge to Mr Dell's plans.
The bid, excluding the one-off payment, values the company at $24.5bn (£16bn).
--BBC
US regulators demand clamp down on Apple e-book contracts
US regulators have called for Apple to be forced to cancel certain e-book contracts with major publishers.
They added Apple should be hit with a five-year ban on entering distribution contracts deemed anti-competitive.
The move follows a court ruling in July that Apple conspired with five firms to fix the price of e-books.
The court found Apple had encouraged publishers to set the price of their e-books, rather than allowing retailers to decide the price.
Prosecutors said this was aimed at Amazon - a rival e-book retailer that charged lower prices than Apple was able to offer.
As a result, Amazon's typical price of $9.99 for a best-seller rose to $12.99 or $14.99 after the launch of the iPad, they said.
Following the court ruling Apple said it would appeal against and fight "false allegations".
The Department of Justice and 33 State Attorneys General submitted their 'remedy' to the court ahead of a hearing on 9 August.
"The court found that Apple's illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices," said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
"Under the department's proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future."
The regulators also called for Apple to offer links to other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble for two years, so consumers who bought e-books on their iPads and iPhones could compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors.
They said this would "reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy".
The publishers who had such contracts with Apple were Hachette Book Group (USA), HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Simon & Schuster.
Penguin settled its case for $75m (£49m). Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster created a $69m fund for refunds to consumers, while Macmillan settled for $26m.
Johnson & Johnson fined in China monopoly case
The healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has become the latest foreign company to be accused of misconduct in China.
A ruling by a Shanghai court ordered the US company to pay $85,000 (£56,000) to a local distributor for violating anti-monopoly laws.
Two subsidiaries of the company were accused of setting a minimum price for the sale of surgical instruments.
Multinationals have faced increased scrutiny from the Chinese authorities.
Last month, two foreign milk suppliers announced price cuts after the government launched an investigation into possible price-fixing.
Four Chinese executives from the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline have also been detained after being accused of paying bribes.
The Chinese authorities are sensitive to consumer prices as the cost of living continues to surge.
Some business analysts say that foreign companies are being targeted to shore up the market share for their Chinese competitors.
The Shanghai court overturned a judgment by a lower court that cleared the Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries.
The judge said the ruling was intended to protect consumers and the public interest.
He said the $85,000 damages were intended to compensate the distributor, Rainbow Medical, for lost sales.
It was denied access to further products by the suppliers after being told it was selling medical equipment too cheaply.
Rainbow Medical brought the case to court with a demand for $2.2m compensation.
It expressed disappointment at the size of the award.
US in worldwide travel alert after 'al-Qaeda threat'
The US state department has issued a global travel alert because of an unspecified al-Qaeda threat.
In a statement, the department said the potential for an attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa.
It comes shortly after the US announced nearly two dozen embassies and consulates would be shut on Sunday.
The alert expires on 31 August 2013, the department said. It recommended US citizens travelling abroad be vigilant.
"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the statement said.
The alert warned of "the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure".
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the British embassy in Yemen is to be closed on Sunday and Monday as "a precautionary measure".
US President Barack Obama has ordered that "all appropriate steps" be taken to protect Americans in response to a threat of an al-Qaeda attack, AFP news agency quoted a White House official as saying.
"The president is being updated on a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," the official added.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said that congressional leaders had been briefed about the alert.
"There is some understanding of the seriousness of the threat," she told reporters.
Republican lawmaker Jason Chaffetz said he understood there was "a very real worldwide threat".
Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the threat was not prompted by "the regular chit chat" gleaned from would-be militants online or elsewhere.
"The most important thing we have to do is protect American lives," he told the Associated Press news agency.
An unnamed senior US official told NBC the threat may be related to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends next week.
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In the Muslim world, Sunday is a work day. In other parts of the world US diplomatic offices are shut on Sunday.
"It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well," a senior state department official told the BBC.
Source-BBC