QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There’s a gearing up on the part of the dark side to take advantage of this end of support.” Sam Glines, Norse CEO, on Microsoft’s decision to end support of the XP operating system Article, 1D
Crude drops as Libyan rebels cede ports
Prices for Brent and West Texas Intermediate crudes fell Monday for the first time in three days after Libyan rebels surrendered control of two oil ports to the government, enabling the OPEC country to increase exports.
Brent dropped as much as 1.4 percent. The self-declared Executive Office for Barqa handed over the oil terminals of Hariga and Zueitina overnight and will relinquish the other two ports they control in two to four weeks, said Ali Al-Hasy, a spokesman for the group.
Libya’s output fell to 250,000 barrels a day in March from 1.4 million a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The possibility that Libyan barrels are returning to the market is weighing on oil,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn. “Rising supplies will drive the market lower.”
Brent for May settlement slid 90 cents to settle Monday at $105.82 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. WTI for May delivery decreased 70 cents to settle at $100.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Libya, the holder of Africa’s biggest crude reserves, has become the smallest producer in the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as rebels seeking self-rule in the eastern region of Cyrenaica halted production and shipments.
Vatican Bank gets conditional ‘carry on’
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis gave his backing Monday to the Vatican Bank to carry on provided it presses ahead with efforts to bring its banking practices up to international standards.
To continue operating, the bank, which has been caught up in money-laundering investigations conducted by Italian judicial authorities, has to make itself more transparent and enact international best banking practices.
The pope’s decision could surprise some observers who had speculated that Francis might pull the plug on the bank, also known as the Institute for Religious Works - last year, Francis noted that “St. Peter didn’t have a bank account” and that some were advising him to close the bank down.
In a statement Monday, the Vatican said, “The valuable services that can be offered by the Institute assist the Holy Father in his mission as universal pastor.” - The Associated Press
Chili’s cancels donation to autism group
NEW YORK - Chili’s is backing away from plans to donate funds to a group that says autism can be triggered by vaccinations, a position discredited by the medical community.
To honor National Autism Awareness month, the restaurant chain had planned on donating a portion of its sales to the National Autism Association. On its website, the group says it thinks that vaccinations can “trigger or exacerbate autism in some, if not many, children.”
The claim that the battery of vaccinations routinely given to infants could lead to autism was spurred by a British study that has since been retracted. Many studies discredit the link.
On Sunday, Chili’s said on its blog that it was canceling the event based on feedback from its guests.
A representative for Brinker International, which owns Chili’s and Maggiano’s and is based in Dallas, did not respond to a request for comment. A call to the National Autism Association, based in Attleboro Falls, Mass., wasn’t returned.
- The Associated Press
31 firms show interest in Sbarro auction
Sbarro Inc., the 800-restaurant U.S. pizza chain in bankruptcy, has seen signs of interest from 31 potential bidders ahead of an auction for which it seeks initial offers by Monday, a financial adviser for the company said.
Of 114 possible buyers contacted, 31 signed confidentiality agreements to learn more about Sbarro, Adam Keil, a managing director at investment bank Moelis & Co., said Friday in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
“I believe the length and breadth of the marketing efforts has been sufficient for all potentially interested parties to know that the business is ‘in play,’” Keil wrote.
Sbarro’s secured lenders already have a proposal to buy the company under a reorganization plan that provides for an auction to test the market for higher bids. The plan has support of holders of 98 percent of secured lender claims, Keil said.
The winning bidder must pay the company’s bankruptcy loans in full and offer at least $500,000 more than the $35 million credit bid made by the secured lenders.
Pork prices rise in Japan after hog virus
TOKYO - The most deadly outbreak of a hog virus in 18 years in Japan is raising pork prices and may increase imports from the biggest buyer, supporting a record rally in Chicago.
The Agriculture Ministry has discovered 186,825 cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea in 251 farms in 19 prefectures since it confirmed the latest outbreak of the contagious disease in October. As many as 39,285 pigs have died, the highest number of fatalities since 1996, Tomoyuki Takeshita at the ministry’s animal health division said Monday.
The U.S., Canada, South Korea and Taiwan have also reported outbreaks. More than 5,000 cases have been reported in the U.S., according to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. American pork production may drop by the most in three decades this year, Rabobank International estimated. Futures climbed 49 percent last quarter, the biggest rally in 15 years, as the virus threatened U.S. production.
“The disease will start having an impact on pork supply from around June, as it spread to Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in December and pigs become ready for slaughter after six months,” said Akio Tamai, a pork and beef markets researcher at Agriculture & Livestock Industries Corp. in Tokyo.
- Bloomberg News
Business, Pages 24 on 04/08/2014