New York issues fracking moratorium
New York state officials announced Wednesday a moratorium on fracking, a method of mining for gas and oil, after releasing the results of a year-long study.
The 173-page report, issued by the state Department of Health, found that previous studies on the topic have raised too many questions about the possible effect fracking could have on New York's groundwater, climate and air quality.
"Many of the published reports investigating both environmental impacts that could result in human exposures and health implications of (fracking) activities are preliminary or exploratory in nature," the report reads. "However, the existing studies also raise substantial questions about whether the risks of (fracking) activities are sufficiently understood so that they can be adequately managed."
Fracking, a method of harvesting gas and oil, involves injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand, gravel and chemicals into a well to crack open rock formations. Environmental groups contend the practice taints drinking water supplies and can increase the likelihood of earthquakes in certain areas.
-- Los Angeles Times
Caribbean fund up 29% on Cuba news
The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, a closed-end mutual fund that aims to profit from a resumption of U.S. trade with Cuba, surged the most in almost six years Wednesday.
The $45 million fund jumped 29 percent to $8.78 per unit. The funds' top holdings are Copa Holdings SA, Coca-Cola Femsa SAB and Seaboard Corp.
Obama explained plans Wednesday to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations, which have been strained by a decades-long embargo.
Among the shares held in the fund, Copa advanced 7.2 percent, snapping a seven-day losing streak, to $94.48, while Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd increased 6.6 percent to a record $81.84. American depositary receipts of Mexican bottler Coca-Cola Femsa SAB gained 2.5 percent to $86.30, the most since May 2.
-- Bloomberg News
McDonald's gains after Ackman speaks
Shares of McDonald's Corp. rose the most in nine months Wednesday after activist investor Bill Ackman said the world's largest restaurant chain could be managed better.
The shares advanced $2.93, or 3.3 percent, to close at $91.65 in New York and earlier climbed as much as 3.6 percent for the biggest intraday gain since March 11. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's had fallen 8.6 percent this year through Tuesday.
Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund owned shares in Burger King Worldwide Inc., said in an interview on Bloomberg Television that McDonald's could learn from its smaller rival. He declined to comment on whether he was taking a stake in McDonald's.
"If McDonald's were run like Burger King, the stock would go up a lot," Ackman said.
Burger King completed its acquisition of Canadian chain Tim Hortons this month to form a new company named Restaurant Brands International Inc.
-- Bloomberg News
BlackBerry introduces Classic phone
NEW YORK -- BlackBerry is returning to its roots with a new smartphone called the Classic, featuring a traditional keyboard at a time when rival Apple and Android phones -- and most smartphone customers -- have embraced touch screens.
BlackBerry is courting its core customer: the business user. The physical keyboard is something traditional BlackBerry users prefer because they find it easier to type on than the touch-screen devices. The company is also emphasizing battery life and security as a way to set its phone apart from competitors.
The company is trying to stay relevant on the hardware side of the business as it attempts to pivot toward becoming an enterprise security and consumer software company.
-- The Associated Press
Iron ore shipping costs at 5-year low
Iron ore and shipping costs plunged to the lowest in five years amid signs that China's slowing economic growth and a glut of the commodity are sapping seaborne trade.
China imported 67.4 million tons of iron ore in November, down 15 percent from October, according to customs data. This was the first November decline in China's iron ore imports since 1998. The only other time November imports fell since records began was in 1996.
China's economic growth will slow to 7 percent next year from 7.4 percent in 2014, according to economist forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. The rate to ship the commodity on a Capesize vessel to Qingdao, China, from Tubarao, Brazil, fell 4.4 percent to $12.47 a ton Wednesday, the lowest since Jan. 9, 2009, data from the Baltic Exchange in London show. The South American country's shipments fell 18 percent in November to 26 million tons, the lowest for the time of year since 2010, government data show.
Brazil is the second largest exporter of iron ore in the world after Australia.
-- Bloomberg News
Avon's China subsidiary guilty of bribery
NEW YORK -- Avon Products Inc.'s Chinese subsidiary pleaded guilty to bribing local officials and falsifying records, ending a six-year investigation with a $67.7 million criminal fine and a promise not to violate the law for three years, lest the parent company be prosecuted.
The fine is part of $135 million that the company said in May it would pay to settle criminal and civil claims. The Chinese subsidiary pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, admitting to taking part in a scheme of giving Chinese officials items of value in exchange for benefits.
Avon, based in New York, was among the first companies to obtain a license in China to sell products directly to consumers -- the cornerstone of its business model -- after a ban on direct sales was lifted in 2006. Avon began looking into allegations of improper payments in China in mid-2008, sparked by a whistleblower's letter to then-Chief Executive Officer Andrea Jung.
"Avon China's conduct in this regard was wrong and violated its own policies and the policies of Avon Products Inc.," the company's general counsel, Jeff Benjamin, said at a hearing Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 12/18/2014