Oil prices slip as rigs go online in U.S.
NEW YORK -- A rising U.S. rig count and continuing uncertainty over the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' strategy to extend supply cuts pushed oil prices lower following a week in which they hit their highest close in more than two years.
Futures slid as much as 2.4 percent in New York after rising 1.6 percent Friday to the most since June 2015. Russia and OPEC, partners in the oil-cuts deal, have crafted the outline of an agreement to extend curbs to the end of next year, according to people involved in the discussions, which begin Thursday in Vienna. But doubts remain over the size of the reductions after the current accord expires in March, as well as which exit strategy the group will adopt.
Meanwhile, drillers targeting crude in the U.S. added nine rigs last week.
Oil has advanced about 23 percent since the start of September on speculation that OPEC and its allies will prolong output reductions to drain a global glut. Russia and OPEC are still hammering out crucial details for an extension, the people involved in the conversations said last week. Russia wants the deal to include new language that would link the size of the curbs to the health of the oil market, they said.
-- Bloomberg News
EU approves 5 years of glyphosate use
BRUSSELS -- The European Union voted Monday to extend its authorization for the world's best-selling herbicide for an abbreviated period of five years in the face of opposition from several member states, including France and Italy.
The herbicide, glyphosate, is the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup and in weedkillers made by other companies. It has been the subject of an unusually lengthy and contentious review process in Europe amid claims and counterclaims about its risk of causing cancer.
Agrochemical companies have criticized the review process as driven more by politics than science after it became clear that the weedkiller's use would not be reauthorized for the 15 years typical for such chemicals, or even for 10 years. Environmental advocates have said that the agrochemical industry has tainted scientific reviews in Europe by meddling in them.
With the herbicide's registration set to expire next month, 18 of the union's member states voted in favor of extending its use for five years, nine voted against the proposal and one abstained. The vote was weighted by population size.
-- The New York Times
Texas' wind-power capacity tops coal
HOUSTON -- Wind power capacity has surpassed that of coal in Texas.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas says that the start of commercial operations at a 155-megawatt wind farm in West Texas this month pushed the state's wind power capacity to more than 20,000 megawatts. That surpasses the 19,800 megawatts of capacity from coal-fired power plants.
While the nonprofit corporation, which oversees 90 percent of the state's grid, still gets most of its power from natural gas and coal, wind power generation now accounts for 15 percent of the power mix -- up from just 2 percent a decade ago.
Joshua Rhodes of the University of Texas' Energy Institute in Austin says he expects the state's wind farms to generate more power than its coal mines by 2019.
-- The Associated Press
Payday lender chief convicted of fraud
PHILADELPHIA -- The head of a multimillion-dollar payday lending enterprise has been convicted in Philadelphia of federal racketeering conspiracy and fraud charges.
The Inquirer of Philadelphia reports Charles Hallinan and his company lawyer were found guilty Monday.
Prosecutors say Hallinan evaded state regulations by using American Indian tribes and a bank as fronts so he could charge interest rates of more than 700 percent on the short-term loans.
Authorities say he preyed on consumers while his businesses took in hundreds of millions of dollars between 2008 and 2013 under names such as Easy Cash, My Payday Advance and Instant Cash USA.
Hallinan's attorney has said he acted within the law. The 76-year-old Hallinan is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
-- The Associated Press
Investors flock to bitcoin-trading firm
SAN FRANCISCO -- The number of individual investors opening bitcoin accounts is skyrocketing as the cryptocurrency surges toward $10,000.
Coinbase, one of the most popular platforms for trading cryptocurrencies, has added at least 300,000 users since Wednesday, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, according to data collected by Alistair Milne, co-founder of the Altana Digital Currency Fund.
The San Francisco-based company had 13.3 million users as of Sunday, up from 13.0 million on Wednesday and 10.6 million two months ago. The company has almost tripled its customer base in the past year. Coinbase's mobile app was trending Monday in Apple's app store, where it ranks at No. 4 under the finance category.
Bitcoin blew past $9,700 Monday, just a week after topping $8,000, as it gains mainstream market attention and defies bubble warnings.
-- Bloomberg News
700 ex-beef workers seek financial aid
DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. -- A South Dakota meat producer has received 700 applications for aid from former workers.
The Dakota Dunes-based company in September set up a $10 million fund for employees who lost jobs when the company closed three plants in 2012 over reports of a beef product critics dubbed "pink slime."
Rich Jochum, Beef Products Inc. general counsel, told the Sioux City Journal the applications will be reviewed to determine how much aid former employees will receive.
The company laid off about 750 workers and closed plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa in 2012, saying ABC's coverage of the producer's lean, finely textured beef product misled consumers into believing the product is unsafe. ABC stood by its reporting.
BPI sued ABC for defamation. Terms of a June settlement are confidential.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 11/28/2017