June, 2016

• 19 June

  Angst grows over agrochemical mega-mergers

  

    Paris, France / AFP Three mega-mergers in the agrochemical sector, including Bayer and Monsanto, have raised concerns among farmers who fear higher prices and consumers for more genetically-modified food. Even before Bayer successfully woos US-based Monsanto, German civil society has erupted in protest against a national champion acquiring a producer of genetically-modified seeds and Roundup, the world’s leading but also ...

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• 19 June

  Obama touts environmental record in US national parks

  

    AFP President Barack Obama and the first family celebrated America’s cherished natural heritage Saturday during a weekend tour marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s vaunted national park system. Obama, also using the occasion to tout his environmental record, is the first sitting president since John F. Kennedy in 1962 to visit California’s Yosemite National Park. Obama has made ...

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• 19 June

  Olympic host Rio gets emergency funding lifeline from Temer

  

    Bloomberg Brazil’s federal government has agreed to provide emergency funding to Rio de Janeiro state after the host of this year’s summer Olympics declared an emergency as it runs short of cash weeks before the start of the games, O Globo reported. Acting President Michel Temer’s administration will ask Congress to authorize a one-time payment of 2.9 billion reais ...

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• 19 June

  Canadian Solar Inc mulls investing $23million in Brazil panel factory

  

    Bloomberg Canadian Solar Inc., the world’s second-largest solar manufacturer, is building its first plant in Brazil. The facility in Sorocaba, in the state of Sao Paulo, will be able to assemble about 350 megawatts of panels a year, according to Wladimir Janousek, general manager of the company’s Brazil unit. The Guelph, Canada-based solar company is expected to announce that ...

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• 19 June

  Brazil denies extensions on first solar farms amid slump

  

    Bloomberg Brazil has rejected requests from developers seeking more time to complete the country’s first large-scale solar farms, according to two people involved in the matter. The country’s energy regulator Aneel sent a statement to a group of solar developers that have committed to completing solar farms by 2017, denying their request for extensions of as long as two ...

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• 19 June

  California power trader fined $2.4 million for market rigging

    Bloomberg U.S. energy regulators fined trading firm Etracom LLC $2.4 million for engaging in a scheme to rig the California power market. Etracom, a trading company formed in 2008, violated anti-manipulation rules in May 2011 when traders artificially drove down power prices at a point on the grid in eastern central California to reap profits, the Federal Energy Regulatory ...

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• 19 June

  Carmike shareholders should oppose takeover: Glass Lewis

    Bloomberg Carmike Cinemas Inc. shareholders should vote against the proposed $1.1 billion takeover of the movie theater company by AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. recommended in a note. Shareholders should vote against a proposal to approve the takeover as well as payouts to executives and authorization to adjourn a special meeting to give ...

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• 19 June

  Why China isn’t too worried by expanding US-India ties

  

    Walter Andersen / Dániel Balázs SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS US-India ties over the past few years have become increasingly close, but this movement has evoked limited response in China. Beijing’s composure is based on three factors: (1) Indian foreign policy is independent and free of strategic commitments to another countries; (2) India has been cautious in its handling of ...

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• 19 June

  Reality or PR: Russia’s rising ‘soft power’ clout

    Last this week, the London-based PR outfit Portland Communications released its second annual list of nations with the greatest magnitude of “soft power.” Relying on Joseph Nye’s traditional delineation of “soft power” – attraction as influence; the “pull” to hard power’s “push” – the group, patching together a supposed formula, claimed to reveal the 30 nations with the largest ...

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• 19 June

  Asia warns Britain: Don’t quit European union

    Anthony Fensom Asia’s leaders have warned Britain against contemplating a split from the European Union in its June 23 referendum, fearing the consequences for the global economy. With financial markets already showing the ill effects of nervousness over the risk of “Brexit,” global growth forecasts dropping and analysts warning of further fallout, the downside risk to Asia has rapidly ...

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