melyndaxfederic-blog

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Newsweek’s green giants

Newsweek today released its third annual Green Rankings, a leading benchmark for rating the largest publicly owned companies in the United States and around the world. Again this year they divided the rankings into two surveys, the top U.S. companies and the top global companies, this year increasing the number of global companies to 500 from 100. By far it’s tech companies leading the packs, from IBM (who scored #1 and #2 on U.S. and the Global lists respectively) to Hewlett-Packard, BT Group and Infosys among others. Newsweek’s comprehensive online package includes articles to mull including Cary Krosinsky’s report that companies and their shareholders “make out like bandits when they’re environmentally responsible” and a closer look at “Obama’s Big Green Mess” by Daniel Stone and Eleanor Clift as well as other nuggets on the state of green business in faltering economies and abandoned plans for policy reform at the governmental level. “Big companies have decided that this is a long-term play,” Thomas Lyon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business is quoted as saying in Ian Yarett’s intro. Newsweek partnered with environmental research groups Trucost and Sustainalytics to put together the benchmark, and the methodology combines an environmental impact score, an environmental management score, and an environmental disclosure score. Newsweek’s top 10 green U.S. companies: 1. IBM 2. Hewlett-Packard 3. Sprint Nextel 4. Baxter 5. Dell 6. Johnson & Johnson 7. Accenture’ 8. Office Depot 9. CA Technologies 10. Nvidia Newsweek’s top 10 green global companies: 1. Munich Re 2. IBM 3. National Australia Bank 4. Bradesco 5. ANZ Banking Group 6. BT Group 7. Tata Consultancy Services 8. Infosys 9. Philips 10. Swisscom (Photo above shows a worker behind a logo at the IBM stand on the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover, February 26, 2011.

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Peabody says China clears $4.7 bln Macarthur takeover bid

Chinese regulatory approval was required because China is a major customer of pulverised coal injection (PCI) metallurgical coal and Macarthur controls a substantial slice of that market."This action from MOFCOM now clears the way for us to complete this transaction in a timely manner," said Peabody Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Gregory H. Boyce.Peabody and ArcelorMittal have extended their takeover bid to Oct. 28.Macarthur has accepted a sweetened offer from Peabody and Arcelor after failing to find a rival bidder.PEAMCoal currently has a 22.7 percent stake in Macarthur.

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Pakistanis wonder what more they can do in war on militancy

A mortar bomb shredded him from the waist down as he led an advance against Taliban fighters in 2007 in Pakistan's unruly northwestern tribal areas on the Afghan border.Instead of enjoying full retirement benefits, he underwent rehabilitation, was given artificial limbs and returned as a commander to a desk job in the militant-infested region where he was wounded."What more can Pakistanis do?," asked Rehman, 35.That question has often strained ties between Washington and Islamabad, but it has been posed far more frequently since U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in May in a Pakistani town, where he had apparently been living for years.Admiral Mike Mullen said before retiring as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last month that a militant group that had attacked U.S. targets in Afghanistan was a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence.Then President Barack Obama put Pakistan on notice that it must go after militants or risk severing ties to the United States, the source of billions of dollars in aid.Pakistan denies links with militant groups and says it has sacrificed more than any other country that joined the U.S. "war on terror" after the September 11, 2001 attacks.Officials say more than 3,000 Pakistani soldiers have been killed, greater than the combined death toll among NATO forces in Afghanistan. Nearly 10,000 have been wounded."Imagine how the U.S. would react if such a number had lost their lives and then comments would come from other countries, which said that, 'You are the problem, you are part of the problem'," Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in an interview with an American radio program.For the relatives of soldiers killed in battles against the militants, the charges are especially outrageous.LIVING ON MEMORIESCaptain Omerzeb Afzal Baig and two other soldiers died in the prime of their lives when their vehicle was blown apart in May 2009 by a remote-controlled roadside bomb planted by the Taliban.His father sits proudly in the family living room beside a large photograph of Omerzeb in military gear, taken two hours before his death in a quick reactionary force mission he had volunteered to lead."Look at his smartness, look at the way he is smiling, right in the battlefield area. Look at the way that he is all prepared," said Muhammad Afzal Baig, himself a retired colonel."Do you see anything like worries on his face? Not a single wrinkle. He is all prepared; he is fully charged, and that is what a Pakistani soldier is made of."The United States wants Pakistan to crack down on militants who cross its border to attack Western forces in Afghanistan.But although it has one of the largest militaries in the world, Islamabad says its hands are full fighting militants who attack government and civilian targets in Pakistan.At a military rehabilitation hospital in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, amputees are surprisingly frank about how vulnerable troops have become to the Taliban militants, described as masters of guerrilla warfare, with plenty of firepower and precision."You just don't know what to expect. When you launch an attack they can hit you from any side," said wheelchair-bound private Zaheer Abbas, recalling how he flew up in the air after stepping on a home-made Taliban bomb."Everyday, they are growing in number. The situation is getting worse."PARALYSISCritics say Pakistan is partly to blame for the chaos because it nurtured militant groups for years and used them as proxies in Afghanistan or against rival India - creating a Frankenstein in its own back yard.Pakistani officials blame U.S. policies - such as the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan - for the instability. Thousands of militants fled from Afghanistan to northwest Pakistan at that time and formed alliances with other fighters.Nowadays, Islamabad complains that Washington is ungrateful no matter how many losses Pakistan suffers battling militants in the border region. Many of its soldiers are determined to see the battle through.Private Ansar Javed for instance. During a three-hour battle to reach a Taliban position in May, the 24-year-old slowly made his way up a mountain, dodging incoming rockets and grenades.Then, in an instant, a sniper's bullet struck the front of his neck, causing paralysis from the waist down. He is barely able to move his arms and has no control over his bowels."We are doing everything we can. We have to finish them off," he said, speaking from a hospital bed."We don't need anyone's help," he added bitterly, referring to the United StatesThe tense alliance between the two nations is likely to come under more stress, with stepped up demands from the United States for Pakistan to take decisive action against militants - including those Pakistan regards as assets.Washington hopes to stabilize the region as much as possible by the end the of 2014, when all NATO troops are due home from Afghanistan. For Pakistan, any relationship with the militants in Afghanistan will be a vital lever after the withdrawal.The calculations mean little for people like Sahib Khan Awan, who has already given his oldest son, Faiz Sultan, to the cause of stamping out militancy.The lieutenant hurled grenades into a Taliban bunker killing 30 fighters before he was shot repeatedly in the chest. When his son's commander phoned him with the tragic news, Sahib asked just one question."I said, 'Tell me where did my son receive the bullets'? If the bullets are in his back, then just bury him there. If he has bullets in his chest, then bring him to my village," he said, explaining that only cowards run from the enemy."The commander told me, 'Congratulations. Your son has received 22 bullets in his chest'."That same day Sahib signed up his other son to help fight the Taliban.

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House panel subpoenas failed gun sting documents

Escalating the battle between Holder and the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, the panel subpoenaed the Justice Department seeking voluminous information from senior administration officials.The committee has been investigating how the operation, run out of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Phoenix office, failed to track guns after they were bought by suspected suppliers to the Mexican cartels.The ATF is part of the Justice Department headed by Holder. The operation had been designed to crack down on the flow of weapons to violent drug cartels."The documents this subpoena demands will provide answers to questions that Justice officials have tried to avoid since this investigation began eight months ago," said Republican Representative Darrell Issa, chairman of the oversight panel.Guns bought in the operation, which began in late 2009 and was dubbed "Fast and Furious," were found at crime scenes on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Two weapons were discovered at the scene of a shootout in which a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed. It is not known whether they fired the fatal bullets.The committee subpoenaed communications to and from Holder, his deputies, ATF officials, federal prosecutors in Arizona on the case and White House officials related to the operation.Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said that they have been willing to work with the committee to answer legitimate questions. "However, this subpoena shows that Chairman Issa is more interested in generating headlines than in real oversight important to the American people," she said.INVESTIGATIVE REPORTSThe subpoena also sought investigative reports from various Justice Department agencies and information about weapons found where the Border Patrol agent was killed.This is the second subpoena issued in the congressional investigation. The first was issued earlier this year to the ATF seeking documents and communications about the program and the death of the agent.Republicans have questioned who approved the operation and tactics that allowed guns to be smuggled to the drug cartels in Mexico. Holder had denied knowing about the operation or tactics until earlier this year when the scandal erupted.Issa has accused several Justice Department officials of knowing earlier about the operation and tactics, pointing to memos addressed to Holder and others that broadly referred to it.However, so far no evidence has emerged that Holder or the head of the agency's criminal division, Lanny Breuer, knew specifically about the operation or tactics before this year.Holder and Issa have engaged in heated exchanges via letters, with each side questioning the other's political motives. The Justice Department's inspector general is also investigating the matter.

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ACÇÕES PORTUGAL-PSI20 em queda, Europa olha voto Eslováquia

* Os principais índices europeus caem entre 0,3 pct e 1 pct.* O índice PSI20 cede 0,68 pct para 6.021,28 pontos, com 17 títulos em queda, dois em queda e um estável, tendo-se negociado 8,8 milhões de acções ou 9,1 ME, na NYSE Euronext Lisbon .* A Portugal Telecom recua 1,28 pct para 5,41 euros, a EDP-Energias de Portugal perde 0,99 pct para 2,401 euros e a Brisa devaloriza 1,45 pct para 2,65 euros.* Na banca, o Banco Espírito Santo perde 1,22 pct para 1,946 euros, o BPI recua 1,65 pct para 0,655 euros, o Millennium bcp cai 1,71 pct para 0,172 euros e o Banif a desvaloriza 1,28 pct para 0,386 euros.O índice europeu DJ Stoxx para a banca cai 0,6 pct.* O euro cai 0,04 pct para 1,3633 dólares.* Os futuros do Dow Jones DJc1 caem 0,34 pct e os do Nasdaq cedem 0,44 pct, a fazer antever uma abertura em queda, num dia em que a Alcoa dá o pontapé de saída de mais uma época de apresentação de resultados nos EUA.* O contrato do barril de brent para Novembro LCOc1 cai 0,8 pct para 108,07 dólares e o de crude CLc1 recua 0,85 pct para 84,68 dólares, com os investidores a recear que uma greve dos funcionários das alfândegas no Kuweit cause interrupções no fornecimento de crude.(Por Filipa Cunha Lima; Editado por Sérgio Gonçalves)