The price of oil rose Wednesday as worries receded over whether U.S. political leaders would reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 35 cents to $88.85 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract finished down 59 cents at $88.50 a barrel in New York on Tuesday. U.S. lawmakers have less than a month to reach a compromise to avoid a series of sharp tax increases and spending cuts that take effect in January. Economists believe those measures could send the U.S. back into a recession. Negotiations have been slow-paced and contentious. Still, many analysts say President Barack Obama and Republicans in the U.S. Congress will eventually reach a compromise to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. Analysts at DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore said that some lawmakers and business leaders “have painted a positive outlook for US economy if the cliff is averted in a timely fashion.” Such upbeat views help lift oil prices on the assumption that energy consumption will increase if the economy improves. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, rose 25 cents to $110.09 on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Other futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange: — Heating oil rose 1 cent to $3.01 a gallon. — Natural gas fell 0.8 cent to $3.531 per 1,000 cubic feet. — Wholesale gasoline fell 0.1 cent to $2.688 a gallon.
Source: Fox World News
Tag Archives: US
Westpac Launches Auto-Backed Bond Offer; Seeks to Raise A$750 Million
Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK) is seeking to raise 750 million Australian dollars (US$785 million) through offering auto-backed notes, the first such move by a major local bank.
Source: Fox Business Headlines
Judge orders arrest in US magician burn case in Dominican Republic
A judge on Tuesday ordered the arrest of a local television show host who set fire to the hair of a U.S. magician, burning his scalp, face and arm.
The judge announced the decision just hours after TV host Franklin Barazarte told The Associated Press in a phone interview from New York that the incident was an accident. He tossed flaming liquid on Wayne Houchin‘s head as a “blessing” during a Nov. 26 taping of the show.
Barazarte, who was serving as guest host on an astrology and variety show called “Closer to the Stars,” couldn’t be immediately reached for comment after the judge issued his decision.
He said during the interview that he was in the U.S. this week for previously scheduled work commitments.
“I’m not hiding. I hope to sit down with Wayne and reach a settlement,” Barazarte said. “It was a demonstration within a magical religious framework that turned out badly.”
In a widely viewed video that a member of the magician’s crew captured on his IPhone and posted online, Barazarte is seen trying to pat Houchin’s head after it is set on fire.
“It was an accident. It was under no circumstance an intentional act,” Barazarte said.
He said that he had performed similar blessings for more than 20 years and that “none of them had ever turned out badly.” He said his hands also were burned during the incident.
Monica Pena, a spokeswoman for the Dominican prosecutors’ office, said a doctor certified that Houchin suffered first-degree burns on his scalp, face and right arm.
Houchin said in an email Monday to the AP that he was seeking legal action.
“The attack was intentional. The host didn’t trip and accidentally spill it on me. He intended to pour flaming liquid on me,” Houchin wrote.
Houchin, a 29-year-old from Chico, California, who recently finished a season as a host of the Discovery Channel show “Breaking Magic,” came to the Dominican Republic with his wife as part of the “Curiosities 2012” tour. He and two other magicians expected to be interviewed and perform magic on the local program.
When Houchin came on stage, Barazarte said he wanted to give him a blessing and asked another magician, BJ Bueno, to give him a bottle of “Agua de Florida,” a highly flammable cologne used in Santeria rituals. Barazarte then asked Houchin’s wife to pour the cologne into his hands and asked Bueno to light the fluid. He then doused the fluid on Houchin’s head.
Houchin is still receiving medical treatment in the Dominican Republic.
Barazarte said he had tried to contact Houchin without success. He added that while he understood the pain caused, he expressed resentment over the position taken by Houchin and others.
“They’re treating me like a criminal,” Barazarte said.
Source: Fox World News
US sues Puerto Rico banana company over wages
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against a banana company in Puerto Rico accusing its owners of paying workers less than the minimum wage. The government accuses Bananera Fabre of paying workers $6.25 and $6.50 an hour instead of the required $7.25. The lawsuit states that the owners, Jose Fabre Laboy and his son, Jose Fabre Santiago, owe workers more than $191,000 in back wages. The two men run a farm in the southwestern town of Sabana Grande that also produces tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. A department statement Tuesday says the company previously violated the minimum wage law and recently paid more than $38,000 in back wages and more than $6,000 in penalties. Company officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Source: Fox World News
