Alcoa stock down over aluminum price concerns - Reuters

NEW YORK | Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:51am EDT(router,verizon wireless,wireless network,wireless internet,i phone,i phone verizon,my verizon wireless,wireless adapter,att wireless)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in Alcoa Inc slipped on Tuesday despite posting a strong second-quarter profit, as some analysts voiced concern over a recent drop in aluminum prices.
In early trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the company's stock was down 10 cents at $15.82, while aluminum fell to $2,451 per tonne in London, its lowest price since late January.
UBS cut Alcoa's price target to $16.25 from $16.75 and maintained a "neutral" investment rating on the aluminum producer, which kicked off the earnings season on Monday with a profit that matched Wall Street estimates. Its revenue beat expectations, largely on higher metal prices and volumes.
Analyst David Lipschitz, of Credit Agricole Securities, said his third-quarter estimate of 24 cents per share was lower than Alcoa's second-quarter 32 cents-per-share profit "as we expect prices for aluminum to be lower than in the second quarter.
"We remain concerned that aluminum is a difficult industry in which to capture higher prices as Alcoa continues to see costs pressure," he wrote in a research note.
Tony Rizzuto, of Dahlman Rose & Co, was more positive, reaffirming his "buy" rating on Alcoa and a $22 price target
"The company is effectively managing an environment of rising raw material costs while expanding margins, and is well positioned to benefit from what we believe to be a bullish environment for aluminum."
(Reporting by Steve James; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
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EU finance chiefs meet on Greece, minds focused by Italy - Reuters

* Top EU officials hold urgent debt crisis talks

* ECB's Trichet, Eurogroup's Juncker to join Monday meeting

* Concern grows over 2nd Greek bailout, threat to Italy

* Getting private sector role in Greece may require default

By Luke Baker

BRUSSELS, July 11 (Reuters) - The European Union's top finance officials hold critical talks on Greece and the worsening situation in Italy on Monday, with concern about the risk of further sovereign debt contagion acute.

Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, will meet European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup, for talks in Brussels around midday (1000 GMT), ahead of a meeting of the 17 euro zone finance ministers later on Monday.

Van Rompuy's spokesman described the gathering, which also includes European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, as a "coordination, not a crisis meeting", and said Italy would not be on the agenda.

However, senior EU sources said it would be impossible not to discuss the situation in Italy, the euro zone's third largest economy, following a large sell-off in Italian assets that the Italian media have dubbed "black Friday".

Shares in Italy's biggest bank, Unicredit Spa , gyrated wildly on Monday after losing 7.9 percent on Friday, partly because of worries about the results of stress tests of the health of European banks that will be released on July 15. Other banks stocks also fell heavily.

The sell-off has increased fears that Italy, with the highest sovereign debt ratio relative to GDP in the euro zone after Greece, could be next to suffer in the crisis. If that came to pass, the euro zone's existing rescue mechanism, the EFSF, would have insufficient funds to help.

The 10-year yield spread between Italian and German debt widened to a fresh euro-era high of 258 basis points on Monday and bond yields neared the 5.5-5.7 percent area which some bankers think could start putting heavy pressure on Italy's finances.

The market pressure is due partly to Italy's high sovereign debt and sluggish economy, but also due to concern that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may be trying to push out his long-time finance minister, Giulio Tremonti, who has promoted deep spending cuts to control the budget deficit.

"We can't go on for many more days like Friday," a senior ECB official told Reuters. "We're very worried about Italy."

German newspaper Die Welt quoted an unnamed ECB source as saying the EFSF may have to be doubled in size to 1.5 trillion euros if it is to be capable of coming to the aid of Italy.

ACCEPTING DEFAULT?

Monday's gathering of euro zone finance ministers will focus on a second bailout package for Greece and the need to secure the private sector's involvement in the assistance programme, which is expected to total 110 billion euros.

Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland are determined that banks, insurers and other private holders of Greek government bonds should bear some of the costs of helping Athens -- up to 30 billion euros of the total package.

But after more than two weeks of negotiations with bankers represented by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a lobby group, there has been next to no progress on agreeing a formula acceptable to all sides.

Initially talks focused on a complex French plan for private creditors to roll over up their holdings of Greek debt, buying new bonds as their existing ones matured.

But as that plan has floundered, Berlin has revived a proposal to swap Greek bonds for longer-dated debt that would extend maturities by seven years. Proposals to buy back Greek bonds and retire them have also been floated.

However, both those plans would likely be regarded by ratings agencies as a default, or at best a selective default, which could have profound repercussions for global financial markets. The ECB has said it will not accept anything that is termed a default, a position Germany also maintains.

In a buy-back, the EFSF bailout fund might buy Greek bonds from the market, or the EFSF might lend Greece money to buy bonds. However, these schemes would require further changes to the EFSF's rules and would therefore have to go through national parliaments, officials say.

If euro zone finance ministers do back the idea of a buy-back or a debt swap in an effort to move ahead more rapidly with a second package for Greece, it would effectively mean condoning a default in order to achieve a writedown in the value of Greek debt and make its debt mountain more sustainable.

Senior euro zone officials worry that any further delay in putting together a second package -- which Greece wants by early September -- could further poison investors' confidence in weak economies around the region, prompting more contagion.

"We need to move on this in the next couple of weeks. It's not a case of waiting until late August or early September as Germany is saying. That's too late and markets will make us pay for it," a top euro zone official told Reuters on Saturday.

German officials insist they too want to put together the second Greek bailout as quickly as possible, but the private sector's contribution is proving to be a major sticking point. (Editing by Mike Peacock)

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Government asks Exxon to retool Yellowstone spill plan - Reuters

By Laura Zuckerman

BILLINGS, Mont, July 10 | Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:44pm EDT

BILLINGS, Mont, July 10 (Reuters) - Federal regulators said on Sunday they want Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) to retool its preliminary plan to clean up oil spilled into the Yellowstone River in Montana from a ruptured pipe at the start of July.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official, Steve Merritt, said three elements of the plan were incomplete. He said Exxon must revise how it will capture spilled oil, remove the broken pipe without causing pollution downstream, and restore the wildlife habitat and private property.

Merritt, the EPA's on-scene coordinator for the spill, said officials wanted Exxon to finish the revisions by "one week from today".

Exxon said it "will continue to work closely with the EPA on the draft work plan and will comply with this request," spokesman Pius Rolheiser said in a statement.

Details of the preliminary plan will not be released until the EPA and Montana approve it. Merritt said the government had given preliminary approval to several elements of the plan, including for disposing of hazardous waste and for sampling.

Exxon is facing an EPA-ordered deadline of September 9 to clean up a river renowned for its scenic beauty, near pristine waters and wealth of wildlife and fish.

The company has apologized for the spill and pledged to restore the Yellowstone. Mop-up is under way along shorelines but high water has prevented an inspection of the pipeline and damage downriver.

Exxon estimates that 42,000 gallons of crude were released during the accident. Record flows in the Yellowstone have delayed a probe of the damaged 12-inch pipeline, which was buried in the streambed.

Federal regulators estimate the oil has traveled 240 miles downstream from the site of the rupture, west of Billings, crossing near the south-central Montana community of Laurel.

HEALTH EFFECTS

Helicopter flights along the river corridor by government and Exxon officials showed oiled riverbanks, wetlands and cropland 70 miles downstream of the spill.

Water testing by the EPA on July 4 showed no detectable levels of three known carcinogens associated with crude oil, and air monitoring revealed no major health threats so far.

Yet at least five residents have been treated in hospital emergency rooms for symptoms like dizziness, nausea and respiratory distress linked to exposure to petrochemicals, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Lisa Williams, contaminants specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that biologists were monitoring a handful of oil-tainted wildlife, including Canada geese, a white pelican and a heron.

The company has logged nearly 300 calls to its hotline, including from 100 people volunteering for clean-up efforts. Exxon is responding to roughly 100 claims stemming from property, agriculture or health concerns, a statement said.

Handling of the spill has cooled relations between the oil giant and Montana, one of just two states whose constitutions guarantee a "clean, healthful environment."

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has pulled the state from a panel, including Exxon and EPA, overseeing the spill response. He said its closed meetings and withholding of documents from the public violated open-government laws.

Schweitzer opened a state office in Billings to respond to any health and property concerns. A trained soil scientist, he encouraged those affected by the spill to document damage and collect water and soil samples for testing.

While some landowners have praised Exxon for picking up the tab for everything from hotel rooms to livestock feed, others have expressed frustration and worry in the absence of a detailed timeline for cleaning their oil-fouled lands.

Kelly Goodman, who lives on riverside property homesteaded by her family over a century ago, said her livelihood has been disrupted by contamination of pastures and wetlands.

Goodman's sheep and horses have been confined to a small fenced area to prevent them from exposure to oil-stained grasses and tainted water. She said she has been unable to work the champion sheep-herding dogs she raises, shows and sells.

Goodman said she is also uneasy about wells that supply drinking water, and over the safety of crops fed by river water.

"I can't remember the last time I ate a decent meal or had a full night's rest," she said. "The main thing I would like is to have everything like it was." (Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

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Cell phones, devices biggest driving distractions - Reuters

A driver checks his phone while sitting in his car in New York City, December 10, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi

By Molly O'Toole

WASHINGTON, July 7 | Fri Jul 8, 2011 5:07am EDT

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters Life!) - Driving distractions, primarily by cell phones and other electronic devices, are associated with up to 25 percent of U.S. car crashes, according to a report released on Thursday.

The study by the Governors Highway Safety Association GHSA.L, a nonprofit group that works to improve traffic safety, assessed research from more than 350 scientific papers published since 2000.

It showed that drivers are distracted up to half the time and that crashes caused by distractions range from minor damage to fatal injury. Cell phone use raises the risk of crashing, but texting is likely to increase crash risk more than cell phone use.

"Despite all that has been written about driver distraction, there is still a lot that we do not know," GHSA executive director Barbara Harsha said in a statement.

"Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it."

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that in 2009 alone, nearly 5,500 fatalities and about half a million injuries resulted from crashes involving a distracted driver.

Deaths due to distracted driving presented 16 percent of traffic fatalities in 2009, a rise from 10 percent in 2005.

"When it comes to distracted driving, one thing is clear: any activities that take extended focus away from the primary task of driving are both unsafe and unwise," Lynda Tran, spokeswoman for the NHTSA, said in a statement.

The GHSA suggested measures for states and organizations to reduce distracted driving.

The report said laws banning hand-held cell phones while driving reduced their use by roughly half since they were first implemented, but cell phone use increased subsequently.

There is no conclusive evidence on whether hands-free cell phone use is less risky than hand-held use, the report said. Evidence is also lacking on whether cell phone or texting bans have reduced crashes or injuries.

The GHSA suggested a complete ban on cell phone use, hands-free or not, for novice drivers, who are the highest-risk. It also recommended a texting ban for all drivers.

Thirty U.S. states and the District of Columbia have prohibited the use of all cell phones by novice drivers and 41 states and Washington, D.C. had prohibited texting by novice drivers. Thirty four states and the District of Columbia have enacted texting bans for all drivers. But the report said texting bans have proven difficult to enforce.

Because the research and data on these laws' effectiveness is not definitive, the report recommends the 41 states without handheld cell phone bans hold off and monitor existing laws before enacting their own.

The GHSA represents the state and territorial highway safety offices. Its members are appointed by their governors. (Reporting by Molly O'Toole; Editing by Jerry Norton and Patricia Reaney; For the latest Reuters lifestyle news see: www.reuters.com/news/lifestyle))

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