Free Republic

The interpretation of a few words of regulation by the U.S. Treasury Department could upend expectations for how tens of billions of dollars in new electric-vehicle tax incentives will be distributed, according to Bloomberg discussions with a dozen manufacturing executives, battery analysts and government officials. At stake over the coming weeks is the extent to which a critical part of the battery supply chain will end up being made in North America or remain where it’s currently concentrated, in Asia. “There are specific factories — and there are thousands of jobs tied to those — that are hanging in the...

ROARING SPRING, PA. — When the Appvion Inc. paper mill plant shuts its doors for good in two weeks, putting 293 people out of work, it will mark the first significant manufacturing loss in this state since President Biden took office. “We were all completely blindsided,” said state Sen. Judy Ward, who claims she and other local officials had no hint that the plant, founded in 1866, was in danger of shuttering. Mitchell Becker, president of the local branch of United Steelworkers, the union that endorsed Biden for president, said he thought his job — which he’s kept for 25...

Corey Barsky was more than a little miffed Tuesday night when he saw a giant Biden-Harris logo projected on the façade of the towering Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus. Barsky, who is vice chair of the Pitt College Republicans, said the projection that included the United Steelworkers logo and a line urging viewers to “Plan to Vote” was visible for nearly two hours. He said the display seemed out of line with policies the university invoked this month when it denied his group’s request to plant small American flags around the Cathedral lawn to mark...

US authorities are to examine Roman Abramovich’s ties to the Kremlin as part of a national security review of a $2.3bn (£1.18bn) bid for Oregon Steel by a company controlled by the Russian billionaire. Experts in Washington say the US government panel that reviews foreign deals will scrutinise the proposed takeover, announced last month, more closely if Mr Abramovich is found to be acting with the backing of the Russian government. Mr Abramovich is believed to be close to Vladimir Putin, Russian president. The Russian steel company, Evraz, is controlled by Mr Abramovich and Alexander Abramov, group director. Evraz and...

U.S. Steel says it is cutting 25 percent of its non-union workforce in North America, or roughly 750 jobs. The Pittsburgh-based steel producer has about 21,000 employees in North America and about 18,000 are represented by the United Steelworkers union at last count. …

When Hillary Clinton issued a sweeping call for expanding and protecting voting rights, and called out Wisconsin and other states for passing discriminatory laws, Governor Scott Walker responded by blasting her views as “extreme” and “far outside the mainstream.” He defended his own record of cutting early voting days and implementing a strict voter ID law, saying these changes “make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.” But at a workshop held in Milwaukee in early June, state government employees struggled to explain the byzantine voting restrictions to a crowd of poll workers and community activists. Under Wisconsin’s voter...

Undaunted by the long battle over Keystone XL and current low oil prices, TransCanada Corp. is planning to build another border-crossing pipeline that would ferry North Dakota crude to refineries in Eastern Canada. TransCanada executives confirmed Friday they have signed contracts with shippers for enough capacity on the proposed 285-mile Upland pipeline to go forward with the project. It would move as many as 70,000 barrels a day of oil away from North Dakota’s Williston Basin, giving producers another alternative to shipping that crude by rail. “There is no question that production is up in North America, across the board,”...

The National Right to Work Foundation announced Wednesday that three employees at LyondellBasell filed unfair labor practice charges against the United Steelworkers Union. The charges allege that union officials from Steelworkers Local 13-227 are harassing workers who are going back to work. The charges were filed Monday with the National Labor Relations Board, according to the foundation that is providing free legal help. The foundation accused an unnamed local union official of making threats toward workers who continue to work during the strike. The group also alleges that union officials have allowed a union Facebook page to threaten union-represented employees...

The ongoing shale oil renaissance and the United States’ abundant natural resources has transformed our energy landscape, allowing American consumers access to affordable fuel supplies and spurring significant investment and job growth across our economy.But in order for this renaissance to continue, it is critical that lawmakers ensure that U.S. policy keeps pace so that our energy resources are being leveraged to provide the maximum benefit to the nation’s economy and international geopolitical interests. ADVERTISEMENT This point was made clear at a recent House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, where witnesses emphasized the enormous value that the changing dynamics in...

Chevron Corp. said Tuesday it would sell off more assets and cut back on capital spending, as the integrated oil and gas giant looks to protect its finances from lower crude prices. Chevron said it would put about $15 billion of assets up for sale through 2017 — up from a previous $10 billion target — and cut capital spending incrementally to roughly $30 billion in 2017. In January, Chevron had said it would trim capital spending to $35 billion in 2015, down about $5 billion from its 2014 budget. Despite the cuts, the San Ramon, California-based company said it...

Expected post-Lunar New Year cargo growth will accelerate equipment, cargo handling and other costs going forward, maintain ocean carrier executives. While the full impact on ocean carrier deployments to U.S. West Coat ports has yet to be measured, major players comprising the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) are standing firm on raising rates. According to TSA spokesman, Niels Erich, container shipping lines have begun the slow work of repairing their networks as U.S. West Coast congestion difficulties ease. “At the same time, forward bookings suggest that post-Lunar New Year cargo demand will resume after the week-long Asia holidays and continue to...

Hours after an explosion ripped through a Torrance refinery, residents for miles around continue to grapple with ash, a gas odor and concerns over poor air quality while inspectors confirmed that a filtration device was the source of the blast. A smoke advisory was issued for areas near the ExxonMobil refinery due to Wednesday morning's explosion and fire.

A three-alarm fire was reported around 8:50 a.m. at a processing unit at 3700 West 190th St. in Torrance, according to officials. When crews arrived on scene they found evidence of an explosion and a small ground fire, which firefighters quickly extinguished. ... Residents and approximately 30 schools in the Torrance School District were instructed to shelter in place. That advisory was lifted by police around 11:45 a.m.

Saudi Arabia and OPEC may have dropped oil prices to stifle production in the U.S. and other competing nations, but they didn’t drop it enough to stifle the U.S. oil and gas boom from fracking, a senior expert with McKinsey and Company said in Chicago. “If the Saudis think they’re going to put U.S. shale players out of business, they’re probably not, although there will be less drilling,” Joe Quoyeser told about 125 people, mostly graduate students, at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Energy Conference on Wednesday. ”But there are other elements of oil supply that are needed to balance the market...

HOUSTON – The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that Houston area oil workers will sponsor a noon rally at Shell Headquarters on Friday, Feb. 6, to show management that union members are united in their drive for a fair contract that improves safety throughout the industry.Union members began a strike at nine U.S. refineries and chemical plants in California, Kentucky, Texas and Washington on Feb. 1, after their previous contract expired and industry negotiators, represented by Shell, failed to address serious concerns raised by the USW regarding the health and safety of workers and their communities.USW members account for about...

We keep waiting for the bust, the gigantic rollover of oil companies that just plain collapse under their own weight and the $50 price that you get for West Texas Intermediate. It hasn't happened. We keep waiting for the junk bond market that is riddled with $200 billion in oil and gas paper to be crushed by defaults and restructurings. It hasn't been. In fact, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bd, the high-yield exchange-traded fund that includes a lot of this suspect paper, is pretty much unchanged for the last three years and has enjoyed a sustained rally...

On February 18, an explosion and fire occurred at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. The Torrance refinery, the third-largest refinery in southern California, has about 20% of the region's fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) capacity and is an important source of gasoline and distillate supply. Based on publicly available information, it can be estimated that Torrance produces about 117,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of gasoline (about 15-20% of southern California's supply) and about 50,000 bbl/d of distillate and jet fuel (about 10% of southern California supply). Unplanned refinery outages can have noticeable impacts on liquid fuel markets, disrupting supplies of...

Union Calls on Industry to Negotiate Solutions to Protect Workers and Communities(PITTSBURGH) -- An explosion and fire today at a refinery in Southern California underscores the United Steelworkers’ demand for improved safety conditions to protect both workers and communities.The explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif., occurred as 5,200 members of the United Steelworkers (USW) are conducting unfair labor practice strikes at 11 refineries across the country with safety as a major concern.“Our members work in dangerous and too often deadly conditions,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “While employers have reaped billions of dollars in profits over...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Union leaders on Thursday rejected the sixth contract offer Royal Dutch Shell made to U.S. refinery workers and a pause in negotiations was called on the fifth day of a strike, though talks are expected to resume.

Interest rates have shot up a lot meaning the bond market is down. Interest rates on the 10-year Treasury note have traded at 2% and above since last week after trading near 1.6% earlier in the month. Interest rates, we all remember, have an inverse relationship to the bond market. When interest rates are up the bond market is down. In all it shows the risk of investing in bonds in such a low interest rate environment. Imagine being an investor who put money into the 10-year Treasury several weeks ago. You bought a bond that was going to have...