Wall Street up on energy shares after Japan quake

Stocks rose on Friday, led by gains in energy shares after Japan’s biggest earthquake on record hurt the country’s oil refining capacity, but trade was choppy as investors tried to weigh the quake’s economic impact. The 8.9 magnitude quake that struck the northeast coast of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, triggered... 

Analysis: Stocks-oil relation looks as it did in 2008 recession

The trading pattern of the prices of stocks and crude oil looks worryingly like it did just before the last recession. Oil and equity prices rise and fall more or less in tandem when demand and economic growth expectations dictate prices. But the short-term relationship has been turned on its head in recent weeks with investors worried that political... 

Spill panel calls for offshore drilling reform

Blaming the massive BP oil spill on government and industry complacency, a White House panel on Tuesday called for a dramatic overhaul of the way the U.S. regulates offshore drilling. The White House oil spill commission, in its final report of the BP drilling disaster, said the U.S. government needs to expand its drilling regulations, as well as set... 

Green Power EMC’s Renewable Energy Agreement Generates Jobs and Electricity

Green Power EMC (GPEMC), a partnership of 38 electric membership corporations (EMCs) in Georgia, today announced plans to purchase 17 MW of biomass energy from Multitrade Rabun Gap (MRG), LLC. The Rabun Gap project will use woody waste as the primary fuel in a conventional boiler for the generation of steam to power a steam turbine electric generator. The... 

Discover(R) Small Business Watch(SM): Small Business Economic Confidence Continues to Slide

The Discover® Small Business WatchSM dropped for the second straight month as news of a congressional rescue plan failed to lift the spirits or expectations of the nation’s 22 million small business owners. The index slipped 3.2 points in October to 71.4, the lowest confidence rating since the Watch was established in August 2006. “Faced with a...