Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 60

Energy issues among the list of Congress' unfinished business

As this session of Congress winds to a close, it will probably be remembered more for what it didn't do than what it did. That's especially true when it comes to energy issues. As Politico points out, the list of energy-related legislation that Congress will leave unfinished is a long one: Lawmakers have failed to [...]

San Francisco takes minimum wage to the max

After the new year, San Francisco will become the first U.S. city to adopt a minimum wage of more than $10 an hour. The move stems from a proposition the city passed eight years ago that tied the minimum wage to inflation and the cost of living. "Living wage" increases have become popular in cities [...]

Once again, energy industry bungles response to fracking concerns

Just yesterday, I mentioned how in speaking to energy industry groups, I'm often asked why the industry has such a poor public image. While I discussed some of those reasons yesterday, here's another one: how the industry responds to things it doesn't like. The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released preliminary results of a three-year [...]

How can the energy industry improve its image? Sell iPads

Energy Advocates, an Oklahoma-based group that aims to promote various forms of energy, including oil, natural gas, coal and renewables, is planning a nationwide tour next year to boost the energy industry's image and increase public understanding.  One of the questions I am asked most frequently when I speak to industry groups pertains to the [...]

Making my list and checking it twice

Well, we're getting to the end of the year again, folks, and you know what that means. I'm beginning to compile my annual list of the year's business winners and losers. As always, I'd like to cast as broad a net as possible, so if you have candidates for either side of the list, post [...]

Green Bay throws an incompletion with stock offering

I'm a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan, but I won't be buying shares in the team's latest public offering. As an investment, you're better off buying a team jersey and a ticket in the cheap seats.

Why the financial crisis hasn't spawned more prosecutions

Why haven't there been more prosecutions? The bigger, and more disturbing, question is: what are the consequences of Wall Street executives coming out of this crisis unscathed?

Congress mulls trading ban on itself — as only Congress can

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the 60 Minutes story that exposed how members of Congress can, and do, legally profit from trading on insider information. As the piece pointed out, there are no laws that prevent lawmakers from trading stocks based on bills they are currently working on in Congress. Well, of course, [...]

Release date for `The Man Who Thought Like a Ship'

My next book, The Man Who Thought Like a Ship , is slated for an April release and is included in the just-released spring/summer 2012 catalog from the Texas A&M University Press.
http://issuu.com/tamupress/docs/tamup...

Is SIPC afraid of lawsuits in the Stanford case? (Updated)

(Updates with comments from Vitter's office.) For years, almost 8,000 investors who lost money in the collapse of Stanford Financial's U.S. brokerage have been waiting for a decision on whether their losses will be covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corp. Back in June, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that they should. SIPC itself [...]