Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
World | Focus Jul 10, 2013
Quebec train disaster sparks rail vs. pipeline debate
by Steven Mufson
The railroad put the small lakeside town of Lac-Megantic on the map. And over the weekend, the railroad wiped part of the town off the map. Founded in 1884 when the Canadian Pacific Railway began construction on the final leg of track linking Montreal ...
World Jul 10, 2013
Officials trade blame over Canada train disaster
The U.S. rail company at the center of Canada’s worst train disaster in recent history on Tuesday blamed firefighters for the deadly derailment, as police indicated they believe it could be a case of criminal negligence. The death toll from the explosion on Saturday ...
Corporate Jul 9, 2013
French court acquits Total in Iraq 'oil-for-food' case
A French court on Monday acquitted energy giant Total, its chief executive, a former minister and more than a dozen other defendants of corruption charges in connection with Iraq’s oil-for-food program. The court ruled there had been no corruption, influence-peddling or misuse of assets ...
Corporate Jun 12, 2013
Idemitsu shifts gears in Singapore amid bullish refinery outlook for Southeast Asia
Refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co., which has shut down 23 percent of processing capacity since 2003, will boost crude and oil products trading in Singapore as it expands its business overseas. The company plans to invest $9 billion with its partners to build a 200,000 ...
Business Jun 2, 2013
British Columbia says no to pipeline to Pacific
The province of British Columbia on Friday rejected a proposed pipeline to move crude from the oil sands of Alberta to the Pacific coast, citing environmental concerns. In a written submission to a federal review panel, British Columbia said it could not support Enbridge ...
Economy Apr 16, 2013
Test-drilling for oil starts in Sea of Japan off Sado
The energy agency said Monday it has started test drilling for oil in a Sea of Japan location that could turn out to be one of the largest oil and natural gas deposits in the country. It is the first time in about nine ...
Environment Jan 25, 2013
Can the discovery of oil save Ecuador's rainforest?
by John Vidal
American biologist Kelly Swing thwacks a bush with his butterfly net and a dozen or so bugs and insects drop in. One is a harvester, or daddy-long-legs, another a jumping spider that leaps onto a leaf where two beetles are mating. This is the ...