Your daily briefing for all the top news in Energy, Technology, Finance, and Politics.
Energy
Refiners & producers battling over exports
FUEL FIX
Jennifer A. Dlouhy
The battle between oil producers and refiners over exporting U.S. crude is heating up. It started when four refiners blasted the government’s decision to green light some exports of minimally processed condensate, suggesting the private rulings ran afoul of the 1975 law that bars most U.S. crude from being sold overseas. … On Monday, an association of oil producers fought back.
Boom in Energy Spurs Industry in the Rust Belt
NEW YORK TIMES
Nelson D. Schwartz
Here in Ohio, in an arc stretching south from Youngstown past Canton and into the rural parts of the state where much of the natural gas is being drawn from shale deep underground, entire sectors like manufacturing, hotels, real estate and even law are being reshaped. A series of recent economic indicators, including factory hiring, shows momentum building nationally in the manufacturing sector.
CO2 levels in atmosphere rising at dramatically faster rate, U.N. report warns
WASHINGTON POST
Joby Warrick
Concentrations of nearly all the major greenhouse gases reached historic highs in 2013, reflecting ever-rising emissions from automobiles and smokestacks but also, scientists believe, a diminishing ability of the world’s oceans and plant life to soak up the excess carbon put into the atmosphere by humans, according to data released early Tuesday by the United Nations’ meteorological advisory body.
U.S. oil surplus eases prices in global crises
WASHINGTON TIMES
Patrice Hill
Increased U.S. production is helping to create an oil surplus on world markets, driving down prices despite a myriad of threats to oil supplies, and doing more to crush Russia’s economy than the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union, said Chris Faulkner, chief executive of Breitling Energy.
Climate Change Will Disrupt Half of North America’s Bird Species, Study Says
NEW YORK TIMES
Felicity Barringer
The Baltimore oriole will probably no longer live in Maryland, the common loon might leave Minnesota, and the trumpeter swan could be entirely gone. Those are some of the grim prospects outlined in a report released on Monday by the National Audubon Society, which found that climate change is likely to so alter the bird population of North America that about half of the approximately 650 species will be driven to smaller spaces or forced to find new places to live, feed and breed over the next 65 years. If they do not — and for several dozen it will be very difficult — they could become extinct.
Technology
Search giant offers pipeline to top jobs
POLITICO
Tony Romm
The revolving door hardly is a new phenomenon, and other companies have jostled just as ferociously for influence with the tech-savvy Obama White House. But there’s no denying the door is swinging favorably toward Google these days — a major perk for a company that has boosted its Washington presence and often finds itself in the political spotlight.
Amazon Loves Government
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
The larger point is that the executive and judicial branches intervened to aid Amazon, a quasi-monopolist incumbent at a crucial competitive juncture amid the shift to digital from print, preventing a market resolution. Apple is appealing Judge Cote’s ruling as a matter of antitrust law, and the outcome is by no means clear. What is clear is that Amazon ought to stop claiming to be a tribune of the market when its chief patron is government.
Google Is Target of European Backlash on U.S. Tech Dominance
NEW YORK TIMES
Danny Hakim
Across Europe, Google has been under fire, reflecting the broader challenges facing American technology companies. Google, fairly or not, has become a glaring proxy for criticism of an intrusive American government and concern over America’s unmatched technology dominance. On Monday, things grew worse. Regulators pushed the company to give up more in an antitrust settlement — demanding that Google make additional changes to its secret sauce, the search algorithm.
The Absurd Opposition to Media Mergers
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Leo Hindery Jr.
The consolidation of the media-content-distribution industry began in June 1998 when AT&T announced its intention to acquire Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), and it has continued. No one can prove that any such mergers have harmed American consumers. To the contrary, the U.S. now has the most robust television industry in the world thanks to the operating efficiencies these mergers have afforded. Broadband deployment is near-ubiquitous, and though it’s hard for some to admit it, the pricing models have never been fairer. Viewers, employees and shareholders have all benefited.
Nancy Pelosi Backs Controversial Internet Powers to Save Net Neutrality
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Brendan Sasso
“I oppose special Internet fast lanes, only open to those firms large enough to pay big money or fraught enough to give up big stakes in their company,” the California Democrat wrote in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, urging him to classify broadband as a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act.
Will the sharing economy make us all Republicans?
WASHINGTON POST
Andrés Martinez
When it comes to the long-running net neutrality battles at the FCC and in the courts, the GOP has been far more sympathetic to what economists call the “stranded costs” and property rights of established incumbents who built their businesses the old-fashioned way. But conservatives aren’t alone in their hypocrisy, or semantic creativity, when it comes to Uber. Liberal Uber lovers, instead of addressing cities’ burdensome transport regulations head-on, are more comfortable arguing that the company doesn’t belong in the same category as those old yellow taxis and limo companies. Uber, you see, is a technology company!
How a race for female tech talent might narrow the industry’s gender pay gap
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
In report after report, companies like Apple, Google and Facebook all acknowledge that their workforces tilt heavily male. Silicon Valley companies are notoriously dominated by men, particularly in leadership roles and in jobs involving advanced technical skills. Men account for 7 in 10 workers at Twitter, for example. Many of these companies have pledged to do better — and what’s heartening about this is that efforts to improve gender diversity could also wind up accelerating other positive workforce trends: namely, closing the gap between men and women when it comes to wages.
Finance
Federal Reserve Signals Intent to Pressure Largest Banks to Slim Down
NEW YORK TIMES
Peter Eavis
Daniel K. Tarullo, the Fed governor who oversees regulatory policies, signaled the central bank’s intent in testimony that he is scheduled to give before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. In particular, Mr. Tarullo said that the Fed would propose special capital requirements for the largest banks that will be even higher than those demanded under international banking regulations.
Inversions Require Congressional Action, Lew Says
WALL STREET JOURNAL
John D. McKinnon
Mr. Lew also reiterated that the Obama administration is weighing regulatory action to limit the economic appeal of inversions if lawmakers don’t reach an agreement. Mr. Lew promised a Treasury decision on regulatory steps in the “very near future” but warned that such action “will not be a substitute for meaningful legislation—it can only address part of the economics.”
House GOP eyes extending Ex-Im until December
POLITICO
Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
House Republican leadership is considering extending the charter for the Export-Import Bank until early December, potentially lining it up with the next government shutdown threat, according to sources in both parties. The Export-Import Bank’s charter expires at the end of September, and despite stiff opposition from some GOP conservatives and outside groups, it’s likely to get extended this week. Several sources said it will be a part of the government-funding bill that could hit the floor as early as Thursday, Republican aides said.
The Feds Choke Off Native American Income
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Barry Brandon
Unfortunately, the Justice Department has now begun targeting tribal businesses as part of its Operation Choke Point, a concerted effort to put specific industries that it deems undesirable out of business by forcing banks to cut off their access to the financial system. Businesses offering short-term loans are among those targeted. To those of us working to rebuild Native American culture, this attack on our economic independence is all too reminiscent of the long-ago eradication of the buffalo.
Politics
Poll: Public supports strikes in Iraq, Syria; Obama’s ratings hover near his all-time lows
WASHINGTON POST
Dan Balz and Peyton M. Craighill
Today, 71 percent of all Americans say they support airstrikes in Iraq — up from 54 percent three weeks ago and from 45 percent in June. Among those who say Obama has been too cautious, 82 percent support the strikes; among those who think his handling of international affairs has been about right, 66 percent support them. Nearly as many Americans — 65 percent — say they support the potentially more controversial action of launching airstrikes in Syria, which Obama has not done. That is more than double the level of support a year ago for launching airstrikes to punish the Syrian regime for using chemical weapons.
As Obama Makes Case, Congress Is Divided on Campaign Against Militants
NEW YORK TIMES
Jonathan Weisman, Mark Landler and Jeremy W. Peters
Mr. Obama’s meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders on Tuesday in the Oval Office will be the first of several between White House officials and lawmakers as the administration tries to persuade Congress to embrace the president’s plan to halt the momentum of the Sunni militant group known as ISIS. … Democratic leaders in the Senate and Republican leaders in the House want to avoid a public vote to authorize force, fearing the unknown political consequences eight weeks before the midterm elections on Nov. 4.
A President Whose Assurances Have Come Back to Haunt Him
NEW YORK TIMES
Peter Baker
When President Obama addresses the nation on Wednesday to explain his plan to defeat Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria, it is a fair bet he will not call them the “JV team.” Nor does he seem likely to describe Iraq as “sovereign, stable and self-reliant” with a “representative government.” And presumably he will not assert after more than a decade of conflict that “the tide of war is receding.”
Islamic State Is Getting Stronger, and It’s Targeting America
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Ryan Crocker
There is no time left to argue, dither and wonder what should be done about those who are butchering Americans— and anyone else they care to—across a growing portion of the Middle East. The enemy has no such doubts. They are not going away. They are getting stronger. The war, ladies and gentlemen, is truly on. We’re just not a meaningful part of it yet.
GOP makes play for the center
THE HILL
Alexandra Jaffe
Republican Senate and House candidates have begun to loudly embrace more moderate policies such as an increase in the minimum wage and over-the-counter birth control in an effort to win over swing voters and soften their image.
Do-something Congress keeps on going
WASHINGTON TIMES
Stephen Dinan
Despite a terrible reputation as a do-nothing Congress, Capitol Hill has actually been pretty productive, with lawmakers notching an average year for debating and passing bills, according to The Washington Times’ Legislative Futility Index. Indeed, it has been the best year since 2010 — the last year Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and had free rein to push through their priorities.
Obama’s brain drain
POLITICO
Darren Samuelsohn
A POLITICO analysis of the 15 Cabinet agencies plus several other departments with high-priority policy agendas found a recurring theme for the outgoing Obama administration: plentiful job openings and several slots where long-term vacancies could have real-world consequences for policies from national security to the economy and the environment.
The Myth of ObamaCare’s Affordability
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Casey B. Mulligan
By the end of this decade, nearly 20 million additional Americans will have health insurance as a consequence of the law. But the ultimate economywide cost of their enrollments will be at least double what it would have been if these people had enrolled without government carrots and sticks; that is, if they had decided it was worth spending their own money on health insurance. In effect, people who aren’t receiving assistance through the ACA are paying twice for the law: once as the total economic pie gets smaller and again as they receive a smaller piece.
Condi Rice: The one person who could save the NFL
WASHINGTON POST
Jonathan Capehart
Rice really loves football, especially because of its similarities to military strategy. “I really consider myself a student of the game,” Rice told the Times in that 2002 interview. “I find the strategy and tactics absolutely fascinating.” And in talking about why she coveted the gridiron gig, the foreign policy expert who served two presidents and was provost of Stanford University said, “I think it would be a very interesting job because I actually think football, with all due respect to baseball, is a kind of national pastime that brings people together across social lines, across racial lines. And I think it’s an important American institution.” It’s an institution in dire need of her help.
