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Railroads back plan calling for 24% raises but workers waryCanadian Press - 4 minutes agoOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads signaled they're ready to negotiate a new deal with their workers based on a presidential report that calls for 24% raises, but the 12 unions involved in the stalled talks covering 115,000 workers still haven't commented on the recommendations.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads signaled they're ready to negotiate a new deal with their workers based on a presidential report that calls for 24% raises, but the 12 unions involved in the stalled talks covering 115,000 workers still haven't commented on the recommendations.
The group that represents BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX and other railroads in the talks said Wednesday said even though the report issued by the Presidential Emergency Board that Joe Biden appointed last month calls for higher raises than the companies had proposed they want to reach an agreement to avoid a strike.
“It is in the best interests of all stakeholders — including customers, employees, and the public — for the railroads and rail labor organizations to settle this dispute and prevent service disruptions,” said the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents the railroads.
Both sides have 30 days to negotiate a new contract before federal law would allow a strike or lockout, but even if they can't reach an agreement Congress is likely to intervene to prevent a strike that would disrupt the flow of goods across all sectors of the economy.
The unions were still reviewing the 124-page report Wednesday — one day after it was issued — and didn't immediately comment on the details. But individual railroad workers commenting about the report on Twitter said it didn't do enough to address their concerns about restrictive attendance policies that make it hard to take days off and demanding working conditions after thousands of jobs have been cut in recent years.
"It’s clear academic politically motivated labor mediators are out of touch with the reality of working conditions on the railroad today. They chose capital over the needs of workers and our nation," Union Pacific engineer Ross Grooters said on Twitter. Grooters also serves on the city council in the Des Moines suburb of Pleasant Hill, Iowa.
Railroad workers expect a new contract to deliver significant raises to combat soaring inflation after they stayed on the job all throughout the pandemic, but many say they are tired of essentially being on call 24-7 and want working conditions to improve. The major freight railroads have eliminated nearly one-third of their employees — some 45,000 jobs — over the past six years as they overhauled their operations to run fewer, longer trains, so they say they need fewer locomotives and employees to handle all the freight.
In addition to the disagreements over wages and benefits, the unions have stridently opposed railroad proposals to cut train crews from two people down to one. A new proposed federal rule that would require two-person crews in most instances should make it harder to do that, but railroads continue to press for the change in the negotiations. The unions say its a safety issue, not just a jobs one.
The current contract talks have gone on for more than two years without an agreement and rail workers haven't had a raise since 2019. The new report issued by a panel of arbitrators this week also calls for workers to receive five $1,000 bonuses in each year of the five-year deal, but it suggests that workers could take on a larger share of their health insurance costs, which would offset some of the raises.
But the railroads said the recommended wage increases and bonuses would result in average payouts of $11,000 to rail workers for back wages dating back to 2020. The suggested terms would also increase average rail worker pay to about $110,000 by the end of the five-year deal.
The head of the Association of American Railroads trade group, Ian Jefferies, said the recommended contract would deliver “the largest general wage increase in nearly 40 years.”
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B.C. cannabis stores grapple with delivery stoppage as BCLDB workers go on strikeCanadian Press - 27 minutes agoBURNABY, B.C. — British Columbian cannabis stores are bracing for emptier shelves after a strike stopped the province's pot distribution centre from shipping out product.
BURNABY, B.C. — British Columbian cannabis stores are bracing for emptier shelves after a strike stopped the province's pot distribution centre from shipping out product.
The British Columbia General Employees' Union, which represents about 33,000 public-service workers across B.C., set up picket lines at four BC Liquor Distribution Branch wholesale and distribution centres earlier this week.
The union says retail liquor and cannabis stores are not part of the strike launched over wages, but the cannabis division of the Burnaby customer care centre is part of the job action.
The province was preparing to allow cannabis stores to accept direct deliveries of product from licensed producers long before the strike began, but until those deliveries start, stores have no choice but to get their products from the BC Liquor Distribution Branch.
Vikram Sachdeva estimates his B.C. chain of Seed and Stone stores has enough cannabis to last a week and fears consumers will turn to the illicit market, if he runs out.
He says he will be disappointed if he has to turn away consumers for lack of product, especially if they are seeking cannabis for medical reasons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2022.
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CDPQ reports 7.9 per cent loss for first six months of 2022Canadian Press - 37 minutes agoMONTREAL — The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec reported a loss of 7.9 per cent for the first six months of this year.
MONTREAL — The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec reported a loss of 7.9 per cent for the first six months of this year.
CDPQ chief executive Charles Emond says the first half of the year was very challenging with a mix of factors including corrections in both stock and bond markets, fears of an economic downturn and the war in Ukraine.
The Quebec investment manager says the result compared with a loss of 10.5 per cent by its benchmark portfolio.
The fund's real assets, which include its real estate and infrastructure portfolios, gained 7.9 per cent for the six-month period, while its fixed income holdings lost 13.1 per cent and CDPQ's equities fell 10.6 per cent.
Overall, net assets fell to $391.6 billion at June 30 compared with $419.8 billion at Dec. 31, 2021.
The decrease was due to $33.6 billion in investment losses, offset in part by $5.4 billion in net deposits.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2022.
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Sweden presents plan to tackle high winter power billsCanadian Press - 45 minutes agoSTOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's government said Wednesday it wants to pass legislation forcing the country's public power transmission network operator to help alleviate this winter's expected high electricity bills for Swedish households and businesses.
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's government said Wednesday it wants to pass legislation forcing the country's public power transmission network operator to help alleviate this winter's expected high electricity bills for Swedish households and businesses.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, whose Social Democratic minority government faces parliamentary elections next month, said the proposal would cost Svenska kraftnat at least 30 billion kronor ($2.9 billion).
She said the public utility responsible for ensuring Sweden’s electricity transmission system would get the funds from the 60 billion kronor it received from revenues from congestion in the electricity grid. Details would be provided by Svenska kraftnat itself, she said.
“Both homeowners and business owners feel sick when they think about the electricity bill for the winter,” Andersson said.
Andersson said the measure was necessary in view of high energy costs due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding that she would not allow Russian President Vladimir Putin “to hold Swedish households and Swedish industry hostage.”
“When it comes to the energy sector, we have something that closely resembles a war economy,” she said.
Andersson's Social Democratic Party currently holds 100 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag, or parliament.
Recent polls show that Andersson’s party and its center-left allies are neck-and-neck with a right-wing opposition that includes Sweden’s third-largest party, the populist Sweden Democrats, which is rooted in a neo-Nazi movement.
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Yellen tells IRS to develop modernization plan in 6 monthsCanadian Press - 1 hour agoWASHINGTON (AP) — Now that President Joe Biden signed Democrats' expansive climate, tax and health care bill into law, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has directed the IRS to develop a plan within six months outlining how the tax agency will overhaul its technology, customer service and hiring processes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that President Joe Biden signed Democrats' expansive climate, tax and health care bill into law, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has directed the IRS to develop a plan within six months outlining how the tax agency will overhaul its technology, customer service and hiring processes.
In part, the improvements are meant to “end the two-tiered tax system, where most Americans pay what they owe, but those at the top of the distribution often do not," Yellen said in a Tuesday memo to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, whose term ends in three months.
Yellen’s memo, obtained by The Associated Press, outlines the importance of modernizing IRS computer systems and ensuring the agency has an adequately-staffed workforce now that the tax collector is set to receive nearly $80 billion over the next 10 years.
That funding is needed for more than technology. At least 50,000 IRS employees are expected to retire over the next five years.
Yellen has called for the IRS to “fully resolve the inventory backlog and make significant improvements in taxpayer services," “to overhaul an information technology system that is decades out of date” and invest and train employees “so they can identify the most complex evasion schemes by those at the top."
This year's tax season resulted in the worst backlog in history for the beleaguered IRS, which has also been tasked with administering pandemic related programs, including sending out stimulus checks, emergency rental assistance and advance child tax credit checks.
In its June report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent watchdog within the IRS, also said taxpayers have experienced longer wait times on the telephone, and delays in processing paper returns have been running six months to one year.
Additional funding for the agency has been politically controversial since 2013, when the IRS under the Obama administration was found to scrutinize political groups that applied for tax-exempt status.
A Treasury Department Inspector General report found that both conservative and liberal groups were chosen for scrutiny.
Most recently, Republican politicians and candidates have distorted how the climate, tax and healthcare bill would reform the IRS and affect taxes for the middle class.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week tweeted that “Democrats’ new army of 87,000 IRS agents will be coming for you -- with 710,000 new audits for Americans who earn less than $75k."
Yellen last week sent instructions to IRS leadership not to increase audit rates on Americans making under $400,000 a year annually.
“Instead, enforcement resources will focus on high-end noncompliance,” she said in her Aug. 11 guidance. “There, sustained, multi-year funding is so critical to the agency’s ability to make the investments needed to pursue a robust attack on the tax gap.”
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S&P/TSX composite down more than 100 points in late-morning tradingCanadian Press - 1 hour agoTORONTO — Losses in the technology and base metal sectors weighed on Canada's main stock index as it lost more than 100 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also pulled back.
TORONTO — Losses in the technology and base metal sectors weighed on Canada's main stock index as it lost more than 100 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also pulled back.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 102.63 points at 20,167.34.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 200.22 points at 33,951.79. The S&P 500 index was down 35.42 points at 4,269.78, while the Nasdaq composite was down 187.15 points at 12,915.40.
The Canadian dollar traded for 77.38 cents US compared with 77.72 cents US on Tuesday.
The September crude contract was up 77 cents at US$87.30 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down four cents at US$9.29 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$11.50 at US$1,778.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was down four cents at US$3.58 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)
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Egypt's central bank governor resigns as economic woes mountCanadian Press - 1 hour agoCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s central bank governor resigned Wednesday as the Middle East's most populous nation struggles to curb inflation triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine, high oil prices and a drop in tourism.
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s central bank governor resigned Wednesday as the Middle East's most populous nation struggles to curb inflation triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine, high oil prices and a drop in tourism.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi accepted the resignation of Tarek Amer and named him a presidential adviser, the Egyptian leader’s office said in a statement. The brief statement offered no explanation for Amer’s resignation.
No replacement was immediately named for Amer, who had been appointed governor of the central bank in November 2015. He has been criticized for his handling of Egypt’s financial challenges.
The currency is under pressure, sliding in value to about 19 Egyptian pounds to the U.S. dollar. That followed a central bank decision allowing the currency to depreciate by around 16% in March to try to stem a growing trade deficit.
“It seems there's a lot of tensions within policymaking circles, and I think that's ultimately what led to Mr. Amer's resignation," said Jason Tuvey, a senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
Tuvey said there are officials that oppose devaluing the pound and instead support measures like rationing gas consumption by curbing electricity usage, which could in turn harm business activity. Amer had traditionally been seen as in the camp that supported the pound's depreciation as a way to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
The government continues to hold talks with the IMF for a new multibillion-dollar loan.
The London-based Capital Economics research firms predicts that Egypt’s currency will continue to slide, reaching 25 pounds to the dollar by the end of 2024 amid sustained pressure.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has been deeply felt in Egypt, which is the world’s largest wheat importer and sources around 80% of that grain from the Black Sea region.
Egypt's expansive tourism industry, which employs millions, was hard-hit by the pandemic and further by the war in Ukraine. Prior to the conflict, around a third of tourists to Egypt came from Russia.
In the first weeks after the war in late February, the price of wheat and other grains skyrocketed, as did the price of fuel. Although prices have come down somewhat, the cost of grains remains at least 50% higher than before the pandemic in early 2020. Furthermore, the cost of shipping to export those grains through the Black Sea is high.
Inflation in the country of 103 million people reached 14.6% in July, increasing pressure on lower-income households and everyday necessities. Around a third of Egyptians live in poverty, according to government figures.
The World Bank notes that Egypt's government announced an assistance package worth 130 billion pounds (more than $8 billion) just before devaluing the pound in March to alleviate the impact of rising prices. The package aimed to increase public-sector wages and pensions, as well as expand direct cash assistance programs.
Egypt's Gulf Arab allies have come to its assistance with multibillion-dollar investments buoyed by high oil prices that have helped their bottom line.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, recently established a division in Egypt that has already announced deals worth $1.3 billion with the aim of bringing in $10 billion into Egypt.
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Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Wind energy boom and golden eagles collide in the US WestCanadian Press - 1 hour agoCODY, Wyo. (AP) — The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the U.S. West’s most spectacular predators — the golden eagle — as the species teeters on the edge of decline.
CODY, Wyo. (AP) — The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the U.S. West’s most spectacular predators — the golden eagle — as the species teeters on the edge of decline.
Ground zero in the conflict is Wyoming, a stronghold for golden eagles that soar on seven-foot (two-meter) wings and a favored location for wind farms. As wind turbines proliferate, scientists say deaths from collisions could drive down golden eagle numbers considered stable at best and likely to drop in some areas.
Yet climate change looms as a potentially greater threat: Rising temperatures are projected to reduce golden eagle breeding ranges more than 40% later this century, according to a National Audubon Society analysis.
That leaves golden eagles doubly vulnerable — to the shifting climate and to the wind energy promoted as a solution to that warming world.
“We have some of the best golden eagle populations in Wyoming, but it doesn’t mean the population is not at risk,” said Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director at the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyo. “As we increase wind development across the U.S., that risk is increasing.”
Turbines blades hundreds of feet long are among myriad threats to golden eagles, which are routinely shot, poisoned by lead, hit by vehicles and electrocuted on power lines.
The tenuous position of golden eagles contrasts with the conservation success of their avian cousins, bald eagles, whose numbers have quadrupled since 2009. There are about 350,000 bald eagles in the U.S., versus about 40,000 golden eagles, which need much larger areas to survive and are more inclined to have trouble with humans.
Federal officials have tried to curb turbine deaths, while avoiding any slowdown in the growth of wind power — a key piece of President Joe Biden's climate agenda.
In April, a Florida-based power company pleaded guilty to criminal charges after its wind turbines killed more than 100 golden eagles in eight states. It was the third conviction of a major wind company for killing eagles in a decade.
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Dangling from a rope 30 feet (9 meters) above the ground with a canvas bag slung around his neck, Bedrosian shouldered his way into a golden eagle nest lodged in a cliff ledge. The scientist made an awkward grab for the young eagle in the nest, slid a leather hood over its head then wrestled it into the bag.
The six-week-old bird was lowered and carefully extracted by Bedrosian's colleague, Charles Preston, a zip tie around its feet as a precaution against inch-long talons.
“The key is not to forget later to cut the zip tie,” Bedrosian said.
The eaglet went on a scale — about seven pounds (3.2 kilograms). Bedrosian drew some blood from a wing to test for lead exposure, and Preston clamped a metal identification band onto each leg.
Golden eagles don't mate until about 5 years old and produce about one chick every two years, so adult eagle deaths have outsized impacts on the population, said Bedrosian.
Illegal shootings are the biggest cause of death, killing about 700 golden eagles annually, according to federal estimates. More than 600 die annually in collisions including with cars and wind turbines.
“Wind mortality wasn’t a thing for golden eagles 10 years ago,” Bedrosian said. “I don’t want to pick on wind as the only thing. ... But it’s the additive nature of all these things and several are increasing. Vehicle strikes are increasing. Climate change is increasing. Wind is increasing.”
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The recent criminal prosecution of a NextEra Energy subsidiary offered a glimpse into the problem's scope.
The company was ordered to pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution for killing eagles at wind farms in eight states.
NextEra remained defiant after the plea deal: Its president said bird collisions with turbines were unavoidable accidents that should not be criminalized.
Duke Energy and PacifiCorp previously pleaded guilty to similar charges in Wyoming. North Carolina-based Duke was sentenced in 2013 to $1 million in fines and restitution and five years probation following deaths of 14 golden eagles, and a year later, Oregon-based PacifiCorp received $2.5 million in fines and five years probation over 38 killed eagles.
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The number of wind turbines nationwide more than doubled over the past decade to almost 72,000, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
To control the impact on eagles, federal officials want companies to obtain permits that allow them to kill some birds if the deaths are offset. Companies then pay utilities to retrofit power poles, so eagles can't be easily electrocuted. Every 11 poles retrofitted typically counts as an eagle death avoided.
Nationwide, 34 permits last year authorized companies to “take” 170 golden eagles — meaning that many birds killed by turbines or lost through impacts on nests or habitat. An Associated Press public records review shows most are wind farms.
“This sounds crass but its realistic. Eagles are going to be incidentally killed at wind farms," said Brian Millsap, who heads the wildlife service’s eagle program. "We’ve got to reduce other things that will allow wind energy development.”
The nests where Bedrosian and Preston are doing population studies are about 60 miles (96 kilometers) from the nearest wind farm — 114 turbines that PacifiCorp began operating about two years ago near the Wyoming-Montana border.
Personnel on site scan the skies with binoculars for eagles and can shut down turbines when they approach. Ten PacifiCorp wind farms have permits authorizing the incidental killing of eagles, according to the company.
Company representatives declined to say how many eagles have died a those facilities. They said PacifiCorp's been building a “bank” of retrofitted power poles to offset eagle deaths and also wants to try new approaches such as painting turbine blades to be more visible and easier to avoid.
“We’re working as hard as we can to avoid and minimize (deaths) up front, and then anything we can’t we’re mitigating on the back end,” Brown said.
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On Twitter follow Matthew Brown: @MatthewBrownAP
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Cargo ship breakdown blocks Rhine River traffic in GermanyCanadian Press - Wed Aug 17, 9:50AM CDTBERLIN (AP) — A cargo ship that broke down on the Rhine River caused a backup of other ships Wednesday near the German town of St. Goar.
BERLIN (AP) — A cargo ship that broke down on the Rhine River caused a backup of other ships Wednesday near the German town of St. Goar.
The ship blocked the river until midday, when it was towed downstream to the town of Bingen. Water police said other ships heading in the same direction would have to wait until the one with a non-working engine reached St. Goar, which was expected in the early evening.
It was not immediately clear how many ships were held up on the river and when traffic would return to normal.
The police said it did not appear the cargo ship's problem stemmed from the Rhine's seriously low water levels.
Divers in Bingen planned to examine the ship for damage, German news agency dpa reported.
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Keyera and Canadian National Railway to evaluate Alberta terminal projectCanadian Press - Wed Aug 17, 8:11AM CDTCALGARY — Keyera Corp. and Canadian National Railway Co. have signed a deal to evaluate building a rail terminal in Alberta to ship energy products.
CALGARY — Keyera Corp. and Canadian National Railway Co. have signed a deal to evaluate building a rail terminal in Alberta to ship energy products.
The companies say they have signed a memorandum of understanding to look at the construction of a project in Alberta's industrial heartland.
They say the new infrastructure would aggregate conventional and clean energy from multiple sources.
Keyera CEO Dean Setoguchi says the agreement builds on the strengths of each partner.
The plan calls for facility built on adjoining lands belonging to Keyera and CN.
It envisions a facility capable of handling six inbound and outbound high-capacity trains daily, once complete.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:KEY)