Ethanol Hits the F1 Fast Track; Taiwan Sees Export Surge; BP Holds Back on Billion-Dollar Oil Cache; BE Fashions Fastener Deal; Airlines Fly Away From Small Towns; Pending Home Sales Unexpectedly Soar; New Energy's Focus on South America; Yahoo's Pleading Proxy
Formula One racing, usually referred to as F1, may be shopping around for a possible switch to ethanol, former double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi told the Web site, F1Live.com. Fittipaldi, the winner of 14 Grand Prix events, reportedly said that F1 Chief Executive Officer Bernard C. "Bernie" Ecclestone last year contacted an ethanol group in Brazil, the country whose sugar-cane-based ethanol program is viewed by many as a model to follow. Ethanol is already being used in the open-wheeled IndyCar racing series in the United States, and Fittipaldi told azcentral.com that he was "sure a lot of other categories in the world are going to follow Indianapolis. Bernie last year contacted the number one group for ethanol in Brazil."
Taiwan's exports thrived in May, accelerating 20.5% as growth in China, India and Southeast Asia kept business more than steady, Bloomberg News reported. In April, Taiwan exports gained 14%. "The strength is mostly from Asia," Alan Liao, an economist at Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. Ltd. in Taipei, told Bloomberg. "Taiwan's economy remains stable, yet inflation remains the key risk throughout the region."
Oil giant BP PLC (ADR:BP) said it's not chomping at the bit to begin drilling in properties in Canada's Beaufort Sea, a three-pack of offshore wells the company bid (and won) for $1.17 billion, Reuters reported. "We see it as an area of promise and see it as an opportunity to add to BP's existing resource base in the Beaufort Sea," Hejdi Feick, a spokeswoman for BP's Canadian unit, told Reuters. "We already have 15 significant discovery licenses in the Beaufort Sea."
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) will sell a unit that makes aerospace fasteners and provides logistical services to Florida-based BE Aerospace Inc. (BEAV) for $1.05 billion, including at least $800 million in cash and the rest in BE Aerospace common stock, the International Herald Tribune reported yesterday (Monday). Honeywell, based in Morristown, N.J., said the deal will likely close in the third quarter. The unit being sold had revenue of $524 million last year.
When the U.S. government deregulated the airline industry 30 years ago, it guaranteed air service to numerous small towns and cities across the country. But it didn't bargain for soaring fuel prices that are far outpacing subsidies from the government's so-called "Essential Air Service Program," meaning many carriers are either trying to re-negotiate their contracts or dropping out altogether, The Associated Press reported. So far this year, airlines have asked to opt out of subsidy contracts to 20 cities. That follows 24 such opt-outs last year and 15 opt-outs in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which administers the program.
Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in April to the highest level in six months as a glut of foreclosed properties flooded the market and drove prices lower, according to National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index. The index increased 6.3% to 88.2 from an unrevised 83.0 in March. Despite the up-tick, sales were 13.1% lower than a year ago, Reuters reported.
New Energy Finance, a global independent provider of information and research to investors in clean energy and the carbon markets, has opened an office in São Paulo, Brazil, its 12th worldwide location. "South America represents one of the most exciting markets for new energy investment in the world with its rapidly expanding biofuels sector," said CEO and Chairman Michael Liebreich in a company statement announcing the opening.
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) filed its proxy statement yesterday (Monday), which scheduled its annual meeting for Aug. 1. It encouraged shareholders to reconsider siding with billionaire investor Carl Icahn. "Even if you have previously signed a proxy card sent by the Icahn Entities, you have the right to change your vote," the proxy statement read, MarketWatch reported. "Only the latest dated proxy you submit will be counted."