Anglo American has shut down its entire platinum mining operations in the Rustenburg area of South Africa to try to ensure the safety of its 26,000 staff, as intimidation and unrest spreads. The miner, which accounts for 45% of global platinum production, said on Wednesday that its employees were not on strike, as are thousands at Lonmin and Gold Fields mines, but had experienced threats of violence when trying to report for work. This is whilst South Africa’s mineral resources minister Susan Shabangu has said the industry is facing its biggest challenge since the end of apartheid in 1994. Under a mining charter, the government has set out a list of targets for the industry- which built a reputation for treating workers badly during apartheid- including improving living conditions and skills and the development of communities living in mining districts. But Ms Shabangu said the charter had been treated more as a “gentleman’s agreement” by the industry and not enough had been done. (Financial Times*, Financial Times*, The Times)
Life ban and fine for HBOS’s Cummings
Peter Cummings, former head of corporate lending at HBOS, has been banned from working in financial services for life, representing one of the first major enforcement actions by the UK regulatory watchdog to arise from the financial crisis. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said Mr Cummings pursued an “aggressive expansion strategy” in 2006 to 2008 at HBOS despite known risk control problems. The watchdog also hit Mr Cummings with the largest fine levied to date against a UK banker, £500,000, for management failings which slowed the corporate division’s response to deteriorating high-value loans. This triggered huge losses when corporate real estate prices crashed and forced HBOS into a rescue takeover by Lloyds TSB in 2008. The FSA said that, following the fine, it will now publish a report into the causes of the failure of HBOS. (Financial Times*, The Times, BBC)
UBS looks to put cap on banker bonuses
UBS is looking at capping bankers’ bonuses as the Swiss bank joins its European peers in cracking down on remuneration schemes following regulatory and investor pressure. The ideas for wide-ranging reforms will be debated at board level in the next few months and a final plan will be presented to key investors several months ahead of the annual meeting next May. A scheme to cap bonuses could copy that of UK banks Barclays and HSBC, where executive directors’ annual variable pay is limited to 250% and 300% of base salary respectively. A new pay system would also be designed to make UBS’s performance criteria and benchmarks more transparent to investors. (Financial Times*)
Policy & Research
Climate Change Committee rules “dash for gas” would be illegal
The independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) has today warned that the British government would breach the Climate Change Act if it pursues Chancellor George Osborne’s plans for a surge in new gas investment. The CCC today stated that “extensive use of unabated gas-fired capacity (i.e. without carbon capture and storage technology (CCS)) in 2030 and beyond would be incompatible with meeting legislated carbon budgets”. The letter reiterates the CCC’s recommendation that the Energy Bill use secondary legislation to include a carbon target for the electricity sector of 50gCO2/kWh that would come into place from 2030 and effectively ban the use of both coal and gas fired power plants without CCS technology. Significantly, a motion has been tabled at the Liberal Democrat conference that supports the target and criticises the apparent retreat from climate change policy being undertaken by Osborne and others in the Conservative Party. (Business Green)
Environment
New York is first city to publish energy data for private buildings
New York City has publicly posted 2011 energy benchmarking results for 2,065 large commercial properties representing more than 530 million square feet, marking the first time any US city, state or county has disclosed private-sector building energy data from a mandatory policy. The database includes site energy use intensity (EUI), a measure of the energy used at the site on a per square foot basis; the weather-normalized source EUI, which takes into account generation and distribution losses; greenhouse gas emissions; water per square foot, and the ‘Energy Star’ scores for buildings, where such a rating is applicable. The energy use data also is a critical tool that the city says will help it achieve its goal of reducing citywide carbon emissions 30% by 2030. (Environmental Leader)
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