Government regulation of a cornerstone of financial markets has moved closer after a British banking body agreed to surrender its decades-long role in overseeing Libor, the scandal-riven global benchmark for borrowing costs. The British Bankers' Association formally voted to cede its role last week, more than four years after questions were first raised about whether banks were lying in their submissions to the setting that governs $350 trillion in contracts worldwide. (Financial Times*, BBC)
Environment
Total warns against oil drilling in Arctic
Total SA says energy companies should not drill for crude oil in Arctic waters, marking the first time an oil major has publicly spoken out against offshore oil exploration in the region. Christophe de Margerie, Total’s chief executive, told the Financial Times the risk of an oil spill in such an environmentally sensitive area was simply too high. Last week, Royal Dutch Shell had to postpone until next year an attempt to drill into oil-bearing rock off the Alaskan coast after a piece of safety equipment was damaged during testing. ExxonMobil, ENI of Italy and Norway’s Statoil have also signed deals to explore for oil in Russia’s Arctic waters, while others have secured licences to drill off Greenland. Mr de Margerie emphasised that he was not opposed to Arctic exploration in principle as gas leaks were easier to deal with than oil spills. (Financial Times*)
Employees
Mining strikes spread to gold and coal
Unrest in South Africa’s mining sector has escalated as AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest gold producer, said today it had been forced to halt its operations in the country as most of its 35,000 employees joined an illegal strike. Gold Fields has also said on Tuesday that a fresh wildcat strike had broken out at one of its mines involving about 9,000 workers. In the first industrial action to hit South Africa’s coal sector, Coal of Africa announced that employees at one of its collieries had downed their tools after rejecting an increase to their salaries and benefits that they say would have equated to 22%. However, Coal of Africa said its strike at the mine was legal. (Financial Times*, Financial Times*)
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