Bill clears House for stricter SEC requirements
WASHINGTON — Legislation cleared the House on Friday that would place stricter requirements on the federal agency overseeing Wall Street to assess the costs and benefits of its regulations before they are issued.
The bill passed on a 235-161 vote mostly on party lines. It was the latest salvo against the Securities and Exchange Commission by House Republicans, who opposed the 2010 financial overhaul legislation expanding the SEC’s powers and have resisted increasing its budget. Congress enacted the regulatory overhaul in response to the 2008 financial crisis with an eye to preventing another meltdown.
Friday’s bill isn’t expected to get a vote in the Senate. It would require the SEC to refrain from adopting rules unless it determines that the benefits of the rules outweigh the costs. The agency currently conducts cost-benefit analyses of regulations prior to issuing them. But the bill would make the process more extensive and detailed.
In addition, the SEC would be required to review all its existing rules to determine if they impose excessive costs or administrative burdens on the companies regulated by the agency.
The White House registered its opposition to the bill on Wednesday, saying it would add “burdensome and disruptive new procedures (that) would impede the ability of the SEC to protect investors, maintain orderly and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.”
But Republicans insisted the change was needed to help curb runaway regulations written in Washington that hurt ordinary Americans by raising costs for businesses.
Energy Dept. backs Texas LNG export plan
WASHINGTON — The Energy Department on Friday conditionally approved a Texas company’s proposal to export liquefied natural gas, only the second such project allowed to move forward amid a production boom that has led to glut of domestic natural gas.
The action would allow Freeport LNG Expansion L.P. to export up to 1.4 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day from its terminal near Freeport, Texas, south of Houston. The DOE said granting such a permit for shipments to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the U.S. was in the public interest.
Freeport, owned by ConocoPhillips and other investors, is the second export project to win Energy Department authorization, following the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal in Cameron Parish, La.
Energy companies are seeking federal permits for more than 20 export projects that could handle as much as 29 billion cubic feet of LNG a day. If approved, the resulting export boom could lead to further increases in hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique also known as fracking that has allowed companies to gain access to huge stores of natural gas but raised widespread concerns about alleged groundwater contamination and other problems.
In recent months, however, production has begun to level off as the glut of natural gas keeps U.S. prices down. In response, producers have begun pushing to export the fuel to Europe and Asia, where prices are far higher. Approval of all the projects currently under review by the Energy Department could result in the export of more than 40 percent of current U.S. natural gas production.
The gas would be chilled to liquid form before being exported aboard large tanker ships.
Sonic the Hedgehog rolls with Nintendo
Sega says it will exclusively release the next three games starring the popular blue critter on Nintendo platforms. The first title will be called “Sonic Lost World” and is set for release on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS later this year.
“With ‘Sonic Lost World,’ we’re going to introduce new gameplay and enemies, which is always fun,” said John Cheng, president and chief financial officer of Sega of America Inc. “In terms of Sonic and his friends, he’ll have his same friends there, and I think there’ll be some new ones as well. It’s not a reiteration. It’s going to be all new.”
The original fast-paced side-scrolling “Sonic the Hedgehog” debuted in 1991. The twirling, ring-hoarding hedgehog became Sega’s mascot and a video-game icon rivaling the likes of Mario and Pac-Man.
Sega says more than 75 million games and smartphone apps featuring Sonic have been sold worldwide. After the publisher stopped producing its own game consoles in 2001, Sega began releasing “Sonic” games for other systems, including Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox.
Microsoft is expected to unveil a new Xbox console at an event in Seattle next week, following Sony’s tease of the forthcoming PlayStation 4 earlier this year in New York.