Sugar industry, high fructose corn syrup makers settle.
A billion-dollar legal battle between big sugar processors and corn refiners over the nutritional value of high-fructose corn syrup was settled in the midst of a trial in downtown Los Angeles, attorneys announced today.
Both sides announced the deal that puts an end to a trial that began nearly three weeks ago in Los Angeles federal court pitting sugar against high fructose corn syrup. In opening statements two weeks ago, attorney Mark Lanier, representing the sugar processors, gave the eight-member federal civil jury a short rundown of the 2,000-year history of sugar, suggesting that all was well in the business until HFCS was “invented in a Japanese laboratory in 1955” and made commercially available in the 1970s. Although some consumers remain passionate about the value of one product over the other, science has determined they are nearly identical and are metabolized the same way, said Roger A. However, in the early 2000s, Lanier alleged, “the tide really started to change” for HFCS, when articles began appearing suggesting that corn syrup “may play a role in the obesity epidemic.” Allegations in the media about HFCS’ so-called hazards “started to have an effect on the market,” the attorney said, and refiners began a “sugar is sugar” campaign to convince consumers that “your body can’t tell the difference.” But attorney Dan Webb, representing Cargill and other large corn refiners, told the jury that each of Lanier’s allegations was “false,” and branded the sugar industry’s lawsuit as “phony.” The sugar trade group’s real gripe against HFCS is that the corn refiners “took a large market share from the sugar companies,” up to 50 percent of the market by 2003, Webb said.
The new Liberal government says the federal books passed down from the Conservatives are on track to drive the country billions of dollars deeper in the hole than expected. But Finance Minister Bill Morneau maintained Friday that the government will fulfil its pledge to balance the books before the next election despite the weaker economic environment and the steeper fiscal obstacles. For example, the $2.4-billion surplus for 2015-16 — including the $1 billion set aside for contingencies — projected in April by the Tories is now expected to be a $3-billion deficit. The Finance Department’s latest figures, released Friday, do not account for the big-ticket spending promises in the Liberal platform, nor do they factor in the potential benefits the government expects from its plan to roll out stimulus such as infrastructure.
The Liberals have vowed to run annual deficits of just under $10 billion over the next two years with a shortfall of about $5.7 billion in the third year. The government noted that economic conditions have deteriorated since the April budget because of higher expenses and lower revenues tied in part to stubbornly low commodity prices, global uncertainty and the very weak performance by the United States economy to start the year. “Risks to the Canadian outlook remain tilted to the downside,” the update said, adding that monthly economic growth has picked up again in recent months after a contraction over the first two quarters of 2015, which is considered a technical recession. The economists downgraded the April projections for real gross domestic product — the common measure of economic growth — to an average of 1.9 per cent from 2015 to 2019, from 2.1. Kinder Morgan, the company behind the pipeline project, doesn’t yet have a formal estimate of how the price tag has changed since its regulatory application was filed in December 2013. But on a conference call with analysts and investors last month, Kinder Morgan Canada president Ian Anderson said it’s looking more like $6.8 billion — a figure that took into account where the loonie was trading against the U.S. dollar on that particular day.
TransMountain spokeswoman Ali Hounsell says the company will be able to pin down a more accurate figure once it knows what conditions may be attached to a federal permit if it’s approved. “It’s absolutely still a viable project. Customers have the ability to back out of their contract to ship crude on the pipeline if the cost goes over $6.8 billion or the regulatory approval is pushed past the end of 2017.
Hounsell said there have been some changes to the project along the way that could affect its final price, such as deciding to tunnel through Burnaby Mountain, thicker pipe and routing changes. But earlier this week, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr told reporters the ongoing reviews of the TransMountain expansion and TransCanada Corp.’s Atlantic-bound Energy East proposal are moving forward. One of Canada’s largest private-sector unions wants the federal government to revoke the Jim Pattison Group’s commercial salmon-fishing licences over the closure of its cannery in Prince Rupert. Unifor western director Joie Warnock says in a news release that the decision by the Pattison-owned Canadian Fishing Company will cost up to 500 jobs and virtually close the community’s largest employer.
But company spokesman Rob Morley called the union’s job-loss estimate inaccurate and says about 330 people work regularly for the company and most will still process fish. Canada’s broadcast regulator is moving to implement changes it promised earlier this year to give Canadians more options when subscribing to cable and satellite television service. It says all Canadian will have access to either pick-and-pay or small television packages as of March 1 and have access to both options by Dec. 1 next year.
What makes this toy fun is its marriage of apps and social media with old-school stop-motion animation, which stitches together still pictures into a video. The starter kit comes with two StikBots — small, flexible plastic figures with suction cups for hands and feet — along with a basic tripod for your smartphone. This small, plastic dinosaur from New York-based startup Elemental Path has a voice reminiscent of Yoda from “Star Wars.” The toy uses Watson’s speech-recognition and cognitive abilities to create an interactive experience. With Watson’s help, the toy will also answer complicated questions such as “Why is the sky blue?” and “Where do babies come from?” in a kid-appropriate way.
Lost My Name, a London-based startup, uses satellite maps and other data to create customized books that go well beyond similar products on the market. As your child gets closer to home, the book’s pages display nearby landmarks and eventually a satellite map showing your child’s neighbourhood and home. The Obama administration had stalled in approving the fast-growing salmon for more than five years amid consumer concerns about eating genetically modified foods. In announcing the approval, the FDA said that there are “no biologically relevant differences in the nutritional profile of AquAdvantage Salmon compared to that of other farm-raised Atlantic salmon.” A 2012 FDA assessment showed that development of the salmon is unlikely to harm the environment.
Ron Stotish, the company’s CEO, said in a statement that the fish is a “game changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats.” There is no evidence that the foods would be unsafe, but for some people, it’s an ethical issue. Some retailers have pledged not to sell the salmon, which has an added gene from the Pacific Chinook salmon that enables the fish to produce more growth hormone and grow faster. By altering genetic materials, scientists have proposed — and in some cases, actually created — animals that would be bred to be disease-free, cleaner in their environments or grow more efficiently.
The central bank says it introduced a quarterly questionnaire in late 2014 to collect data on consumer expectations for inflation, the job market and household finance. The report by the Canadian Board Diversity Council says it’s the largest one-year increase in female representation on the boards of FP500 companies, which are Canada’s largest firms by revenue, since 2001. The rise follows the introduction of a new “comply or explain” policy that forces publicly traded companies to disclose certain statistics on the representation of women on their boards and in executive officer positions. Asia-Pacific leaders called Thursday for increased international co-operation in the fight against terrorism as they held annual talks overshadowed by the Paris attacks.
A copy of the declaration that the leaders will issue following their talks, seen by The Associated Press, strongly condemned “all acts, methods, and practices of terrorism.” The statement on terrorism, which also mentions attacks in Beirut and the bombing of a Russian airliner over Sinai, is a rare departure from convention for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum which normally focuses on trade and business issues. The mission of the 21-member APEC, convened in the Philippine capital of Manila under extremely tight security, is lowering barriers to trade and economic development. Apart from uniting against the attacks in Paris and the deepening crisis in Syria, the leaders are also seeking to promote co-operation against climate change. Security Council members France and Russia were pursuing resolutions seeking to unite the international community in combating the Islamic State group.
The first of two APEC summit retreats began Thursday with the leaders posing for a “family photo,” one of several traditions of the annual gatherings that rotate from one member to the next. Protest leader Renato Reyes of the left-wing alliance Bayan said the group was demanding a new economic framework that puts national interest ahead of corporate profits. Over the past two decades “APEC and imperialist globalization have only benefited the rich countries while further impoverishing developing countries like the Philippines,” he said. Along with concerns over the rising threat of terrorism, leaders are just weeks away from a deadline to forge an agreement to limit global warming in a meeting that begins Nov. 30 in Paris. The Quebec government pledged $1.3 billion in October to help Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) complete the CSeries aircraft line, which is about two years behind schedule.
We’re looking at the business case to make sure we do our due diligence and homework.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week Bombardier needed to present a solid business plan before he would consider injecting money to help the company, while Bains said Wednesday the government realizes the importance of the aerospace sector to the economy. Daoust and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard justified their decision to invest in Bombardier by saying the company is too important to not support and that the massive cash injection is critical to keeping good jobs and tax revenues.