Monthly Archives: June 2017

MADRID Spain's anti-corruption prosecutor, who was in charge of graft investigations involving members of the ruling People's Party (PP), stepped down on Thursday after coming under fire for holding a stake in an offshore company in Panama.

Manuel Moix's appointment in February had already led to a row between the minority PP government, which approved his nomination, and opposition parties which criticized the way he handled some cases involving the governing party.

Moix confirmed on Wednesday that he had a 25 percent stake in an offshore company which he shared with his siblings and had inherited from his father. He denied any wrongdoing and said in a Spanish radio interview that the arrangement was legal.

He stepped down on Thursday, though Spain's public prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza, who announced the anti-corruption chief's resignation, defended Moix's track record.

"I'm satisfied that there is absolutely nothing in the way he behaved that has been irregular or illegal," Maza told a news conference.

Several Spanish newspapers reported in April that Moix had tried to hinder a probe, still at the pre-trial stage, which involved the PP's Madrid branch.

Moix denied any wrongdoing, but opposition parties called for his resignation.

Moix's appointment had become increasingly embarrassing for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose party is embroiled in a series of corruption scandals, as opposition parties questioned his credentials.

Rajoy, who is not himself accused of any wrongdoing, has been trying to distance himself from corruption scandals that have come at a cost in the ballot box.

The conservative prime minister managed to stay on for a second term in office after the PP won the most votes in two inconclusive elections at the end of 2015 and in mid-2016.

But the PP lost its absolute majority meaning it has to negotiate policies on a case-by-case basis with the opposition to get laws through parliament, like a much-delayed budget for 2017 for which it managed to scrape enough support this week.

(Reporting by Raquel Castillo, Writing by Sarah White,; Editing by Sonya Dowsett and Stephen Powell)

BRUSSELS China and the European Union will seek on Friday to save a global pact against climate change from which U.S. President Donald Trump said he will withdraw.

CARACAS Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro said on Thursday a referendum would be held on his controversial plan to create a new super-body known as a constituent assembly with powers to rewrite the constitution.

HAVANA Cuba and the United States have dramatically reduced the rate of human trafficking since reaching a landmark accord in January but risk losing those gains if the two neighbors fail to resume high-level talks, Cuban Interior Ministry officials said in an exclusive interview.

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Spanish anti-corruption chief resigns over offshore company - Reuters

Teesside Offshore Wind Farm, operated by EDF Energy Renewables Ltd., in Hartlepool, U.K., on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The wind farm has a capacity of 62.1 megawatts. Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg

Victoria could get an $8 billion, 2000 megawatt wind farm off the coast of Gippsland - Australia's first offshore wind farm - if bold plans being hatched by two Melbourne energy executives bear fruit.

Andy Evans, who helped build the 192MW Waubra wind farm in Victoria as an executive with Spanish firm Acciona, and Terry Kallis, a former general manager with Electranet, the South Australian transmission monopoly, and former chief executive of Petratherm, a geothermal hopeful, have formed Offshore Energy to undertake an exhaustive three year feasibility study of the proposal.

Mr Kallis is also involved in the giant 600W Ceres wind farm proposal in SA.

The project could create as many as 12,000 jobs during a construction phase expected to last about a decade if the project gets the green light at the end of the three year feasibility period.

That's a potential boon in a region that faces the loss of thousands of power industry jobs as the La Trobe Valley's highly polluting brown coal power stations close down - starting with the 1600MW Hazelwood power station in March.

But Mr Evans and Mr Kallis are emphasising that their plan is at an early stage and - with the energy industry in flux - far from certain to get up. They are working withleading global engineering firm WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff on planning and feasibility.

Offshore wind has long been touted as a more reliable source of clean power than onshore wind because it blows more constantly and at higher speeds on the high seas. But offshore wind farms also face higher capital costs, construction risk and maintenance costs because of the challenging conditions out at sea.

Still, the project illustrates the upheaval in the energy industry as nations grapple with the challenge ofaddressing climate change without disrupting economic growth orr disrupting energy stability and supply.

Australia is enjoying a wave of investment in wind farms and large scale solar farms as memories of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's attempt to nobble the Renewable Energy Target fade and confidence returns to the sector.

Traditional coal power, by contrast, is regarded as uninvestiblebecause of the long term carbon risk and the Turnbull government has been forcedto enlargethe legislative mandate for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation in a bid to get some new investment in carbon capture technology for coal plant.

Offshore Energy's proposal is believed to be the first for a major offshore wind farm in Australia. Denmark is the global centre for offshore wind farms, taking advantage of the windswept North Sea.

Mr Evans and Mr Kallis believe Bass Strait off the Gippsland coast has similar high and constant winds to make it highly prospective for offshore wind.

MrEvans said that offshore wind's natural higher capacity factor and more constant generation would benefit electricity system capacity and security as Australia transitions to a more diverse energy mix.

"When placed in the right wind conditions like those off the coast of Gippsland, offshore wind delivers a high, consistent flow of electricity."

Mr Evans said the delivered cost of electricity from offshore wind had plummeted in recent years. "Even on current cost, offshore wind provides a new and exciting option for Australia's energy capacity and security. We expect technology and installation costs to continue to come down."

The proposed wind farm wouldinclude up to 250 turbines within a 574 square kilometre area in Commonwealth waters off the Gippsland coast,deliver about8,000GWh of electricity per year - roughly18 per centof Victoria's power usage or enough to power 1.2 million homes - and reduce carbon emissions by about 10.5 million tonnes per year.

Offshore Energy has $9 million of paid capital, according to ASIC records, a significant down payment on the expected cost of the feasibility studies.

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Giant $8 billion offshore Victoria wind farm studied - The Australian Financial Review

CAMERON PARISH -

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that it has approved a long-term application to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the first offshore project, Delfin LNG, LLC (Delfin). Exports in the amount of 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas are approved from Delfin's proposed offshore Louisiana floating LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico.

Development of the Delfin project offshore of Cameron Parish will include the construction of floating liquefaction and storage vessels. Due to its offshore location, the environmental review of Delfin was led by the Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry stated, "I am pleased that with this authorization the administration can continue to strengthen the United States as a dominant energy force with further exports of our abundant amounts of natural gas. Investing in American natural gas not only helps our economy and our jobs, but also helps our allies maintain their energy security. This represents a true win-win for everyone involved."

With the rapid increase in domestic natural gas production, the United States is transitioning to become a net exporter of natural gas. The Department of Energy has now authorized a total of 21 Bcf/d of natural gas exports to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries from planned facilities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and now, with Delfin, from the Gulf of Mexico. The Delfin project would further position the United States to become the predominant LNG supplier to the rest of the world, according to a release from the Dept. of Energy.

The full final authorization for Delfin LNG, LLC, can be found under "Recent Orders" HERE.

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Additional LNG exports from Cameron Parish offshore project approved - KATC Lafayette News

Mary Ann Bragg @MaryAnnBraggCCT

NEWTONOptimism was in the air Wednesday.

Inside a conference room at the Boston Newton Marriott, offshore wind energy developers met potential suppliers of the materials, labor and facilities for their projects on 15-minute speed dates.

In the room with 250 people, two of the three developers with thousands of acres leased south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket for offshore wind farms predicted construction on the projects in the early 2020s. A sense of relief and excitement prevailed among attendees, including those with ties to Cape Cod.

There have been a lot of these sessions, starting with Cape Wind, said ocean safety consultant Ron Beck. The thing that distinguishes this is that there are turbines in the water, and the industry is now spending money.

Wednesdays conference, sponsored by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, was a chance for wind farm developers Deepwater Wind, Bay State Wind and Vineyard Wind, along with turbine manufacturers and major contractors, to describe what materials and manpower they will need, how they might obtain it, and a timeline for the projects. Port and infrastructure facilities in New Bedford, Fall River and Boston were also discussed.

The offshore wind companies are drawn to Massachusetts with the guarantee of power sales from a bill signed by Gov. Baker in 2016, requiring the states three electric distribution companies to buy 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind energy within 10 years. The first competitive bid solicitation is expected at the end of the month.

A 1,600-megawatt procurement for the U.S. is absolutely significant and will kick-start the industry, said Thomas Brostrom, general manager for North America for DONG Energy, which has partnered with Eversource Energy on Bay State Wind.

For some at the conference, though, the Cape Wind project was still in the back of their minds.

Maritime consultant Thomas Bushy recalled a Cape Wind conference several years ago at which a union diver asked about jobs, and Bushy had told him there would be plenty.

This is it, Bushy said. Im really happy to see that the vision that I was part of is happening.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce chief of staff Christopher Adamssaid offshore wind is a new source of year-round jobs for residents. The thorny days of Cape Wind are over, he said.

The controversial 130-turbine Cape Wind project planned on 30 acres in Nantucket Sound remains in good standing with its federal lease payments but is not seen as a viable project by state offshore wind proponents after losing critical power contracts in 2015.

There are many roles to be played and a lot of opportunities for the old manufacturers, said Carl Horstmann, president of Middleboro-based Mass Tank, which makes water and fuel tanks.

The company, along with Gulf Island Fabrication and EEW, had intended to partner with Cape Wind president James Gordon.

We all learned and are very thankful to Jim Gordon for being a trailblazer and pushing everybody towards renewable energy, said Horstmann, who attended the Wednesday conference where Gulf Island and EEW, among others, gave presentations.

Mass Tank could supply any of the metal fabrication needs of the developers, Horstmann said.

Beck, along with Megan Amsler, executive directorof Cape & Islands Self-Reliance in North Falmouth, and others hope to supply training for the industry.

The industry is already clamoring for this, Amsler said about a suite of safety classes based on Global Wind Organization standards, such as how to survive in the open ocean.

The Massachusetts Maritime Academy could be the first in North and South America to offer a one-stop shop for the certifications, Amsler said.

The school, located in Buzzards Bay, will very likely be able to adapt its current vessel safety training, based on U.S. Coast Guard standards, to offshore wind, said Hung Tom Pham, who directs the academys Marine Hydrokinetic Research Center.

But we want to make sure the training is properly geared to not only the U.S. standard but also the European standard, Pham said.

In the fall, Bristol Community College, headquartered in Fall River, will offer new coursework for a wind turbine technician position, predicted to be a fast-growing career in the next decade with pay starting in the mid-$50,000 range, said Paul Vigeant, a workforce development specialist at the college.

Follow Mary Ann Bragg on Twitter: @maryannbraggCCT.

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Cape businesses hopeful about offshore wind projects - Cape Cod Times (subscription)

Shayne Elliott, chief executive at ANZ, says uncoordinated property market policies could have an 'unintended outcome'.

London-based investors in Australia's banks are fretting about the risk that several small and seemingly well-intentioned changes in housing market policies combine to create a sharp property market correction.

ANZ Banking Group chief executive Shayne Elliott, who has just returned from a week in London, said investors there are also worried that high levels of household debt have lifted housing market risk and that the government might seek to raise revenue from other sectors following the budget's surprise bank tax.

The Australian banks rely on foreign investors to fund the $400 billion gap between domestic deposits and overall lending to the economy.

Speaking to The Australian Financial Review after a presentation to a G100 conference in Sydney, Mr Elliott said many institutional investors in ANZ's debt and equity have a "heightened level of interest and concern" about Australian housing. Some view the prudential regulator's speed limits as indicative of its caution, while others suggested high levels of household debt are making them nervous.

The budget introduced new limits to the way expenses can be deducted against negative geared properties. Mr Elliott said offshore investors had asked whether "a bunch of little tweaks" in the budget made it possible that these and additional small policy changes could conspire to hit housing prices.

Asked how he responded, Mr Elliott said: "We don't think that that is the base case but it is a risk. At the moment, what it appears is that, on the face of it, there is a lot of uncoordinated measures that are coming from all angles.

"And if they are not thought through, there is always the problem that they conspire together to have an unintended outcome."

UBS analyst Jonathan Mott told global clients of the investment bank on Thursday that even though the latest CoreLogic Home Value Index showed house prices in Sydney were 2.2 per cent below their mid-April peak, it was still too early to call a housing market correction.

Yet if prices continued to moderate during June and July, "the risk of a negative feedback loop may rise, especially as APRA's macroprudential tightening of mortgage underwriting standards takes effect", Mr Mott warned.

ANZ had tried to adopt a conciliatory approach since the budget, but "I think the comments about the oligopoly are unhelpful", Mr Elliott said. Treasurer Scott Morrison, in his speech introducing the bank tax on Tuesday, described the big banks as an oligopoly which used significant pricing power to the detriment of Australians.

But Mr Elliott said Australia's banks are actually less concentrated than many other domestic industries and "it is the nature of a small economy to have, on the face of it, concentrations. If you think about airlines, supermarkets, energy companies, mining companies, it is a concentrated country.

"So I don't know that [the Treasurer's comments] are necessarily very helpful."

It was "fair and reasonable" the legislation introducing the bank tax had enshrined the basis point rate in law. This "doesn't stop it changing, but it puts some accountability on explaining to the public why."

Mr Elliott also welcomed concessions such as derivatives being dropped from the taxed liabilities. "We have tried to have a constructive debate with Treasury pointing out practical implementation issues with the levy, like the derivatives one, so it is good to see they have listened on a few of those things."

All the banks are likely to lean on their 200,000 staff to engage with the public more positively about the role banks play in the economy and community, he said. "That is our best answer for this, I think using our branch networks and relationship people in the industry to be outspoken about what they do."

ANZ chief financial officer Michelle Jablko has also been meeting offshore investors, visiting the United States the week before last. Institutional investors based offshore own 27 per cent of ANZ's shares.

Mr Elliott also used his time in London to be briefed on the UK's "open banking" initiatives; the federal government said in the budget a similar regime would be introduced in Australia.

Excerpt from:

Offshore bank investors fret about housing - The Australian Financial Review

Australia's largest investment bank, Macquarie Group, is not ruling out moving offshore in the wake of the imposition of the $6.2 billion bank levy but, as of yet, has made no final decision.

Macquarie, one of the five banks to be hit with the Major Bank Levy has vastly smaller retail operations in Australia than the big four and could more easily relocate it headquarters.

It did not rule out relocating after senior sources told The Australian Financial Review that Macquarie Bank executives had relayed to at least one of the major political parties it was canvassing options for relocating overseas following the announcement of the bank tax in the May budget.

Asked to respond, a Macquarie spokeswoman left open the option.

"As we have said over the years, Macquarie consistently looks at the most appropriate locations for its businesses and head office," she said.

"Whilst approximately two-thirds of our business is outside Australia, it remains a key market and is where over 6000 of our approximately 13,600 staff are employed."

Macquarie has operations in 28 other nations with large presences in London, Hong Kong, New York and Singapore.

It qualified for the bank tax because its Australian operations meet the threshold of having more than $100 billion in liabilities. An industry source said this could be reduced as part of any relocation.

Compared with the big four retail banks, Macquarie's domestic retail arm is small, contributing 11 per cent of its operating profit. Domestically, it is the eighth largest lender, with its mortgages accounting for just 2 per cent of market share. Similarly, its retail deposits account for just 2 per cent of market share.

It is understood this is not the first run-in Macquarie Bank has had with government.

Several years ago it had concerns with how the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority required it to hold extra capital against its expanding global operations.

If the bank were to relocate abroad, it would punch a hole in the revenue the Turnbull government has budgeted to raise from the tax, leaving it the option of increasing the rate or changing the structure of the tax to take more from the big four. the ANZ Bank, national Australia Bank, The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac.

Since the bank tax was announced, Macquarie has maintained a public silence but it, like the other banks, has been lobbying behind the scenes.

One source said its executives had informed politicians that while it had made no decision to relocate, it was drawing up options.

It did not release estimates of how much it expected to pay in the tax although it would be the smallest contributor of the five, with industry estimates putting its annual liability at about $70 million.

The big four have estimated that between them, they will pay $1.4 billion in tax as a gross figure and $965 million net. The tax is forecast to raise $1.6 billion in its first year, 2017-18. Both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison are confident the forecast revenue will be raised, suggesting that the bank estimates were on the low side.

The government has so far been unperturbed by the anger shown by the banks, believing it to be bluff and bluster. It argues the banks can easily afford the tax that amounts to about $1.5 billion a year out of combined profits of more than $30 billion.

On Thursday, the Financial Review reported growing concern in the sector at what it perceived at being demonised by the government, as well as the Opposition, and how this had the potential to damage investor confidence.

Macquarie is an icon of Australia's investment banking industry and is the only major Australian bank to have made major inroads into Wall Street.

Macquarie is an asset management firm and investment bank. The largest share of the company's earnings come from the asset management arm, which largely manages infrastructure assets.

In Singapore, Macquarie's business operations span deal advisory and capital markets, asset finance, asset management, research and trading and warrants. Macquarie operates in 11 markets in Asia and employs 3450 people across its offices in the region. The company's Asia-based workforce is the second largest outside Australia which employs 6136 staff.

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Macquarie Group ponders moving offshore - The Australian Financial Review

Macquarie Group reportedly mulling offshore move to avoid bank tax Financial Times Macquarie Group is the best performing blue chip in Australia following a report the investment bank would not rule out shifting its headquarters offshore to avoid the incoming A$6.2bn bank levy. In its federal budget early last month, the Australian ... and more »

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Macquarie Group reportedly mulling offshore move to avoid bank tax - Financial Times