Companies begin defense in Gulf oil spill trial

NEW ORLEANS — The owner of the drilling rig that exploded at the outset of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill catastrophe started its defense Monday at a trial designed to determine the disaster's causes and assign fault to the companies involved.

Transocean Ltd. called its first witness, well control expert Calvin Barnhill, on the 13th day of the trial. Transocean president and CEO Steven Newman was scheduled to testify Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier already has heard testimony by more than a dozen witnesses called by the Justice Department and attorneys for Gulf Coast businesses and residents who claim the spill cost them money. The plaintiffs' lawyers still expect to call another witness to the stand this week, an employee of cement contractor Halliburton.

Tranoscean's witnesses could take up the rest of the trial's fourth week. Halliburton and Macondo well owner BP PLC plan to call their own witnesses after Transocean finishes.

The judge is hearing the case without a jury and — barring a settlement — could decide how much more money BP and its contractors owe for their roles in the catastrophe. BP could be on the hook for nearly $18 billion in penalties under the Clean Water Act if the judge finds that it acted with "gross negligence."

The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, killed 11 workers and led to the nation's worst offshore oil spill.

After a plaintiffs' expert finished testifying Monday, BP attorney Andy Langan asked Barbier to rule that the plaintiffs haven't proved the London-based oil giant acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct. Barbier said he wasn't ready to rule on that request yet.

M-I LLC, BP's drilling fluids contractor on the Macondo well, asked the judge on Monday to dismiss all of the plaintiffs' claims against the company. M-I attorneys argued the plaintiffs haven't presented any evidence that M-I made any decision that led to the blowout. Barbier didn't immediately rule on M-I's request, either.

The plaintiffs' attorneys have accused BP and its contractors of cutting corners and sacrificing safety in a rush to save time and money on a project that was behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget. BP leased the rig from Swiss-based Transocean.

Barnhill, a petroleum engineer, testified Monday that Tranocean's drilling crew was properly trained in accordance with industry standards. He described the Deepwater Horizon as a "state-of-the-art" rig that drilled at depths few others ever had.

Geoff Webster, a marine safety expert whose testimony for the plaintiffs ended Monday, concluded that Transocean failed to adequately train crew members or properly maintain the rig.

Barnhill also testified that BP ultimately was responsible for determining whether the results of a crucial safety test were properly interpreted on the day of the blowout.

Two BP rig supervisors, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, are charged with manslaughter in the 11 rig workers' deaths and await a separate trial. An indictment last year accuses Kaluza and Vidrine of botching the safety test and disregarding abnormally high pressure readings that should have been glaring signs of trouble just before the explosion.

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New Mass. rules seek to help vets get jobs

New Mass. rules seek to help vets get jobs

BOSTON — Massachusetts is adopting new guidelines designed to make it easier for veterans to get jobs.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray says the state's 31 professional licensing boards have been instructed to begin accepting any comparable education and training applicants may have received in the military as qualifications toward a license.

The new regulations would also keep valid any professional licenses held by members of the military for at least three months after they leave active duty.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles said Monday it was adopting a waiver that allows veterans and active service members to apply for a commercial driver's license without taking a road skills test if they have at least two years of experience with similar military vehicles. Massachusetts joins 36 other states that previously adopted the waiver.

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Man gets over 3 years in iPad data breach case

NEWARK, N.J. — A man convicted of illegally gaining access to AT&T's servers and stealing more than 100,000 email addresses of iPad users has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.

Former Arkansas resident Andrew Auernheimer was convicted in November of identity theft and conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers. Auernheimer's attorney had sought probation.

Auernheimer castigated the government for an unfair prosecution before a federal judge in Newark, N.J., pronounced his 41-month sentence Monday.

Prosecutors say Auernheimer was part of a group that tricked AT&T's website into divulging the email addresses, including those of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, film mogul Harvey Weinstein and other celebrities.

The group shared the addresses with the website Gawker, which published them in redacted form.

A second defendant has pleaded guilty.

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US builder confidence falls on weak supply, labor

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders fell this month because of concerns that increased demand for new homes is exceeding supplies of ready-to-build land, building materials and workers.

In the short term, those constraints could slow sales. But builders' outlook for sales over the next six months has reached its strongest point in more than six years.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday fell to 44 from 46 in February. It was the second decline since January, which was preceded by eight straight monthly gains. A measure of current sales conditions declined from February's reading.

Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006.

The index began trending higher in October 2011, when it was 17. That increase coincided with the start of a housing recovery.

An improving job market, persistently low mortgage rates and rising home values have helped fuel U.S. homes over the past year. New-home sales jumped 16 percent in January to the highest level since July 2008.

The combination of heightened demand and a tight supply of previously occupied homes for sale have motivated builders to ramp up construction. Builders started work on the most homes last year since 2008.

Despite the positive sales trends, many builders are facing higher costs for building materials and competition for land cleared for development. Some also are having trouble obtaining financing to buy land and cover construction costs.

At privately held Sivage Homes, which builds in New Mexico and Texas, customer traffic is up this spring and points to a better sales season than last year. But the builder's difficulty obtaining loans to acquire and develop land means the sales gains will likely be only marginally better than a year ago, says CEO Michael Sivage.

"That's not a demand issue but a supply issue," he says.

Banks were badly burned when land values crashed after the housing boom. Many have been slow to provide financing to smaller builders, many of which are short on land.

Adding to the problem: As demand for land has grown, so have sales prices, which now often exceed the appraised value of the land. In that scenario, lenders are less likely to make a loan unless builders put up a lot more of their own money.

Meanwhile, builders large and small have reported a shortage of workers in markets where residential construction has picked up sharply, such as Texas and Arizona.

Many construction workers — from roofers and drywall installers, to framers and carpenters — appear to have fled to other fields, such as the booming oil and natural gas industry.

While U.S. residential construction jobs increased 3.1 percent in February from a year earlier, they remain about 40 percent below the peak reached during the housing boom.

"The road to a housing recovery will be a bumpy one until these issues are addressed, but in the meantime, builders are much more optimistic today than they were at this time last year," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist.

The latest builder confidence index, based on responses from 341 builders, comes as the critical spring home-selling season is under way.

A gauge of current sales conditions fell four points to 47, but a measure of traffic by prospective buyers improved three points to 35, while builders' outlook for sales in the next six months improved one point to 51, the highest level since June 2006.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to NAHB statistics.

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Burger King to offer a turkey burger

NEW YORK — If you think a Whopper's too indulgent but are sick of chicken sandwiches, Burger King is offering a turkey burger for the first time.

The Miami-based company is rolling out the new sandwich this week as part of its limited-time offers for spring, marking the latest fast-food effort to cater to health-conscious diners. Last week, McDonald's said it plans to offer a lower-calorie version of its Egg McMuffin made with egg whites. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain said the egg whites will be available for any other breakfast sandwich on its menu as well.

McDonald's and Wendy's said they have no records indicating they ever offered a turkey burger, meaning Burger King would be the biggest fast-food chain to do so.

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LPL Financial nominates former Xerox CEO to board

BOSTON — LPL Financial, an independent stock broker and a subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., said Monday that it nominated former Xerox Corp. Chairman and CEO Anne Mulcahy to its board.

The nomination is subject to approval by shareholders at the company's annual meeting in May. Mulcahy will also serve on the board's audit committee. She would take the 10th seat on an expanded LPL board which currently has nine members.

Mulcahy served as Xerox's CEO from 2001 to 2009 and as chairman of the company from 2002 to 2010. She is currently a board director of Johnson & Johnson, Target Corp. and The Washington Post Co.

In midday trading, shares of LPL Financial Holdings fell 26 cents to $32.41. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $23.17 to $38.94.

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NYC plan would keep tobacco products out of sight

NEW YORK — A new proposal would require New York City retailers to keep tobacco products out of sight under a first-in-the-nation proposal aimed at reducing the youth smoking rate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.

The legislation would require stores to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots. They could only be visible when an adult is making a purchase or during restocking.

Bloomberg said similar prohibitions on displays have been enacted in other countries, including Iceland, Canada, England and Ireland.

"Such displays suggest that smoking is a normal activity," Bloomberg said. "And they invite young people to experiment with tobacco."

Stores devoted primarily to the sale of tobacco products would be exempt from the display ban.

The mayor's office said retail stores could still advertise tobacco products under the legislation.

"We have made tremendous strides in combatting smoking in New York City but this leading killer still threatens the health of our children," said Dr. Thomas A. Farley, the health commissioner.

Farley said the city's comprehensive anti-smoking program cut adult smoking rates by nearly a third — from 21.5 percent in 2002 to 14.8 percent in 2011 — but the youth rate has remained flat, at 8.5 percent, since 2007.

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death among New Yorkers, Farley said.

The legislation, to be introduced in the City Council on Wednesday, is comprised of two separate bills that Farley called "logical, important next steps to further protect our teens from tobacco."

The second bill, called the "Sensible Tobacco Enforcement" bill, strengthens enforcement of discounted and smuggled cigarettes. It would prohibit the sale of discounted tobacco products, impose packaging requirements on cheap cigars and create a price floor for cigarette packs and small cigars. The city would have the authority to seal premises where there are repeat violations.

The bill would also increase penalties for retailers who evade tobacco taxes or sell tobacco without a license.

Bloomberg has backed a number of public health measures, including a crackdown on large sizes of sugary drinks and adding calorie counts to menus. A judge blocked the drinks ban but the city is appealing.

"People always say, 'Oh, you're doing these health things to raise money,'" Bloomberg said. "No, that is not the reason. We're doing these health things to save lives."

The bill would also prohibit retailers from redeeming coupons for tobacco products.

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Ericsson, STMicroelectronics to cut 1,600 jobs

STOCKHOLM — STOCKHOLM — Swedish wireless equipment maker Ericsson and Switzerland's STMicroelectronics say they will lay off up to 1,600 workers globally as part of a plan for splitting up their unprofitable joint venture.

STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest chipmakers, announced in December that it wanted out of ST-Ericsson as it struggled with a downturn in global demand. After months of talks the two companies said Monday they had agreed to end the joint venture.

Ericsson said it will take on the joint venture's "thin modem" products, designed for smartphones and tablets while STMicroelectronics will deal with other existing products and related businesses.

The two companies said they will begin to shut down the remaining parts of the joint venture, with some 700 of the job cuts in Europe, mostly in Sweden.

The formal transfer of the relevant parts of the joint venture to the parent companies is expected to be completed during the third quarter.

After the split up, Ericsson will assume about 1,800 employees and contractors, with the largest concentrations in Sweden, Germany, India and China, while STMicroelectronics will assume about 950 employees, mainly in France and in Italy.

As the result of the agreement, STMicroelectronics said it expects to incur cash costs of between $350 million and $450 million.

Also on Monday, the companies named Carlo Ferro as president and CEO of ST-Ericsson, effective April 1. Ferro, who will oversee the transition, currently serves as the joint venture's chief operating officer. He succeeds Didier Lamouche, who is leaving to pursue opportunities outside the company.

In midday trading, Ericsson's U.S. shares fell 38 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $12.90, while shares of STMicroelectronics rose 29 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $7.93.

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Cyprus bailout deposit seizure rattles markets

LONDON — Stocks around the world and the euro fell Monday as investors fretted over the implications of a plan to seize a part of deposits in Cypriot banks to partly fund a bailout for the Mediterranean island nation.

Financial stocks bore the brunt of the selling in European stock markets, with France's Societe Generale down 3.8 percent and Italy's UniCredit 3.6 percent lower, as investors worried about the implications of the Cyprus bailout.

Since the European debt crisis began in late 2009, savers have been spared. But the bailout of Cyprus, agreed to on Saturday, foresees the government seizing 6.75 percent of deposits below €100,000 ($130,860), rising up to 9.9 percent on those above €100,000. That signals a huge policy shift for the embattled eurozone.

Now investors are worried that savers will start taking their money out of banks across Europe — just like Cyprus residents did on a weekend ATM bank run.

"If European policymakers were looking for a way to undermine the public trust that underpins the foundation of any banking system they could not have done a better job," said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of top British shares fell 0.5 percent to close at 6,457.92 while Germany's DAX dropped 0.4 percent to 8,010.70. The CAC-40 in France dropped 0.5 percent to 3,825.47. Cyprus' main index was closed for a public holiday and the country shut down the banks until Thursday so Parliament can vote on the bailout.

The euro was down 0.6 percent at $1.2974.

The Cypriot Parliament has to back the proposal for it to pass, and lawmakers have called it an unfair blow to small savers, since up until now deposits around the eurozone have been guaranteed up to the €100,000 level. The vote was postponed for a second time with the Parliament speaker saying it will now take place Tuesday.

One new proposal would make the tax more graduated: placing a one-time 3 percent levy on deposits below €100,000, rising to 15 percent for those above €500,000.

"The bottom line is that it's very finely balanced and the success of the vote will depend on what tax breakdown goes before Parliament," said Adam Cole, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

If it backs the levy, then Cyprus would be eligible for a €10 billion ($13 billion) financial rescue from its partners in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. If it doesn't back the deal, then the country of just a million people faces bankruptcy and potentially an exit from the euro — a development that could have huge ramifications in global financial markets.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said a "no" vote by Cypriot lawmakers would devastate the country.

"Then the Cypriot banks will no longer be solvent, and Cyprus will be in a very difficult situation," said Schaeuble.

Cyprus' banking sector is about eight times the size of the economy and has been accused of being a hub for money-laundering, particularly from Russia. That's why many European officials wanted to have the banks' depositors involved in the cost of the bailout.

The uncertainty over Cyprus weighed on sentiment around the world, though the selling pressure eased as U.S. trading began.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.1 percent lower at 14,496 while the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.3 percent to 1,555.80.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index slid 2.7 percent to 12,220.63, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2 percent to 22,082.83.

Oil prices trimmed their earlier losses, with the benchmark New York rate 10 cents lower at $93.35 a barrel.

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Minnesota woman loses music downloading appeal

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from a Minnesota woman who has been ordered to pay record companies $222,000 for the unauthorized downloading of copyrighted music.

The justices didn't comment Monday in letting stand the judgment against Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd, Minn. She claimed in court papers that the ordered payment was excessive.

The music industry filed thousands of lawsuits against people it accused of downloading music without permission and without paying for it. Almost all the cases settled for $3,500.

Lawyer Kiwi Camara said Thomas-Rasset is one of only two defendants whose case went to trial. The other is former Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum, who also lost and was ordered to pay $675,000.

The case is Thomas-Rasset v. Capitol Records, 12-715.

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