US broadcaster says Cambodia reverses radio curbs

WASHINGTON — U.S.-government funded broadcasters are welcoming Cambodia's reversal of a ban on radio stations carrying foreign-produced programming in the local language during the campaign for upcoming elections.

Last week FM stations were ordered to stop broadcasts from foreign-based networks in Khmer language during the monthlong campaign. That drew swift international criticism. The U.S. State Department called it a serious infringement of press freedom, raising questions on the fairness of the July 28 vote.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors, a U.S. federal agency which oversees Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, said Cambodia reversed the decision over the weekend. But it called for continued international vigilance about remaining restrictions on media during the elections.

The vote is virtually certain to prolong Prime Minister Hun Sen's 28-year stint in power.

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Student loan rates double without Congress' action

WASHINGTON — College students taking out new loans for the fall term will see interest rates twice what they were in the spring — unless Congress fulfills its pledge to restore lower rates when it returns after the July 4 holiday.

Subsidized Stafford loans, which account for roughly a quarter of all direct federal borrowing, went from 3.4 percent interest to 6.8 percent interest on Monday. Congress' Joint Economic Committee estimated the cost passed to students would be about $2,600.

"The only silver lining is that relatively few borrowers take out student loans in July and early August. You really can't take out student loans more than 10 days before the term starts," said Terry Hartle, a top official with colleges' lobbying operation at the American Council on Education.

But that is little consolation for students taking summer classes or lawmakers facing stinging criticism for inaction.

Both political parties tried to blame the other for the hike and student groups complained the increase in interest rates would add to student loan debt that already surpasses credit card debt in this country.

"The federal loan program is burying them in debt. With the doubling of the interest rate, Congress is pushing student borrowers to their limit," said Michael Russo, federal program director with consumer advocate U.S. PIRG.

Lawmakers knew for a full year the July 1 deadline was coming but were unable to strike a deal to dodge that increase. During last year's presidential race, both parties pledged to extend the 3.4 percent interest rates for another year.

But the looming hike lacked sufficient urgency this year and Congress last week left town for the holiday without an agreement. Instead, the Democratic-led Senate pledged to revisit the issue as soon as July 10 and retroactively restore the rates for another year — into 2014, when a third of Senate seats and all House seats are up for election.

Even when lawmakers return, there's no guarantee there will be the votes to restore the lower rates.

"When we pass a deadline and there are not immediate effects, the sense of urgency that accompanies a deadline evaporates and that is what I'm afraid will happen here," Hartle said.

For months, the student loan issue was the subject of partisan sniping — sometimes within the same party.

Obama's budget proposal included a measure that would have linked student loan interest rates with the financial markets. Fellow Democrats called that unacceptable because there were no guarantees interest rates would not skyrocket if the economy improves.

The Republican-led House, meanwhile, co-opted the president's proposal and passed a bill in May that linked interest rates to the financial markets but with a cap on how high rates could climb.

The Democratic-led Senate, meanwhile, tried for a two-year extension that failed to overcome a procedural hurdle. A Republican measure, similarly, came up short.

Top White House officials told allies to find any deal that could win enough votes and avert the politically and fiscally costly doubling.

An attempt at a bipartisan agreement fizzled last week when the Democratic chairman of the Senate education panel, Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, declared it a non-starter and urged lawmakers to extend the rates for one more year — when they get back next week.

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Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

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Markets rise on US, Japanese growth signs

LONDON — Long-awaited signs of improvement in Japan's economy and growth in U.S. manufacturing pushed global stocks higher on Monday.

The ISM manufacturing survey for the U.S. showed a rebound in June thanks to new orders and higher production. The increase to 50.9 points from May's 49 shows the sector is expanding once again. A reading above 50 suggests growth, while those below indicate contraction.

The survey showed employment in the sector remained weak, however, suggesting companies are still cautious about the future.

The survey boosted stock markets as investors estimated it was strong enough to show the recovery is on track, but not so strong as to encourage the Federal Reserve to start ending its monetary stimulus program ahead of time.

In Europe, Germany's DAX rose 0.3 percent to close at 7,983.92 while France's CAC-40 gained 0.8 percent to 3,767.48. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.5 percent to 6,307.78.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 1.1 percent to 15,070.68 while the broader S&P 500 was 1.2 percent higher at 1,625.53.

"This rebound in the ISM and moderate employment growth in June would leave the Fed on track to start tapering" its bond purchases in September, said Paul Dales, analyst at Capital Economics.

U.S. economic indicators have been one of the main market drivers in recent weeks as investors gauge when the Fed is likely to wind down its stimulus.

After a volatile few weeks, Fed officials are trying to calm investors' concerns about the central bank's planned reduction in monthly purchases of financial assets. Those purchases are aimed at stimulating the economy by pushing down market interest rates, and investors worry that as the economy improves, a pullback could deprive them of cheap borrowing rates.

In that vein, the U.S. monthly jobs report due Friday will get huge attention as it is the most closely watched indicator for the world's largest economy.

In Europe, economic indicators remain more mixed. Unemployment across the 17-country eurozone rose to another record high, at 12.1 percent in May. The number shows the massive amount of work governments have to address the social impact that their debt reduction policies have had.

A separate report, however, showed an improvement in manufacturing activity in Britain, France and Italy and stabilization in Spain.

Markets had been buoyed earlier in the day, during Asian trading hours, by the Bank of Japan's closely-watched quarterly "tankan" survey for June. It showed that the index for major manufacturers rose to positive 4 points from negative 8 in March, the first positive figure since September 2011. A positive reading means more companies are optimistic than pessimistic.

The report, along with another survey showing consumer prices stopped falling for the first time in seven months, suggests companies are reacting positively to the weaker yen and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies to revive the economy.

That helped temper concerns by a separate report showing China's manufacturing decelerated in June for a second month. The survey by HSBC Corp. and a Chinese industry group declined to 48.2 points from May's 49.2. The drop reflects in part a tightening in lending conditions as Beijing sought to stabilize the credit market.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.3 percent to close at 13,852.50 while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained a more moderate 0.8 percent to 1,998.24.

Earlier in Asia, smaller stock markets mostly fell on concern that China's manufacturing slowdown might hurt their economies. Sydney's ASX/S&P 200 lost 1.9 percent to 4,710.30.

Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.3 percent to 8,036 while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4 percent to 1,855.73. Singapore, Bangkok and Manila gained while Hong Kong was closed for a holiday.

In other markets, the benchmark crude oil contract for August delivery was up $1.12 at $97.68 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar gained to 99.67 yen from 99.11 yen late Friday. The euro rose to $1.3061 from $1.3013.

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Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Arrested Vatican monsignor 'only helping friends'

ROME — A Vatican accountant arrested in a 20 million euro ($26 million) smuggling plot acknowledged Monday during questioning that his behavior was wrong but said he was only trying to help out friends, his lawyer said.

Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, dubbed "Don 500" by the Italian media because of his purported favorite euro banknote, was questioned for three hours Monday by Judge Barbara Callari, who must decide whether to confirm his arrest.

Attorney Silverio Sica told The Associated Press that Scarano is not adjusting well to his time in prison and has asked for house arrest to await a decision on his fate, expected in a day or two.

Scarano was arrested Friday with two other people for taking part in an elaborate plot to smuggle 20 million euros from a Swiss bank account into Italy in July 2012 by private jet without reporting it to customs officials. It was the latest financial scandal to hit the Vatican and its embattled bank, which has long been regarded as an offshore tax haven prone to scandal.

Sica said Scarano "recognized it wasn't licit," but acted to help out his friends.

Prosecutors have identified the friends as Italy's d'Amico shipping family and said they presumably had the money in Switzerland to avoid paying Italian taxes. The prosecutors have refused to say whether any members of the d'Amico family are under investigation and a family spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email requesting clarification about the family's legal status.

In a statement Monday, the family said they are "completely unrelated to such events, in respect of which we will provide all clarifications to the judicial authorities."

Two other people were arrested along with Scarano: Italian financier Giovanni Carenzio and Giovanni Zito, who until recently was a member of the Italian military police's security and information agency.

According to wiretapped conversations, the three allegedly plotted to smuggle the cash that Carenzio held in a Swiss bank account without declaring it to authorities at the airport. Zito was to be the mule, since his high rank would have enabled him to pass through customs undetected.

In the end, the plot never transpired: Carenzio reneged at the last minute, saying he couldn't get the cash.

Zito, who flew aboard a rented private jet to Locarno, Switzerland in July 2012 to pick up the money, returned home empty-handed. But he still demanded from Scarano his fee of 600,000 euros for the operation, prosecutors said.

Scarano cut him one check for 400,000 euros which he deposited. He gave him a second check for 200,000 euros, but in a bid to prevent the check from being deposited, reported it as missing, the prosecutor said.

That put a block on the check and resulted in Scarano being accused of slander for filing a false report knowing that the check was in Zito's hands.

Scarano, as well as the other two, are also accused of corruption. If they are indicted and convicted, they could face up to five to six years in prison, prosecutors said.

Sica acknowledged that the scenario mapped out by prosecutors is true. But he said the defense would contest the corruption accusation on technical grounds.

"We cannot deny the facts," Sica said. "But for us, there aren't the technical reasons for the corruption accusation, and we believe that he did this to help out his friends."

Scarano is also accused of money laundering in a separate 2009 case being investigated by prosecutors in the southern city of Salerno.

That investigation involves his two accounts at the Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR. Pope Francis last week named a commission of inquiry to look into the bank's activities and its very legal status amid continued questions about what exactly goes on there.

As soon as he was placed under investigation in the Salerno case, Scarano was suspended by the Vatican as called for by the Holy See's own regulations, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said.

Lombardi declined to comment on why the same regulations didn't apply to the Vatican bank's director-general and then-president, who were placed under investigation in 2010 by Rome prosecutors for alleged violations of Italy's anti-money laundering norms concerning a suspect transaction involving an IOR account.

Until he was suspended a few weeks ago, Scarano was an accountant in the Vatican's Administration for the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, or APSA, which essentially functions as the Vatican's central financial administration and works closely alongside the IOR.

APSA administers the day-to-day financial workings of the Vatican, including payroll for the Holy See's 2,400 employees, purchasing of goods and services, management of its real estate and recording of income and expenditures. It holds accounts with many central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bundesbank.

About 100 people actually have accounts with it, mostly to facilitate donations. In 2012, APSA had assets worth 680 million euro, according to the report of the Council of Europe's Moneyval committee, which is evaluating the Vatican's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing measures.

In Moneyval's inaugural report last summer, the investigators faulted APSA for having only issued anti-money laundering procedures in March 2012, having no internal written procedures for record-keeping or wire transfers. It noted that the Vatican's financial watchdog agency hadn't conducted any inspections of APSA and couldn't sanction APSA for any shortcomings. And it also noted that there were no procedures in place to evaluate or license senior managers.

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Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

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China launches EU wine dumping investigation

BEIJING — China's Commerce Ministry announced Monday it has launched a formal investigation into claims that European Union countries are selling wine at unfairly low prices, as a prolonged dispute over Chinese solar power products continues to affect trade relations.

The ministry said in a notice late Monday that it had accepted the complaint brought by the Chinese wine industry in May following a review. It said it would carry out an "open, fair, and transparent" investigation in compliance with Chinese law and World Trade Organization rules.

The wine complaint was filed with the ministry on May 15 after the EU raised duties to about 12 percent on Chinese-made solar panels, cells and wafers over alleged dumping. The tariff is set to jump to an average of 47 percent on Aug. 6 if an agreement is not reached.

Dumping generally means selling a product abroad at a lower price than at home, although some governments also take action if the price is deemed to be below production cost or unfair in some other way.

China revealed the lodging of the wine industry complaint in the same announcement in which it expressed its "resolute opposition" to the EU move, leading most observers to view it as a retaliatory measure.

China imports about $1 billion of wine from EU countries annually.

In Brussels, EU trade spokesman John Clancy said the European Commission was "disappointed to learn of this action by China."

"The commission will examine in detail whether the Chinese case is consistent with the WTO framework," Clancy said.

The sharply higher European duties on solar power products could devastate financially strapped Chinese manufacturers struggling with excess production capacity and a price-cutting war.

European imports of Chinese-made solar panels totaled 21 billion euros in 2011 and the EU claims Chinese dumping threatens 20,000 jobs in Europe.

Last year, the United States imposed anti-dumping tariffs of up to 250 percent on Chinese solar panels following similar complaints.

Questioned in Beijing about the status of talks, EU Ambassador Markus Ederer said he did not consider the wine probe to be a "tit for tat" move by China.

"These talks are ongoing. I cannot predict the result but I see two sides who have a lot of goodwill to find a negotiated settlement," Ederer said.

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Nokia buys network operations from Siemens

HELSINKI — Nokia is turning to the stronger-performing parts of its business to help bolster its struggling smartphone arm, as it offered Siemens 1.7 billion euros ($2.22 billion) for its half of the networks joint venture.

Finland's Nokia Corp. said Monday that the transaction will be completed during the third quarter this year, meaning that the company formed in 2007 — Nokia Siemens Networks — will become Nokia's wholly owned subsidiary.

After an initial surge of nearly 8 percent, Nokia's share price closed up 3.5 percent at 2.95 euros on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, while Siemens AG' share price was up 2.4 percent at 79.60 euros in Frankfurt.

Nokia Siemens Networks had been lossmaking for several years amid speculation and rumors that it was an acquisition target. Meanwhile, Nokia also began to struggle with its core production of cellphones, losing its dominant market position.

Recently, however, Nokia Siemens Networks has shown signs of improvement after restructuring and substantial job cuts, with a small first-quarter operating profit this year compared to a 1 billion euros loss in the same period in 2012.

Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics near London said the planned acquisition was not "a huge surprise" and that Nokia was trying to offset some "volatility" in its cellphone unit with the purchase.

"Nokia is trying to get stability in the networks division so they can repair the handset division. It seems to be part of the overall strategy," Mawston said. "The networks takeover is good in the short term because it brings some extra profits and counterbalances some of the challenges in the handset division."

But, he cautioned that the long-term profitability of networks operations was "questionable because of the crowded nature" of the global networks industry.

Since Nokia lost its dominant position in cellphones, which peaked in 2008 with a with a global market share of 40 percent, rumors about takeover bids and splitting the company have been rife, accompanied by plunges in its market share and share price.

Mawston downplays rumors about splitting the company.

"There has been some talk about Nokia's split into two and become a dedicated network supplier and hive off its handset division," Mawston said. "But given that handsets have such a good potential for growth, better than the networks unit, I think it would be unwise to sell off the handset division at this stage."

Nokia is struggling, especially in the lucrative smartphone market, against Samsung, Apple's iPhone and handsets that use Google's Android software. But it is also being squeezed at the lower end against Asian manufacturers making cheaper handsets.

The sale of Siemen's networks operation also suits Nokia's German giant partner. With 370,000 employees worldwide the company has been looking to cut costs.

In November it launched a program aimed at saving 6 billion euros by 2014. It has announced plans to restructure its water business and sell its solar energy business.

In May, the Munich-based industrial conglomerate warned that earnings for its 2013 financial year, which ends in September, would come in at the "low end" of forecasts due to numerous one-time charges and restructuring costs.

Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop was upbeat about the networks division's operational and financial performance and said the company had also made strides in developing LTE, or long-term evolution, high-speed data.

"Nokia Siemens Networks has established a clear leadership position in LTE, which provides an attractive growth opportunity," Elop said. "Nokia is pleased with these developments and looks forward to continue supporting these efforts to create more shareholder value for the Nokia group."

Nokia said that the operational headquarters of the networks sector will remain in Espoo, near the Finnish capital of Helsinki. But Nokia said, it "will continue to have a strong regional presence in Germany."

The Siemens name will be phased out from Nokia Siemens Networks' company name and branding, with the company's new name to be announced at the closing of the transaction.

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Court in NYC upholds insider trading conviction

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a stock trader nicknamed "the Octopussy" because he reached for so much inside information.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Zvi Goffer and two others on Monday. The Israeli-born Goffer was convicted with two others in 2011 in a conspiracy to pay bribes to two lawyers at a Manhattan law firm. The nickname is a reference to a James Bond film.

Goffer was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors said he arranged to pay two attorneys nearly $100,000 in 2007 and 2008 for inside tips on mergers and acquisitions.

The case was part of a prosecution that made extensive use of wiretaps. At the time, prosecutors called it the biggest insider trading case in history.

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Ex-KPMG partner pleads guilty in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — A former partner at accounting firm KPMG has pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to a securities fraud charge for providing insider information to a friend who plied him in return with cash bribes, a Rolex watch and other luxury items.

Scott London entered the plea Monday to a felony count that carries a maximum 20-year prison term. He's scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 21.

Prosecutors say London gave privileged information to friend and jewelry store owner Bryan Shaw over a period of several years. Shaw then used the information to trade in advance of announcements for KPMG clients such as Herbalife Ltd. and Skechers USA Inc. He is estimated to have reaped more than $1 million in illicit profits.

Shaw has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.

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Merck: FDA wants more studies of insomnia drug

TRENTON, N.J. — Drugmaker Merck & Co. said Monday that federal regulators have ruled they won't approve high doses of its experimental insomnia medication due to concerns about patient safety. However, the Food and Drug Administration indicated it would approve lower doses of the drug, suvorexant, after Merck does some new studies.

The agency's response likely will push back approval of suvorexant by at least several months.

"We're in ongoing discussions with the FDA" to determine exactly what studies are needed to develop "a clear pathway forward," Merck spokesman Steve Cragle said in an interview.

Merck had applied for permission to sell the sleeping pill in doses of 15, 20, 30 and 40 milligrams.

FDA staff and a panel of outside experts reviewed detailed data on patient testing by Merck at those doses. While both groups of experts determined suvorexant pills were effective at each dose, there were significant safety concerns with the 30- and 40-milligram doses.

Those included daytime drowsiness, trouble staying alert while driving and suicidal thinking. Those problems, hallucinations and traffic accidents all have been linked to other prescription sleep medicines, although Merck had been telling investors that suvorexant would cause less next-morning grogginess.

Roughly a third of adults have trouble falling or staying asleep and many are unsatisfied with existing insomnia medicines. Merck's drug would be the first in a new class of sleep medicines that work by blocking chemical messengers in the brain that help keep people awake.

The FDA notified Merck "very recently" that it wants 10 milligrams to be the starting suvorexant dose for most patients and also wants a 5-milligram dose available, Cragle said. The agency indicated the 15- and 20-milligram doses would be appropriate for patients who didn't get enough help from the 10-milligram dose and did not have serious side effects with it.

Cragle said that Merck has data showing the 10-milligram dose, but not the 5-milligram dose, is effective and safe.

That means patient studies would have to be done on the 5-milligram dose. Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., also would have to do manufacturing studies on the 10-milligram dose.

Merck will have to repeatedly produce batches at that dose to show it can consistently produce pills meeting strict specifications. That includes proving that the pills have the correct level of the active ingredient, dissolve properly and remain stable over time. Such studies are required before a company can begin selling any dosage of a new prescription drug.

"We can't put any timeframe on that," Cragle said.

Meanwhile, the FDA said it wants Merck to provide the 5-milligram dose for use in patients also taking medicines in a group called CYP3A4 inhibitors. Those drugs include nonsedating antihistamines and infection-fighting drugs from antifungal medications and antibiotics to HIV medications.

CYP3A4 inhibitors block an enzyme involved in breaking down many medications so they can be eliminated from the body. When that enzyme is slowed or shut down, levels of other drugs a patient is taking can build up too high in the bloodstream, causing dangerous interactions and side effects.

If the FDA approves suvorexant, because it's considered a controlled substance it will then have to go through review by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to determine what restrictions on sales are needed. Those typically include limiting the number of pills a patient can get at once or requiring a doctor's visit to get prescriptions for refills.

Merck shares initially dipped on the news Monday, but rebounded as the broader markets rose. Its shares were up 22 cents at $46.67 at midday.

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Follow Linda A. Johnson at http://twitter.comLindaJ_onPharma

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Energy drinks go natural as market buzzes along

ALBANY, N.Y. — Energy drinks are busting out of the convenience store cooler and into the health food aisle.

As energy drink sales soar like a caffeine-fueled rocket, more drinks are promoting organic ingredients, added juices, natural caffeine and so-called "clean" energy. A jolt from Rockstar not your speed? There's the "natural energy drink" Guru, and Steaz Energy, which according to the can is "good for the mind, body and soul." Or there's Runa's energy drink, made from something called Amazonian guayusa leaves.

Claims of cleaner caffeine boosts come as energy drinks find themselves under increasing scrutiny, particularly for their effects on children and adolescents. The word "organic" in front of "energy drink" might seem as incompatible as yoga pants with a backward tractor cap, but analysts say that as the market for energy drinks grows, it's diversifying too.

"I think we're going to see more beverages that offer energy functionality, but in non-traditional energy drinks," says John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest.

Energy drink sales hit $12.6 billion last year, representing a 14 percent jump from 2008, according to market research firm Packaged Facts. While Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar still dominate the U.S. market, part of the recent growth comes from new kinds of products, including diet and natural energy drinks. Even the big players are getting into the act. Campbell Soup Co.'s venerable V8 line of drinks now includes a canned V-Fusion + Energy drink made with juice and green tea. And Starbucks sells fruit-flavored Refreshers made with unroasted coffee beans.

"Because retailers are devoting more shelf space to energy drinks, there's always a battle among the competitors within the sector. So what you're seeing within the energy drink category is an innovation in products," says John Lennon, president of Xyience, which makes Xenergy energy drinks.

But with growth comes greater scrutiny.

Regulators have been increasingly concerned about caffeinated products, particularly energy drinks. The Food and Drug Administration in April said it would investigate the safety of caffeine added to snacks and gum and its effects on children and adolescents. The FDA said last year it was investigating reports of deaths linked to energy drinks. The federal agency has said they would take action if they could link the deaths to consumption of the drinks, including forcing the companies to take the products off the market.

And San Francisco's city attorney in May sued Monster Beverage for marketing its energy drinks to children. The lawsuit came after Monster sued City Attorney Dennis Herrera over his demands that the company reduce caffeine levels in its drinks and stop marketing to minors.

At least on face value, some of the natural drinks seem to be aiming for a different audience. Xenergy calls itself the "energy drink of the health club, not the nightclub." The company expanded its line this year to include energy drinks with tea or lemonade.

Ray Jolicoeur, vice-president marketing for Guru, says consumers of his product, which has been available in the United States since 2005, tend to be slightly more mature and educated. The entrepreneurs behind Runa say they are not looking for people who want "head throbbing, punched-in-the face energy" like some other brands.

"Some of them went after adrenaline junkies, others went after NASCAR fans," says Runa co-founder Dan MacCombie. "For us, it's just part of the people who are already ... being careful about what they are putting into their bodies."

Runa's energy drink hit the shelves recently around the country. It boasts its caffeine from the guayusa "super leaf" and supposedly provides as much caffeine as coffee with more anti-oxidants than green tea.

They join non-traditional energy drinks like Guru and Steaz, which share display space with the likes of aloe juice at Dean's Natural Foods in Albany. Owner Dean King said the drinks eliminate "ridiculous stuff" like artificial flavors and colors. The kick still comes from caffeine, but some consumers say it's different.

"You know how most caffeinated products you feel that surge come over you? And then you drop and you feel miserable? This is more of an alertness," says Cheryl Fairweather, a 36-year-old vegan and athlete from the Philadelphia area who drinks a daily can of Steaz at 4 a.m. before she trains.

"It doesn't have that overwhelming effect, like you're on edge," she says.

It's typical for the caffeine in natural energy drinks to come from organic and natural sources. But in the end, as Roland Griffiths, a professor of behavioral biology at Johns Hopkins University, notes, "caffeine is caffeine."

"It doesn't matter whether that compound is synthesized in a laboratory or is synthesized in a plant," he says. "It's going to have identical pharmacological, subjective and behavioral effects."

Guru says one 8.4-ounce can has 125 milligrams of "naturally occurring" caffeine. Steaz says a 12-ounce can of its energy drink contains 100 milligrams of caffeine from sustainably sourced ingredients. Ounce for ounce, that's in the ballpark of mainstream energy drinks, like Rockstar or Monster, which each deliver 160 milligrams of caffeine per 16-ounce can, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group.

The natural products generally do not make explicit health claims, opting instead to tout ingredients such as organic guarana or the lack of artificial colors. But Michael Jacobson, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says words like "natural" and "organic" printed on a can make consumers assume the contents are good for you, even if that's not necessarily so.

"It implies that there's something helpful about them and it's totally vague," he says.

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