Business Briefs – June 13, 2018

Trump Declares Oil Prices Too High, Blames OPEC

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump blames OPEC for oil prices that he says are too high, and no doubt many Americans feel the same way. But it’s more complicated than that. Crude has more than doubled since bottoming out below $30 a barrel in early 2016, causing U.S. motorists to face the highest gasoline prices since late 2014. Prices, however, were already rising on growing demand and expectations that a sharp pullback in new investment by oil companies would reduce the oil supply.

AP Investigation: Local Fish Isn’t Always Local

MONTAUK, N.Y. (AP) – An Associated Press investigation finds that a leading sustainable seafood distributor who promised wild-caught, domestic fish traceable back to a dock has been duping chefs across the U.S. Reporters traced the supply chain of New York-based Sea To Table to migrant fishermen in foreign waters who described labor abuses, poaching and the slaughter of sharks, whales and dolphins.

Auto Workers Union Picks Gary Jones as New President

DETROIT (AP) – Members of the United Auto Workers union have elected regional director Gary Jones as the organization’s new president. Jones was picked in a roll-call vote Wednesday at the union’s 2018 constitutional convention in Detroit. He’ll take over a 400,000-member union that’s facing a federal investigation in a corruption scandal involving a worker training center run jointly by Fiat Chrysler and the union. The UAW also has had trouble organizing at factories in the South run by foreign-based automakers. But its finances have stabilized under President Dennis Williams, who is retiring.

Host of New Worries Pushes Bitcoin to 4-Month Low

NEW YORK (AP) – The price of bitcoin has fallen to a four-month low of $6,370, days after South Korean virtual currency exchange Coinrail said hackers had stolen over $37 million, or almost a third of the virtual currency it had stored. Regulatory issues and questions about price manipulation also weigh on the digital currency.

Volkswagen to Pay Vermont $6.5 Million in Emissions Lawsuit

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – The state of Vermont and people who bought certain Volkswagen diesel models that were rigged to cheat on emissions tests will be getting a total of $6.5 million from the automaker, Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced Wednesday.

Under the terms of the settlement VW will pay Vermont consumers up to $1,000 for each qualifying VW, Audi and Porsche vehicle from the model years 2009 to 2016 sold or leased in the state. VW will also pay $3.6 million, minus expenses and administration, into the state’s general fund.

This settlement with Vermont announced Wednesday is in addition to a previous $4.2 million settlement for violations of Vermont environmental laws and rules.