Obama urges finance-sector reform support
NEW YORK, April 22 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama went to New York Thursday to make his case for U.S. financial system reform, calling it "absolutely necessary" to prevent future crises.
He called on Wall Street executives to work with Washington to pass tough "common sense" reforms that would protect consumers, end the "too big to fail" mentality and bring transparency to the derivatives market.
Obama said the bills being considered in Congress "represent significant improvement on the flawed rules we have in place today, despite the furious efforts of industry lobbyists to shape them to their special interests."
"I am sure that many of those lobbyists work for some of you," he said. "But I am here today because I want to urge you to join us, instead of fighting us in this effort. I am here because I believe that these reforms are, in the end, not only in the best interest of our country, but in the best interest of our financial sector."
Obama expressed support for the Senate version, which would create a process similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. so that should any of the nation's biggest financial institutions fall into another crisis there will be a system "to shut these firms down with the least amount of collateral damage to innocent people and innocent businesses."
"The goal," he said, "is to make certain that taxpayers are never again on the hook because a firm is deemed 'too big to fail.'"
Obama also said the reform legislation would be "a vote to put a stop to taxpayer-funded bailouts" by creating incentives within the financial industry "to ensure that "no one company can ever threaten to bring down the whole economy."
"To that end, the bill would also enact what's known as the Volcker Rule ... which places some limits on the size of banks and the kinds of risks that banking institutions can take," Obama said.
"This will not only safeguard our system against crises; this will also make our system stronger and more competitive by instilling confidence here at home and across the globe."
Obama added that reform would bring needed transparency to financial markets shrouded in mystery.
Addressing concern in financial circles about the proposed changes, Obama said they will stabilize and strengthen the economy by reining in rampant reckless practices.
"And the only people who ought to fear this kind of oversight and transparency are those whose conduct will fail this scrutiny," he said.
Obama said the reform plan would "enact the strongest consumer financial protections ever," something he called "absolutely necessary."
Explosion-damaged oil rig sinks
NEW ORLEANS, April 22 (UPI) -- An oil rig weakened by an explosion that left 11 workers missing sank in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast Thursday, authorities said.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Tom Atkeson said the rig, which had been taking on water from two days of firefighting efforts, went down "sometime this morning," The New York Times reported.
Atkeson said response vessels at the scene would work to "mitigate the effects of the pollution." It wasn't clear how much oil spilled into the ocean, he said.
The collapse of the Deepwater Horizon rig came as rescuers continued their search for the crew members missing since the explosion late Tuesday.
The mobile drilling platform in mile-deep water about 50 miles from Louisiana is owned by Swiss corporation Transocean Ltd. and leased by British Petroleum.
"We have no idea where the 11 unaccounted-for personnel are at this time," Adm. Mary Landry, U.S. Coast Guard District 8 commander, said before the collapse. "The 11 people are unaccounted for and we will continue the search-and-rescue case until it's reasonable that we might not find anybody out there."
Federal officials said the rig was inspected three times in 2010, including once earlier in April, and received no violation citations, WWL-TV, New Orleans, reported.
A Transocean official described the explosion as a well blowout.
"There's undoubtedly some abnormal pressure built up in the marine riser which comes from the sea bed, from the blowout preventer stack, to the rig," said Adrian Rose of Transocean. "Obviously hydrocarbons under pressure -- gas or oil -- got into the riser, and as it came up the riser, it expanded rapidly and ignited."
The rig had 126 crew members on board at the time of the explosion, Transocean officials said.
BP officials said they didn't believe the $350 million rig was leaking oil into the gulf, but as many as seven oil spill response vessels were on standby, if needed.
Clinton: Ambassador not a reward for Syria
TALLINN, Estonia, April 22 (UPI) -- Sending a U.S. ambassador to Damascus could help the United States influence the Syrian government, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday.
Clinton was questioned about Syria after a meeting with her Estonian counterpart, Urmas Paet in Tallinn. A reporter asked about the U.S. policy of engaging Syria after a period of "provocative behavior," including possibly supplying Scud missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Clinton responded the Obama administration has concluded after debating Syrian policy that engagement is the correct path. She added that an ambassador would be able to convey U.S. concerns about Syria's role in Lebanon and its relationship with Israel.
"This is not some kind of reward for the Syrians and the actions that they take, which are deeply disturbing not only to the United States and not just to Israel but to others in the region and beyond," she said. "But it's a tool. It's a tool that we believe can give us extra leverage, added insight, analysis, information with respect to Syria's actions and intentions."
Kyrgyz referendum and elections set
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, April 22 (UPI) -- Presidential elections will be held in politically roiled Kyrgyzstan Oct. 10, an interim government official in the central Asian nation said Thursday.
Omburbek Tekebayev, deputy head of the provisional government, also said during a live address on state television that a referendum on constitutional reform will be held June 27, the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass reported.
The elections became necessary after Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who won last year's presidential polls, was forced into exile several days ago.
Bakiyev has said he will hold a news conference Friday in Minsk, Belarus, the National Press Center told ITAR-Tass.
The ousted leader, who fled Bishkek April 7 after violent protests toppled his government and left about 85 people dead, contends he is still president and has called those currently in control "impostors."
Motorcycle deaths down 10 percent in 2009
WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- The number of people killed in U.S. motorcycle crashes dropped 10 percent in 2009 after 11 years of steady increases, a study released Thursday said.
Dr. James Hedlund of Highway Safety North, who prepared the report for the Governors Highway Safety Association, said a number of factors contributed to the drop, including the recession and increased enforcement of helmet laws and other motorcycle regulations.
"Clearly the economy played a large role in motorcycle deaths declining in 2009," said GHSA Chairman Vernon Petkey. "Less disposable income translates into fewer leisure riders, and we suspect that the trend of inexperienced baby boomers buying bikes may have subsided."
Hedlund said some states only had data for the first nine months of 2009. But he said projections suggest motorcycle fatalities will be down in at least three quarters of the states and at least 10 percent overall.
In some states, the decline has been dramatic. Based on data through September, deaths will be down at least 29 percent in California.
Betkey cautioned motorcycle deaths have dropped in the past, only to increase. He urged states to enforce laws on helmet use, driving while impaired and speeding and to provide motorcycle training.
GHSA projected motorcycle fatalities declined from 5,290 in 2008 to 4,762 or less in 2009, based on data from the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
