Dutch firm weighs settlement in Ivory Coast toxic waste case

A global commodities trading company says it is considering a settlement to legal claims that it is responsible for the deaths of 15 people and thousands of illnesses after 500 tons of toxic waste were dumped in the African nation of Ivory Coast. The Dutch company Trafigura said studies by 20 experts it has hired conclude that the chemicals did not harm anyone

Share

The Rage over Goldman Sachs

Lloyd Blankfein, the 54-year-old chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, is powerfully perplexed. In the past six months, his investment-banking and securities-trading firm has roared ahead in profitability by taking risks — that other firms would not — for itself and its clients in an edgy market. It has paid back the billions of dollars, and then some, of taxpayer money the government forced it to take last October; raised billions of dollars in capital from private investors, including $5 billion from Warren Buffett; and urged its cadre of well-paid and high-performing executives to show some restraint on the conspicuous-consumption front.

Share

U.N. official: Zimbabwe’s woes ‘pose signficant challenge’

The "humanitarian situation remains serious" in Zimbabwe amid cholera, starvation and a continuing economic crisis, a United Nations official said Wednesday at a World Humanitarian Day ceremony in Harare.

Share