The threat of a freight railroad strike has been pushed back to early December, as four major unions have agreed to coordinate the date on which they could potentially go on strike. The third-largest railroad union had been prepared to strike as soon as Nov. 20, but the group has agreed to extend talks with the railroads until at least Dec. 4. A strike by any one rail union would lead to a shutdown of all major freight railroads, as all the other unions, even those that have ratified contracts, would honor the picket lines.
A detailed inventory of the top known sources of greenhouse gas emitters launched by former Vice President Al Gore at the UN climate summit in Egypt found that the top 14 individual polluters are all gas and oil fields and their associated facilities. New data on methane leaks and flaring suggest emissions are likely three times higher than what was reported to the UN last year.
Futures are up after stocks tumbled yesterday. The Dow Industrials dropped 646, the NASDAQ lost 263 and the S&P 500 was down 79.
