The big squeeze: A funding squeeze threatens to cut U.S. oil output by as much as half a million barrels a day by the end of the year, with shale producers among the worst affected, Citigroup Inc. predicts in a note to investors sent on Tuesday. Bloomberg reports a decline of that magnitude would nearly match all of Ecuador’s daily production, which was about 536,000 barrels last month. Ecuador is the 11th-biggest producer in OPEC, whose 12 members supply about 40% of the world’s oil. Read the full story.
Pros and cons: Income inequality will remain a persistent problem despite brighter prospects for U.S. companies globally, according to an annual survey of Harvard Business School alumni. As The Associated Press reports, 58% of the respondents said they thought the U.S. economy would either become more competitive or at least hold its ground against other countries over the next three years, a marked improvement from 2011 when just 29% felt that way. But only about a third of respondents said they expected companies to be able to increase pay and benefits for workers. Read the full story.
Tough talk: The Justice Department issued new guidance to its prosecutors on Wednesday, aimed at encouraging more white-collar criminal and civil cases against corporate executives. The Associated Press reports the new policies come amid persistent criticism that the Justice Department, even while negotiating multibillion-dollar settlements with large banks, has not been aggressive enough in prosecuting individuals for financial misconduct—including after the mortgage crisis that devastated the U.S. economy. Read the full story.
