Records ruling: Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office complied with Louisiana’s public records law when responding to an environmental group’s request for documents about the contentious Bayou Bridge Pipeline in south Louisiana, a judge ruled today. The Louisiana Bucket Brigade asked for records of meetings or communications between the governor’s staff and representatives of companies building the pipeline. The governor’s administration said its original search inadvertently prevented it from finding emails about a meeting between Edwards and former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a consultant for one of the pipeline companies. State District Court Judge Wilson Fields today refused to order Edwards’ office to conduct another search for records.
Trouble in paradise: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points today—on track for its worst week in two years—as concerns about rising interest rates pounded financial markets. The Wall Street Journal reports investors have begun taking the threat of inflation more seriously, a sharp departure from the sentiment that has dominated most of the stock market’s nine-year bull-market run. The Dow Jones average is on track to post a 3.7% decline this week, its largest drop since January 2016, when steep declines in Chinese equities hit global markets. Read more from the Journal. A subscription may be required.
Windfall: ExxonMobil posted $8.4 billion in profits in the fourth quarter, more than quadrupling profits from the same period the year before. The Houston Chronicle reports much of the boost came from tax changes, along with higher oil prices. The $8.4 billion gain was up from $1.7 billion in Q4 2016. Exxon received nearly $6 billion in tax benefits for the quarter, which were offset by $1.3 billion in write-downs. Oil production was down 3% in the fourth quarter compared to 2016, but the company’s $19.7 billion in profits last year far outpaced 2016. Read the full story.
