investigation News

Cause of Texas Fertilizer Fire ‘Undetermined,’ Authorities Say

The cause of the fire that triggered the explosions in a fertilizer plant in Texas last month has been deemed “undetermined,” investigators say. Texas State Fire Marshall Chris Connealy said the scene investigation into what caused the fire in the …

West Fertilizer Investigators: Ammonium Nitrate Detonated in Explosion

While the investigation into the origin and cause of the West Fertilizer Plant fire and explosion in West, Texas, is ongoing, investigators say that ammonium nitrate was detonated in the explosion. However, they don’t know how the explosion was initiated. …

Authorities Aim to Finish Texas Blast Probe by May 10

An investigation should be finished within the next two weeks into what caused a massive explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 14 people, state authorities said. Texas State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy told lawmakers during a legislative hearing …

Feds Probing Indiana’s Workplace Safety Agency

The federal government’s workplace safety agency is investigating its Indiana counterpart – a department that documents indicate is trying to boost its inspections without hiring new staffers. The Indianapolis Star, which obtained those documents, reported that they show the Indiana …

UK Competition Comm. to Investigate Auto Insurance; ABI Welcomes Move

The UK’s insurance market for auto insurance has been referred to the Competition Commission for investigation. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which made the referral, expressed concerns that the structure of the market resulted in excessive costs and that …

Standard Chartered Reaches $340 Million Settlement in New York over Iran

Standard Chartered Plc agreed to pay $340 million to New York’s bank regulator over transactions linked to Iran, in a speedily arranged deal that helped push up the emerging market-focused lender’s shares. The deal with New York Superintendent of Financial …

UK Bank May Have Hidden $250 Billion in Iran Deals; May Lose U.S. License

New York’s top bank regulator threatened to strip Standard Chartered Plc of its state banking license, saying the British bank was a “rogue institution” that hid $250 billion in transactions tied to Iran, in violation of U.S. law. The New …

HSBC Sets Aside $2 Billion for U.S. Investigation, Mis-selling

HSBC’s chief executive apologized on Monday for shameful and embarrassing mistakes made on anti-money laundering controls as the bank set aside $2 billion to cover the cost of U.S. investigations and compensate UK customers for mis-selling. Europe’s biggest bank reported …

Equipment Failure, Training, Inspection Flaws at Fault for Rio-Paris Crash

Pilot error, defective sensors, inadequate training and insufficient oversight combined to send an Air France passenger plane plunging into the south Atlantic in 2009 in the airline’s worst disaster, French investigators said on Thursday. The final report on the Rio-Paris …

Baldor Electric to Pay $2M to Settle Bias Investigation

Fort Smith, Ark.-based Baldor Electric Co. has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a discrimination allegation by the U.S. Labor Department, but the company denied bias in its hiring practices. The Labor Department alleged the company blocked nearly 800 …