Federal Regulatory Agencies
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from federal regulatory agencies ranging from the Securities Exchange Commission to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission
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SEC Issues Order Involving Three Companies
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following order authorizing the transfer to the U.S. treasury of the remaining funds (No. 3-12372) involving Waddell and Reed, Waddell and Reed Investment Management and Waddell and Reed Services:
In the Matter of WADDELL & REED, INC., WADDELL & REED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, AND WADDELL & REED SERVICES COMPANY, Respondents.
ORDER AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER TO THE U.S. TREASURY OF THE REMAINING FUNDS AND ANY FUNDS RETURNED TO THE FAIR FUND IN THE FUTURE, DISCHARGING THE FUND ADMINISTRATOR, AND TERMINATING THE FAIR FUND
On
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following order authorizing the transfer to the U.S. treasury of the remaining funds (No. 3-12372) involving Waddell and Reed, Waddell and Reed Investment Management and Waddell and Reed Services:
In the Matter of WADDELL & REED, INC., WADDELL & REED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, AND WADDELL & REED SERVICES COMPANY, Respondents.
ORDER AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER TO THE U.S. TREASURY OF THE REMAINING FUNDS AND ANY FUNDS RETURNED TO THE FAIR FUND IN THE FUTURE, DISCHARGING THE FUND ADMINISTRATOR, AND TERMINATING THE FAIR FUND
OnJuly 24, 2006, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") issued an Order Instituting Administrative and Cease-and-Desist Proceedings Pursuant to Sections 15(b) and 17A(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sections 203(e) and 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Sections 9(b) and 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions and a Cease-and- Desist Order (the "Order")1 against Waddell & Reed, Inc. ("W&R"), Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company, and Waddell & Reed Services Company (collectively, the "Respondents"). The Commission concluded that the Respondents knowingly permitted three accountholders to engage in market timing activity from December 1998 through the fall of 2003 and were aware that such conduct would dilute the returns of other fund investors to whom they owed a fiduciary duty. The Order required, among other things, Respondents to pay on a joint and several basis $40 million in disgorgement and a civil money penalty of $10 million. Section IV.H.1of the Order required the Respondents to transfer a total of $50 million to the Commission, which was to comprise the Fair Fund established pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Fair Fund").
On April 23, 2013, the Secretary of the Commission, pursuant to delegated authority, issued a Notice of Proposed Plan of Distribution and Opportunity for Comment ("Notice")2 pursuant to Rule 1103 of the Commission's Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans (the "Rules"), 17 C.F.R. * 201.1103. The Notice provided a 30-day comment period. No comments were received by the Commission in response to the Notice. Accordingly, on August 9, 2013, the Secretary of the Commission, pursuant to delegated authority, issued an Order Approving Plan of Distribution, Appointing a Fund Administrator, and Waiving Bond Requirement3 and posted the approved Plan of Distribution (the "Plan").
Under the Plan, the Respondents, in consultation with the Independent Distribution Consultant ("IDC"), proposed to distribute a prorated share of the Fair Fund to accountholders of the affected W&R funds based on the individual account holders' proportionate share of the total dilution as calculated by the IDC. The Plan also provided that monies not distributed to individual accountholders could be disbursed to impacted W&R funds based on each fund's proportionate share of the total dilution attributable to the market timing activity.
On July 15, 2014,4 January 16, 2015,5 April 17, 2015,6 and July 17, 20157 the Commission issued orders directing the disbursement of an aggregate of $52,706,556.39 from the Fair Fund for distribution by the Fund Administrator to harmed investors. At the conclusion of distributions by checks to individual accountholders, a total of $44,195,704.27 had been cashed by recipient investors, leaving a balance of $9,153,949.10 in the Fair Fund. Section 6.5 of the Plan provides that all monies not distributed to individual W&R accountholders may be distributed to the W&R funds impacted by the market activity at issue in this case. Pursuant to this Section, the Commission issued an order on December 14, 2017 to disburse $9,153,949.10 to six W&R funds for further distribution.8
The Fair Fund earned approximately $6.35 million in investment and interest income, paid taxes of approximately $1.8 million, and paid investment/bank fees and tax administration expenses of approximately $1.3 million. The Fair Fund currently holds approximately $1,283.00 in residual funds.
The Plan provides that the final accounting shall be submitted by the Fund Administrator for approval by the Commission prior to the Fair Fund's termination and the discharge of the Fund Administrator. Furthermore, residual funds remaining after Fair Fund disbursements to individual accountholders and W&R funds, and the payment of all taxes and fees, are to be transferred to the U.S. Treasury by order of the Commission following the approval of the final accounting. The Consolidated Final Account Report, which was submitted to the Commission for approval as required by Rule 1105(f) of the Rules, 17 C.F.R. * 201.1105(f), and as set forth in the Plan, is now approved. The staff has verified that all taxes, fees, and expenses have been paid, and the Commission is in possession of the remaining funds.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that:
A. The remaining Fair Fund balance of $1,283.00 and any funds returned to the Fair Fund in the future, shall be transferred to the U.S. Treasury, subject to Section 21F(g)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U.S. Code * 78u-6(g)(3)];
B. The Fair Fund is terminated; and
C. The Fund Administrator, Rust Consulting, Inc., is discharged.
By the Commission.
Brent J. Fields Secretary
SEC Issues Order Involving Carlos Uresti
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following order instituting administrative proceedings (No. 3-18928) involving Carlos I. Uresti:
In the Matter of Carlos I. Uresti, Respondent.
ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(b) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND RULE 102(e) OF THE COMMISSION'S RULES OF PRACTICE, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
I.
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following order instituting administrative proceedings (No. 3-18928) involving Carlos I. Uresti:
In the Matter of Carlos I. Uresti, Respondent.
ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(b) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND RULE 102(e) OF THE COMMISSION'S RULES OF PRACTICE, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
I.
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, institutedagainst Carlos I. Uresti ("Uresti" or "Respondent") pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rules 102(e)(2)1 and 102(e)(3)(i) 2 of the Commission's Rules of Practice.
1 Rule 102(e)(2) provides, in relevant part, that:
"[a]ny attorney who has been suspended or disbarred by a court of the United States or of any State . . . or any person who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude shall be forthwith suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission. A . . . conviction within the meaning of this section shall be deemed to have occurred when the . . . tribunal enters its judgment . . . regardless of whether an appeal of such judgment . . . is pending or could be taken."
2 Rule 102(e)(3)(i) provides, in relevant part, that:
The Commission, with due regard to the public interest and without preliminary hearing, may, by order, . . . suspend from appearing or practicing before it any attorney . . . who has been by name (A) [p]ermanently enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction, by reason of his or her misconduct in an action brought by the Commission, from violating or aiding and abetting the violation of any II.
In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer of Settlement (the "Offer") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, Respondent admits the Commission's jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of these proceedings and the findings contained in paragraphs III.2 and III.4, below, and consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 102(e) of the Commission's Rules of Practice, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions ("Order"), as set forth below.
III.
On the basis of this Order and Respondent's Offer, the Commission finds that:
1. Uresti--a former Texas state senator and attorney licensed to practice law in Texas--served as general counsel and escrow agent for FWLL, LLC ("FWLL"), a Texas limited liability company in which he owned a 1% interest. Uresti, a 54-year-old resident of San Antonio, Texas, surrendered his Texas bar license in April 2018 and resigned his office as a senator in the Texas legislature in June 2018. From approximately April 2014 through October 2015, Uresti and the majority owner of FWLL offered and sold investment-contract securities relating to FWLL, raising $11.15 million from five investors. Uresti acted as a broker in several of these transactions. He was regularly involved at key points in the chain of distribution of the securities. He personally solicited investors to purchase the securities. When soliciting, he made valuations as to the merits of the securities by describing their purported safety and profitability. And he received transaction-based compensation from FWLL for investments he solicited. Uresti was not registered as a broker or associated with a registered broker-dealer at the time of these transactions.
2. On December 10, 2018, a final judgment was entered by consent against Uresti, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), and Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, in the civil action entitled Securities and Exchange Commission v. Carlos I. Uresti and Stanley P. Bates, Civil Action Number 5:18-cv-01013, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.
3. The Commission's complaint alleged that Uresti, in connection with the sale of securities, made untrue and misleading statements of material facts to investors regarding the nature and risk of their investment and his role in FWLL and that he otherwise engaged in conduct which operated as a fraud and deceit on investors in connection with the sale of the FWLL securities. The complaint further alleged, among other things, that Uresti used his position of trust and authority as an attorney and senator to induce investors to invest in the FWLL securities. He persuaded one of his legal clients, a single mother who had received a money judgment in a lawsuit for the wrongful death of her minor children, to invest $900,000 in the FWLL securities. He did not disclose to her the commission he would receive or the extent of risk associated with investment. The complaint also alleged that Uresti effected unregistered transactions in the FWLL securities as a broker while he was neither registered as a broker nor associated with a registered broker-dealer.
4. On February 22, 2018, Uresti was convicted of two counts of securities fraud in violation of 15 U.S.C. * 78j(b) and 17 C.F.R. * 240.10b-5, and one count of acting as an unregistered broker in violation of 15 U.S.C. * 78o(a)(1) & 78ff, among other crimes, before the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, in United States v. Uresti, et al, Crim. No. 5: 17-CR-381-DAE. On July 5, 2018, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution.
5. In connection with that conviction, the jury found that Uresti defrauded investors, obtained money and property by means of materially false and misleading statements, and illegally acted as an unregistered securities broker.
IV.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanctions agreed to in Respondent Uresti's Offer.
Accordingly, pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act and Rule 102(e) of the Commission's Rules of Practice, it is hereby ORDERED, effective immediately, that:
A. Respondent Uresti be, and hereby is, barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization.
Any reapplication for association by the Respondent will be subject to the applicable laws and regulations governing the reentry process, and reentry may be conditioned upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction of any or all of the following: (a) any disgorgement ordered against the Respondent, whether or not the Commission has fully or partially waived payment of such disgorgement; (b) any arbitration award related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; (c) any self-regulatory organization arbitration award to a customer, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; and (d) any restitution order by a self-regulatory organization, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order;
B. Respondent Uresti be, and hereby is barred from participating in any offering of a penny stock, including: acting as a promoter, finder, consultant, agent or other person who engages in activities with a broker, dealer or issuer for purposes of the issuance or trading in any penny stock, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any penny stock; and
C. Respondent Uresti is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an attorney.
By the Commission.
Brent J. Fields
Secretary
SEC Commissioner Stein Issues Remarks at Investor Advisory Committee Meeting
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following remarks by Commissioner Kara M. Stein at the Investor Advisory Committee meeting:
"Good morning and welcome to today's meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee. This is your last meeting of the year, and my last as an SEC Commissioner. I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your commitment to the Committee.[1] Over the past five and half years, I have greatly benefited from your views about how the Commission can improve the investor experience. The Committee was established to advise and consult
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following remarks by Commissioner Kara M. Stein at the Investor Advisory Committee meeting:
"Good morning and welcome to today's meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee. This is your last meeting of the year, and my last as an SEC Commissioner. I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your commitment to the Committee.[1] Over the past five and half years, I have greatly benefited from your views about how the Commission can improve the investor experience. The Committee was established to advise and consultwith the Commission on a range of issues that are relevant to our nation's investors, including the Commission's priorities. You have been quite busy over that time. And many of your discussions and recommendations have shaped the Commission's actions.
"This morning the Committee will discuss corporate disclosures relating to sustainability and environmental, social, and governance ('ESG') topics. Sustainability and ESG factors cover a wide range of issues, including measures of company carbon emissions, labor and human rights policies, and corporate governance structures. These factors involve issues that traditionally were not thought of as part of a financial analysis. However, this thought has become less and less the case.[2] Many of the nation's largest investors have becoming increasingly interested in assessing the long-term investment risks and benefits associated with ESG matters.[3] And, it's not just institutional investors--43% of shareholder proposals submitted during the last proxy season focused on these matters.[4] Why? Because these investors believe that there are verifiable links between ESG matters and a company's operational strength, efficiency, and management. These investors believe it is important to have an understanding of these issues in order to better assess the company's performance. On the other hand, other investors maintain that focusing on ESG matters should not come at the expense of investment returns. What is the right balance? Are these ideas mutually exclusive? Would consistent and comparable reporting standards help?[5] If so, what should they look like? I hope that this morning's panel can provide some insight.
"In the afternoon, the Committee will discuss unpaid arbitration awards. When investors believe they have been harmed by a broker-dealer, they generally must go through the FINRA arbitration process to make their claim.[6] Unfortunately, even if a retail customer wins their arbitration, they may not get their damages award. In 2016, 27% of cases where damages were awarded remained unpaid.[7] In dollar terms, investors were unable to recover $14 million that had been awarded to them in the arbitration process.[8] Fortunately, the dollar amount of awards going unpaid is decreasing. For instance, in 2013 there was $75 million in unpaid awards, in 2014 there was $23 million, and in 2015 there was $24 million.[9] This is good news, but we still have a ways to go.[10] I am very interested in hearing everyone's best thoughts today on how to continue to improve this process. It is of vital importance to both retail investors and to the broker-dealers who have not broken the rules.
"So, thank you again for your commitment to investors, and I look forward to today's discussions."
* * *
[1] The views I express today are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my fellow Commissioners or the SEC staff.
[2] For example, in the Sustainable Investments Institute found that in 2018, 78% of the S&P 500 issued a sustainability report for the most recent reporting period, most with environmental and social performance metrics. See Sol Kwon, State of Integrated and Sustainability Reporting 2018, Investor Responsibility Research Institute & Sustainable Investments Institute (2018).
[3] See, e.g., Peter Smith, "BlackRock states claim on 'sustainable investing' revolution," Financial Times (Oct. 22, 2018), available at https://www.ft.com/content/f66b2a9e-d53d-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8; Christine Idzelis, "Investors Want ESG to Take Off in Bonds, Cerulli Says," Institutional Investor (Nov. 12, 2018), available at https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1bsswzczb7gs6/Investors-Want-ESG-to-Take-Off-in-Bonds-Cerulli-Says.
[4] Ron Mueller, Beth Ising & Aaron Briggs, "Shareholder Proposal Developments During the 2018 Proxy Season," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation (Aug. 2, 2018), available at https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/08/02/shareholder-proposal-developments-during-the-2018-proxy-season/; see also Leslie P. Norton, "Attention, Corporate America: Consumers Care About Your Values," Barron's (Dec. 6, 2018), available at https://www.barrons.com/articles/american-consumers-corporate-values-survey-1544110834.
[5] See Corporate Reporting Dialogue: Better Alignment Project, FAQs, available at http://corporatereportingdialogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Frequently-asked-Questions-Corporate-Reporting-Dialogue.pdf.
[6] Most broker-dealers require customers opening accounts to agree to arbitrate disputes.
[7] FINRA, Statistics on Unpaid Customer Awards in FINRA Arbitration, available at https://www.finra.org/arbitration-and-mediation/statistics-unpaid-customer-awards-finra-arbitration (last viewed Dec. 10, 2018).
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] For a discussion of proposals in this area being considered by FINRA, see FINRA, Discussion Paper--FINRA Perspectives on Customer Recovery (Feb. 8, 2018), available at https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/finra_perspectives_on_customer_recovery.pdf.
SEC Chairman Clayton Issues Remarks at Investor Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following remarks by Chairman Jay Clayton at the Investor Advisory Committee:
"Thank you, Anne (Sheehan). Good morning everyone. I would like to thank the Committee members and the panelists for taking the time to engage on the topics on today's agenda.
"I understand that the planned discussion regarding disclosures on human capital will be postponed to a later date. I believe that the strength of many of our public companies is due, often in large part, to their human capital, and I therefore appreciate that the Committee
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following remarks by Chairman Jay Clayton at the Investor Advisory Committee:
"Thank you, Anne (Sheehan). Good morning everyone. I would like to thank the Committee members and the panelists for taking the time to engage on the topics on today's agenda.
"I understand that the planned discussion regarding disclosures on human capital will be postponed to a later date. I believe that the strength of many of our public companies is due, often in large part, to their human capital, and I therefore appreciate that the Committeeis focusing on these disclosures. I look forward to a discussion on this topic in the future.
"In lieu of this discussion, the Committee has asked that we use this time to discuss the Commission's rulemaking and regulatory efforts in 2018 and my agenda for 2019. I am pleased to lead this discussion and answer questions that Committee members may have.
"Before we move into that discussion, I would like to say a few words about the other scheduled topics that will be discussed today--(1)disclosures on sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics, and (2)unpaid arbitration awards. These are issues that I have been thinking about as I focus on ensuring that the Commission carries out its mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. Before going into my remarks, I note that my thoughts are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my fellow Commissioners or the SEC staff.
"Disclosures on Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Topics
"Disclosure is at the heart of our country's and the SEC's approach to both capital formation and secondary liquidity. As stewards of this powerful, far reaching, dynamic and ever evolving system, a key responsibility of the SEC is to ensure that the mix of information companies provide to investors facilitates well-informed decision making. The concepts of materiality, comparability, flexibility, efficiency and responsibility (i.e., liability) are the linchpins of our approach. This group knows these concepts well, knows that they are interrelated, and knows that, when we consider changes to our approach to disclosure, these concepts should be front of mind.
"Turning to 'ESG', a broad term, we are increasingly seeing disclosure of ESG information by issuers in the marketplace and requests for ESG information by investors. I am also aware of efforts by third parties to develop disclosure frameworks relating to ESG topics as well as calls by some market participants for issuers to follow third-party disclosure frameworks relating to ESG topics.
"Although third-party standards relating to ESG topics may allow for comparability across companies, that does not mean that issuers should be required to follow these frameworks in order to comply with SEC rules. Each company, and each sector, has its own circumstances, which may or may not fit within a standard framework. That does not mean the standards do not have value. They do, in some cases, in much the same way that appropriately presented non-GAAP financial measures and key performance indicators (KPIs) add value to the mix of information.
"As third-party standards have evolved and been discussed by market participants, I have seen investor-company dialogue around certain issues and in certain sectors improve. That said, I think it is important to remember two principles: first, in complying with our disclosure rules, companies should focus on providing material disclosure that a reasonable investor needs to make informed investment and voting decisions based on each company's particular facts and circumstances; and, second, investors--and here I'm thinking about asset managers who are required to vote in the best interest of their clients--should also focus on each company's particular facts and circumstances. Here, I would like to underscore that investment advisers have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their clients. Advisers cannot put their own interests ahead of the interests of their clients--whether those interests relate to the adviser's compensation, corporate matters (including, as examples, board composition, purchase, merger and sale decisions, or ESG matters) or otherwise.
"Staying with the issues presented by the asset manager client relationship for a moment, I am also aware of various efforts to encourage asset managers to integrate ESG factors into their investment strategies. It is important to note that, although we do regulate disclosure and oversee registered investment advisers, we do not regulate the merits of any particular investment strategy. The success of a particular investment strategy depends upon a multitude of factors, which may or may not include the extent to which the asset manager incorporates ESG factors. From my perspective, what is important is that investors have full and fair disclosure of the material facts about the investment strategy their fiduciary is following so that they are in a position to make informed investment choices.
"Unpaid Arbitration Awards
"Let me now turn to the topic of this afternoon's panel--unpaid arbitration awards. This is an issue that is important to me given its potential impact on Main Street investors.
"As you know, we have a number of initiatives focused on protecting our Main Street investors, including (1) a rulemaking package regarding standards of conduct for investment professionals, which is a key priority for me for 2019, (2) the development of resources designed to educate retail investors and assist them in making informed investment decisions and avoiding financial fraud, (3) the Retail Strategy Task Force designed to develop proactive, targeted initiatives to identify and deter misconduct affecting our retail investors--and the list goes on.[1] In fiscal year 2018, our Enforcement Division returned $794million to harmed investors.[2]
"Of course, Main Street investors will not assess our work by the number of rules and initiatives we have in place, but rather will be looking at what our efforts substantively do for them. From the perspective of an investor who has been harmed, the ability to collect monetary damages, as promptly as practicable, from the wrongdoer is just as important as the standard of conduct that our rules and regulations impose.
"I look forward to hearing the panelists' views regarding the extent of unpaid arbitration awards and whether there is a feasible way to improve recovery rates for our Main Street investors.
"Thank you. I look forward to a productive meeting."
* * *
[1] See Chairman Jay Clayton, Remarks to the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, June 14, 2018 (discussing a number of recent Commission actions to improve our markets for Main Street investors), available at: https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/clayton-statement-investor-advisory-committee-061418.
[2] See Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement, 2018 Annual Report, available at: https://www.sec.gov/files/enforcement-annual-report-2018.pdf.
NRC Receives Event Notification Involving Grand Gulf Power Reactor in Mississippi
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following event notification (No. 53788) involving Grand Gulf power reactor in Mississippi:
MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO FAILED OPEN TURBINE BYPASS VALVE
"At 1351 CST, the reactor was manually shutdown due to 'A' Turbine Bypass Valve opening. The Main Steam Line Isolation Valves were manually closed to facilitate reactor pressure control. Reactor level is being maintained through the use of Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System, Control Rod Drive System, and High Pressure Core Spray System. High Pressure Core Spray System was
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following event notification (No. 53788) involving Grand Gulf power reactor in Mississippi:
MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO FAILED OPEN TURBINE BYPASS VALVE
"At 1351 CST, the reactor was manually shutdown due to 'A' Turbine Bypass Valve opening. The Main Steam Line Isolation Valves were manually closed to facilitate reactor pressure control. Reactor level is being maintained through the use of Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System, Control Rod Drive System, and High Pressure Core Spray System. High Pressure Core Spray System wasmanually started to initially support reactor water level control. Reactor Pressure is being controlled through the use of the Safety Relief Valves and the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System. The plant is stable in MODE 3.
"The cause of the 'A' Turbine Bypass Valve opening is under investigation at this time.
"The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified."
Power Reactor
Facility: GRAND GULF
Region: 4
State: MS
Unit: [1] [] []
RX Type: [1] GE-6
NRC Notified By: GERRY ELLIS
HQ OPS Officer: JOANNA BRIDGE
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(iv)(A) - ECCS INJECTION
50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL
Event Number: 53788
Notification Date: 12/12/2018
Notification Time: 17:29 [ET]
Event Date: 12/12/2018
Event Time: 00:00 [CST]
Last Update Date: 12/12/2018
Person (Organization):
NICK TAYLOR (R4DO)
FEC Elects Weintraub as Chair, Petersen as Vice Chairman for 2019
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following news release:
At its open meeting today, the Federal Election Commission elected Ellen L. Weintraub as Chair and Matthew S. Petersen as Vice Chairman for 2019. A member of the Commission since 2002, Ms. Weintraub served as Chair in 2003 and 2013. Mr. Petersen has served twice as Chairman, in 2010 and 2016.
Commissioner Weintraub took office on December 9, 2002, after receiving a recess appointment; she was renominated and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on March 18, 2003. Commissioner Petersen was nominated
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following news release:
At its open meeting today, the Federal Election Commission elected Ellen L. Weintraub as Chair and Matthew S. Petersen as Vice Chairman for 2019. A member of the Commission since 2002, Ms. Weintraub served as Chair in 2003 and 2013. Mr. Petersen has served twice as Chairman, in 2010 and 2016.
Commissioner Weintraub took office on December 9, 2002, after receiving a recess appointment; she was renominated and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on March 18, 2003. Commissioner Petersen was nominatedand confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on June 24, 2008.
Prior to her appointment to the Commission, Ms. Weintraub was Of Counsel to Perkins Coie LLP and a member of its Political Law Group. Before joining Perkins Coie, Ms. Weintraub was Counsel to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for the U.S. House of Representatives (the House Ethics Committee). Ms. Weintraub received her B.A., cum laude, from Yale College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
From 2005 until his appointment to the Commission in 2008, Mr. Petersen served as Republican Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. In this capacity, Mr. Petersen provided counsel on issues relating to federal campaign finance and election administration laws as well as the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Prior to his work for the Senate, Mr. Petersen served as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration. Mr. Petersen was extensively involved in crafting the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and the House-Senate negotiations that culminated in HAVA's passage. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Petersen specialized in election and campaign finance law at the law firm of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Petersen received his J.D. in 1999 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in philosophy from Brigham Young University in 1996. He also received an A.S. with high honors from Utah Valley State College.
Berwick Offray Testifies Before ITC on Plastic Decorative Ribbon From China
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission issued the following testimony by Lee Boy, vice president of Manufacturing at Berwick Offray on the plastic decorative ribbon from China:
"Good morning. My name is Lee Boy and I am the Vice President of Manufacturing at Berwick Offray. In this capacity I oversee the production of plastic decorative ribbons in our facilities in Berwick, Pennsylvania. I have served as Vice President of Manufacturing for 12 years and have 21 years of prior experience in the plastic extrusion and conversion industry.
"I would like to take this opportunity
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission issued the following testimony by Lee Boy, vice president of Manufacturing at Berwick Offray on the plastic decorative ribbon from China:
"Good morning. My name is Lee Boy and I am the Vice President of Manufacturing at Berwick Offray. In this capacity I oversee the production of plastic decorative ribbons in our facilities in Berwick, Pennsylvania. I have served as Vice President of Manufacturing for 12 years and have 21 years of prior experience in the plastic extrusion and conversion industry.
"I would like to take this opportunityto introduce you to the production process for plastic decorative ribbons. I have prepared a short slideshow to illustrate the steps in our manufacturing process. In the slideshow, for each process step shown, you will see the input, a representative example of the machinery used, and the output that goes to the next step. We hope these pictures help illustrate the amount of labor, physical capital, human capital, and value-added involved in the domestic manufacture of plastic decorative ribbons. We never stop trying to improve the efficiency and quality of Berwick ribbons and all of the employees contribute to this common goal.
SLIDE SHOW BULLETS
1. TITLE SLIDE
2. The process starts with extruding the film using a proprietary process and blend, developed over many years, that is designed to minimize our raw material costs, while still producing ribbon with the strength and softness necessary for later automatic processing.
3. The resin and ingredients are first blended in a batch process. The resin blend is then mixed with colorant in the proper proportion in the extruder. All process scrap is reground and re-pelletized in house, and these pellets are also added back on-line at this time. The output is a master roll of extruded film. The final product contains either plain, printed, or metallic ribbon.
4. For some products, the next step is metallization. BERWICK OFFRAY invested in metallizing capability in 2015. Prior to that, all metallic was produced by purchasing master rolls of metallized PET, and laminating to the PP master roll. With metallization, a portion has shifted to metallizing directly on the PP master roll, which eliminates the laminating step and gives a deeper luster. For the remaining metallic, the PET can be metallized in house, eliminating the outside process.
5.Some of our ribbon is laminated. Lamination is accomplished in high speed coater/laminators. These machines are also used for producing label stock in-house from paper and release liner for bow-tabs and product labels
6.
7. The ribbon can also include printed designs. Printing adds custom printed designs to the poly, laminated, or metallized film. To reduce cost and increase speed to market, we invested in digital platemaking in 2008, in-house ink mixing in 2011, added presses in 2011 and 2013, and invested in rapid prototyping equipment in 2016. Textures can be added, and the ribbon is cut to width before final processing.
The ribbon finishing processes include crimping, embossing, hot stamping, converting, and slitting. Slitting can be in-line with these processes, or a secondary operation, depending on the lot size and equipment available.
8. In this process, Crimping, we emboss, cut, and traverse wind narrow ribbons into a master roll for later processing.
9. For wider ribbons, we either emboss the ribbon with several patterns, and cut into pies in-line, or
10. Plain ribbon is cut directly into pies.
11. Ribbon can be also hot-stamped in one or multiple colors in dedicated, high speed operations.
12. Flocked ribbon is cut to width in hot cutting machines to give the best edge finish.
"At this point, the ribbon can either be spooled or tied into bows. The spooling processes used depends on the number of ends and the type of spool. Ribbon can be wound on itself, in kegs, on tubes, on paperboard spools, and on molded spools. The equipment to make the tubes, spools, and other packaging components isn't included in these slides, but those processes are made in house as well. In 2007, BERWICK OFFRAY developed and built equipment to make spools and tubes. In 2006 and 2014, additional presses were bought to make flanges, cards, tags and stickers in-house, and in 2011, the investments in people and processes were made to become a certified packaging printer. In 2014, two injection molding machines were added to make plastic spools in house.
13. Auto traverse winding equipment winds one or more ends of ribbon on a tube or spool.
14. Bulk spooling equipment winds one end of ribbon on a paper or plastic spool,
15. Keg machines wind ribbon on itself, 16.One up spooling machines wind ribbon onto cores for put-ups that are too heavy for a pasted spool, with flanges applied in blocking machines.
17. Multiple ends can also be straight wound on tubes or spools.
18. Standard bows are formed and packed on cards, in boxes, or in bags. The process to make bulk bow-bags is not shown, but is a proprietary process that outputs the finished bag complete from pies of the multiple renditions. Berwick bought the company that developed the original machines in 1996, and has continued developing the machines and the process in-house since. The bow machines, conveying equipment, and packaging machines are configured into linked cells, depending on the needs for the season. Bowbags are printed in-house on a wide web, high speed, flexo press, and folding boxes are diecut in house and folded/glued in house in high speed folder gluers.
19. Mega-bows are formed on large bow machines.
20. Tiny bows are also formed on dedicated machines
21. A "pull bow" is not formed into final bow form in the manufacturing process, but formed by the end user by pulling on one end. We have two types of pull bows, each with its own production process. One is sonically welded.
22. The other, Perfect bows are formed with rings between each loop.
23. And, finally, curl swirls are formed on machines that curl the ribbon and staple to the tab.
24. As Julie will discuss shortly, the production process is designed around getting our customers Berwick plastic ribbons into their stores for the holiday season. This means production ramps up between February and July and continues through November, for shipments in September through November. To meet seasonal demand, we use a workforce of approximately 600 production workers who, on average, work on a full time basis for about eight months per year. Our workforce typically ranges from about 250 active at the seasonal low point to about 600 active at the seasonal peak. This year, the seasonal peak was 725 workers. We provide benefits for these workers while active and for up to for up to four months while inactive. The average production worker has been employed with us for about 15 years, and 30% have been with us over 20 years. This is just another way Berwick strives to meet the needs of our customers and the needs of our workers.
"I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Thank you."
