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NEW YORK | Wed Dec 26, 2012 2:53pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a decision that could make it easier for businesses to police cybertheft in the workplace, a U.S. appeals court revived a chemical company's lawsuit accusing a former Toronto-area employee of using her home computer to steal trade secrets from its Connecticut server.

Reversing a lower court ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said U.S.-based MacDermid Inc may pursue civil damages claims against a former account manager under Connecticut state law, even though she conducted her alleged improper activity from her home in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Wednesday's decision may make it easier for U.S. companies to crack down on alleged computer theft that occurs in remote locations, including outside the country. In recent years, U.S. courts increasingly have dealt with cases involving downloads of corporate information by employees, both in criminal cases brought by prosecutors and civil cases filed by companies.

Jackie Deiter, the MacDermid account manager, had worked for the Waterbury, Connecticut-based company's MacDermid Chemicals unit in Mississauga, Ontario, from May 2008 until her termination in April 2011 for reasons unrelated to the lawsuit.

The company accused her of violating Connecticut laws on unauthorized computer access and misappropriating trade secrets by emailing customer data, laboratory reports, and pricing lists drawn from its Waterbury server. It said this occurred soon after Deiter had learned she was about to be fired.

Deiter admitted to emailing materials, but said in court papers that she did so for her job, and because she could not print at home from her employer-issued laptop.

U.S. District Judge Warren Eginton in New Haven, Connecticut said in November 2011 that he had no jurisdiction over MacDermid's lawsuit because Deiter had merely emailed information "from one computer in Canada to another computer in Canada."

But a unanimous three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit said MacDermid's server was a computer under Connecticut law, and that it did not matter that Deiter had accessed it from outside the state, which she had never visited.

"Most Internet users, perhaps, have no idea of the location of the servers through which they send their emails," Circuit Judge Barrington Parker wrote for the panel.

"Here, however, MacDermid has alleged that Deiter knew that the email servers she used and the confidential files she misappropriated were both located in Connecticut," he added.

Parker also said "efficiency and social policies against computer-based theft are generally best served" by handling lawsuits in the states where computer files are misappropriated.

William Charamut, a lawyer for Deiter, declined to comment. Lawyers for MacDermid did not immediately respond to requests for comment. No criminal charges have been filed against Deiter.

In February, the 2nd Circuit threw out a federal criminal case against a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer, saying his alleged theft of high-frequency trading code was not a crime under federal law.

Six months later, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance brought New York state criminal charges against the programmer, Sergey Aleynikov, over the same activity. Aleynikov has pleaded not guilty.

The 2nd Circuit has jurisdiction in Connecticut, New York and Vermont. It is among the more influential federal appeals courts, and other circuits often follow its reasoning.

The case is MacDermid Inc v. Deiter, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-5388.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Martha Graybow and Leslie Gevirtz)

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WASHINGTON | Wed Dec 26, 2012 4:12pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday announced charges against a research analyst for trading and tipping others ahead of a 2009 acquisition by computer giant IBM, expanding a related insider trading case filed last month.

Federal prosecutors charged Trent Martin, who worked at a Connecticut brokerage firm, for purchasing shares of SPSS before IBM agreed to the $1.2 billion deal. He was also charged with passing the information to others, including his roommate.

On November 29 the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two former stockbrokers, including Martin's roommate, for their roles in the alleged insider trading scheme.

The three and others made more than $1 million by trading ahead of the acquisition, prosecutors said.

Martin was specifically named as the source of the information in instant messages between the two brokers, Thomas Conradt and David Weishaus, authorities said.

In a July 2009 message, referring to Martin by name, Conradt wrote: "holy f*** . . . god trent told me not to tell anyone . . . big mistake," according to the indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

Weishaus responded, "eh, we'll get rich."

Martin, an Australian citizen, was arrested on December 22 in Hong Kong, the Justice Department said. Martin could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed related civil charges against Martin on Wednesday, said he fled the United States to Australia soon after learning about the SEC's investigation.

IBM agreed to pay $50 per share for SPSS, a 42 percent premium to SPSS' closing price on the day before the purchase was announced.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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The San Cristobal volcano spews up large clouds of gas and ash near Chinandegga City, some 150 km (93 miles) north of the capital Managua December 26, 2012.

MANAGUA | Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:29pm EST

MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaragua's tallest volcano has belched an ash cloud hundreds of meters (feet) into the sky in the latest bout of sporadic activity, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, the government said on Wednesday.

The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 85 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's northwest, has been active in recent years, and went through a similar episode in September.

The latest activity began late on Tuesday.

Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo called on residents who live within a 1.9-mile (3-km) radius of the volcano to leave the area. Around 300 families live near the volcano.

"We have some families who have self-evacuated. ... We ask (the people) to go to a safe place, it's just for a few days during this emergency," she said, adding it was a precautionary measure.

A billowing grayish cloud could be seen drifting sideways from the volcano's peak.

The volcano also stirred in mid-2008, when it expelled gas and rumbled with a series of small eruptions.

(Reporting by Mexico City bureau; editing by Todd Eastham)

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CHICAGO | Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:55pm EST

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Commerce on a key stretch of the Mississippi River could "come to an effective halt" earlier than expected next week due to low water levels, disrupting shipments of billions of dollars of grain and other goods, a group of shippers said on Wednesday.

The Waterways Council, which represents shippers and receivers of commodities, said in a message to its members that it received an advisory from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday that indicated water levels around Thebes, Ill., could be too low for most vessels to operate by January 3 or 4.

A spokesman for the Army Corps did not immediately return a call for comment about the forecast.

Shippers for months have been watching the stretch of the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., which includes Thebes, due to concerns about a potential closure.

A shipping superhighway that carries billions of dollars in grain, coal, steel and other commodities every year from the central United States to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi is near record-low levels due to the worst U.S. drought since 1956.

"Water levels are falling quicker than we anticipated," Ann McCulloch, spokeswoman for the American Waterways Operators, a sister organization to the Waterways Council, said in an interview. "We were hoping not to reach this point until mid January."

The Waterways Council did not specify how long the river could be effectively closed.

Shippers have said previously that rain is needed to replenish water levels to keep the river open.

Recent snowfall in the central United States should help increase water levels on the lower Mississippi River, said Army Corps spokesman Mike Petersen earlier on Wednesday. However, "we would need a lot more" precipitation to see a significant improvement on key stretches of the middle Mississippi near Thebes, he said.

The Mississippi River is the main shipping waterway for grain moving from Midwest farms to export facilities at the Gulf of Mexico. Some 55 to 65 percent of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat shipments exit the country via the Gulf.

Exporters stepped up shipments of grain and soybeans to the Gulf Coast before water levels fell to critically low levels, forcing barges to take on lighter loads. They also resorted to loading more of their goods on rail cars.

The disruption of river traffic due to low water has pushed up export prices for grain, especially soybeans that are in strong demand from buyers like China.

ORDERS CANCELED, ORDERS CURTAILED

The latest forecast calls for the Mississippi River gauge at Thebes, to be at 3 feet on or around January 3-4, with vessel drafts limited to 8 feet, according the Waterways Council. The majority of vessels require a 9-foot draft to operate.

The draft is the distance from the surface of the water to a boat's lowest point.

"Our members have been preparing (for an effective closure) by investigating other options to move their products, either by rail or truck," said Debra Colbert, senior vice president for the council. "We've seen orders canceled; we've seen orders curtailed. We've seen companies looking at potential layoffs."

The Army Corps last week began clearing rocks from a shallow stretch of the drought-hit river near Thebes to maintain the flow of goods to Gulf Coast ports.

The low water level on the Mississippi River after this year's devastating dry spell was exacerbated by the Corps' decision to reduce by even more than usual the amount of water that flows into the waterway from the Missouri River. The Corps reduces the Missouri River flow every autumn.

The move raised protests from Midwestern governors and senators who urged President Barack Obama to rescind the decision for fear that badly needed income would be lost through the disruption of commerce that flows through the river.

The river groups met last week with White House staff "and continue to implore them and members of Congress and the Corps to release additional water to sustain navigation on the Mississippi River," the Council said.

(Reporting By Tom Polansek; Editing by Diane Craft)

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NEW YORK | Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:05pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Temperatures across much of the northern half of the United States will be colder than normal during the first quarter, private forecaster Weather Services International said on Wednesday.

"After another unusually warm December across much of the U.S., the pattern is now transitioning to a more normal winter look," WSI chief meteorologist Dr. Todd Crawford said in a release.

The private forecaster also said that above-normal temperatures will likely dominate the southern half of the nation, especially the Southwest, during that period.

In January, WSI expects the Northeast (except northern New England), North Central and Northwest regions to see mostly colder than normal temperatures. Readings in southern tier states are expected to average warmer than normal.

In the release, Chris Kostas, a senior gas analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc, said natural gas prices were likely to firm during the coldest periods in January, with New England and portions of northern New York possibly experiencing very sharp price spikes due to pipeline congestion.

But he said robust supplies from high inventories and strong shale production were likely to limit price strength.

In February, WSI forecasts colder than normal temperatures for the Northeast and North Central regions, with warmer readings expected across the southern tier and in the Northwest.

WSI expects warmer than normal temperatures to dominate most of the nation in March, except in the Northwest, which could see colder than normal readings.

The WSI seasonal outlooks reference a standard 30-year normal from 1981-2010.

(Reporting by Joe Silha; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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LONDON | Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:47pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK is on track to meet its 2020 renewable energy targets after low-carbon electricity generation grew more than a quarter in the year to end-June 2012, thanks largely to new solar and offshore wind projects, a government report said.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said renewable energy accounted for over 10 percent of total electricity supplied in the 12 months to end-June.

Renewable power output grew 27 percent from July 2011, according to the UK's latest Renewable Energy Roadmap status report released on Thursday.

"Renewable energy is increasingly powering the UK's grid, and the economy too," Energy Secretary Edward Davey, who heads DECC, said in a statement that accompanied the report.

"It's a fantastic achievement that more than 10 percent of our power now comes from renewables, given the point from which we started," he said.

Britain has a target to produce 15 percent of its energy, including electricity, heat and transport, from renewable sources by 2020 in a bid to cut climate-warming emissions.

This means that 30 percent of the UK's electricity must come from renewables by the end of the decade, the government said, with wind playing a leading role.

"Right now, getting new infrastructure investment into the economy is crucial to driving growth and supporting jobs across the country ... I am determined that we get ahead in the global race on renewables and build on the big-money investments we've seen this year," Davey said.

DECC has identified around 12.7 billion pounds ($20.6 billion) of confirmed and planned renewable investment by companies between April 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012, potentially creating around 22,800 jobs.

The department, which expects the growth in renewables to continue or accelerate, predicts the industry will support 400,000 direct jobs by 2020, up from around 110,000 jobs currently.

Government subsidies have played a key role in encouraging investment, however, and economic difficulties have put pressure on support schemes.

Government departments have reined in spending, though officials say the falling costs of the technology mean that less support is required to encourage take-up.

Offshore wind power capacity grew by 60 percent to 2.5 gigawatts (GW), while onshore wind grew by 24 percent to 5.3 GW, according to figures in the Renewable Energy Roadmap report.

Solar photovoltaics recorded the highest growth with an increase of five and a half times to 1.4 GW in capacity by the end of June 2012, the report said.

Industry group RenewableUK welcomed the findings of the report.

"The update is spot on. It highlights the sector's dynamic growth and the healthy pipeline of wind, wave and tidal projects to come," RenewableUK Deputy Chief Executive Maf Smith said.

"It's right to note that costs are falling steadily, so renewables will continue to offer even better value for money for all of us," he said, adding that it will help stabilize the price of energy.

In November, Britain set out plans to triple support for low-carbon power generation by 2020 in order to help replace ageing fossil fuel power plants with less polluting alternatives.

The outlay will be clawed back through higher energy bills.

Under the agreed Levy Control Framework, spending on low-carbon power generation will increase to 7.6 billion pounds a year in real terms by 2020, from the current 2.35 billion pounds, to reduce dependence on gas.

(Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by Jane Baird)

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1 of 5. Storm clouds are seen on the east coast of the United States in this NASA handout satellite image taken at 1955 GMT, December 26, 2012. The severe winter weather that hit parts of the central and southern United States on Christmas Day moved eastward on Wednesday, causing flight delays and dangerous road conditions in the Northeast and Ohio Valley.

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:02am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful winter storm forced the cancellation of about 200 U.S. flights on Thursday, snarling holiday travel as heavy snow and high winds pummeled the northeastern United States.

The National Weather Service forecast 12 to 18 inches of snow for northern New England as the storm moved northeast out of the lower Great Lakes, where it dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Michigan.

The storm front was accompanied by freezing rain and sleet. The Ohio River Valley and the Northeast were under blizzard and winter storm warnings.

Snow will fall in northern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire at up to 2 inches an hour, with winds gusting to 30 mph (48 km per hour), the weather agency said.

About 200 U.S. airline flights scheduled for Thursday were canceled a day ahead of time, according to FlightAware.com, a website that tracks flights.

American Airlines had the most canceled at about 30. A total of about 1,500 U.S. flights were canceled on Wednesday.

New York state activated its Emergency Operations Center late on Wednesday to deal with the first major storm of the season.

Governor Andrew Cuomo warned the heads of seven utilities they would be held accountable for their performances. Utilities near New York City were criticized for lingering outages after Superstorm Sandy devastated the region in October.

The storm comes as New York state has seen little snow during autumn and winter. Buffalo, New York, was 23 inches below normal for the season before the storm, said Bill Hibbert, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

"We're short and even this big snow isn't going to make it up for us," he said.

The storm dumped record snow in north Texas and Arkansas before it swept through the U.S. South on Christmas Day and then veered north. The system spawned tornadoes and left almost 200,000 people in Arkansas and Alabama without power on Wednesday.

At least five people were killed in road accidents related to the bad weather, police said.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Neale Gulley; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Hard-edged reporting, insight and analysis, Reuters TV breaks ground creating informative news and financial videos. Showcasing Reuters’ 3000 award-winning journalists, Reuters TV delivers high-energy investigative journalism with concise explanations. Check it out and let us know what you think.

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Hard-edged reporting, insight and analysis, Reuters TV breaks ground creating informative news and financial videos. Showcasing Reuters’ 3000 award-winning journalists, Reuters TV delivers high-energy investigative journalism with concise explanations. Check it out and let us know what you think.

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Women carry shopping bags through Times Square in New York, July 27, 2012.

WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:47pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy showed surprising signs of resilience in November despite the approach of the so-called fiscal cliff as consumer spending rose by the most in three years and a gauge of business investment jumped.

Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent when adjusted for inflation, while new factory orders for capital goods outside the defense and aerospace sectors - a proxy for business spending plans - jumped 2.7 percent, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Economists had pinned earlier weakness in investment plans on worries lawmakers and the White House might fail to strike a deal to avoid the brunt of tax hikes and government spending cuts scheduled to begin in January.

They also worried consumers would hold back as the end-of-the-year deadline approached with both parties far apart on how to avoid the potential hit to the economy. But Friday's data suggested both consumers and businesses had mostly shrugged off the cliff, at least in November.

"It appears that the looming fiscal cliff hasn't been nearly as disruptive as we had feared," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

Still, another report provided ample reason for caution as U.S. consumer sentiment slumped in December, with households apparently rattled by on-going negotiations to lessen the fiscal tightening that could easily trigger a recession next year.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final index of consumer sentiment in December tumbled more than expected to 72.9 from 82.7 a month before.

U.S. stocks fell sharply after a Republican proposal for averting the fiscal cliff was abandoned late on Thursday, eroding optimism that a deal could be reached quickly. At the same time, U.S. government debt prices rallied and the dollar gained ground as investors sought a safe haven.

Economists still expect economic growth to cool in the fourth quarter as companies slow the pace at which they have been re-stocking their shelves, but the data on Friday suggested consumers are offsetting some of that drag.

Consumer spending is on track to grow at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, faster than during the prior three months, said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers raised its forecast for fourth-quarter economic growth by four tenths of a point to a 1.4 percent annual rate. In the third quarter, the economy expanded at a 3.1 percent rate.

"The economy is holding in here at the end of the year despite the concerns about the fiscal cliff," said Gary Thayer, an economic strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis.

WORRIES AHEAD

Those concerns are not going away.

In November, many analysts on Wall Street said they expected Washington would largely avert the fiscal cliff, and optimism had grown over the last week that a deal was within reach. Since Wednesday, however, negotiations have fallen into disarray.

If Congress and the White House do not reach a deal in time, taxes will go up for all Americans beginning in January and the government will cut spending on a host of programs. Running off the fiscal cliff would slash the nation's trillion-dollar budget deficit nearly in half in just one year.

The impact would only come gradually, but economists expect it would be enough to knock the country into recession in the first half of the year.

So far, uncertainty over the talks appears to have had only a limited impact on the economy.

New orders for durable goods, items meant to last three years or more, rose a greater-than-expected 0.7 percent in November due to gains in machinery, fabricated metal products, and computer and electronic products. Those increases were offset by a decline in volatile aircraft orders.

The report also showed a rise in shipments, brightening the prospects for fourth-quarter economic growth.

Shipments of non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, used to calculate equipment and software spending in the government's measures of gross domestic product, gained 1.8 percent, after rising by a softer 0.6 percent in October.

(Additional reporting by Ellen Freilich and Leah Schnurr in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Tim Ahmann)

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