Barea, Wolves snap Thunder's 12-game streak

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — J.J. Barea ended Oklahoma City's 12-game winning streak almost all by himself.

Playing with the tenacity that made him so important to the Mavericks' run to the title two years ago, Barea scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 99-93 victory over the Thunder on Thursday night.

Kevin Love had 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and Nikola Pekovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. But it was Barea who was the key, scoring 12 straight at one point for the Wolves to hold off the team with the best record in the league.

Kevin Durant had 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Thunder, who had not lost a game since Nov. 23 at Boston.

That it was Barea, and not the Olympian Love or the sensation Ricky Rubio who was chiefly responsible was the biggest surprise of all.

Barea didn't join the Timberwolves until training camp had already started last season, then languished through the first injury plagued year of his career. Finally healthy, he's getting back to the super pest that helped the Dallas Mavericks to the title two years ago.

With the Thunder charging early in the fourth quarter, the smallest guy on the court played the biggest.

After Durant's two free throws cut Minnesota's lead to 80-77, Barea hit two 3s and scored on a putback under the rim amid the tall trees, an 8-0 run by himself that gave the Wolves a little breathing room. His long 3 with 5:26 to play made it 92-81, and the Wolves held on.

Barea was also a nuisance on defense, drawing an offensive foul on Durant with 2:24 to play. The normally super-cool Durant uncharacteristically lost his composure, picking up a technical foul for arguing the call as well.

Serge Ibaka had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Alexey Shved had 12 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for the Wolves, who are trying to claw their way back to respectability after years at the bottom of the Western Conference.

With a nucleus of Love, Rubio and Pekovic, there is optimism here for the first time in a long time.

The Thunder stormed into Target Center riding the longest winning streak since the team moved to Oklahoma City, bullying opponents by an average of 14.2 points per game as they warm up for a run at a second straight finals appearance.

Rubio was playing his third game since being activated from a torn ACL in his left knee that had kept him out since March 9. He had a scintillating debut last Saturday, throwing no-look passes between his legs and looking as if he'd never left. But it's been slower going in the ensuing two games. He was a non-factor in a loss in Orlando on Monday and had trouble getting going again against the Thunder.

His handle wasn't nearly as sticky as usual and he was thwarted every time he tried to penetrate, then could be seen wincing in pain after an awkward landing on a shot in the second quarter. Coach Rick Adelman immediately pulled him, but Rubio was able to return in the second half.

Playing the part of Rubio on Thursday night was Shved, the Russian rookie with the flair for the dramatic. After two rough games in a row in Florida, Shved wasn't intimidated by the team with the best record in the league. He calmly glided along the perimeter, surveying the defense and finding teammates with pinpoint passing.

NOTES: Kevin Martin did not play for the Thunder because of a right thigh contusion. ... The Timberwolves waived G/F Josh Howard on Thursday after an MRI revealed a torn ACL in his right knee. ... The Thunder lost for the first time in six tries on the second night of a back to back.

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Laclede to double customers in $1 billion deal with Energy Transfer

(Reuters) - Natural gas distributor Laclede Group Inc  is buying two utilities from Energy Transfer Equity LP  for $1 billion, doubling its customer numbers and boosting its exposure to more stable state-regulated income.

More than 91 percent of Laclede's earnings will come from rate-regulated business after the acquisition of Missouri Gas Energy and New England Gas Co, owned by Energy Transfer's affiliate, Southern Union Co.

About 68 percent of Laclede's operating revenue of $1.12 billion came from its regulated gas distribution business in the year ended September 30.

"With lower ... prices, more and more customers are interested in using natural gas," Chief Executive Suzanne Sitherwood told Reuters. "The other emerging market that is taking place is with natural gas vehicles."

Gas prices have fallen sharply from their peak of more than $13 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu) to about $3 now due to vast supplies from shale fields in North America.

This has prompted increased use of gas for heating and power generation. Westport Innovations Inc , General Motors Co , Caterpillar Inc and Ford Motor Co are some of the companies developing technologies to drive the use of the fuel in vehicles.

Laclede too has been working on fueling natural gas vehicles and has received a lot of interest for possible partnerships, Sitherwood said. She did not name the interested parties.

GOOD PRICE FOR ETE

Missouri Gas and New England Gas, which had combined revenue of about $517 million for the year ended September 30, serve more than 500,000 customers in western Missouri and about 50,000 in Massachusetts.

The acquisition, which includes debt of about $20 million, will take Laclede's customer base to 1.2 million, the company said in a statement.

Laclede expects the acquisition to be neutral to its earnings per share in the first full year after close, likely in the third quarter of 2013.

Energy Transfer Partners LP , a unit of Energy Transfer Equity and a party to the deal, said the transaction was part of the company's efforts to divest non-core assets.

The gas utilities passed into Energy Transfer's hands when it bought pipeline operator Southern Union Co last year.

"For the Energy Transfer family, this (deal) compares favorably to our previously modeled $710 million sale estimate," analysts at Robert W. Baird wrote in a note to clients.

St Louis, Missouri-based Laclede said Wells Fargo Bank will provide a $1 billion bridge facility for the purchase.

Laclede shares were down about 2 percent at $39.12 in afternoon trading on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Energy Transfer Equity and Energy Transfer Partners were slightly up.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC advises Laclede, while Credit Suisse Securities LLC is advising Energy Transfer and Southern Union. Moelis & Co gave the fairness opinion to Laclede.

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Zurich puts Sandy storm damage claims at $700 million

ZURICH (Reuters) - Zurich estimates that damage claims relating to tropical storm Sandy, which hit the United States in October, will amount to $700 million in its fourth-quarter earnings.

The Swiss insurer's announcement on Monday also said that it expects $58 million of "reinstatement premiums due on reinsurance covers". The company gave no further explanation. It is due to report quarterly earnings on February 14.

The storm, which killed 132 people in the United States and Canada on October 29, led to power outages, disruptions of public transport and massive damage to infrastructure.

U.S. insurer AIG said it expects post-tax losses of at least $1.3 billion from Superstorm Sandy, while Travelers Companies Inc and Swiss Re estimated their claims burdens at $650 million after tax and $900 million before tax respectively.

Sandy is expected ultimately to be the second-costliest catastrophe in U.S. history, with insured loss estimates as high as $25 billion. The costliest catastrophe was hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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Burundi coffee earnings rise 46 pct in November

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's coffee revenues rose 46 percent in November from the previous month on higher prices and export volumes, the country's industry regulator said on Friday.

The country earned $5.7 million from the sale of 1,671,638 kg versus $3.9 million it earned in October from the export of 1,205,919 kg.

"Coffee farmers were asked to produce Arabica beans of highest quality following an uncertain world market. This resulted in the selling in November of an important quantity of speciality brands, boosting earnings," regulator ARFIC said in its monthly report.

ARFIC predicts revenues for the 2012/13 crop will inch up to $61.4 million from $61.2 million earned in the 2011/12 season.

Projected good harvests by top global producers like Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia, could lead to a drop in coffee prices on global markets, the Burundian regulator said.

Coffee is the country's top foreign exchange earner and the commodity provides a livelihood for 800,000 smallholder farmers in a nation of 8 million people.

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Empire Co profit rises on higher sales at Sobeys

(Reuters) - Empire Co Ltd  reported a higher second-quarter profit as sales at its Sobeys supermarket chain rose due to acquisitions.

Net earnings increased to C$93.3 million ($95 million), or C$1.37 per share, from C$78.1 million, or C$1.15 per share, a year earlier.

Total sales rose 9 percent to C$4.40 billion in the quarter ended November 3.

Sales at established stores, a key measure for retailers, rose 1.3 percent at Sobeys, Canada's No. 2 grocer behind Loblaw Cos Ltd .

Sobeys' contribution to sales rose 11 percent to C$4.34 billion from C$3.98 billion. The growth was a result of the acquisition of 236 retail gas locations and related convenience store operations in the fourth quarter, the company said.

Canadian grocers are under pressure as Wal-Mart Stores Inc expands its food offerings in the country and will see even more competition when Target Corp kicks off its aggressive Canadian roll-out in the spring.

But Sobeys may be somewhat insulated, thanks to its contract to supply some of Target's groceries.

Empire shares were up about 3 percent at C$60.05 in morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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MetLife warns on 2013 profit, expects no stock buybacks

(Reuters) - MetLife Inc  warned that 2013 earnings might be well below Wall Street expectations  and said it did not expect to buy back any shares next year, a blow to investors who have been waiting more than a year for a capital return.

The largest life insurer in the United States also said it needed to move faster on strategic changes amid a persistently low-interest-rate environment.

While MetLife has said in the past that it was well equipped to handle years of low rates, particularly with a hedging program it has put in place, the company acknowledged on Thursday that it was in a "lower-for-longer" scenario.

Because their obligations are usually long-term, life insurers invest the premiums they collect in hopes of generating sufficient return to pay those obligations over time. In a low-rate environment, it becomes much harder for insurers to generate enough return to meet those commitments.

MetLife said operating earnings per share next year would be lower than this year, compared with Wall Street expectations for growth in the low single digits. However, it also said the forecast was "broadly consistent" with its long-term outlook of a year ago.

For this year, the insurer expects operating earnings of $5.5 billion to $5.6 billion, or $5.15 to $5.25 per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of $5.25.

In 2013, it expects $5.5 billion to $5.9 billion, or $4.95 to $5.35 per share. Analysts' average forecast is $5.47, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

MetLife's operating earnings forecast excludes discontinued operations and net investment gains and losses.

Shares of MetLife rose 2 percent to $34.29 in morning trading. At Wednesday's close, the stock had risen about 5 percent this year.

NO BUYBACKS

On a year-end investor call with analysts, MetLife management said the 2013 forecast assumes no share buybacks. Chief Executive Steve Kandarian later added, "I don't have total confidence" the company will be free to buy back shares after 2013, either.

MetLife investors have waited since the autumn of 2011 for the company to buy back shares and raise its dividend, but regulators foiled the company's plans.

Because of its online bank, MetLife has a bank holding company charter and is subject to Federal Reserve oversight. The Fed blocked MetLife from a buyback in late 2011, and the company failed a Fed bank stress test earlier this year.

On Wednesday, the insurer won approval from banking regulators for a long-delayed deal to sell the deposits portion of its bank to General Electric Co's GE Capital unit. Once that sale closes, MetLife will seek to relinquish the bank charter, which may mean the end of Fed oversight.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Eric Berg, in a research note, said the sale "was certainly a step in the right direction."

But MetLife executives said they could not be sure when the sale would close, and how that timing would affect whether the company has to participate in another stress test, meaning it was "prudent" to assume it would not buy back shares next year.

Even with the bank sold, MetLife is also considered at risk of being declared a systemically important financial institution by a federal panel, which would put it right back under Fed supervision and could restrict its payout ability.

"And we fear that knowing this, Met will go slow on share repurchase - exactly the opposite of what investors want to hear from the company," RBC's Berg said.

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Foreign hackers targeted former military chief Mullen: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreign hackers targeted the computers of Mike Mullen, ex-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, calling it the latest in a pattern of attacks on computers of former high-ranking U.S. officials. The FBI is pursuing the hackers, the Journal reported. The agency was not immediately available for comment. Mullen's office confirmed that the retired admiral was cooperating with a cyber investigation. "Admiral Mullen, now a private citizen, has responded to very specific requests and is cooperating with an ongoing cyber investigation he has been informed is focused overseas," it said in a statement. The hackers targeted personal computers Mullen used while working on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, after his retirement in 2011, the report said, citing officials and others familiar with the probe. One official said the evidence pointed to China as the origin of the hacking and that it appeared the hackers were able to access a personal email account. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told the Journal he was not aware of the investigation and that his government prohibits cyber attacks. China is often cited as a suspect in various hacking attacks in the United States and other nations. Beijing dismisses allegations it is involved. The Journal report said current and former U.S. cyber security officials say the Mullen case is the most recent example of a series of undisclosed hacker attacks on the computer files of former senior U.S. officials. Hackers view their computers as an easier way to get access to sensitive information, said these people, who declined to name the targeted former officials.

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