A Canadian company's oil pipeline troubles in the U.S., including large spills this summer in Michigan and Illinois, could influence tougher regulatory proposals from Congress.

The U.S. House's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has scheduled a Wednesday hearing in Washington primarily to look into a spill that sent an estimated 820,000 to 1 million gallons spewing from an Enbridge Inc. pipeline near Marshall, Mich., in late July, polluting the Kalamazoo River.

Committee members also may discuss an Enbridge spill reported within the last week in suburban Chicago and ask regulators about a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. gas pipeline explosion that killed at least four people in suburban San Francisco.

The committee was researching new pipeline safety legislation even before this summer's accidents, which have caused Midwest gasoline prices to surge and raised questions about a nationwide system of aging pipelines that carry gas and hazardous liquids through communities and under rivers and lakes.

John LaForge, who's been living in a hotel since oil from an Enbridge pipeline contaminated his Michigan property in late July, wants Congress to send a tough message.

Global financial regulators on Sunday agreed on new rules designed to strengthen bank finances and rein in excessive risk-taking to help prevent another crisis.

Banks will be forced to hold more and safer kinds of capital to offset the risks they take lending money and trading securities, which should make them more resistant to financial shocks such as those of the last several years.

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, chairman of the committee of central bankers and bank supervisors that worked on the new rules, called the agreement "a fundamental strengthening of global capital standards."

"Their contribution to long-term financial stability and growth will be substantial," Trichet said in a statement.

U.S. officials including Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in a joint statement called the new standards a "significant step forward in reducing the incidence and severity of future financial crises

Some banks have protested however that the new rules may hurt their profitability and cause them to reduce the lending that fuels economic growth, possibly dampening a global economic recovery.

Representatives of major central banks, including the ECB and the U.S. Federal Reserve, agreed to the deal at a meeting in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday. The deal still has to be presented to leaders of the Group of 20 forum of rich and developing countries at a meeting in November and ratified by national governments before it comes into force.

The Shuman Law Firm today announced that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. ("Corinthian" or the "Company") /quotes/comstock/15*!coco/quotes/nls/coco (COCO 5.43, -0.01, -0.18%) between October 30, 2007 and August 19, 2010 (the "Class Period").

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with respect to this matter, please contact Kip B. Shuman or Rusty E. Glenn toll free at (866) 974-8626 or email Mr. Shuman at kip@shumanlawfirm.com or Mr. Glenn at rusty@shumanlawfirm.com.

The Complaint charges that Corinthian and certain of its officers and directors violated federal securities laws by making a series of materially false and misleading statements. Specifically, the Complaint alleges defendants failed to disclose: (i) Corinthian overstated its growth prospects by engaging in illicit and improper recruiting activities, which also had the effect of artificially inflating the Company's reported results and future growth prospects; (ii) the Company's financial results were overstated in that the Company's colleges inflated tuition costs and its student loan repayment rates were well below levels required for participation in federal loan programs; (iii) Corinthian failed to maintain adequate systems of internal operational or financial controls; and (iv) based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a basis for their positive statements about the Company, its prospects and growth.

If you purchased Corinthian common stock during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class no later than November 1, 2010. A lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision whether or not to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members.

The Shuman Law Firm represents investors throughout the nation, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions.

SOURCE: The Shuman Law Firm

The Shuman Law Firm
Kip B. Shuman, Esq., 866-974-8626
kip@shumanlawfirm.com
or
Rusty E. Glenn, Esq., 866-974-8626
rusty@shumanlawfirm.com
Fax: 303-484-4886
www.shumanlawfirm.com

If you believe a few respected money managers, there's opportunity aplenty in stocks now. If you find that surprising, wait until you hear where they think the bargains lurk: big blue chips that almost always fetch premium prices.

Legendary bear Jeremy Grantham of GMO LLC in Boston says the U.S. faces "seven lean years" of meager growth, but he has been pounding the table about blue chip bargains with big dividends. Steven Romick of FPA Crescent predicts rising taxes and an economic malaise but is singing the praises about "bigger is better" stocks now, too.

"If you're worried about a feeble economy you want to own companies with strong balance sheets," says T2 Partner's Whitney Tilson, who is loading up on big, multinational companies though he doubts the market will rise much for a while. "The beauty today is those companies are on sale."

Blue chips are always in the news. They're widely owned by pension funds and by individual investors in index funds, and heavily covered by Wall Street analysts. They're the companies that sell beer and medicine. They're the banks where people put their money. They make tractors and computer software. And they typically trade at premium prices, so sometimes are shunned by contrarians like the three above who have been bearish when others are bullish.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press showed that Pacific Gas & Electric submitted paperwork to regulators that said a section of the same gas line -- about two and half miles from the blast -- was within "the top 100 highest risk line sections" in the utility's service territory.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration classified the 30-inch diameter transmission line as a "high consequence area" requiring more stringent inspections called integrity assessments, agency spokeswoman Julia Valentine said.

Nationwide, only about 7 percent of gas lines have that classification, she said.

The official death toll from the blast was four Sunday, and San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said they're still trying to confirm whether more remains found are human and identify victims. Police have said five people are missing.