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• COLUMN-U.S. aquifers fall as farmers take too much: Kemp Tuesday, 21 May 2013 | 11:38 AM ET

  LONDON, May 21- U.S. farmers are withdrawing unsustainable volumes of groundwater to irrigate their crops, resulting in an accelerating decline in aquifers across the central and western United States, according to a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

• Drop in U.S. underground water levels has accelerated -USGS Monday, 20 May 2013 | 6:56 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, May 20- Water levels in U.S. aquifers, the vast underground storage areas tapped for agriculture, energy and human consumption, between 2000 and 2008 dropped at a rate that was almost three times as great as any time during the 20th century, U.S. officials said on Monday.

• COLUMN-Enhanced recovery will anchor oil prices below $100: Kemp Thursday, 16 May 2013 | 1:01 PM ET

  LONDON, May 16- Enhanced oil recovery techniques could boost U.S. domestic oil production by 4 million barrels per day for 50 years, while storing all the emissions from 93 large coal-fired power plants, at a price of just $85 per barrel, according to an estimate published by the U.S. Department of Energy.

• UPDATE 2-U.S. Plains farmland values rise 20 pct -Kansas City Fed Wednesday, 15 May 2013 | 4:44 PM ET

  Plains states rose 20 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, with acreage commanding record prices because of red-hot demand for cropland in the world's biggest food-exporting nation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Wednesday.

• UPDATE 1-U.S. Plains farmland values up 20 pct; gains ease -KC Fed Wednesday, 15 May 2013 | 11:33 AM ET

  Plains states rose 20 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, with acreage commanding record prices because of red-hot demand for cropland in the world's biggest food exporting nation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Wednesday.

• UPDATE 2-U.S. Senate Republicans boycott vote on EPA nominee Thursday, 9 May 2013 | 10:52 AM ET

  WASHINGTON, May 9- Republican lawmakers on Thursday boycotted a confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, saying they were "completely unsatisfied" with answers provided by Gina McCarthy on several topics.

• UPDATE 3-Obama's EPA nominee stalled as Republicans boycott vote Thursday, 9 May 2013 | 12:37 AM ET

  WASHINGTON, May 9- Republican senators boycotted a confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, saying they were "completely unsatisfied" with answers provided by Gina McCarthy on several topics.

• COLUMN-U.S. coal industry's growing east/west divide: Kemp Tuesday, 7 May 2013 | 4:55 AM ET

  LONDON, May 7- U.S. coal miners have been among the biggest victims of the shale revolution and tougher emission controls on power plants. U.S. coal miners produced about 1,016 million short tons last year, down just over 7 percent from 1,094 million tons a decade earlier, according to estimates published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

• COLUMN-Battle of Balcombe's shale to test British policymakers: Kemp Monday, 29 Apr 2013 | 7:50 AM ET

  LONDON, April 29- The village of Balcombe in West Sussex, with fewer than 2,000 residents, is set to test whether Britain's politicians, media and public can strike a sensible balance between climate change and energy security, local concerns and national priorities.

• NEWSMAKER-Fed's Esther George - speaking up for middle America Monday, 29 Apr 2013 | 12:59 AM ET

  EL RENO, Okla., April 29- Federal Reserve officials, as a rule, can expect a tough crowd when they visit places like Oklahoma where suspicion of big government runs deep. Esther George, president of the Kansas City Fed, is an exception.

• FED FOCUS-No deflation scare at Fed despite commodity price fall Monday, 22 Apr 2013 | 3:37 PM ET

  *Low U.S. inflation hardens view Fed to keep buying bonds. Price declines fan deflation talk, but Fed still comfortable. WASHINGTON, April 22- Falling commodity prices and softer growth have fanned concern U.S. inflation could slow further, killing chances of the Federal Reserve tapering its $85 billion a month of bond purchases any time soon.

• EXCLUSIVE-In rarity, Bernanke to skip Jackson Hole due to scheduling conflict Saturday, 20 Apr 2013 | 7:03 PM ET

  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will miss the annual Jackson Hole monetary policy symposium this year due to a scheduling conflict, skipping the prestigious event for the first time since taking the helm of the central bank in 2006..

• U.S. drought easing slightly after week's rains Thursday, 18 Apr 2013 | 4:00 PM ET

  CHICAGO, April 18- Drought conditions eased after storms moved across the central United States and the U.S. But it was dry from west Texas to eastern Colorado into western Kansas and southwestern Nebraska. Big improvements were noted in the Dakotas and minor easing in Kansas, Wyoming and Colorado.

• UPDATE 1-Coal to stay important in U.S. energy mix -environment agency pick Thursday, 11 Apr 2013 | 4:09 PM ET

  *Wyoming Senator blasts EPA's role in "chronic unemployment". WASHINGTON, April 11- President Barack Obama's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told a Senate panel on Thursday that coal will remain important in the U.S. energy mix and that the EPA will be flexible in applying new pollution rules for coal-fired power plants.

• Coal to stay important in U.S. energy mix -environment agency pick Thursday, 11 Apr 2013 | 3:16 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, April 11- President Barack Obama's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told a Senate panel on Thursday that coal will remain important in the U.S. energy mix and that the EPA will be flexible in applying new pollution rules for coal-fired power plants.

• COLUMN-U.S. oil and gas royalties at high risk of misreporting: Kemp Wednesday, 10 Apr 2013 | 10:38 AM ET

  "The Department of Interior does not have reasonable assurance that it is collecting its share of revenue from oil and gas produced on federal lands, and continues to experience problems in hiring, training and retaining sufficient staff to provide oversight," according to the Government Accountability Office in a report sent to Congress.

• COLUMN-Congress must legislate to avoid a helium crisis: Kemp Wednesday, 27 Mar 2013 | 6:42 AM ET

  LONDON, March 27- Bipartisan bills introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate aim to avert the imminent shutdown of the Federal Helium Reserve, which provides a third of all the gas consumed worldwide, and develop a proper market to avoid a long-term crunch in supplies of one of the world's most critical raw materials.

• UPDATE 2-U.S. Senate panel OK's new Interior Secretary nominee Thursday, 21 Mar 2013 | 2:05 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, March 21- A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday approved Sally Jewell's nomination to lead the Interior Department after the Obama administration struck a deal with a Republican senator over the construction of an emergency road for a remote Alaskan town.

• Walmart adds iPhone scan-and-checkout feature to 12 more markets Wednesday, 20 Mar 2013 | 10:36 AM ET

  March 20- Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it is tripling the number of U.S. stores in a pilot program that lets shoppers scan items with their iPhones and pay at self-checkout counters. Walmart's "Scan& Go" program will soon be in more than 200 stores, up from about 70. The pilot began near its home office in Bentonville, Arkansas in late 2012, then expanded to Atlanta.

• Most Expensive States for Car Insurance Monday, 18 Mar 2013 | 3:55 PM ET

  

  Auto insurance rates vary according to how many drivers are on the road, how safe they are, even who decides lawsuits.