PG&E (NYSE:PCG) proposed spending $769 million over three years to test its natural gas pipelines as part of a $2.2 billion pipeline safety program, following a deadly pipeline explosion last year. PG&E said it will pressure-test all of its untested pipe segments and expand use of automated pipeline shut-off valves. The utility has proposed passing on the cost of the project to its customers, with a $250 million rate increase in 2012 and subsequent increases of $30 million and $80 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Overall, the utility said it plans to spend $2.2 billion through 2014 on pipeline safety costs. -Marketwatch
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has conquered the multimedia device market with the iPod, the smartphone market with the iPhone, and the tablet PC market with the iPad. It has not, however, entered one of the largest consumer electronics businesses — TV. That may be about to change. VentureBeat writes "Apple is almost certainly working on a digital television based on its iOS operating system, according to multiple sources in Silicon Valley." An Apple TV, which would run the company’s operating system, would allow people to do many things with their televisions they cannot do now. The most important of these would probably be the ability to run Apple apps. This would permit consumers to download applications from Apple’s store which has hundreds of thousands of products. The Apple TV would allow people to switch from Facebook to Google to their calendars all on one device in the living room. -Daily Finance
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Eliquis will lead the market for stroke-preventing blood thinners after “best-in-class” clinical trial results that marry safety with effectiveness, analysts said. The twice-daily pill had a 31 percent lower risk of major bleeding, a feared side effect of blood thinners, than the current standard treatment, warfarin, researchers said yesterday at the European Society of Cardiology’s conference in Paris. Patients on Eliquis had an 11 percent reduced risk of dying, the first time a warfarin replacement has saved lives in a study. -Bloomberg
The euro and other risk-sensitive currencies such as the Australian dollar remained supported Monday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech boosted overall market sentiment, despite the fact he didn’t announce any imminent monetary stimulus for the U.S. economy. However, with London—the world’s largest foreign-exchange hub—out for a national holiday, activity was subdued. The euro was trading recently at $1.4511, compared with $1.4499 late Friday in New York. The dollar was at ¥76.61 against the yen, compared with ¥76.64, while the euro was at ¥111.15 from ¥111.13. Meanwhile, the pound was trading at $1.6384 from $1.6371. -The Wall Street Journal
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