New direct flights between New York and Cuba taking off

NEW YORK — New direct charter flights between New York City and Cuba are now taking off.

Cuba Travel Services has started offering a weekly Tuesday charter between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana for people authorized by the U.S. government to visit the island. The flights are operated by Sun Country Airlines, and cost $849 round-trip. The price includes airfare, Cuban medical insurance and U.S. departure taxes.

In January, the Obama administration announced it would be easing travel restrictions.

Despite improving relations, tourism is still banned. Travelers must still declare a purpose that fits into one of the 12 approved categories, including family visits, government work and journalism. But most visitors no longer need to apply for a special license and wait for U.S. government approval.

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Stock markets cautious as investors brace for Fed, oil drops

HONG KONG — Global stock markets were cautious before the conclusion of a key Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, while the price of oil fell further. Chinese shares jumped to their highest level in seven years on expectations of new economic stimulus.

KEEPING SCORE: European stocks were tepid in early trading, with France's CAC 40 down 0.3 percent to 5,015.10 and Germany's DAX down 0.9 percent to 11,865.30. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 6,883.11. U.S. stocks were poised to edge lower, with S&P 500 futures down 0.4 percent and Dow futures 0.5 percent lower.

FED WATCH: Investors are awaiting a Federal Reserve policy statement expected later Wednesday after the central bank wraps up a two-day meeting to discuss rates. Many economists expect it to change how it describes the time needed before it raises rates and signal that the first move will come in June, but others predict it will wait until later in the year.

ANALYST VIEW: "Given the influence of central bank policy within the current environment, and the U.S. position as top dog, this (Fed) event has the potential to set the tone across all markets globally," Will Leys, CMC Markets sales trader in Sydney, said in a commentary. "Ultimately, it all boils down to a matter of timing: when will the Fed commence the tightening cycle. The recent behavior of markets suggests that 'later' is the preference."

CHINA BOOST: Chinese stocks are still riding high after Premier Li Keqiang said on the weekend that policymakers have enough room and tools to shore up economic growth if it falters. The latest sign of turbulence for the world's No. 2 economy came in the form of monthly housing data. Average private housing prices fell February in 69 out of 70 cities over the year ago period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China was the star performer, leaping 2.1 percent to end at 3,577.30, the highest close since May 2008. Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.6 percent to 19,544.48 and South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.1 percent to 2,028.45. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.9 percent to 24,120.08 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended unchanged at 5,842.30. Southeast Asian indexes were mostly lower.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil was at its lowest in more than six years, falling $1.14 to $42.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 42 cents to $43.46 a barrel on Tuesday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 121.18 yen from 121.34 in late trading Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.0611 from $1.0595.

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Canada safety board says tank car standards needed sooner

TORONTO — Canada needs to implement tougher standards for oil trains earlier than a 2025 target, the transportation safety board said Tuesday.

The government proposed tougher standards for tank cars this month in response to a string of fiery crashes. The new proposal would require the cars to have a layer of thermal protection and thicker steel walls. It said the new standards should be phased in by 2025.

But in a report about a fiery March 7 derailment in northeastern Ontario, the Transportation Safety Board said the target date isn't soon enough.

"The standard looks promising but we do have questions about the timeline because they're talking about 10 years," Kathy Fox, Chair of the TSB, said in a telephone interview. "We want to understand the rationale."

The March 7 CN oil train derailment was the third derailment in Northern Ontario in a little over a month, renewing concerns about the safety of shipping crude oil by train and further suggesting that new safety requirements for tank cars carrying flammable liquids are inadequate. The safety board said all the cars had been retrofitted with protective shields to meet a higher safety standard.

The new standard was enacted after 47 people were killed when an oil train derailed in July 2013 in the center of Lac-Megantic, Quebec. But tank cars carrying crude that meet the new standard continue to derail and catch fire throughout North America.

Fox said the current tank cars are just not strong enough. She said another Lac Megantic disaster doesn't have to be inevitable if steps are taken while the current models are phased out. Lower speeds and improved track inspection and maintenance are among those, she said.

A U.S. Transportation Department analysis predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage.

The White House budget office is reviewing a draft proposal for a sturdier tank car design, as well as other safety proposals. U.S. and Canadian officials have been working closely together to coordinate the regulations since the tank cars move back and forth across the border.

Zach Segal, a spokesman for Canada's transport minister, said Canada is "in discussion with the U.S. on the soonest that retrofits and replacements" to the existing tank cars can "practicably happen."

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Obamacare provision called a ‘reverse Robin Hood’

Small state health insurers fear a provision of Obamacare will take money from their pockets and hand it over to the state's largest insurer based on flawed data — upending the Massachusetts marketplace.

"It's a reverse Robin Hood," said Thomas D. Policelli, chief executive of 9,000-member Minuteman Health. "The cheap are paying the wealthy. The calculation itself is simply a mess."

The risk adjustment provision in the Affordable Care Act would require insurers to pay into a pool that would be distributed among companies based on the overall health of their members. Insurers with healthier populations will pay, and those with sicker members, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, will reap those benefits, small health plans say.

Lynn Ostrowski, director of corporate responsibility for small insurer Health New England, said member health is calculated based on unfair coding practices, counting patients who receive treatment using a higher level of technology and more testing — such as at academic medical centers rather than community hospitals — as sicker.

But Jay McQuaide, spokesman for Blue Cross, said there will likely be checks in place to ensure the data is calculated properly.

"Is it important to get the data right? Absolutely. And we have confidence they'll be able to do that," he said. "We need tools to deal with risks. You can't pick and choose what parts of the law you can comply with."

There are already mechanisms to level the playing field, such as barring companies from refusing coverage to sick individuals, Ostrowski said.

The Health Connector Authority has discussed a phase-in option, set to begin June 30, bringing the pool of money down from $104 million to $52 million for the first year.

"The commonwealth shared a preliminary plan for implementing the risk adjustment program with the carriers and other stakeholders," a Health Connector spokesman said in a statement. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services "has conveyed concern with any changes to our risk adjustment approach, and no final decisions have been made."

Brian Rosman, research director at independent nonprofit Health Care for All, said the organization "strongly supports implementation of the regulations, but we also think the state should look for ways that health plans are not affected so strongly."

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Massport boss: No hotel bid info for now

The head of Massport told the Herald yesterday he has no intention of publicly releasing the six bids to build an $800 million "headquarters hotel" on 
authority-owned land as part of the $1 billion Boston Convention & Exhibition Center expansion — at least until after the developer is selected later this summer.

"Should the bids be made public at this early stage, it would undercut the public sector's ability to negotiate a good deal," Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn said in an interview after his authority, citing state law, turned down a Herald public records request seeking copies of the bids. "If each of the bidders knew what the other had bid … you would lose leverage."

Glynn, however, left open the possibility of releasing the names of equity partners and other silent investors hidden behind limited liability corporations that are among those vying to build the 1,000- to 1,200-room hotel across from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

"I certainly have not ruled it out," said Glynn, calling the Boston Redevelopment Authority's new policy of forcing developers to disclose investors in a project a "good idea. We have not requested that information from the bidders. We don't have a fact base to have an opinion on that yet."

The Herald reported yesterday that two former members of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's board, former U.S. Sen. William "Mo" Cowan and Congress Group founder Dean Stratouly, are part of a development team behind an Omni Hotel and Resorts-backed bid.

Cowan, former Gov. Deval Patrick's chief of staff and chief legal counsel, served on the MCCA board for two years, until 2010. Stratouly served on it for 12 years. State law provides for a one-year cooling off period before investing in a project that fell under their official purview — both Cowan and Stratouly have passed that period.

"When high-ranking officials leave office and return seeking contracts and approvals from the agencies they led, it creates a genuine vulnerability to unfair influence and skepticism in the minds of the general public and business competitors," said Gregory W. Sullivan, former state Inspector General and now at the Pioneer Institute. "The Legislature should toughen the anti-revolving door laws."

Sullivan, whose testimony last June at a state Senate hearing helped lead to the stripping of $110 million he alleged was a hidden state subsidy to build the hotel as part of the $1 billion convention center expansion bill, said MCCA deals need "to be free of any political influence."

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World Cup fantasy sports game for women a first

A Wellesley company will start a daily pay fantasy game for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup — the first-ever for a women's team sport.

The launch for the 24-team international competition, which runs June 5-July 6 in Canada, should be a boost for women's soccer as well as Mondogoal, CEO Shergul Arshad said.

"The people who play fantasy sports watch 40 percent more than the average sports fan," Arshad said. "Viewership drives everything, so the more people that watch, the more these women can get celebrity endorsements and have a career beyond soccer and become household names."

For each day of the group stages of the Women's World Cup, fans will be able to pick a team of 11 players from the four games using the Mondogoal salary cap, earn points for their fantasy teams with each player's contribution — goals, assists, tackles won, etc. — and compete for cash prizes. Free play also will be available. Opta Sports will provide real-time statistics.

Mondogoal started last June as a global fantasy sports platform focused on soccer in time for the Men's World Cup.

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China announces audit of state company assets abroad

BEIJING — The Cabinet agency that oversees China's biggest banks, oil producers and other government companies has announced plans to have outside auditors examine their foreign assets in a new move to tighten control over state industry.

The announcement comes amid a spreading anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping in which executives of companies including PetroChina Ltd. and China Mobile Ltd. have been detained.

The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission announced Monday it was soliciting tenders from outside auditors for contracts to examine the companies. It said the firms chosen must be incorporated in China and local branch offices are ineligible, which would rule out the use of foreign firms.

State-owned banks and oil, mining and other companies are quickly expanding their investments abroad, especially in buying resource assets in Africa, the Americas and Australia.

The audit is intended to "address growing concerns about lack of transparency" about the assets of state companies, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The foreign assets of the 110 state companies directly controlled by the Cabinet were estimated at 4.3 trillion yuan ($700 billion) at the end of 2013, according to Xinhua.

This week, the party announced the vice chairman of PetroChina, Asia's biggest oil and gas producer, was under investigation for what the company was a possible discipline violation, the party's term for corruption.

The company and its parent, China National Petroleum Corp., are among China's biggest foreign investors. At least four other executives of PetroChina or CNPC have been detained.

Beijing has encouraged state companies to expand abroad and has eased controls on their activities as part of efforts to diversify the Chinese economy.

That has led to complaints managers of politically influential state companies might be misusing their assets.

Among other things, Chinese economists believe a big share of foreign investment into China really comes from units of state companies abroad that are improperly trying to take advantage of tax breaks and other incentives.

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The Ticker

State terminal move questioned

Gov. Charlie Baker's energy and environmental affairs chief yesterday said whether the New Bedford marine terminal that Cape Wind planned to lease as a staging area for its Nantucket Sound wind farm was worth the state's $113 million investment is "subject for debate."

"Would I make that investment today? No," said Matt Beaton, who also leads the board of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the quasi-public state agency that owns and manages the terminal. After the termination of two power-purchase agreements, Cape Wind last month told the center it was "amenable" to the center's proposal to terminate the lease.

The center did not respond to requests for comment. Cape Wind spokesman Dennis Duffy said, "The project is moving forward."

Boston income inequality No. 3

Boston had the third-highest rate of income inequality among 50 cities nationwide in 2013, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. The report found top household incomes in Boston were at least $239,837, or 15 times those near the bottom who earned $15,952. Boston ranked No. 4 in 2012. Atlanta was No. 1 in the nation in income inequality, followed by San Francisco.

THE SHUFFLE

Simon Property Group Inc. has named Colin Vito as its new regional director of operations for New England. Vito will work on all property management, facility management and day-to-day operations for Simon shopping centers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

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Attorney General Maura Healey, lawmakers file e-cig regulations

Attorney General Maura Healey yesterday took the first step toward regulating e-cigarettes to keep them out of the hands of children as other lawmakers vowed to push ahead with more rules for the nicotine delivery devices.

"It's very important that we be ahead of this issue here in Massachusetts, and that we take the necessary steps to protect our young people," Healey said. "There are significant and well-documented concerns about the common effects of nicotine."

Healey filed proposed regulations that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under 18, prohibit free giveaways and promotions, and require them to be kept behind the counter in stores.

State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (D-Boston), who has filed a bill to ban smoking e-cigarettes on school grounds, in public spaces or in workplaces, said more needs to be done.

"We need to consider the impacts of smoking e-cigarettes in public and the workplace and in schools, we need to continue to set an example for our children," Sanchez said.

There are no federal or state regulations on e-cigarettes, but 152 communities, including Boston, have passed their own rules, according to the AG's office.

Jen Borucki, who uses e-cigarettes, said she supports age restrictions and other safeguards.

"What we don't support is classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products," she said. "Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals ... this is more on par with nicotine-replacement therapy."

The AG's office will hold a public hearing on the proposed rules April 23 and will accept public comment until April 24.

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Starbucks steps into conversation about race

NEW YORK — Starbucks is joining the national conversation about race in the latest sign that corporations are trying to tie their brands to big social issues.

The coffee chain known for its Frappuccinos says it will elaborate on the plans at its annual shareholder meeting Wednesday in Seattle. Already, workers at its U.S. stores have been told to write "Race Together" on cups and the company plans to start publishing "conversation guides" on the topic.

The decision has sparked a backlash on social media, with people saying it's opportunistic for a coffee chain to try and inject itself into such an important issue. But it comes as corporate executives say customers are drawn to companies that project some sort of feel-good image or embrace positions on social causes.

At the annual meeting for Yum Brands Inc., the company that owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, CEO Greg Creed said in December that fast-food chains must to evolve from being perceived as "impersonal and industrial" to being able to "demonstrate that we do care."

Laura Ries, a branding consultant based in Atlanta, said that addressing big important, issues of the day has also become a way for companies to make themselves a part of the conversation. Otherwise, nobody is sitting around on Twitter discussing brands, she said.

Dove soap has generated widespread praise for its campaign celebrating "Real Beauty" by featuring women who don't look like the typical models. Always, which makes products for women, also got praise for an ad that ran during the Super Bowl seeking to empower young girls. But those were messages that had ties to the products; people don't associate their morning coffee with race.

"There's nothing wrong with talking about race relations," Ries said. "But is it something people naturally associate with Starbucks? It's not."

During the annual meeting, Starbucks says one of its board members, Mellody Hobson, will deliver a speech called "Color Blind or Color Brave."

Inserting itself into national issues is not new territory for Starbucks Corp. In late 2012, the chain asked workers to write "Come together" on cups to send a message to lawmakers about stalled budget negotiations.

And in 2013, the chain placed newspaper ads saying that firearms were not welcome in its cafes after they became the site of gun rallies. But the company stopped short of an outright ban.

CEO Howard Schultz said at the time that Starbucks was neither for nor against guns, underscoring that even a company that wants a voice in national conversations has to be careful about alienating customers.

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Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

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