Jim Rogers, the Chief Executive of Duke Energy, a power company that is keen to build nuclear power plants in North and South Carolina, told reporters at an energy conference that he was "cautiously optimistic on nuclear, but public opinion turns on a dime." The nuclear industry faces considerable hurdles.

US Deputy Health Secretary, Alex Azar, is lobbying the Britain's Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, to ease restrictions on the drug industry. In particular, the U.S. drug companies want the ban on direct-to-consumer advertising dropped and to increase the prices the government pays for drugs.