Finance news. My opinion.

Stocks barely budged Wednesday, and investors held on to their gains from a strong opening to the year. It wasn’t much, but after the lurching, up-and-down weeks of 2011, investors were grateful for the winning streak.

Strong December sales helped the stocks of automakers and specialty stores. Banks, health care companies, and utilities fell slightly. Netflix surged after its first good news in months.

But nothing else moved much. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 21.04 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 12,418.42. The Dow opened the year with a 180-point gain Tuesday, which brought it to the highest level since July.

“At least thus far in 2012 we haven’t followed the path of 2011, where if it’s a good day, there’s a bad day right away,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst with Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq also had big gains Tuesday but only moved a fraction of a point a day later. The S&P inched up 0.24 to close at 1,277.30. The Nasdaq fell 0.36 to 2,648.36.

“It’s healthy to see that after a big rally,” said Randy Warren, chief investment officer for Warren Financial Service. “People need to sit back and think about it.”

Retailing industry stocks rose 0.8 percent as a group after post-Christmas sales came in 5.3 percent better than a year ago. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rose 1.8 percent, and Ross Stores Inc., which sells discounted clothes, rose 0.7 percent.

Big-box stores fell, though. Analysts have been concerned that some stores raised holiday sales with deep discounts that will hurt profits. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 1.1 percent, making it the second-biggest decliner among the Dow’s 30 stocks. Target Corp. fell 2.2 percent and Kohl’s Corp. fell 1.4 percent.

Automakers delivered a strong end to 2011, helped carmaker stocks. Analysts had been expecting December to be a strong sales month for cars on the theory that more confidence in the economy would unlock pent-up demand. Ford Motor Co. rose 1.5 percent and General Motors Co. rose 0.5 percent after those two companies and Chrysler reported strong increases in December and full-year sales low fee payday loans.

Visa Inc. fell 1.8 percent and MasterCard Inc. fell 3.3 percent. Janney analysts downgraded both to “neutral” from “buy” and predicted that Americans will keep cutting their personal debt.

The biggest winner in the S&P 500 was Netflix Inc., up 11.4 percent. The company, which delivers movies and TV shows online and by mail, said customers had streamed more than 2 billion hours of video in the fourth quarter.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes briefly popped above 2 percent, then fell to to 1.98 percent in the afternoon. Yields have been falling over the past year as investors have loaded up on low-risk investments. A rise in yields suggests that investors are more willing to take risks by parking money elsewhere in exchange for higher rewards.

The price of gold rose $12.20 to $1,612.70 per ounce. Oil rose 26 cents to $103.20.

European markets declined, and the euro fell back below $1.30, to $1.2945, within a penny of its lowest level in a year. Another increase in Italy’s borrowing costs renewed worries about Europe’s efforts to restore confidence in its debt-hobbled governments.

In other corporate news:

_ Acme Packet Inc., which makes phone equipment, plunged 19 percent after saying its quarterly profit and revenue would be well below analyst expectations.

_ Yahoo Inc. fell 3.1 percent after the company named Scott Thompson, president of eBay Inc.’s PayPal division, as CEO _ its fourth in five years. Yahoo has been without a permanent CEO since firing Carol Bartz in September. EBay fell 3.8 percent.

_ Fallen photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co. fell 18 cents to 47 cents after The Wall Street Journal, quoting people familiar with the matter, reported it is preparing a bankruptcy filing in case its efforts to sell some of its patents fail. On Tuesday, Kodak said its stock could be removed from the New York Stock Exchange if it doesn’t rise above $1 in the next six months.

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Chinese and Indian manufacturing gauges rose in December, suggesting that Asia

European stock markets headed higher in early trading Monday, while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed flat following the New Year’s holiday weekend.

Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 percent at 5,572.28. Germany’s DAX was 1.1 percent higher at 5,960.04. France’s CAC-40 rose 0.5 percent to 3,174.76.

South Korea’s Kospi index, which lost 11 percent of its value last year, closed nearly unchanged at 1,826.37. Most other Asian markets were closed for an extended New Year’s holiday.

South Korea’s tech sector move higher, with Samsung Electronics up 2.1 percent and LG Electronics gaining 2.3 percent. Steel giant POSCO slid 1.1 percent and Korea Electric Power shed 1.8 percent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX, which was also open for business Monday, fell 1.7 percent to 6,952.21. Foxconn Technology, the world’s biggest contract electronics manufacturer, which makes iPads and iPhones for Apple Inc., fell 0.9 percent. Personal computer maker Acer Inc. shed 2.3 percent.

Benchmarks in the Philippines and India rose while Indonesia fell.

The Asian-Pacific region’s major benchmarks, including Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Australia’s S&P ASX 200, were closed. Markets in the U.S. are also closed in observance of New Year’s Day.

Last year was one that traders would prefer to forget: most Asian equity indexes closed out 2011 deeply in the red unsecured personal loans. The Nikkei in Tokyo ended the year at 8,429.45 _ its lowest closing since 1982.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, closed Monday, endured a 21 percent loss for the year as the impact of Beijing’s multibillion-dollar stimulus faded and the government tightened curbs on lending and investment to cool blistering economic growth.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished at 18,434.39 _ a precipitous slide of 19.7 percent from a year ago. Singapore’s Straits Times Index took a 17.5 percent dive when it closed at 2,646.35 on Friday.

Australia’s benchmark S&P ASX 200 ended the year at 4,140.4 _ 14.5 percent lower for 2011.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell more than 22 percent in 2011, making it one of the worst performers globally. The rupee also lost about 14 percent this year and recently hit an all-time low, breaching 54 rupees to the dollar.

In hopes of reducing volatility and attracting foreign cash, India announced Sunday that it would allow individual foreign nationals to invest directly in its stock market starting Jan. 15. Currently, foreign investors are limited to indirect investments such as mutual funds.

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Corn traders are bullish for a fifth consecutive week on speculation that dry weather in South America is damaging crops, boosting demand for U.S. supplies at a time when stockpiles are predicted to shrink to a 16-year low.

Nineteen of 25 traders surveyed by Bloomberg expect corn to advance next week. Lower-than-average humidity and dry soil will curb crop development in Argentina and southern Brazil through at least Jan. 7, according to T-Storm Weather LLC, a forecaster in Chicago. Argentina is the world

Gold fell, capping the longest slump since October 2009, and silver tumbled to a three-month low as Europe’s deepening debt crisis drove commodities and stocks lower.

The euro dropped to an 11-month low against the dollar as lending to financial institutions sent the European Central Bank’s balance sheet to a record high. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 raw materials and the MSCI World Index of equities were poised for the biggest declines in two weeks.

Platinum approached the lowest since November 2009, and palladium dropped almost 3 percent.

The ECB said lending to euro-area banks jumped 214 billion euros ($276.9 billion) to 879 billion in the week ended Dec. 23, bolstering credit to the economy during the financial turmoil. Gold has slumped 19 percent from a record $1,923.70 an ounce on Sept. 6, partly on sales to cover losses in other markets.

“What’s going on in Europe is very worrying,” James Dailey, who manages $215 million at TEAM Financial Management LLC in Harrisburg, Pa., said in an e-mail. “The dollar’s strength is working against all commodities, including gold.”

Gold futures for February delivery declined 2 percent to settle at $1,564.10 at 1:47 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The price dropped for the fifth straight session, the longest slide since October 2009. The commodity headed for the first quarterly slump since September 2008.

Silver futures for March delivery fell 5 quick guaranteed personal loans.2 percent to $27.234 an ounce on the Comex. Earlier, the price touched $27.10, the lowest since Sept. 26. The metal has plummeted 45 percent from a 31-year high of $49.845 on April 25.

Gold imports by India, the biggest consumer, may drop as much as 50 percent this month after the rupee plunged, according to the Bombay Bullion Association. China restricted gold trading in spot and futures contracts to the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange to crack down on illegal buying and selling of commodities.

Platinum futures for April delivery declined 3.2 percent to $1,392.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $1,388.60. On Dec. 15, the metal declined to $1,376, the lowest since Nov. 13, 2009.

Palladium futures for March delivery slumped 2.9 percent to 647.15 an ounce on Nymex, the biggest drop since Dec. 14.

This year, gold has advanced 10 percent, heading for the 11th straight annual gain, on demand for an alternative investment amid slumping equities.

“Gold has been one of the best performers this year, so it comes as no surprise that we are seeing some end-of-year profit-taking,” said Ronald Stoeferle, a commodity analyst at Erste Group Bank AG in Vienna.

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Five months after it opened its doors, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to begin the year without a Senate-confirmed director.

Over these next few weeks, the question will be whether President Obama will sidestep Congress and make a so-called recess appointment to fill the job.

The president made clear earlier this month that he would consider "all our options," including a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to run the consumer bureau.

At stake are vast new powers the CFPB can’t wield without a director. For example, the bureau can’t regulate financial products from non-banks, including student loan providers, debt collectors, payday lenders and check cashers.

Without a chief, the bureau also can’t regulate mortgage originators and servicers, which played a big role in the financial crisis by providing subprime mortgages to families who couldn’t afford them.

The new pup watching your money

Earlier this month, the Senate failed to muster the 60 votes necessary to take up and consider Cordray’s nomination.

Senate Republicans have vowed since May to block confirmation of any director unless they get structural changes to the bureau, which was formed as part of the Wall Street reform law passed last year.

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called Cordray the "perfect example of an abomination in terms of Senate behavior."

"He is exactly the right person for the job to be the consumer watchdog," Carney said.

Since May, Republicans have used a little-known procedure to keep the Senate in session — even as it wasn’t really conducting any business — in order to stop the president from making recess appointments.

The Constitution says neither the House nor the Senate can adjourn for more than three days without the other chamber’s consent. And since May 12, neither chamber has taken a recess.

So far, Obama has not tried to challenge the blocking move electronic check payday advance. But, legal experts say, he has options. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could gavel down the Senate for less than three days and give the president an opening.

Another scenario: The president could make an appointment when Congress flips from its first session to its second session sometime on or before Jan. 3.

That has rarely been done. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt made 160 recess appointments on Dec. 7, when the first session of Congress ended at noon and the second session began soon after, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The Constitution also gives the president the power to adjourn Congress into recess if the chambers can’t agree when exactly to schedule a recess, said David Arkush, an attorney and director of Congress Watch for Public Citizen, an advocacy group.

"I think it’s time for the president to make a recess appointment, it’s time for CFPB to be up and running with its full powers," Arkush said.

Republicans say their objection to Cordray’s nomination has nothing to do with the nominee.

Instead, they want three big changes to how the bureau is overseen. They want to replace the director with a board; make the bureau ask Congress for money each year; and gain more power to overrule the bureau.

If Obama decides to make a recess appointment with Cordray, he’s bound to incur the Republican wrath.

Norman Ornstein, a public policy scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, expects Obama to spend his winter vacation analyzing the political costs to sidestepping Congress on a number confirmations that Republicans have blocked.

"Frankly, if I were President Obama, I would do some recess appointments now, because what’s going on is unconscionable," said Ornstein. 

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Traders doubled bets on Israeli interest rate cuts in the past two weeks, speculating the central bank will act to insulate the economy from a global slump as inflation slowed to a one-year low.

The Bank of Israel may lower the 2.75 percent key rate 41 basis points over the next 12 months, compared with 21 basis points of cuts priced in on Dec. 8, according to interest-rate swaps, an indicator of investor expectations. Policy makers review borrowing costs today, with 12 out of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecasting a 25 basis-point reduction.

+%3Cp%3E+Shares+in+solar+power+company+First+Solar+fell+over+20%25+in+early+trading+Wednesday+after+the+firm+lowered+its+sales+forecast+for+2011.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+Arizona-based+company%2C+which+is+a+leading+maker+of+thin-film+solar+panels+and+also+a+developer+of+solar+power+projects%2C+predicted+net+sales+in+2011+of+%242.8+to+%242.9+billion.+That%27s+down+from+earlier+projections+of+%243.0+to+%243.3+billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+company+said+the+lower+sales+were+due+to+delays+in+its+projects+caused+by+weather+and+%26quot%3Bother+factors%2C%26quot%3B+but+predicted+a+healthy+2012.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BOur+diverse+business+model+and+robust+project+pipeline+will+help+First+Solar+generate+a+significant+amount+of+cash+in+2012+while+improving+operational+efficiencies%2C%26quot%3B+Mike+Ahearn%2C+Chairman+and+Interim+CEO+of+First+Solar%2C+said+in+a+statement+Wednesday.+%3C%2Fp%3ESolar+power+bankruptcies+loom+as+prices+collapse%3Cp%3EThe+company%2C+which+has+been+steadily+growing+in+profitability+since+2007%2C+is+expecting+its+earnings+per+share+to+range+between+%243.75+and+%244.25+in+2012.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThin+film+solar+panels+are+less+efficient+than+traditional+silicon-based+solar+panels+but+have+historically+been+cheaper+to+produce.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ELike+all+solar+panel+makers%2C+shares+in+First+Solar+%28%29+have+been+battered+this+year+as+a+huge+oversupply+and+slack+demand+caused+the+price+of+silicon+solar+panels+to+plummet.+First+Solar+shares+are+down+over+70%25+since+January.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EDozens+of+solar+panel+makers+are+expected+to+go+bankrupt+this+year+as+the+depressed+prices+prune+weaker+companies+from+the+market.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+most+visible+victim+of+the+price+collapse+so+far+has+been+Solyndra%2C+a+maker+of+advanced+but+pricey+solar+panels+that+went+bankrupt+after+receiving+a+half-billion+dollar+loan+backed+by+the+U.S.+government.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EFirst+Solar+does+not+have+any+government-backed+loans.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EJesse+Pichel%2C+an+analyst+at+the+investment+bank+Jefferies+%26amp%3B+Co.%2C+maintained+a+hold+rating+on+First+Solar+stock+earlier+this+week+even+in+anticipatiinon+of+the+lowered+sales+figures.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EStill%2C+Pichel+said+the+company+has+to+work+on+lowering+costs.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BFirst+Solar+has+projects+which+are+profitable+and+is+not+a+bankruptcy+risk+near+term+in+our+view%2C%26quot%3B+he+said.+%26quot%3BBut+the+future+of+the+company+will+be+determined+by+its+ability+to+lower+module+costs+and+increase+efficiency.%26quot%3B+%26nbsp%3B+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2011%2F12%2F14%2Ftechnology%2Ffirst_solar%2Findex.htm%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

+%3Cp%3E+Cell+phone+bans%2C+such+as+those+recently+recommended+by+the+National+Transportation+Safety+Board%2C+have+so+far+proven+useless+when+it+comes+to+actually+reducing+car+crashes%2C+according+to+the+Insurance+Institute+for+Highway+Safety.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+Insurance+Institute+is+a+private+group+financed+by+auto+insurers.+The+National+Transportation+Safety+Board+recently+recommended+that+states+adopt+strict+rules+banning+all+non-driving-related+use+of+hand-held+devices+such+as+cell+phones+–+even+hands-free+–+while+driving.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EMany+states+already+have+bans+on+hand-held+cell+phone+use+and+on+texting+while+driving.+The+Insurance+Institute+has+studied+crash+rates+before+and+after+bans+were+enacted+in+various+states+and+also+compared+them+to+crash+rates+in+nearby+states+with+no+such+bans.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWhile+the+bans+have+resulted+in+actual+reductions+in+phone+use%2C+they+have+not+resulted+in+any+reduction+in+crash+rates%2C+according+to+the+Institute.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+Institute+found+similar+results+from+bans+on+text+messaging+while+driving.+In+fact%2C+in+a+strange+twist%2C+texting+bans+actually+resulted+in+more+crashes+in+several+states%2C+according+to+an+IIHS+study.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+lesson%2C+Insurance+Institute+spokesman+Russ+Rader+said%2C+may+be+that+cell+phones+aren%27t+really+the+problem%2C+drivers+are.%3C%2Fp%3EGallery%3A+Safest+cars+from+the+Insurance+Institute%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BPart+of+it+is+that+distracted+driving+is+much+bigger+than+just+phones%2C%26quot%3B+he+said+%26quot%3Bso+focusing+on+phones+doesn%27t+deal+with+the+full+spectrum+of+things+that+distract.%26quot%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EFor+its+part%2C+the+NTSB+has+cited+various+studies+showing+a+connection+between+cell+phone+use+and+an+increased+likelihood+of+crashing.+An+NHTSA+study+indicated+that+distracted+driving+caused+about+3%2C000+crash+deaths+last+year%2C+although+it%27s+not+clear+how+many+of+those+crashes+were+related+to+hand-held+devices+as+opposed+to+other+distractions.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BWhat+we+know+is+that+the+best+course+of+action+is+a+three+pronged+approach+–+strong+laws%2C+strong+education+and+strong+enforcement%2C%26quot%3B+NTSB+spokeswoman+Kelly+Nantel+said+in+an+email.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAutomakers%2C+including+Ford+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+General+Motors+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+Toyota+%28%29+and+Hyundai+%28%29+have+invested+heavily+in+creating+increasingly+sophisticated+hands-free+phone+systems+for+cars+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fpay-day-loans-4all.com%22%3Efaxless+pay+day+loans%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%21–+.+–%3E.+Most+of+those+systems+would+be+banned+under+the+NTSB%27s+proposal.+%28An+exception+would+be+GM%27s+OnStar+which+allows+users+to+make+calls+using+a+telephone+built+into+the+car+itself.+The+NTSB+proposal+would+specifically+allow+calls+on+that+sort+of+system+since+it+does+not+involve+a+handheld+phone.%29%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EFord+spokeswoman+Christin+Baker+objected+to+the+NTSB+proposal+citing+research+that+tracked+real-world+drivers.+The+research+showed+that+talking+on+a+phone+resulted+in+dangerous+incidents+only+when+drivers+took+their+eyes+off+the+road+and+their+hands+off+the+steering+wheel.+Voice-activated+systems+like+Ford%27s+Sync+would+prevent+that%2C+she+said.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EExperts+have+said+the+NTSB%27s+proposal+is+unlikely+to+become+law+in+many%2C+if+any%2C+states+due+to+strong+resistance+from+drivers+who+want+to+stay+in+communication+while+driving.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ENew+technologies+that+help+alert+drivers+to+hazards+on+the+road+would+probably+do+more+to+actually+reduce+distracted+driving+crashes%2C+the+Insurance+Institute%27s+Rader+said.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ESuch+technologies+include+forward+collision+warning+systems+that+alert+drivers+to+stopped+or+slow-moving+cars+or+pedestrians+ahead+of+them+and+lane+keeping+assistance+systems+that+warn+when+a+vehicle+is+drifting+out+of+its+lane.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBoth+the+Insurance+Institute+and+the+U.S.+Department+of+Transportation+are+looking+at+ways+to+incorporate+safety+systems+like+these+in+their+assessments+of+car+safety.+As+of+now%2C+such+assessments+rely+almost+entirely+on+crash+tests.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThere+is+the+danger+that+drivers+might+over-rely+on+these+systems%2C+said+Rader%2C+canceling+out+their+benefits+by+just+paying+even+less+attention+to+the+task+of+driving.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BThat+is+the+thing+researchers+are+going+to+be+watching%2C%26quot%3B+said+Rader.+%26quot%3BHow+are+drivers+going+to+respond+to+these+systems%3F%26quot%3B%26nbsp%3B+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2011%2F12%2F15%2Fautos%2Fiihs_cell_phone_bans%2Findex.htm%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

Rescue workers are searching for 49 men in freezing, remote waters off Russia’s east coast after their oil drilling platform capsized and sank amid fierce storms Sunday.

By nightfall, four men had been confirmed dead, and 14 others had been plucked from the churning, icy waters by the ship that had been towing the Kolskaya platform. But the search for the remaining men was hampered by freezing temperatures, a driving blizzard and strong winds.

Dmitry Dmitriyenko, governor of the Murmansk region in Russia’s north-west where 33 of the men come from, urged friends and families not to lose hope late Sunday, but admitted the chance of the men surviving in the one degree Celsius (33.8 Fahrenheit) water is approaching zero.

“This is a terrible disaster which took the crew unawares,” he said in a statement. “But there is still a chance.”

The Emergencies Ministry said that 67 people had been aboard the platform as it was being towed about 200 kilometers (120 miles) off the coast of Sakhalin, a large island just north of Japan in the North Pacific, that until the late 19th century was the Russian Empire’s most remote penal colony.

Airplanes and helicopters patrolled the area Sunday, but called their search off just after sunset. Ministry officials said two boats will continue the search throughout the night, and the air search team would return with another two ships in the morning.

The Transportation Ministry said the platform started sinking after a strong wave broke some of its equipment and the portholes in the crew’s dining room.

One 5-meter (16-foot) wave washed away its lifeboats, leaving the crew with no escape, and several hours later it sank, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of environmental damage _ unlikely as the platform was not drilling for oil when it capsized and carried a negligible amount of fuel.

The Kolskaya was built in Finland in 1985 and is owned by Russian offshore exploration firm Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka.

Sakhalin is a largely undeveloped area, dominated by pristine nature. Russia, United States, Europe and Japan have worked off its shores for a nearly decade, producing oil and gas. There have not been any previous significant accidents in the region.

As oil and gas fields in Eastern Siberia are becoming depleted, Russian oil and gas companies are starting to shift their focus to offshore projects, unveiling ambitious plans to tap the riches of the Arctic.

Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil and Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft teamed up to jointly explore oil and gas fields in the Kara Sea with Exxon pledging $3.2 billion of investment on only three fields.

The Investigative Committee on Sunday opened a probe into the accident and said that it might have happened because of a breach of safety regulations, or due to the harsh weather conditions.

Alexei Knizhnikov, an energy policy official in Russia for the World Wildlife Fund, told the RIA Novosti news agency that energy companies ought to learn from the accident.

“This disaster should highlight the high risks of offshore projects,” he said. “It’s very difficult to conduct efficient rescue operations, whether it’s rescuing people or dealing with oil spills, in the weather and conditions of the Arctic.”

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