The Ticker

Bill would regulate sites like Airbnb

A bill filed in the state House of Representatives seeks to regulate the short-term rental industry made popular by websites such as Airbnb, requiring hosts to register with the state, obtain liability insurance and pay an excise tax.

"There would be a registration process to make sure consumers felt safe during their stays," said state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston), co-author of the bill. "It's trying to create a safe and secure environment while allowing these operations to continue to thrive."

A spokesman for Airbnb said the company is reviewing the proposed legislation. The company claims short-term rentals through its website are responsible for $51 million in economic impact in Boston.

S&P settles with SEC, two states

Standard & Poor's agreed yesterday to pay the U.S. government and two states more than $77 million to settle charges tied to its ratings of mortgage-backed securities.

In its first enforcement action against a major rating agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused S&P of misconduct, saying the company loosened standards to drum up business in recent years. The agreement requires S&P to pay more than $58 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, $12 million to New York and $7 million to Massachusetts. S&P said in a statement that it did not admit or deny any of the charges.

As part of its agreement with the SEC, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a division of McGraw Hill Financial, will take a "time out" from rating certain types of mortgage-backed securities for a year.

Power grid shifting to natural gas

New England's power system is increasingly shifting from aging oil- and coal-fired plants to natural gas, which relies on pipelines experiencing bottlenecks that drive up prices, the region's electric grid operator said yesterday.

ISO-New England officials said wind and solar resources are a small but growing part of the region's energy mix, though they are not always available when needed by the region's 14 million residents — peak demand for power in winter typically occurs after the sun has set.

"There's plenty of natural gas," said Gordon van Welie, president and CEO of Holyoke-based ISO-New England. "The problem we've had in the region is we've not matched the need for natural gas with infrastructure."

The proportion of natural gas in the region's energy mix was 44 percent in 2014, up from 15 percent in 2000. At the same time, coal- and oil-fired generation dropped to 6 percent from 40 percent.

TODAY

 
Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates.

TOMORROW

 National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for December.

THE SHUFFLE

Christopher McLean has joined Boston-based Vanderweil Engineers as a project director for critical facilities. McLean most recently was director of data center design and construction with The Markley Group, where he was responsible for the design and construction of data centers and their infrastructure.

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