A Fresh Take on California Wines Forty years after the ‘Judgement of Paris,’…

a new generation of young California winemakers are ready to impress their European counterparts

It’s been nearly 40 years since Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant working in Paris, held a blind tasting between the top wines of California and their French counterparts. The “Judgment of Paris,” as it became known, surprised many, as a clutch of Californian wines scored higher than examples from Bordeaux and Burgundy. Overnight the world woke up to what Californian winemakers had known all along: Their wines could stand alongside the very best.

In many ways the late 1970s were a turning point for California wines, as key figures like Robert Mondavi, Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards, Chateau Montelena winemaker Mike Grgich, and Joe and Alice Heitz took an industry that had been best known for producing high-volume standard table wine and planted it firmly on the fine wine map…

Goldman Might Close Its Dark Pool

Goldman Mulls Closing Dark Pool, WSJ

Michael Lewis’s new book, ‘Flash Boys’ would have a real impact on the market if Goldman really closes its dark pool. Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, among banks, have the largest dark pools.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS -1.26% is considering shutting down one of the world’s largest private stock-trading venues, according to people familiar with the matter.

In conversations with market participants over the past several months, Goldman executives have broached the subject of closing its so-called dark-pool trading operation, known as Sigma X, the people said.

Goldman executives are weighing whether the revenue that the firm generates from operating Sigma X is worth the risks that have been highlighted by a series of trading glitches and growing criticism of dark pools, the people said.

No decision is imminent, and Goldman could keep the business, according to the people.

A move to shutter one of the biggest dark pools could compel other big banks to take similar steps, potentially changing the way buy and sell orders from big investors course through the markets each day.

Dark pools are trading venues where investors are granted a greater degree of anonymity than in the public markets. About 14% of stock trading took place in dark pools in January, most of it routed through entities run by big banks, according to Rosenblatt Securities, which advises institutional investors. Goldman’s consistently ranks among the top five dark pools in the market, according to Rosenblatt.

The dark-pool business has hit a rough patch lately. Competition has increased in the already fragmented market as new dark pools have emerged. A recent spate of technological glitches in the stock market, meanwhile, underscores the risks that come with operating private trading platforms.

Last month, Goldman acknowledged that Sigma X suffered a pricing malfunction in 2011 that resulted in customers not receiving correct payments for transactions. The errors were related to market volatility between Aug. 1 and Aug. 9, 2011, according to a copy of a letter to an institutional investor reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Goldman sent checks to customers to reimburse them for losses, according to institutions that received the letters.

Another headwind for dark pools came last week with the publication of a book by Michael Lewis on high-frequency trading that fanned the debate over whether dark pools give certain investors unfair advantages. Regulators last month began ramping up scrutiny of brokers and dark pools, and since Mr. Lewis’s book came out, states have vowed to look into the matter as well.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, meanwhile, has opened an inquiry into the way brokers route customer orders and how they use their own dark pools in executing trades. Finra sent a letter to brokers last month asking for detailed answers on its order-routing practices, according to brokers who received the letter.

Stock trading is a big business for Goldman, bringing in $7.17 billion in 2013 excluding accounting charges. Goldman doesn’t break out revenue from operating Sigma X. Among the largest dark pools are those operated by Barclays PLC, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG, according to Rosenblatt.

Goldman has operated Sigma X since 2006. But recently it has become an advocate of market changes. Gary Cohn, Goldman’s president and chief operating officer, published an opinion piece in the Journal on March 20 that called for improvements to reduce the risk of technology failures and level the playing field for investors.

In an internal document sent to employees the same day the piece was published advising them on how to address questions about it, Goldman highlighted its relationship with an upstart trading venue called IEX Group Inc. In the message, Goldman said “While we think that a regulatory response may be needed to address these market structure issues, it would be best for the overall market if IEX achieved critical mass, even if that results in reduced volumes in our U.S. dark pool, Sigma X.”

Less than two weeks later, Mr. Lewis’s book, “Flash Boys,” was published. The book presents IEX as heroes taking on an industry in which markets are rigged to benefit exchanges, brokers and high-frequency traders at the expense of ordinary investors. The IEX platform uses a speed bump to level the playing field between fleet-footed and ordinary investors.

Goldman’s debate over Sigma X could be part of a broader effort to pare back on businesses Goldman doesn’t consider core to its position as a brokerage firm for institutional investors, according to the people familiar with Goldman’s discussions.

The firm also appears to be trimming its electronic-trading businesses. The bank is in advanced discussions to sell a market-making business based on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to IMC Financial Markets, a Dutch high-frequency-trading firm, for as much as $30 million, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Update: they revealed they have no plans to close the dark pool

Michelle Obama’s Healthier Food Campaign, Dannon, Sugar, Fat

WSJ—Dannon Co. is expected to announce on Friday that it will scale back fat and sugar in its yogurt products, becoming the latest business to team up with first ladyMichelle Obama‘s campaign to fight childhood obesity.

The Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonprofit group created in 2010, has struck similar deals with other companies. Subway committed to only offering children’s meals that have no more than 600 calories and less than 935 milligrams of sodium, and which provide a ½-cup fruit equivalent and meet other nutrition guidelines.

Darden Restaurants agreed to reduce overall calories and sodium by 20% over a decade and to add more “calorie-conscious” options.

Other companies have acted without coordination with the healthier-eating group. Amid consumer interest, Mondelez International Inc., which makes Oreos, Ritz crackers and a number of other snacks, this week announced plans to reduce sodium and saturated fat by 10% by 2020, among other goals.

Sam Kass, Mrs. Obama’s nutrition policy adviser and executive director of her childhood obesity initiative, said that Dannon’s move “does not come without risk. Consumers are fickle.”

High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet? It Can Be Risky

The Wall Street Journal—Research shows that a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates can help shed pounds and normalize blood-glucose levels, improvements that lower the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

But will you live longer on a high-protein, low-carb diet? Two studies in the current edition of the scientific journal Cell Metabolism suggest the opposite. One involved an experiment conducted on mice, the other an 18-year study of humans who had divulged their dietary habits. Both studies found a strong association between longevity and a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet, although the human study bore a twist: Beyond age 65, higher protein levels appeared to promote longevity.

“Those high-protein diets were developed with a shortsighted vision,” said Valter D. Longo, a University of Southern California professor of gerontology and biological sciences and the lead author of the human study. “On a high-protein, high-fat diet you can lose weight, but in the long run you may be hurting yourself.”

These studies are anything but definitive, showing only associations derived from highly limited evidence. But in gerontology, the influence of protein consumption on longevity is a hot topic. Last year, the American Federation for Aging Research hosted a symposium on “Optimal Protein Intake for Older Adults,” featuring a panel of scientists from academia and industry. No concrete answers emerged, except perhaps that protein consumption influences health in ways that are complex.

“High protein diets may be effective to lose weight rapidly,” said Elena Volpi, a professor of geriatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. “But very high protein diets may also be harmful.”

Even then, though, the takeaway is somewhat complicated. Americans tend to consume the bulk of their protein at dinner, and the body isn’t always able to process an entire day’s worth in one sitting, said Dr. Volpi, who wasn’t involved in either study. “It appears you can better use the protein you need if you distribute it across three meals, especially if you are a senior,” she said.

One prominent diet expert and high-protein opponent, physician Ron Rosedale, saw the studies as vindicating his longtime warning about the risks of excessive protein. But Dr. Rosedale, who advocates a diet high in so-called healthy fats such as those found in avocados, argues that high levels of carbohydrate consumption are no less dangerous. “If people take these studies as a thumbs up for high carbohydrates, that’s missing the point,” he said.

Detox, Toxin Removal, Restricted Diets

The Wall Street Journal—Some drink only vegetable juice. Others soak in Epsom salts. It’s all in the pursuit of ridding the body of months or years of accumulated toxins, said to be the cause of fat, fatigue, diabetes, memory problems and countless other conditions. The promises of liquid cleanses and other techniques have attracted legions of followers, celebrity endorsers and millions in venture capital funds. The trend has helped supercharge the U.S. diet industry, which passed $60 billion in sales last year. It has also made carrying gunky green juice a status symbol in fitness circles.

Detox proponents define toxins very broadly. Mark Hyman, a physician and author of six best-selling diet books, says the biggest toxic threats come from the American diet itself. “We are eating pharmaceutical doses of sugar and flour,” which have overwhelmed the liver’s ability to cope, says Dr. Hyman. He points to the overabundance of Americans with fatty liver disease, which leads to obesity, insulin resistance and other metabolic disorders. He says Americans are also being assaulted by heavy metals (including mercury from large fish and old dental fillings) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (including Bisphenol A in makeup and credit-card receipts) as well as “spiritual toxins,” such as loneliness and hostility. But he says people reduce their exposure and enhance their ability to excrete such toxins with the right balance of foods, vitamins and minerals.

Liver specialists say that up to 20% of adults have some form of fatty liver disease, in which excess fat in the liver leads to inflammation, scar tissue and eventually liver failure. Some cases are due to alcohol abuse. Genetics, hepatitis, autoimmune disease and medication use also play a role. It isn’t clear whether fatty liver causes obesity or vice versa.

But some cleanses are often little more than fasting regimens. The “master cleanse,” devised to treat ulcers in the 1940s, consists of six to 12 glasses of water mixed with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup, with a laxative at bedtime but no other food for up to 10 days. It leaves many nutrition experts scratching their heads. Dr. Saltzman says a variety of medicinal properties have been linked with lemon juice and that cayenne can help soothe lingering pain from shingles. “The real puzzler is the maple syrup,” he says.

Peter Glickman, who helped revive the cleanse in a 2004 book, writes that the first three days are the hardest and that serenity, euphoria and mental clarity set in after about Day Eight.

The Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Hensrud says it could be incipient starvation instead. “But once you reintroduce a normal diet, everything goes back to normal,” he says.

The bevy of prepackaged juice cleanses that have burst on the market in recent years incorporate fruits, vegetables and protein into their detox regimens. BluePrintCleanse’s program, for example, consists of six 16-ounce drinks a day, in precise order, for three days.

Keeping the digestive tract moving normally is another reason many experts say simply eating more fruit and vegetables makes more sense than a drastic temporary regimen. New York nutritionist Bonnie Taub-Dix calls it “clean eating.” She advises: “Skip the cleanse. Have your green smoothie as a snack in the afternoon and then skip the vending machine.”