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WASHINGTON — Malfunctioning equipment accounts for about half of the biggest sources of potent greenhouse gas methane emissions at the United States' largest oilfield, a study led by NASA showed on Wednesday.

Researchers found that repairing just 123 sources found to leak most persistently in the area they surveyed using sensor-equipped planes would reduce methane emissions by 55 tons (50 metric tons) an hour.

That amount is equivalent to 5.5 per cent of the official estimate of all methane emissions from oil and gas production in the entire United States.

The Permian Basin is a shale basin about 250 miles wide and 300 miles long (about 400 by 500 kilometers), spanning parts of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. 

It produced about 4.5 million barrels of crude a day last month, according to official figures, making it the largest producing oil field in the world.

Fracking is the most common drilling method in the basin, and is linked to leaks of methane, which has about 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years it reaches the atmosphere.

The research team, which included the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, focused their efforts on "super-emitter" sources, which release more than 22 pounds (10 kilogrammes) of methane per hour.

They calculated emission rates by combining observed methane concentrations -- detectable by air using imaging spectrometers that identify the gas by its effects on reflected sunlight -- with reported wind speeds.

The team located a total 1,756 super-emitters in a 22,000-square-mile (57,000-square-kilometre) section of the oilfield they surveyed.

Not every emission is a sign of a leak -- some are planned venting of pressure release valves.

"Multiple revisits of these sites are the best way to discriminate between unplanned and planned emissions," said Daniel Cusworth, a scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and lead author of the study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Cusworth and his colleagues focused on 1,100 sources seen emitting plumes on at least three flights, and classified 123 sites as the most persistent.

The study could have practical implications: once sources are located and verified on the ground, there's a good chance the leaks can be repaired, said co-author Riley Duren of the University of Arizona.

The imaging sensors used in the study are able to pinpoint methane sources to within 15 to 30 feet (five to 10 meters) while flying at the altitude of a commercial airliner. 

High-resolution cameras were then used to relate plumes to pieces of equipment on the ground such as oil and gas wells, compressors, pipelines, all of which can potentially leak.

NEW YORK — Electric vehicle maker Tesla has initiated a recall of nearly 6,000 vehicles to inspect brake calipers for loose bolts.

The recall, made public on Tuesday, involves as many as 5,974 cars from the 2019-2021 Model 3 and 2020-2021 Model Y lines.

"The brake caliper bolts may be loose, allowing the brake caliper to separate and contact the wheel rim," according to a document sent by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to Tesla after it notified the regulatory agency of the issue.

"Contact with the rim may cause a loss of tire pressure, increasing the risk of a crash."

Tesla is not aware of the issue causing any injuries or deaths, according to the NHTSA documents, and the company will inspect and tighten or replace customers' caliper bolts as needed.

The automaker became aware in December that a fastener was missing from a brake caliper on a 2021 Model Y and began an investigation to see how widespread the issue was, according to the documents, which add that Tesla has taken steps to fix the problem on the assembly line.

OTTAWA — Canada's economy grew at a rate of 5.6 per cent in the first three months of 2021, the government statistical agency said on Tuesday.

Its strength was in part due to low mortgage rates fueling strong demand for housing, continued government COVID aid to households and businesses, and an improved jobs market, Statistics Canada said in a statement.

The figure, however, was about a percentage point lower than analysts had forecast, following a revised 9.3 per cent uptick in gross domestic product (GDP) in the previous quarter.

"Canada's economy managed to shrug off a case of COVID in the winter, only to succumb to a harsher wave of the same disease in the spring," CIBC Economics analyst Avery Shenfeld said in a research note.

Still, growth was "healthy" in the quarter, he said, pointing to strong price gains, and Canadians staying in the country with reduced winter travel abroad helping to give a boost to "mediocre consumer spending".

According to Statistics Canada, the economy got a boost from a sharp increase in prices for construction materials and energy used in Canada and exported, as well as increased wages — notably in construction and information and cultural industries.

Housing investments continued to rise for a third consecutive quarter, leading the recovery, but adding tens of billions of dollars in Canadians' residential mortgage debts.

Outlays for new vehicles, computers, games, toys and hobbies, as well as sports and camping equipment rose, but declined for clothing and footwear.

As consumers spent more time at home during the pandemic, spending on food and alcoholic beverages also increased.

Shenfeld noted that Canadians amassed significant savings during the pandemic, up 13 per cent in the first quarter, but "that money won't be spent just yet," he said, as public health restrictions were still in place in much of the country heading into the second quarter.

"Investors will already be looking past Q2, with hopes that vaccinations will pave the way for much stronger growth again in the second half of the year," Shenfeld said, after lockdowns were a drag on April growth.

By Sarah Stewart
Agence France-Presse

DUBAI — Dubai's property market is powering out of a six-year malaise as "lockdown dodgers" and wealthy international investors drive a buying frenzy that is breaking records and fuelling an economic recovery.

Luxury villas are the hottest segment in the market, with European buyers, in particular, seeking homes on Dubai's signature Palm Jumeirah man-made island, as well as golf course estates.

Dubai's rollercoaster property market, which had been in steady decline since 2014, went into flatline after COVID-19 hit last year and the emirate slammed shut its borders, said Zhann Zochinke, chief operating officer of consultancy Property Monitor.

"Then straight after that lockdown period we started to see transaction volumes increase, and they really haven't stopped since," he said.

"We're now seeing record month-on-month gains and transaction volumes."

The Gulf emirate became one of the first destinations to reopen to visitors last July, pairing the open-door policy with strict rules on masking and social distancing, and an energetic vaccination programme which has produced some of the highest inoculation rates globally.

Despite a surge in coronavirus cases in the new year after holidaymakers descended en masse, life has continued largely as normal with restaurants and hotels open, and few of the restrictions that have blighted life elsewhere.

"The lockdown dodgers from other countries? I think we're seeing a lot of that there," Zochinke said, adding that other draws were more relaxed residency rules and a decision to allow full foreign ownership of firms.

'Not just a 

construction site' 

The flood of arrivals has regenerated the tourism industry, long an economic mainstay of Dubai which has little of the oil wealth that powers its neighbours, and helped business activity recover to pre-COVID levels in April, according to IHS Markit.

"Travel and tourism firms recorded the most notable bounce in performance, amid increasing hopes of a rise in tourism activity later in the year, boosted by the rapid vaccine roll-out," said the research firm's Economist David Owen.

After years of torpor when homeowners watched their equity drain away, the surge in luxury properties above 10 million dirhams ($2.7 million) has been striking, with 90 transactions in April compared to around 350-400 on a regular yearly basis, according to Property Monitor.

A mansion on the Palm has sold for 111.25 million dirhams, the highest price reached in years in the precinct which features 16 "fronds" lined with show-stopping houses and supercars parked in the driveways.

The highest-priced property now available on the block is a vast Italian-inspired modern villa positioned at the end of one of the fronds, complete with 180 degree beach frontage, which is being offered for 100 million dirhams.

After it languished on the market during the gloomy days at the height of the pandemic, the developers are hoping that one of the new breed of cashed-up Europeans will be tempted by the infinity pool, private cinema, and acres of marble and glass.

"I think people have started to realise that Dubai is not just a construction site anymore, which it was maybe 10 years ago when we had the most amount of cranes in the world," said Matthew Bate, CEO of BlackBrick, one of the agencies representing the property.

'COVID opened 

the doors' 

"People are now looking at Dubai and saying — I'm going to make this my primary home. I can work from Dubai and still manage business in Europe or North America or Asia," he said.

"So I think what COVID ultimately did, it opened the doors for us to the rest of the world."

In a market where many fortunes have been made and lost, there is nervousness about whether the recent giddy rises can be sustained.

Sales of properties above 10 million dirhams rose 6.7 per cent in April compared to the previous month, and 81 villas were sold on the Palm in April alone compared to 54 in all of 2020, according to Property Monitor.

Even with the remarkable gains, the market is still off its highs of 2014, and the apartment market is trailing far behind.

The financial services firm Morgan Stanley, however, said in a recent report that the rally isn't likely to stop soon.

"Robust demand, peaking supply growth and long lead times for new projects could lead to a tighter-than-expected market over the next several years," it said.

It credited "a wave of government reforms over the past 12 months, attractive mortgage rates, and a shift in demand patterns due to COVID-19".

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday proposed a $6 trillion budget to "reimagine" the US economy and stave off Chinese competition, though driving the United States into record debt — and with Congress first needing to give approval.

Announcing the proposed spending, Biden said a post-pandemic United States "cannot afford to simply return to the way things were before."

"We must seize the moment to reimagine and rebuild a new American economy," he said.

The president's annual budget is more a wish list or a message on his priorities than anything else. Congress ultimately decides what money goes where, and the current Congress has only the narrowest Democratic majority.

Opposition Republicans are leery of any big new role for the central government.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy, leader of the Republican minority in the House of Representatives, called it "the most reckless and irresponsible budget proposal in my lifetime."

Even some of Biden's supporters warn that an economy already set to roar back from the COVID-19 shutdown risks getting swept up into an inflationary spiral.

But the massive plan signals the White House's determination to put hard numbers on Biden's campaign to rethink the relationship between government and business in what he says is an existential contest with China.

Under the Biden blueprint, the federal spigot would unleash $6.011 trillion in 2022, with increases gradually rising to $8.2 trillion in 2031. Debt as a percentage of annual GDP would be expected to quickly surpass the level seen at the end of World War II.

The Democrat made clear where the lion's share of that expected $6 trillion price tag should go.

One huge chunk would be an infrastructure bill originally proposed at $2.3 trillion but since whittled down to $1.7 trillion in negotiations with Congress. 

Another $1.8 trillion would go on increased state-funded education and social services — all, Biden argues, part of building a better 21st century workforce.

The overall aim, Biden said, is to grow the US middle class, while positioning "the United States to out-compete our rivals".

Can it pass? 

The budget proposal is being unveiled just ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend and with Congress heading out on a week's recess.

The timing may dampen the immediate furor on Capitol Hill, where many Democrats want Biden to use his control of Congress to push transformational legislation but Republicans are playing hardball in trying to block most of what the president proposes.

Spending priorities are just one area of division.

For example, Republicans are pretty much unanimous in opposing Biden's broad definition of infrastructure to include green energy and social programmes.

But there's even less agreement on how to pay for it.

Biden wants to raise money by ending a corporate tax cut Republicans passed under his predecessor Donald Trump. He also wants to go aggressively after tax loopholes used by the ultra-wealthy and large corporations.

Republicans refuse to accept this and say their own, more modest, infrastructure spending plans could be paid for by reallocating unspent money already budgeted.

"President Biden's proposal would drown American families in debt, deficits and inflation," the senior Republican senator, Mitch McConnell, said.

Despite the stand-off — and the sheer scale of Biden's mega budget — the White House still has a potential ace up its sleeve in that slim Democratic majority.

Ordinarily, Biden needs at least 10 Republicans to cross over in the evenly split Senate, a tall order at the best of times. 

However, if Democrats remain unanimous — which is also not guaranteed — they may be able to pass the budget through a fast-track procedure known as reconciliation.

By Imran Marashli
Agence France-Presse

LONDON — Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel company — one of the world's largest steel empires — faces an uncertain future after announcing plans to sell three of its UK plants.

Liberty employs 3,000 UK workers and parent company Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance has 35,000 employees around the world, with metalworks and mines in Europe, the United States and Australia.

Gupta was once seen as the saviour of British steelmaking but is now fighting for survival following the collapse of its main lender Greensill Capital and fraud allegations.

The Indian-British billionaire has insisted none of his 12 UK sites will close.

Yet, this week's decision to sell three plants in northern and central England plunges 1,500 jobs into uncertainty and comes after three of GFG's French auto parts factories sought bankruptcy protection last month.

Clive Royston, who represents the Community trade union at Liberty's Stocksbridge site in northern England, said he wants Liberty to be a "responsible seller" and find a buyer who will "not just strip off assets".

"We're worried and don't have any details. It's hard because they [workers] are asking questions and I can't answer," he said.

Liquidity crisis 

Supply chain finance firm Greensill contributed to GFG's expansion through short-term corporate loans and avoided the stricter regulations imposed on traditional banks.

But its abrupt collapse in March triggered a liquidity crisis at GFG as creditors sought to recall their loans.

It has been reported that Greensill had £3.5 billion ($5 billion, 4.1 billion euros) of exposure with GFG.

Greensill's lawyers claimed its demise could threaten 50,000 jobs worldwide.

Liberty has reportedly not repaid an £18 million loan to Metro Bank, which accuses it of breaching "covenants and restrictions". Liberty denies the claims. 

Negotiations with Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse, which had 10 billion euros of exposure with Greensill, continue.

The UK government rebuffed Liberty's request for a £170 million bailout due to concerns over opaque corporate structure and governance.

'Red Flag' 

The risky nature of supporting distressed companies means investors either make huge profits or lose their whole investment, said Dirk Jenter, of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

As sustaining firms can be investors' best way to recoup their loans, "they [Liberty] are scrambling for money and trying to sell their most liquid assets. It's an attempt to buy time to keep the company alive," he added.

Gupta was the majority owner of the indebted Wyelands Bank, which was probed by the Bank of England in 2019 and wound down in March amid allegations of favouring Gupta's associates.

This month, the UK's Serious Fraud Office opened an investigation against GFG for alleged fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering, including its financing activities with Greensill.

Jenter said this investigation and allegations of providing fake invoices would deter potential investors and compound Liberty's financial woes.

"It's a red flag. It would take an extraordinarily courageous investor to rely on the numbers provided by Liberty. It makes risking equity almost impossible," he said.

'A foundational industry' 

Union representative Royston said coronavirus "crippled" Stocksbridge, which supplies the hard-hit aerospace sector, and stressed the need to protect jobs that have defined the region despite several ownership changes over the years.

"There's not much industry around us. Stocksbridge has been built around the plant. As a lad, you follow your father into the steelworks," he added.

David Bailey, from the University of Birmingham business school, said all British steel manufacturers faced broader challenges, including higher electricity prices and business rates.

A longstanding glut in the global steel market and Chinese dumping have also undercut British steelmakers.

"You might have a period where companies are successful for a while, then these problems raise their heads again. Liberty ran into issues that are more structural," he said.

"They were far too reliant on Greensill when it went under and left themselves too exposed."

Bailey believes the British government should intervene with an American-style conservatorship — whereby the state runs and reforms companies before returning them to the private sector — to improve competitiveness and prevent damage to related industries.

"There's a big threat to jobs and this is a foundational industry. We should be doing more to preserve it," he said.

UK business minister Kwasi Kwarteng recently told lawmakers nationalisation was "unlikely".

Government support for steelmakers is linked with de-carbonisation as the sector pursues an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2035.

Liberty has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 by using more scrap metal and electric arc furnaces powered by renewable energy sources.

PARIS — French oil and gas major Total on Friday won near-unanimous shareholder support for its climate strategy along with a new name, TotalEnergies, marking its shift — but NGOs dismissed it as "bogus".

Only a tiny minority rebelled against the company's plans at a shareholders' meeting, saying they fell short of what was needed to fight global warming.

Management's non-binding resolution, which followed similar moves at energy peers Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, secured 91.88 per cent backing at the assembly.

Total's pledges include reaching net-zero emissions in its global businesses by 2050, as well as for all its customers in Europe.

It also won 99-per cent support for a motion to change its name to TotalEnergies as the company wants to show that it is diversifying into renewable energies, which will account for 20 per cent of investments this year.

Shareholders had recognised "a true and sincere transformation process" and had backed "an audacious and demanding strategy", said Chairman Patrick Pouyanne, who also won approval for a renewed term for himself at the helm of the company.

The new name, he said, "marks our collective desire to create a new Total, a multienergy company and major actor in energy transition", Pouyanne said as he unveiled the new, multicolour logo.

'Climate chaos' 

NGOs and other investors were disappointed, having announced ahead of the assembly that they hoped 15 per cent of shareholders would call out management on their targets seen as too modest.

In a joint statement, Reclaim Finance and Greenpeace France cheered shareholders who opposed "the 'bogus' climate plan, while furiously condemning the large majority who backed Total's plan for increased fossil fuel extraction".

"By supporting Total's greenwashed strategy, shareholders have voted willingly for climate chaos," said Reclaim Finance founder Lucie Pinson.

In the run-up to the gathering, asset management firm Meeschaert AM had urged Total to refrain from any new drilling for oil and gas, echoing an appeal by the International Energy Agency to all energy giants.

Pouyanne rejected the call on Friday, saying "radical solutions are not the answer" and reminding his audience that "80 per cent of our economy runs on fossil fuels".

Dutch fund ACTIAM meanwhile said that Total's emissions strategy "falls short as it remains unclear how it will meet its goals given its current pace of fossil fuel production and investments that still significantly outpace those in renewables".

Meeschaert Asset Management, which also voted against the plan, said other shareholders had voiced their opposition by abstaining from the vote, though the number was not immediately known.

Eleven investors at last year's meeting put forward a motion for more ambitious climate targets — prompting Pouyanne to remark on "those who act like activists, not like shareholders" — but still won nearly 17 per cent in a vote at the time.

In the United States, investors put pressure on two oil giants to do better on climate change, installing activist board members at ExxonMobil and directing Chevron to deepen emissions cuts.

Shell, meanwhile, was ordered by a Dutch court this week to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

Last week, Shell shareholders backed a controversial climate strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and become carbon neutral by 2050.

Another resolution, put forward by the environmental organisation Follow This, which called on Shell to set more ambitious targets, was supported by just over 30 per cent.

WASHINGTON — Amazon has agreed to buy the storied MGM studios for $8.45 billion, the companies said on Wednesday, giving the US tech giant a vast library to further its ambitions in streaming.

The deal bolsters Amazon Prime Video, which competes with Netflix and others in the fast-evolving market, with some 4,000 films — including the James Bond franchise — and 17,000 television shows.

"The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM's talented team," said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. 

The deal comes with Amazon experiencing surging growth in online retail and cloud computing, while making a push into entertainment as consumers turn to streaming media.

It gives Amazon the fabled Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios, an iconic name in Hollywood which has been through a series of ownership changes and bankruptcy in recent years.

In addition to the James Bond franchise, MGM owns the rights to film productions including "Rocky", "Legally Blonde" and "Tomb Raider", and television shows such as "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills".

"MGM has nearly a century of filmmaking history and complements the work of Amazon Studios, which has primarily focused on producing TV show programming," a statement from the companies said.

"Amazon will help preserve MGM's heritage and catalog of films, and provide customers with greater access to these existing works. Through this acquisition, Amazon would empower MGM to continue to do what they do best: Great storytelling."

Streaming gains steam 

The tie-up marks a new twist in a fast-evolving media landscape increasingly dominated by streaming giants such as Netflix, a trend which has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal could increase scrutiny for Amazon, one of the Big Tech firms gaining unprecedented economic power in recent years and in the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers around the world. 

Amazon was sued this week by US capital city Washington for allegedly abusing its dominance of online retail

Last week, telecom giant AT&T said it was spinning off its WarnerMedia division — owner of the Warner Bros studios — in a combination with Discovery, creating a new entity to focus on streaming and competing with the rapidly growing Disney+ and new entrants such as Apple TV+.

Amazon has said its Prime Video is used by some 175 million people worldwide. Its "Manchester by the Sea" in 2017 became the first film from a streaming service to be nominated for a best picture Oscar.

MGM studios, which has struggled to gain box office hits in recent years, is not connected to the MGM Resorts group which owns hotels and casinos around the world.