EPA issues last methane rule for drillers
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration issued a final rule Thursday to cut methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas production by nearly half over the next decade.
The rule by the Environmental Protection Agency would reduce methane emissions from oil and gas drilling by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2025, compared with 2012 levels. It would require energy producers to find and repair leaks at oil and gas wells and capture gas that escapes from wells that use the common drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Methane, the key component of natural gas, tends to leak during oil and gas production. Although it makes up less than 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, it is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, making it a top target for environmentalists concerned about what some say is global warming.
Officials estimate the rule would cost the industry about $530 million in 2025. Those costs would be outweighed by reduced health care costs and other benefits totaling about $690 million, officials estimate.
The American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, said the new rule could harm America's "shale energy revolution" that has lowered U.S. carbon emissions and lowered costs for American consumers to heat their homes and drive their cars.
-- The Associated Press
30-year loan rates decline to 3-year low
WASHINGTON -- Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for a third straight week, posting new lows for the year. The benchmark 30-year rate reached a three-year low.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 3.57 percent from 3.61 percent last week. It's below its level a year ago of 3.85 percent.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased to 2.81 percent from 2.86 percent last week.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was 0.5 point, down from 0.6 point last week. The fee for a 15-year loan was unchanged at 0.5 point.
-- The Associated Press
Unemployment aid applications rise
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since February 2015.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment aid rose by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose by 10,250 to 268,250, highest in nearly three months.
Joblessness claims are a proxy for layoffs. Despite last week's increase, they remain low. They have come in below 300,000 for 62 straight weeks, the longest streak since 1973.
Unemployment claims dropped in April to the lowest level since November 1973 before heading back up. The Labor Department reported last week that employers added just 160,000 jobs in April -- the fewest since September.
"Today's jobless claims report was a surprise, and not a positive one," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. "[Unemployment] claims have moved sharply higher in recent weeks, reinforcing concerns that labor market conditions have softened in response to the slowdown in the economy in recent months."
-- The Associated Press
EU keeps controls on Chinese imports
BRUSSELS -- European Union lawmakers have voted against granting market economy status to China in a blow to Beijing's hopes to win the stamp of economic approval by December.
The lawmakers said in a resolution on Thursday that China's excess production capacity and cut-price exports are having "strong social, economic and environmental consequences in the EU."
They noted that 56 of the EU's current 73 anti-dumping measures apply to imports from China, and market economy status would make those measures more difficult to apply. The European steel industry, for example, has struggled to compete with China's huge amounts of exports at low cost.
The resolution was passed by 546 votes to 28, with 77 abstentions.
China is the European Union's second biggest trading partner, with daily trade flows worth more than $1.1 billion.
China argues that it should automatically win market economy status after Dec. 11, under the World Trade Organization's accession protocol. But some European countries and the U.S. argue the language in the protocol could be interpreted to mean that WTO member countries should decide after December whether China is a market economy.
-- The Associated Press
World demand cools for luxury homes
WASHINGTON -- The global luxury housing market lost some of its sheen last year as financial markets became unsettled and many wealthy buyers began to look for less expensive homes.
"The return of realism," is how Dan Conn, chief executive of Christie's International Real Estate, described the high-end market that stretches from San Francisco to Singapore.
Sales in a sector whose average home prices start at $2.2 million slowed in 2015, increasing by 8 percent, half its 2014 pace. The decline most likely reflects stability rather than weakness, according to a report released Thursday by Christie's.
"You can't have massive double-digit growth year after year after year," Conn said.
Around the world, a single square foot in a luxury home varies dramatically -- from $200 in Monterrey, Mexico, to $4,500 in Monaco. The highest price paid for a home last year was $194 million for the Barker Road Estate in Hong Kong.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 05/13/2016