It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Cameco CEO on production cuts and nuclear outlook
Daniel Johnson, BNN Bloomberg
Following a production guidance cut from Cameco this month, the Canadian uranium producer’s top executive says the reduction will be short-lived.
“Our reduction is small and temporary,” Tim Gitzel, president and chief executive officer of Cameco, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday.
“In the meantime, we've got capacity to ramp up considerably.”
Gitzel added that Cameco will increase production, provided it has the business to do so.
At the Cigar Lake mine, the release said Cameco lowered production guidance from 18 million pounds of uranium concentrate to 16.3 million pounds. Production at the McArthur River-Key Lake operations is now expected to total 14 million pounds during the year, down from the previous 15-million pound estimate, the release said.
NUCLEAR AND NET ZERO
As many nations push toward net zero, Gitzel noted that the global sentiment toward nuclear energy is gaining – and that has positive implications for his company.
“With the move to decarbonization, electrification, the race to net zero, and now energy security…there is lots of room for nuclear energy. Countries around the world [are] looking to expand, extend (and) build new SMRs (small module reactors) everywhere,” he said.
“It’s really positive for nuclear right now.”
Robert Miller, accused of paying minors for sex, to sell Future Electronics for $5B
The Canadian Press
The Future Electronics logo is shown in a handout. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
Montreal billionaire Robert Miller, who faces a class-action lawsuit alleging he paid underage girls for sex, is selling his company Future Electronics Inc. for more than $5 billion to a Taiwanese semiconductor distributor.
WT Microelectronics Co. says it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the company's shares for US$3.8 billion — more than $5 billion Canadian — in an all-cash deal expected to close in the first half of 2024.
Future Electronics, which Quebec's business registry lists as wholly owned by Miller, is a global distributor of electronics components that employs 5,200 workers across 47 countries.
Co-founded by Miller in 1968, the Montreal-based corporation says it generated US$2.9 billion in revenue and US$184 million in profits in the first half of 2023.
A class-action lawsuit against Miller and Future Electronics saw around 30 women come forward this year alleging he gave them money and gifts in exchange for sex when they were underage.
Miller has denied all accusations, which have not been proven in court. In February he stepped down as chairman and CEO of Future Electronics amid the allegations.
The encounters allegedly took place at downtown Montreal hotels and two residences in the wealthy Westmount neighbourhood between 1992 and 2012.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in February by the Consumer Law Group, has yet to be authorized by a judge.
This report by The Canadian Press was fist published Sept. 14, 2023.
CONTRADICTIONS OF CAPITALI$M
Statistics Canada says household debt ratio down in Q2 as income grew
The Canadian Press
Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owe relative to how much they earn fell in the second quarter as disposable income comfortably outpaced the growth in debt and demand for mortgages fell.
The agency says household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell to 180.5 per cent in the second quarter compared with 184.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
In other words, Statistics Canada says there was $1.81 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income in the second quarter, down from $1.84 in the first three months of 2023.
Meanwhile, the household debt service ratio, measured as total obligated payments of principal and interest on credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income, was 14.79 per cent in the most recent quarter, down from 14.90 per cent in the first quarter, when it hit its highest point since 2019.
The moves came as seasonally adjusted household credit market borrowing fell to $17.1 billion in the second quarter compared with $20.4 billion in the first quarter as demand for mortgage loans fell to their lowest point since 2005.
The seasonally adjusted total stock of household credit market debt in the second quarter was $2.86 trillion, up 0.6 per cent from the first quarter, while mortgage debt totalled $2.13 trillion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.
Credit balances hit record high in Q2: Equifax Canada
Iva Poshnjari, BNN Bloomberg
Credit card balances hit a record high in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest data from Equifax Canada, even as Canadians pull back on spending amid high cost of living.
Equifax Canada’s Market Pulse report on consumer credit trends, released on Thursday, said card balances reached an all-time high of $107.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023, while total consumer debt in Canada reached $2.4 trillion.
Even with those sky-high figures, the report noted that heightened borrowing costs are causing consumers to be more hesitant on spending overall.
“Canadians are demonstrating a shift in their spending habits due to the current economic volatility,” Rebecca Oakes, vice president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada, said in a press release.
"Non-mortgage debt continued to grow in the second quarter, largely due to substantial growth in credit card balances and a notable increase in debt among subprime and deep subprime consumers,” the report said.
HOUSEHOLD TRENDS
Credit habits varied across household types.
Mortgage holders and high-income segments showed the most slowdown in credit card spending, as they have more flexibility to scale back on discretionary spending to meet their increased credit payment obligations.
Meanwhile, consumers with depleting savings are facing an uphill battle when it comes to higher inflation and other expenses, resulting in a continued uptick in credit card debt, Oakes explained.
The average credit card balances per credit card consumer have risen by nine per cent, with the largest increase seen in lower credit score segments, up 13.7 per cent year-over-year, the report showed.
CREDIT CARD SPENDING IS SLOWING
Credit card spending as a whole has been consistently growing since the end of 2021. But is finally starting to slow, the report said, due to slowing inflation and rising financial pressure from high interest rate credit products.
“Consumers are becoming more prudent with their credit related decisions,” Oakes said.
Olymel announces closures affecting around 400 workers in Ontario and Quebec
The Canadian Press
An Olymel sign is shown in Montreal on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Montreal. Olymel is closing two plants in Quebec and Ontario and accelerating the closure of another, affecting around 400 employees as the company says it's still facing market challenges. , THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Olymel is closing two plants in Quebec and Ontario and accelerating the closure of another facility, affecting around 400 employees as the company says it continues to deal with market challenges.
The meat production and processing company says in a press release that the closures are part of measures to reorganize its business lines and optimize operations at its facilities.
The company is closing a pork boning and packaging plant in Princeville, Que., in November, affecting 301 employees, and is also closing a poultry processing plant in Paris, Ont., affecting another 93 workers.
Olymel says employees affected by closures will have opportunities to transfer to other facilities within the company.
In addition to the newly announced closures, Olymel says it's accelerating the planned closure of its Saint-Simon distribution centre by more than a year to the end of January, affecting 15 employees.
In the wake of the Paris closure, Olymel says its other poultry plants will benefit from an increase in capacity and production.
In particular, it's refurbishing its Oakville poultry plant to add another production line, spending $8 million and creating 62 new jobs. The Paris and Oakville plants had been running below capacity, and consolidating their operations will generate efficiency and savings, Olymel president and CEO Yanick Gervais said in a press release.
Olymel says it will work with authorities so that the 33 temporary foreign workers at the Princeville plant can also apply for relocation.
"The fresh pork industry is slowly getting back on track after two years of tumult that forced us to reorganize our operations," said Gervais.
Thursday's announcement was the latest in what's been a string of closures and layoffs by Olymel this year.
In May, Olymel announced that around 80 workers at its pig farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan were facing layoffs as it moved to cull six production facilities in the ensuing months.
The decision was due to "continued financial losses and uncertainty in the hog and pork markets for the foreseeable future," the company said at the time, with losses stemming from limited global market access and high feed costs.
At that time, Olymel had already closed three other facilities in 2023, including two processing plants and one slaughtering facility in Quebec.
Twitter mass layoff severance fight heads to settlement talks
BEFORE AND AFTER 'X'
Ed Ludlow and Joel Rosenblatt, Bloomberg News
Bloomberg Markets Elon Musk has somewhat of a blank slate with 'X': Social media expert Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, joins BNN Bloomberg to talk about Twitter's rebrand, Musk's opportunity with a 'blank slate,' and how other social media players are evolving.
Elon Musk’s X Corp. has agreed to try to settle claims by thousands of former Twitter employees who say they were cheated of severance pay, according to a memo by a lawyer for the workers seen by Bloomberg News.
“After 10 months of pressing them in every direction we have succeeded in getting Twitter to the table,” attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan wrote in the memo to her clients, which was obtained from a former Twitter employee who declined to be identified disclosing confidential information. “Twitter wants to mediate with us in a global attempt to settle all claims we have filed.”
The company formerly known as Twitter has been accused in multiple suits of numerous labour and workplace violations, including failing to pay severance to thousands of workers fired late last year after Musk’s US$44 billion acquisition of the social media platform. Almost 2,000 former Twitter employees have resorted to fighting their claims in arbitration as the company has demanded, but Liss-Riordan has complained in court filings that Twitter hasn’t shown up.
X is complying with a court order to mediate, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
The private negotiations with a mediator are set for Dec. 1 and Dec. 2, according to Liss-Riordan’s memo.
“We are very proud to be representing nearly 2,000 former Twitter employees, in individual arbitrations as well as more than a dozen class action lawsuits in court,” Liss-Riordan said in a statement Wednesday night. “We are working hard to recover what they are owed.”
She declined to elaborate or comment specifically on the scheduled mediation.
X Corp. spokespeople didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, sent after regular business hours.
A San Francisco federal judge ruled in January that workers who filed one of the earliest challenges to Twitter over severance pay were obligated under their contracts to go through arbitration, in which private judges resolve disputes in closed-door hearings.
Twin polls suggest slim majority of Albertans support oil and gas emissions cap
"When (politicians) make statements like, 'Albertans do not support a just transition or an emissions cap,' those statements are not based in truth. Albertans understand that we cannot go on doing what we've done."
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press
Most Albertans would support some kind of national cap on carbon emissions from the oil and gas sector, two new polls suggest.
The polls, conducted by different polling firms at the same time with the same questions, come after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned Ottawa last month not to test the "resolve" of Albertans to oppose such measures.
"(The results) conflict with the narrative that our current government is telling Albertans and Canadians that Albertans do not support this kind of action," said Joe Vipond of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, which commissioned the polls.
"Our polling suggests that's not correct."
The federal government has promised to bring in a cap on oil and gas emissions this fall. Smith has pledged to fight any such legislation, calling it an enforced production cap. Alberta has a 100-megatonne emissions cap on its books, although it's never been implemented.
The association hired the polling firms Leger and Research Co. to conduct the online surveys of more than 800 Albertans between Aug. 25 and 27.
The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. A random sample of 1,000 respondents would have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Neither pollster was aware of the other's work. Both used the same questions, including, "Would you support or oppose setting a nationwide emissions cap on oil and gas carbon pollution in Canada?"
Leger found 57 per cent of respondents were at least somewhat in favour. Research Co.'s finding was 62 per cent in favour.
That rough agreement adds confidence to the results, said Mario Canseco of Research Co.
"The numbers for each of the samples are pretty much bang on," he said. "I feel good because everything is similar."
The Leger poll, with a slightly larger sample size, was able to break out some demographic results. Urban areas supported a cap by 62 per cent and suburban areas by 56 per cent, with 46 per cent of rural Albertans in support.
Results from the twin polls didn't surprise University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley, who has been leading a long-term surveying project on Alberta called Common Ground. He said a decade's worth of polling suggest that Albertans are much more environmentally conscious than they're given credit for -- and than they give each other credit for.
"Most Albertans feel that way, but they don't think the average Albertan feels that way. There's a false sense of social reality.
"Until that changes, until people's perceptions of public opinion catches up with public opinion, there's not much incentive for politicians to change their rhetoric."
Albertans do show less support than those in other provinces for environmental measures that would affect its oilpatch. A poll released Wednesday on attitudes toward climate change, conducted by Leger and commissioned by The Canadian Press, found a nearly 30-percentage-point difference between Alberta and Quebec in those concerned about the issue.
Still, a slim majority of 55 per cent of Albertans expressed some level worry.
On Aug. 30, Smith's office released a statement in which she was quoted as saying: "Under no scenario will the government of Alberta permit the implementation of the proposed federal electricity regulations or contemplated oil and gas emissions cap. We would strongly suggest the federal government refrain from testing our government’s or Albertans’ resolve in this regard.”
Vipond said the polling suggests otherwise.
"When (politicians) make statements like, 'Albertans do not support a just transition or an emissions cap,' those statements are not based in truth. Albertans understand that we cannot go on doing what we've done."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2023.
Japan to Restart Ultra-Rare Hovercraft Ferry Service
Oita Prefecture's new hovercraft fleet will be one of the last in the world
The Japanese prefecture of Oita has taken delivery of a passenger hovercraft from a UK-based manufacturer, restoring one of the world's few public hovercraft routes to service after a long hiatus.
Oita's airport used to have a commercially-operated hovercraft, the Oita Hover Ferry, which delivered passengers across the harbor to the city's downtown. In 2009, as travel and service industries were buffeted by the Great Recession, the company closed. Hovercraft have notoriously high fuel and maintenance costs, and the number of paying travelers was not high enough to sustain the operation.
The original Oita hovercraft was a well-known local fixture, and the service route included a dramatic drift through an S-curve route next to the Oita airport, memorialized in many videos on social media.
14 years later, Oita is about to revive its hovercraft service. In a ceremony held Friday, the government of Oita Prefecture took delivery of its first new, modern hovercraft built by UK manufacturer Griffon Hoverworks. Oita has ordered three, and plans to start passenger-carrying operations with its new fleet next year.
The high-speed craft will resume a 15 nautical mile route between Oita Airport and downtown Oita. The trip takes about an hour by bus, but aboard a 45-knot Griffon hovercraft, it will take just half an hour.
When it resumes service, the Oita hovercraft ferry route will be the only operation of its kind in Japan. It may be one of just two passenger hovercraft services left in the world, along with UK commercial operator Hovertravel, which uses a nearly-identical Griffon 12000TD. The mode of transport took off in popularity in the 1960s, but has declined due to its high operating cost when compared with conventional ground and waterborne transportation.
Oita hopes that the novelty of its unique hovercraft service will become a tourist attraction in itself, offsetting the higher cost.
“Passengers can travel more quickly to and from the airport, and they can also take in the scenery from the vessel, such as the steam from Beppu hot spring resorts,” a prefectural official told Yomiuri Shimbun.
Navigating the New Challenges of Floating Offshore Wind
Offshore wind capacity needs to increase by an additional 50 GW each year over the next 30 years. How can we make sure floating offshore wind is able to play its part?
With decarbonization and energy security as top priorities for governments, corporations, and institutions worldwide, green energy sectors such as offshore wind are experiencing a developmental boom.
Fixed wind turbines can only reasonably be installed at depths of up to 60 meters, so floating offshore wind (FOW) must play a major role in deeper waters. Indeed, around 80 percent of the world’s offshore wind power potential is found at greater depths. With this in mind, the Global Wind Energy Council has revised its long-term outlook, forecasting 28 GW in floating offshore wind capacity by 2031. This trend will be principally led by Europe, North America, and East Asia.
The challenges on the horizon
To unleash this massive potential, floating offshore wind developers must overcome a number of challenges, not least of which is the need for a reliable supply chain. As turbines grow in size, competition for materials is intensifying. This is particularly the case for steel – where the oil and gas sector is contributing to scarcity and rising costs – but also for concrete, mooring line chains and synthetic fibers, and construction facilities. Materials must be sourced from around the world, resulting in increased demand for facilities for component construction. Add to this increasing scrutiny of sustainability credentials, which is forcing developers to pay close attention to the carbon intensity of their supply chain.
Next on a developer’s list of challenges is the fact that floating turbines are currently between 1.5 and four times more expensive than their fixed counterparts. Significant investment is required to unlock growth—like the £31 million ($39.5 million) of funding from the UK government, matched by over £30 million ($38.2 million) in funding from industry, recently pledged to develop FOW in UK waters.
In addition to these concerns, as turbines are placed in deeper and rougher waters, FOW support vessels have more specific design requirements. Operators will also need to provide more onsite accommodation for technicians and maintenance crews, as daily commuting to remote locations becomes inefficient.
Bureau Veritas: a partner in floating offshore wind
Bureau Veritas is supporting the growth of the FOW sector through the publication of dedicated marine renewable energy (MRE) guidelines and the creation of the NI 631 verification schemes, which complement the IECRE certification schemes for renewable energies.
To validate designs, Bureau Veritas’ international teams of experts provide Approvals in Principle (AiP) and Basic Design Assessments (BDA). Clients leverage Bureau Veritas’ knowledge in relevant disciplines such as mooring, structural integrity, and seakeeping, to verify suitability for use and environmental credentials. Building trust in new designs through independent verification is particularly important as FOW developers must adapt to various local regulations. As a trusted third party, Bureau Veritas provides clarity and a clear global standard.
Certification services available to clients include assessments of the structural integrity of prototypes/demonstrators and commercial projects – from design through operations, including fabrication and installation – and ensuring materials and equipment conform to specifications. Bureau Veritas experts can also verify a project’s compliance with a variety of requirements, including environmental rules, national regulations, and standards. For example, Bureau Veritas has been supporting the Provence Grand Large FOW project since 2017, certifying to IEC 61400- 22 for design, manufacturing, transportation, and installation surveillance. As a trusted classification partner for the marine and offshore industry, it provides expert services for both floater installations and the specialized vessels they require.
Looking to the future, Bureau Veritas is involved in a number of in-house and cross-industry research and development projects. The knowledge gained from these projects informs Rules and software, such as Bureau Veritas’ OPERA tool. Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) like those currently in progress with the EU also spread knowledge that helps legislators more effectively regulate and encourage funding.
Overcoming challenges, shaping trust
The floating offshore wind sector has huge potential and is facing major challenges, making this a pivotal moment for its players. This emerging technology raises almost as many questions as it answers. As one of the world’s foremost class societies, Bureau Veritas is perfectly positioned to support the industry to overcome its hurdles. It helps ensure that the sector develops safely and efficiently to shape trust in this high-potential technology.
Technical Advisory Consultancy
Bureau Veritas Solutions is a subsidiary of its Marine and Offshore division, dedicated to helping clients go beyond compliance. Its services range from support with design to technical studies and risk analysis. It offers environmental assessments and project management for platforms, mooring and anchor systems, and subsea cables, as well as in-depth expertise in marine operations for transport and installation.
Federal prosecutors have indicted a former engineering staffmember at the Naval Foundry and Propeller Center (NFPC) for allegedly rigging bid tenders to favor one company - and seeking employment at that company at the same time. The company went on to secure $26 million in U.S. Navy business, according to charging documents first reported by The Daily Beast.
Mechanical engineer Nicole Kristen Schuster worked at the Philadelphia NFPC facility from 2015-20, and she worked on projects for the future Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program and the Virginia-class attack sub. According to an affadavit submitted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Schuster was unhappy in this post, and told her colleagues that she would prefer to work for one of NFPC's suppliers - a Milan-based manufacturer of machine tools.
In 2016, Schuster helped initiate a federal acquisition process to buy a new vertical turning center and gantry milling machine for use at NFPC. These gigantic, high-spec lathes are worth millions of dollars, and are purpose-built for making giant propellers - in this case, up to 25 feet in diameter.
An example of a gigantic vertical turning center, used for precision manufacturing of propellers
The request had to go through formal purchasing processes at the Defense Logistics Agency. In an email to a sales representative of the Italian supplier, Schuster said that she wrote the specs for the tender to match the supplier's product, and hoped to "influence the final choice of machine based on our technical review."
In an update she sent the firm in 2017, she said that she had almost "everyone on board with the plan for the next VTC and to sole source to" the Milan-based company. She also texted a colleague to say that "as long as the Italians get the VTC I'm happy."
In 2017, the Italian firm won an $11 million contract for one VTC for this tender.
During the same time period, Schuster emailed an employee at the Italian manufacturer to inquire about whether there were any open positions, according to email records retrieved by NCIS. Investigators interviewed colleagues of Schuster's at NFPC, and one individual said that Schuster "wanted to be in the good graces of the Italian companies to travel to Italy" and had "absolutely" tried to get a job with the Milan-based manufacturer in question.
In September 2019, Schuster got in contact with colleagues in Bangor about another VTC procurement contract. She asked these colleagues for the details of a bid submission from a competing firm, an unnamed Swiss company - then sent this competitor's proprietary bid package to the Italian supplier. It included confidential information on past bids, pricing, manufacturing processes, and other information for official use only. After receiving this information, the Italian supplier submitted a bid lower than the Swiss firm's proposal and won the contract for a total of about $15 million.
For transferring this bid package, Schuster has been charged with unlawful disclosure of procurement information. She never obtained a job with the Italian supplier, and up until the time of the indictment, she remained employed by the Navy at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Amazon, Ikea and Other Consumer Brands Issue RFP for Zero-Emission Shipping
The group looks to transport 600,000 TEU using zero emission fuels
A consortium made up of many of the largest and best-known consumer brands is launching a request for proposals for zero-emission shipping services designed to accelerate the shipping industry’s move to low carbon fuels. They are seeking proposals for the transport of 600,000 containers over three years, which they believe will result in a reduction of nearly one million metric tonnes of carbon emissions.
Among the companies that have agreed to participate in the effort led by the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) are well-known consumer brands including Amazon, Electrolux, Ikea, and Philips. The group also includes Bauhaus, Brooks Running, Chewy, Flexport, Green Worldwide Shipping, Levi Strauss & Co., Lululemon, Meta, Moose Toys, New Balance, Nike, Patagonia, Schneider Electric, Sport-Thieme, and Tchibo.
According to the organizers, the initiative is designed to “kickstart the market” for zero-emission fuels. They hope to facilitate new or expanded partnerships across the maritime value chain to fulfill the requirements which would also lay the foundation to accelerate the decarbonization of shipping.
The first RFP which is being issued this month calls for 600,000 TEU with sufficient capacity from the carriers to cover aggregate demand for 6,000 nautical miles over three years. ZEMBA will negotiate a “green premium” for the aggregated demand of its members. The green premium accounts for the added cost of operating a vessel using zero-emission fuels.
The fuels to be used to provide the shipping services must achieve at least a 90 percent reduction well-to-wake in emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels. The fuels shall be derived from sustainable and/or waste, residual, or byproduct feedstock sources including hydrogen and captured CO2. It must come from transparent sources to provide for independent verification.
“ZEMBA’s RFP is focused on stimulating a new marketplace for zero-emission fuels and deploying long-term, scalable solutions for the entire shipping industry,” writes the group in the announcement. They also hope to build confidence among fuel suppliers and shippers to encourage the investments that will be required to build capacity and the technologies for zero-emission shipping.
The RFP is the first major buyer-led initiative to accelerate the transition to zero-emission maritime fuels. For the consumer brands participating in the effort, they hope that the aggregation of demand will provide earlier access to zero-emission shipping at more affordable pricing than any one of the members could have achieved on its own.
The group expects to follow this first effort with additional RFPs as they attract more shippers. They also note that future emissions targets might be increased beyond 90 percent as technologies develop for low carbon fuels.
ZEMBA was launched as a nonprofit membership organization in March 2023 by the Aspen Institute, Amazon, Patagonia, and Tchibo to fast-track commercial deployment of zero-emissions shipping services at scale, create a competitive market for these services, and help reduce emissions. It is part of the broader Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV), a platform for cargo owners to work together toward a decarbonized maritime sector, facilitated by the Aspen Institute’s Energy and Environment Program. The coZEV 2040 Ambition Statement has united 19 global brands to date around an ambition to exclusively use zero-emission shipping for their ocean freight by 2040.
