A good sign: Purchases of new homes in the U.S. rebounded in July, bolstering signs the real-estate market is picking up. Sales climbed 5.4%, the biggest gain this year, to a 507,000 annualized pace from a 481,000 rate in the prior month, a Commerce Department report released today shows. Demand for new properties is likely to keep expanding amid strong employment, low borrowing costs and a lack of available existing homes from which to choose. Read more from Bloomberg.
Moving forward: Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions U.S. Inc. has been awarded the design engineering contact for Yuhuang Chemical Inc.’s new methanol plant in St. James Parish. Air Liquide will also provide procurement services for long lead and other building materials needed for the $1.85 billion facility. Yuhuang Chemical Inc. announced last week it has finalized the land deal to buy 1,300 acres that will be the future home of the 1.7 million tons-per-year methanol plant. Construction on the plant is scheduled to begin in late 2015.
Getting out: Encana Corp is selling its assets in the Haynesville Shale basin in north Louisiana to GEP Haynesville LLC for $850 million. According to Reuters, the sale comes at a time when Canada-based Encana has been selling off natural gas assets in favor of oil and high-value gas liquids in Texas and Canada. An agreement is in place for Encana to transport and market the natural gas produced by GeoSouthern in the Haynesville Shale on a fee-for-service basis for five years.
