13/01/2014 World Business Report

Total's to invest up to $50 million in fracking in the UK as the

government offers attractive tax breaks to encourage the search for

shale gas. Moving into top gear - it's a year

of transition for the big three car makers in the US with sales back on

track we assess the next move at the Detroit Motor Show.

Welcome to World Business Report. Also in the programme, we'll be

hearing from a director who found an unusual way to get his film funded.

New Year, new rules, after a fear of another property bubble in Dubai, we

will see what is coming up there as well.

The French energy company Total has confirmed it's investing in shale

gas exploration in the UK. The company is taking a 40% stake in

licences for what's known as fracking. Total will invest up to

$50 million in a project which is a controversial method of extracting

gas from deep underground. It has led to protests because of fears it

can cause environmental damage. Meanwhile, British local councils

that allow shale gas developments will keep 100% of a levy they

collect from the sites as an incentive to persuade communities to

accept the process. Joe Lynam reports.

Could these are muddy holes in the ground and be the solution to

Britain's soaring energy bills? The government thinks so. That is why

they are pushing hard for fracking to be allowed by permitting councils

to be allowed to keep every penny they get in business rates for those

sites. Fracking is a process by which gas is extracted from shale

rock by pumping huge quantities of water, sand, and chemicals into rock

hundreds of metres below the surface. The geological survey says

that there may be 1300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, enough to

meet the entire need for decades. The PM said that it could attract

investment worth ?3.7 billion per year and create 74,000 jobs in the

oil and gas sector. Fracking is banned in some EU countries and

opponents at these protesters in Manchester believe it should be

banned here as well. They say that it damages the local community and

contaminate local suppliers. This is the thin edge of the wedge. Whatever

happens in Manchester, things are going on in Lancashire and there are

huge numbers of people who really want to see this stopped before it

begins. That seems less likely now that the

world's largest energy firms are entering the UK shale gas market.

French giant Total confirmed that it will take large stakes with firms

with drilling licences in England. It and the government hopes that

there is a new northern city of gas and sitting below our feet.

And you can get all the latest on fracking and the implications on the

BBC News website. Some of the debate surrounding the

environment issues as well. With the spectre of government

bailouts behind them, 2014 promises to be a year of transition for the

big three US car makers. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. That

lady you just saw there, Mary Barra is taking over from Dan Akerson as

the head of GM and Ford boss Alan Mulally is set to depart at the end

of the year. In 2013, Chrysler avoided a public stock offering and

finally came under complete ownership of Italian car maker Fiat,

giving boss Sergio Marchionne the chance to finally integrate the two

firms which badly need each other. And this week they will all be

showing off their latest models at the Detroit Motor Show. Michelle

Fleury is there for us. At a glitzy event, General Motors

took the wraps off the newest truck. In this business, everything begins

and ends with great product. This woman, the new person behind the

wheel who is generating the most excitement. Mary Barra is the

incoming chief executive and the first woman to lead a motor company.

This is coming out party. I am honoured stand here tonight and lead

his team. It is the global motor 's global team. I am proud to be part

of this team, a team of men and women doing unbelievably great work.

Everyone is clamouring for a glimpse of Detroit's newest star, Mary

Barra. As she seeks to define her leadership, another leader of a

crosstown rival is more concerned about his legacy. He showed Detroit

how to resurrect a car company. And steer it through the worst recession

in decades. He lives forward at the end of the year and the spotlight

will shift of this man, his likely successor. We may be at the verge of

a generational shift. It is interesting. You have not seen this

kind of seismic shift in terms of leadership in years. It can happen

-- to happen in multiple companies is unusual as well. Chrysler has had

a shift in ownership with Italian carmaker Fiat set to take full

control under the leadership of Sergio Maki any. The transformation

is just about... And also affects the shop floor with workers such as

this one from Chrysler's Trenton engine plant. He needs to take care

of it contravened and perform a service with everyone else or is he

serious about this whole global entity? Through Europe and Asia and

coming out here? The dark days of the recession are passed. The

Detroit industries on the up but the new faces the top have a challenge

to keep it that way. A new tack for miners in Indonesia

and a ban on shipments for minerals have caused a stir in the commodity

markets today. To make sense on that, I joined from Singapore. What

is going on? What has happened is that Indonesia pushed through this

hotly contested and on raw minerals exports on Sunday. The decision is

aimed at easing disruptions to the country's mining industry. There has

been plenty of opposition. Smaller mining firms and other critics have

claimed the ban will lead to mass layoffs and worsen the widening

trade deficit in the country. These rules were introduced in 2009, meant

to enhance the value of the mining industry. It was aimed at keeping a

greater share of the mining profit in Indonesia. The government hoped

that the move would boost local mineral processing and attract

investment for the refining and output of higher value metals

products. Economists warned that the rule may actually have a harmful

effect on the economy, they affect billions of dollars of export

revenue and is likely to anger smaller miners even more after there

was a last-minute concession that was made for the country's two

biggest miners. These include US mining giant who are temporarily

exempt from the band. We know that Indonesia is one of the biggest

producers of copper, nickel, and aluminium to whatever happens there

has repercussions worldwide. We already saw metals prices rising

ahead of the bands. Nickel prices rose 3% ahead of the band. We are

seeing Australian mining stocks also being affected.

Thank you very much. The IMF warned Dubai that another

property bubble made form if it does not curb growing prices. They are

introducing new rules to tackle speculation on property after the

rent soared more than 30%. They may introduce new regulations for

properties sold and resold off plan before they are built. We spoke to

the head of the Chamber of Commerce about whether he was worried. Real

estate suffered the most during the economic crisis. It will continue to

go down even in 2010. It started stabilising in 2011 and started

recovering in 2012. Whatever we saw last year was more or less

recovering from the bottom line that affected the whole sector. Enough

people were coming into the market to flip the properties again and

make a quick dollar and get out? We saw a lot of that in 2006 /2007.

Going forward, a lot of measures were put in base by the governmental

entities to be able to control the speculation in the market. That is

the off plan. There is a lot of restriction in off plans. It is not

really finance. Will there be circumspect elation? May be. The

government will put a lot of controls in, going forward. Another

area to be at addressed are the bankruptcy regulations. When you go

bankrupt, you should go to prison? We are expecting within the next few

months to have a new law to allow ease of doing business is in the

whole United Arab Emirates. There is a draft. It is a good draft which we

expect to come in in a few months or next year. There will be a good

bankruptcy law that will support starting a business and operating a

business and, if required, closing a business.

I'll see you soon. The most wide-ranging enquiry into

institutional abuse ever undertaken in the UK is due to begin in

Northern Ireland. . It will examine the care of young people in state,

voluntary and church-run organisations over the course of 70

years. Our Ireland correspondent, Andy Martin has the details.

These were the images care institutions across the UK and

Ireland wanted the