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☆ Duke Energy misses profit estimates as warm weather weighs on power usage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N) on Tuesday missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit, as the gas and electric utilities firm was hit by unfavorable weather, higher interest expenses, and lower volumes. Warmer-than-normal weather in the states serviced by the company weighed on customers' electricity needs for heating in colder months. Duke's electric utilities, which serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, saw income fall about 12% to $791 million from last year. Meanwhile for its gas utilities, which serve 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky, income rose about 13% to $287 million for the quarter, aided by better retail margins. Duke said it earned $1.20 per share, on an adjusted basis, in the January-March quarter.

☆ As earnings season winds down, investors turn to Tuesday's debt ceiling meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

With only a small fraction of the S & P 500 left to report quarterly earnings, investors are now turning their focus to another major hurdle for the markets and economy: the debt ceiling crisis. Earlier this week, we looked back to debt limit crisis of 2011 for potential lessons. The protracted fight ultimately ended in an agreement in early August of that year, but it was a choppy summertime ride for investors. Within the portfolio, Wynn Resorts will report Tuesday, after the closing bell, and Disney will report on Wednesday, after the closing bell. Estee Lauder (EL) and Emerson Electric (EMR) reported earnings before the opening bell.

Most new gas plants currently do not pay for emitting carbon, so the rules could make it harder for them to compete with solar and wind power. Second, the Inflation Reduction Act created tax credits making carbon capture and hydrogen more affordable and affirmed EPA's authority to regulate power plants. Existing technology can capture and store approximately 90% of carbon emissions, Lynch said. The EIA projected that this year, 54% of new generation (21GW) will be solar and 14% will be natural gas (7.5GW). Southern, which also runs the National Carbon Capture Center with the Department of Energy, said commercial deployment of carbon capture technology "is many years away" despite the cost-reduction potential of the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ US chip subsidy criteria could be a 'burden', says South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Samsung is building a chip plant in Texas that could cost over $25 billion and has said it is reviewing the guidelines. However, funding applications may require detailed cost structure information as well as projected wafer yields, utilisation rates and price changes, which three Korean chip sources told Reuters was akin to revealing corporate strategy. The United States' subsidy provisions should reflect the opinions of the government and companies of South Korea so they do not impose any undue burden on those companies, South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a statement on Thursday. Ahn's comment came from a meeting with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai in South Korea, a leading chipmaking country and major investor in the U.S. chip sector. The U.S. Department of Commerce will accept subsidy applications for leading-edge chip facilities from March 31, and for current-generation, mature-node and back-end production facilities from June 26.

REUTERS/Nathan Frandino//File PhotoNEW YORK/HOUSTON, March 10 (Reuters) - Corporations and investors have been pouring money into renewable energy projects, seeing an opportunity to grasp the Holy Grail of socially conscious investing: do good while doing well. But sharply higher interest rates have further stressed a model strained by soaring prices for steel and silicon, vital for wind turbines and solar panels. Higher costs have buyers and sellers of renewable power projects recalculating potential returns, hampering fundraising and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). A decade of low interest rates meant borrowers could raise cheap debt to build projects and juice returns. Financial investors traditionally took stakes in operating renewables projects to avoid risks of construction delays and ensure stable returns.

☆ S. Korea's trade minister to raise concerns over Chips Act in US meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Heekyong Yang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's trade minister will meet with counterparts in Washington this week to express concerns that the U.S. Chips Act could make the U.S. a less attractive investment destination, its trade ministry said. During his trip, South Korea's trade minister Ahn Duk-geun plans to meet with senior officials from the U.S. Commerce Department and White House as well as officials from major think tanks to discuss the Chips Act. The Chips Act plays a central role in the Biden administration's effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing home, and its success is vital to U.S. ambitions to keep ahead of China in global markets. Under the Chips Act, companies that accept the incentives are required to share with the U.S. government a portion of their profits that exceed initial projections by an agreed-upon threshold. Companies winning chips subsidies would be barred from engaging in joint research and technology licensing efforts or expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern like China for 10 years.

☆ Why America's outdated energy grid is a climate problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

'A double whammy': Age and locationWind resources in the United States, according to the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. That's especially true for tapping into the highest quality of wind energy, explained Princeton professor Jesse Jenkins, a macro-scale energy systems engineer. Solar resources in the United States, according to the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.

☆ Bigger utilities to benefit most from Biden's clean-energy funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration's $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act devotes billions of dollars for tax credits and direct payments for solar, wind, battery and other energy sources to move electric power supplies from fossil fuels. Regulated utilities including Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N) and Dominion Energy Inc (D.N) begin reporting fourth-quarter results this week and analysts expect them to lay out plans for capitalizing on the IRA. NextEra, the biggest U.S. generator of renewable energy, has a backlog of 16,500 megawatts of renewables projects. The parent of Florida Power and Light has added 25% to that backlog in the last year, executives have said. Solar projects in sunny states in the south and southwest and wind projects in the Midwest are among the best situated to collect IRA dollars, she said.

☆ Did investors learn nothing from last year’s market meltdown?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Shares of movie theater chain AMC (AMC) have soared nearly 65% so far in 2023, and AMC (AMC)’s companion preferred stock (which trades under the ticker APE as a nod to the nickname AMC (AMC) fans have given themselves on social media) has more than doubled. So did investors learn nothing from last year’s market meltdown? I don’t agree with this market rally in meme stocks,” said Erik Ristuben, chief investment strategist with Russell Investments. Another strategist agrees this recent rally for meme stocks and other speculative bets may not end well. If they’re upbeat about spending, that could keep the rally in consumer stocks going.

☆ A flurry of earnings reports, Fed rate hike, signs of a bull market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Earnings season continues next week, with Club holdings Linde (LIN), Emerson Electric (EMR) and Walt Disney (DIS) all set to report. Similarly, shares of Meta Platforms (META) have surged over 20% since CEO Mark Zuckerberg reassured investors Wednesday evening that 2023 would be the technology giant's "year of efficiency." The bull case is further supported by continued signs inflation is easing, a still-robust job market and the breadth of market-buying activity since the start of the year. Lastly on Wednesday, the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, in line with expectations. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Factbox: Over a million without power on U.S. East Coast and Texas due to winter storms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - More than a million homes and businesses were without power on the U.S. East Coast, Midwest and Texas on Friday as winter storms battered much of the country, according to data from PowerOutage.us. Most outages were in North Carolina, with over 164,000 customers without power, followed by Virginia with over 92,000 and Connecticut with more than 89,000. More than a dozen other states east of the Mississippi River plus Oregon, Washington state, Missouri, Louisiana and Arkansas west of the Mississippi River each have more than 10,000 customers facing outages due to winter storms. Temperatures in northern Georgia were forecast to hit just 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 Celsius) with subzero wind chills. The utility with the most outages was Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N) with over 100,000 customers without power.

☆ North Carolina county in dark for third day after attack on power substations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of households and businesses in North Carolina remained without power for a third day on Tuesday as authorities investigate what they describe as an orchestrated gunfire attack that disabled two substations. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Tuesday said "a serious national conversation" about protecting critical infrastructure is needed after the attack. On Saturday night, utility workers investigating reports of widespread outages found gates broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment at two substations in the county. That represented nearly all customers served by the company in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said on Monday. For most customers, power would likely be out through Wednesday or Thursday because the damage to the substations was extensive and requires complicated parts and repairs, Brooks said.

☆ North Carolina county still in dark after attack on power substations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of households and businesses in North Carolina remained without power for a third day on Tuesday as authorities investigate what they describe as an orchestrated gunfire attack that disabled two substations. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Tuesday that "a serious national conversation" about protecting critical infrastructure is needed after the attack. On Saturday night, utility workers investigating reports of widespread outages found gates broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment at two substations in the county. That represented nearly all customers served by the company in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said on Monday. For most customers, power would likely be out through Wednesday or Thursday because the damage to the substations was extensive and requires complicated parts and repairs, Brooks said.

☆ North Carolina electric grid shooter 'knew exactly what they were doing,' sheriff says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fields' comments came as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned of a "new level of threat" posed by the incident and called for hardening of critical infrastructure including the power grid. “Protecting critical infrastructure like our power system must be a top priority,” said Cooper, a Democrat, in a press briefing on Monday. Schools in Moore County will be closed for a second day on Tuesday and 38,000 households were still without power amid freezing nighttime temperatures after the Saturday shootings. The saboteur "knew exactly what they were doing to cause the damage and cause the outage that they did," Fields said. That is nearly everyone who the company serves in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said at a press briefing on Monday.

[1/3] Duke Energy workers gather as they plan how to repair a crippled electrical substation that they said was hit by gunfire after the Moore County Sheriff said that vandalism caused a mass power outage, in Carthage, North Carolina, U.S. December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 4 (Reuters) - Residents of a central North Carolina county faced a second night of freezing weather without power on Sunday after vandals opened fire on two electric substations in what authorities called a "targeted attack." A motive for the Saturday night damage spree wasn't clear, said Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields. The lights went dark at about 7 p.m. Saturday for 40,000 homes and businesses in Moore County. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Suspected vandals leave thousands in the dark in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Outages began around 7 p.m. Saturday, and utility workers found evidence at multiple electric substations that "indicated intentional vandalism had occurred," Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said in a statement. But Brooks told NBC News that he could not further describe the nature of the possible crime. In Pinehurst, the county's largest community of about 20,000 residents, church was canceled at the Pinehurst United Methodist Church, which holds three services every Sunday. "Read your Bible, pray...and stay safe," church leaders posted on its Facebook, leaving open whether its Christmas concert would go on in the late afternoon. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Duke sees big benefits from U.S. Inflation Reduction Act
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Duke Energy Corp FollowNov 4 (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N) expects to receive significant tax incentives from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act , the American company said on Friday. Duke said it will benefit from several parts of the law -- which took effect in August -- including production tax credits (PTC) for nuclear and solar power and investment tax credits for energy storage. Duke also said it could have about 13 to 17 gigawatt (GW) of connected solar power over the next 10 years, with each gigawatt of solar equal to about $60 million in annual gross PTCs. In addition, Duke said it had the potential to make $2.5 to $4.5 billion of storage investments over the next 10 years to qualify for 30% storage investment tax credits. Duke said those credits would provide its customers with a more affordable transition to clean energy.

☆ Crowds so thick in Seoul that disaster was not clear until bodies were lined up, witness says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

At first everything seemed normal to Benedict Manlapaz as he joined Halloween revelers in the Itaewon neighborhood of South Korea's capital, Seoul, but the scale of the tragedy gradually became clear. “We all walked in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd,” said Manlapaz, adding that he had been to a Halloween-themed cruise party with colleagues. Police stand guard at the scene of a Halloween crush in the Itaewon district on Sunday. As concerned relatives rushed to hospitals in search of their loved ones on Sunday, President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a national mourning period. “Last night, a tragedy and a disaster that should never happen did happen in the middle of Seoul celebrating Halloween,” Yoon said.

SEOUL, South Korea — As morning arrived in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood, quiet prevailed at the scene of the tragedy where at least 153 people died on what should have been a night of Halloween revelry. What we know about the deadly incident in Seoul At least 153 people were killed and 103 injured, officials said. While Halloween is not a traditional holiday in South Korea, Itaewon is known for its costume parties at bars and clubs, which have soared in popularity in recent years. The last major tragedy in South Korea also hit young people. Stella Kim and Thomas Maresca reported from South Korea.

☆ The Fed may have to blow up the economy to get inflation under control
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Jobs report also on tapThe Fed meeting takes place just two days before the nation will get its next report card on the labor market. Another jobs report, from payroll processor ADP, is also due out next week, and this one looks just at Corporate America. The government said in the September jobs report that average hourly earnings rose 5% in the past 12 months. The Fed typically prefers to see wage growth in the 2% to 3% annual range as a sign that inflation is under control. Discovery, Starbucks (SBUX), PayPal (PYPL), Amgen (AMGN) and Block (SQ)Friday: US jobs report; earnings from Cardinal Health (CAH), Duke Energy (DUK) and Hershey (HSY)

☆ U.S., South Korea are working to 'rectify the problems' on EV subsidies, South Korea trade minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

South Korean and U.S. officials are working toward a "concrete proposal" to resolve their differences over electric vehicle subsidies, South Korea's trade minister told CNBC. "We've established a specific dialogue channel to address this particular issue, and we are glad that the U.S. government wholeheartedly engaged with us to rectify the problems," Ahn Duk-geun told CNBC's Chery Kang on Wednesday. He was referring to concerns over EV subsidies that would put South Korean automakers at a disadvantage, with some South Korean officials calling the move a "betrayal" of the bilateral trust between the two countries. The $430 billion climate and energy bill, or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), was signed into law by President Joe Biden in mid-August. Hyundai is the second-biggest EV sellers in the U.S. after Tesla.

☆ South Korea's trade minister says China remains an important trading partner
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSouth Korea's trade minister says China remains an important trading partnerAhn Duk-geun, South Korea's trade minister, discusses the importance of a stable trade relationship with China.

☆ Factbox: U.S. companies brace for Hurricane Ian
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Ian is set to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday, pushing residents to empty grocery shelves, board up windows and rush to evacuation shelters. Since then, it has been working to redeploy offshore personnel after determining Hurricane Ian no longer posed a significant threat to its assets. NextEra Energy Inc's (NEE.N) Florida Power & Light Co, the largest utility in the state, deployed nearly 16,000 workers from 27 states to restore power. A spokesperson said the company was monitoring the hurricane and making adjustments to operations to keep warehouse staff and drivers safe. CRUISE OPERATORSWalt Disney Co's Disney Cruise Line on Tuesday canceled its Disney Wish ship that was to set sail from Florida on Friday.

☆ Factbox: U.S. companies gird themselves as Hurricane Ian makes landfall
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida with Category 4 fury on Wednesday, pushing residents to empty grocery shelves, board up windows and rush to evacuation shelters. Since then, it has been working to redeploy offshore personnel after determining Hurricane Ian no longer posed a significant threat to its assets. A spokesperson said the company was monitoring the hurricane and making adjustments to operations to keep warehouse staff and drivers safe. Costco Wholesale Corp closed nine stores located in Florida due to an impact of Hurricane Ian. CRUISE OPERATORSWalt Disney Co's Disney Cruise Line on Tuesday canceled its Disney Wish ship that was to set sail from Florida on Friday.

☆ The U.S. and its allies are joining forces on chips. That could stop China reaching the next level
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Leading chipmaking nations including the U.S. are forming alliances, in part to secure their semiconductor supply chain and to stop China from reaching the cutting-edge of the industry, analysts told CNBC. But the semiconductor supply chain is complex — it includes areas ranging from design to packaging to manufacturing and the tools that are required to do that. "The other geopolitical significance is just related to Taiwan's central role in the semiconductor supply chain. Alliances being built that exclude ChinaBecause of the complexity of the chip supply chain, no country can go it alone. One is about bringing together countries, each with their "comparative advantages," to "string together alliances that can develop secure chips," Kotasthane said.

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