Stock Markets
EEI announces Duke Energy as Emergency Response Award recipient
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — When severe weather strikes, customers count on essential workers to help communities recover, and Duke Energy (NYSE:) has been recognized for its efforts during Hurricane Idalia as an Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Emergency Response Award recipient. The Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events.
The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process. The awards were presented during EEI’s annual meeting in June.
“America’s electric companies work around-the-clock to restore power following severe storms and other extreme weather events,” said Dan Brouillette, EEI president and CEO. “Duke Energy’s commitment to restoring power in a safe, efficient manner to the communities it serves following Hurricane Idalia is admirable. Duke Energy and its storm response team are extremely deserving of this well-earned recovery award.”
On Aug. 30, 2023, Hurricane Idalia, a devastating Category 3 storm, made landfall in Florida as one of the most damaging storms to hit the Big Bend. It caused severe flooding, damage and widespread outages that impacted nearly 200,000 Duke Energy Florida customers.
Advanced forecasting, damage modeling and lessons learned from previous storms helped Duke Energy strategically place more than 4,000 lineworkers, tree professionals and damage assessors ahead of the storm to respond as quickly as possible, restoring power to more than 90% of impacted customers within 24 hours of the storm exiting the company’s service territory.
“It is our job to have an effective plan in place to respond to restore power quickly after a major storm, and I am proud of the efforts of the thousands of men and women who engaged in this response,” said Scott Batson, Duke Energy chief power grid officer. “It is an honor to be recognized for this work by our peers and to have the opportunity to serve our customers and communities following a major storm when they count on us most.”
“When catastrophic storms strike, Duke Energy and others in our industry come together to do what we do best: restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “Our storm response plan is built upon decades of experience and improvement, but most importantly, close coordination with first responders, emergency management teams, co-ops, municipal utilities and peer electric utilities. We are grateful for this collaboration during Idalia, which helped shorten response times and get communities back on their feet faster.”
EEI
EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for nearly 250 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 70 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook (NASDAQ:), and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.
Contact: Audrey Stasko
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS
Stock Markets
SCWO Stock Hits 52-Week Low at $0.71 Amid Market Challenges
In a challenging market environment, shares of 374Water (SCWO) have touched a 52-week low, dipping to $0.71. The company, with a market capitalization of $104 million, maintains a strong liquidity position with a current ratio of 3.81 and more cash than debt on its balance sheet, according to InvestingPro data. The company, which specializes in water treatment solutions, has seen its stock price struggle significantly over the past year, reflecting a broader trend in the sector. Investors have been cautious, as evidenced by the stock’s 1-year change, which shows a substantial decline of 52.96%. InvestingPro analysis indicates the stock is currently in oversold territory, with 18 additional investment insights available to subscribers. This downturn highlights the volatility faced by environmental technology companies and raises concerns about future performance amidst uncertain market conditions. With a beta of -0.51, the stock typically moves opposite to market direction, potentially offering diversification benefits.
In other recent news, 374Water Inc. has secured approximately $12.2 million through a registered direct offering, involving the sale of common stock and warrants. The cleantech company expects the gross proceeds before fees and expenses to be around the $12.2 million mark, with D. Boral (OTC:) Capital LLC serving as the exclusive placement agent for the offering. The capital infusion is scheduled to be finalized by November 18, 2024, pending customary closing conditions.
In further developments, 374Water has initiated operations of its AirSCWO technology at the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility in Orlando. This marks a significant step in commercial biosolids processing, with the technology designed to efficiently process biosolids and PFAS contaminated wastes. The successful integration of the AirSCWO system into the Iron Bridge facility demonstrates the company’s capacity to destroy persistent organic pollutants, including PFAS.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection supported the installation with a grant under the Bilateral Infrastructure Law emerging contaminant funding. Notably, CEO Chris Gannon highlighted the operational success in Orlando as crucial for showcasing the technology’s capacity to manage municipal, federal, and industrial organic waste streams at scale. The company anticipates additional commitments across the United States, including a deployment to Orange County Sanitation (CA) in 2025.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
Stock Markets
Global shares and dollar firm in muted pre-Christmas trade
By Alden Bentley, Samuel Indyk and Rae Wee
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Wall Street topped off a global share rally in thin trade on Thursday as markets prepared for early Christmas Eve closes, while the dollar was buoyed by firmer Treasury yields and speculation that the Federal Reserve would slow its easing in 2025.
The was 0.47% higher in late morning trade, the rose 0.73% and the rose 0.99%.
U.S. stock trading wraps up at 1:00 p.m. EDT/1800 GMT, and the bond market closes at 2:00 p.m. Most financial centers around the world are closed on Wednesday for Christmas. The U.S. reopens on Thursday, while many financial centers have a second day off.
“Meagre news and data flow should keep the focus on a more hawkish Fed,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe went up more than half a percent. The pan-European index rose 0.18%. 100 rose 0.19% and 40 rose 0.14%. German stocks were closed for the Christmas holiday.
In Asia, Chinese stocks rose after sources told Reuters that Beijing planned to issue a record amount of special treasury bonds next year as it ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy.
The blue-chip index and both ended 1.3% higher. Hong Kong’s advanced 1.1%.
The news came shortly after China’s finance ministry said authorities would ramp up fiscal support for consumption next year by raising pensions and medical insurance subsidies for residents, as well as expanding consumer goods trade-ins.
Still, investors remain cautious on the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy, particularly as it faces the threat of hefty tariffs from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Elsewhere, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.37%.
FED FOCUS
Investors are taking direction from last week’s 25 basis point Fed interest rate cut, its signals on the strength of the economy and its slow progress bringing inflation down to its 2% target. Markets are now pricing in about 35 basis points of easing for 2025, implying one quarter-point rate cut and around a 40% chance of a second.
U.S. Treasury yields pared gains after the Treasury saw solid demand for a $70 billion sale of five-year notes, but remained higher on the day. The two-year Treasury yield, which is sensitive to changes in Fed rate expectations, was up 0.9 bp at 4.359%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 2.6 bp to 4.625%, reaching a seven-month high at 4.629%. [US/]
“Like markets, the Fed will need to consider U.S. policies on tariffs and immigration in its inflation and growth outlook. We believe the subtle slowing in the U.S. labor market will still be the Fed’s paramount concern,” said analysts at Citi Wealth.
“While always uncertain, our base case expectation for a 3.75% policy rate is unchanged. It’s a far cry from the 1.7% U.S. policy rate average of the past 20 years.”
The Fed’s cut was the third one this cycle, taking the Fed funds rate to 4.25%-4.5%.
Ahead of Trump’s return to the White House in January, global central banks have urged caution over their rate paths due to uncertainty on how his planned tariffs, lower taxes and immigration curbs might affect policy.
Data on Monday showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly weakened in December as the post-election euphoria fizzled and concerns about future business conditions emerged.
In currencies, the rose 0.14% hovering near a two-year high hit Monday, having climbed more than 2% in December so far.
The euro eased 0.15% to $1.0389, while the yen languished near last week’s five-month low, trading at 157.35 per dollar.
Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Tuesday reiterated Tokyo’s discomfort with excessive foreign exchange moves and put speculators on notice that authorities are ready to act to stabilise a faltering yen.
rose 0.13% to $2,616.26 an ounce, having risen about 27% this year, heading for its biggest yearly gain since 2010.
rose 1.56% to $70.32 a barrel and rose to $73.73 per barrel, up 1.51% on the day. [O/R]
Stock Markets
Wall Street advances in short Christmas Eve session on megacap gains
By David French
(Reuters) -Wall Street’s main indexes all ended higher on Tuesday, with gains in megacap and growth stocks bolstering benchmarks in a truncated Christmas Eve session.
Both the and the scored four straight sessions of gains. For the Dow, the run follows its 10-session skid earlier this month, its longest losing streak since 1974.
The benchmarks closed higher on the first day of a historically strong period called the “Santa Claus rally.” The on average has gained 1.3% in the last five days of December and first two days of January, according to data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac going back to 1969.
With megacap stocks having outsized influence on markets, their performance is often a key driver of indexes. When coupled with reduced trading volumes and few other catalysts, as many investors take time off for the holidays, this is even more pronounced.
All the so-called Magnificent Seven megacap technology stocks climbed on Tuesday, led by Tesla (NASDAQ:).
The automaker’s rise helped push consumer discretionary shares higher, making them the top gaining sector in the S&P.
Elsewhere, chip manufacturers were also buoyant. Broadcom (NASDAQ:) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:) were up, while Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:) climbed a day after losses from losing a court case.
Growth names rose despite U.S. Treasury interest rates remaining elevated – the benchmark 10-year note yielded around 4.61% on Tuesday. Traditionally, higher debt costs crimp growth stocks.
However, the long-term themes around technology development, including advancements in artificial intelligence, overshadow any near-term moves in Treasuries, said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz (ETR:) Investment Management.
“This reinforces that view that the sector is going to remain strong, and should be well into the new year,” he said.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 64.93 points, or 1.09%, to end at 6,039.00 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 264.31 points, or 1.34%, to 20,029.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 366.75 points, or 0.85%, to 43,273.70.
Stock markets shut at 1:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and will be closed for Christmas on Wednesday.
After a stellar run to record highs following the November election, which sparked hopes of pro-business policies under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Wall Street’s rally hit a bump this month as investors grappled with the prospect of higher interest rates in 2025.
The U.S. Federal Reserve eased borrowing costs for the third time this year last Wednesday, but signaled only two more 25-basis-point reductions next year, down from its September projection of four cuts, as policymakers weigh the possibility of Trump’s policies stoking inflation.
Allianz’s Ripley said the themes which had driven the market higher in the past two months remained intact, and actions by the Fed had not killed the rally.
“Heading into 2025, things are set up with good positioning,” he said, noting factors including economic outlook, consumption in the U.S. and the labor market.
Crypto-related stocks traded higher on Tuesday, including Microstrategy (NASDAQ:), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:), and MARA Holdings, as the price of bitcoin advanced.
NeueHealth soared after the healthcare provider said New Enterprise Associates, its largest shareholder, and a group of existing investors will take the company private in a $1.3 billion deal.
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