ALLETE’s Clean Energy Unit Buys 300-megawatt Caddo Wind Project In Oklahoma

Energy company ALLETE, Inc. (ALE) announced Thursday that its unit ALLETE Clean Energy has acquired the 300-megawatt Caddo wind project in Oklahoma from Apex Clean Energy. The deal includes plans to sell energy to three Fortune 500 corporate customers.

The wind project is expected to be operational by the end of 2021, and will use a portion of ALLETE Clean Energy’s wind turbines.

The acquisition of Caddo site is expected to double ALLETE Clean Energy’s capacity to serve the accelerating corporate demand for clean energy. The project is in Caddo County in southern Oklahoma.

ALLETE said Clean Energy unit retains safe harbor turbines and is exploring additional opportunities to put more of them to use for customers.

Caddo’s approximately 60-110 turbines will produce enough energy to power the equivalent of about 110,000 homes, and increase ALLETE Clean Energy’s total
installed wind capacity to more than 1,300 megawatts.

Dollar General Corp. Issues 2020 Guidance – Quick Facts

Dollar General Corp. (DG) said, for fiscal year 2020, the company expects: net sales growth of 7.5% to 8.0%; same-store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.0%; earnings per share growth of approximately 11.5%; and EPS growth of approximately 10.0% compared to fiscal year 2019 adjusted EPS. The company noted that the EPS growth guidance includes the projected impact of previously implemented tariff rates on certain products imported from China.

Dollar General Corp. currently does not expect that supply chain disruptions experienced to date as a result of the coronavirus outbreak are likely to have a material impact on its fiscal 2020 financial results.

Fourth-quarter EPS rose 14.1% to $2.10. Operating profit increased 12.9% to $720.9 million. Same-store sales increased 3.2%, for the quarter. Net sales increased 7.6% to $7.2 billion.

On March 11, 2020, the company’s Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.36 per share on the common stock, which is a 12.5% increase over the prior quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable on or before April 21, 2020 to shareholders of record on April 7, 2020.

SBI to buy 725 crore shares of Yes Bank at Rs.10 per share

The executive committee of central board of State Bank of India has approved purchase of 725 crore shares of Yes Bank at ₹10, the country’s largest lender said in a communication to the stock exchanges.

SBI said the bank’s shareholding in Yes Bank will remain within 49% of the paid up capital of Yes Bank.

"We advise that Executive Committee of Central Board (ECCB) at its meeting held on 11.03.2020 accorded approval for purchase of 725 crore shares in Yes Bank Ltd. at a price of ₹10 per share subject to all regulatory approvals. Our shareholding in Yes Bank Ltd. will remain within 49% of the paid up capital of Yes Bank," the communication said.

Dollar General Corporation Reveals Rise In Q4 Earnings

Dollar General Corporation (DG) released earnings for its fourth quarter that rose from last year.

The company’s profit totaled $535.44 million, or $2.10 per share. This compares with $483.24 million, or $1.84 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $2.01 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 7.7% to $7.16 billion from $6.65 billion last year.

Dollar General Corporation earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q4): $535.44 Mln. vs. $483.24 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $2.10 vs. $1.84 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $2.01
-Revenue (Q4): $7.16 Bln vs. $6.65 Bln last year.

Ukraine central bank cuts main interest rate to 10% from 11%

KIEV, March 12 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s central bank cut its main interest rate to 10% from 11% on Thursday, citing the need to support the economy and bring inflation back to the bank’s target range of around 5%.

The cut was less steep than January’s 2.5 percentage point reduction and in line with the expectations of analysts in a Reuters poll.

They had predicted the central bank would make a more moderate cut due to a delay in the approval of a new loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.

Finland to ban public meetings of more than 500 due to coronavirus

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland will ban public meetings of more than 500 people until the end of May due to the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Thursday.

The announcement came after the Nordic country’s confirmed coronavirus cases jumped by 50 in a day to a total of 109, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said, and after the Finnish Foreign Ministry recommended citizens avoid traveling anywhere in the world now.

Obama’s ‘Ebola Czar’ Predicts How Trump Will Try To Shift Coronavirus Blame

Ronald Klain, who led the Obama White House response to the Ebola crisis, on Wednesday warned people to watch out for President Donald Trump and his administration to try deflecting responsibility for their chaotic and widely criticized handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Klain told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow:

We ought to watch for what’s going to be a pivot, I predict, in the Trump administration rhetoric. I think increasingly they’re going to say, ‘Hey, this is a state and local problem. We’re here to provide technical expertise but solving this will be up to governors and up to mayors.’ I think they’re going to try to push this problem downward.

Klain also said people should expect hospitals in the U.S. to be “crushed” as the number of cases continues to rise. More than 1,300 people in America have been so far sickened by the virus. It’s killed 38 people nationwide.

Check out the interview above.