On Wednesday, NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE)’s shares inclined 0.96% to $99.12.
Hawaiian Electric Industries declared that HEI shareholders have approved the merger agreement with NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) declared Dec. 3, 2014.
Of the shares voted, about 90 percent were in favor of the merger. Achieving this level of shareholder support is a noteworthy accomplishment because, while publicly held companies commonly may proceed with a merger with the affirmative vote of a majority of their outstanding shares, HEI is required under Hawaii law to obtain supermajority approval from 75 percent of its outstanding shares. Hawaii is the only state with such a high approval requirement for a merger.
The merger will bring together two industry leaders in clean and renewable energy. Hawaiian Electric has put Hawaii on the leading edge of clean energy nationally, successfully integrating rooftop solar with 12 percent of its residential customers and assisting meet 21 percent of customer electricity needs from renewable energy resources. NextEra Energy has developed, built and operates one of the nation’s most modern grid networks and is the world’s largest producer of renewable energy from the wind and sun. NextEra Energy supports and will assist accelerate Hawaiian Electric’s plans to lower electric bills, triple distributed solar – counting rooftop solar – and achieve a 65 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2030. This week Gov. David Ige signed a bill into law that set a aim of 70 percent RPS by 2040 and 100 percent RPS by 2045 for the state—aims which Hawaiian Electric and NextEra Energy have each stated they fully support.
NextEra Energy, Inc., through its auxiliaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electric energy in the United States and Canada. The company generates electricity from gas, oil, solar, coal, petroleum coke, nuclear, and wind sources. As of December 31, 2014, it served about 9 million people through about 4.7 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. The company had about 44,900 megawatt of generating capacity.
Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)’s shares gained 1.83% to $50.74.
With many experts predicting that this will be an especially busy summer travel season for Americans heading to Europe, Avis Budget Group Inc. (CAR) urges visitors to Italy, Spain, France and the rest of Europe to book reservations early to ensure vehicle availability and obtain a great price.
Examples of quality Avis vehicles accessible at some of Europe’s most in-demand locations comprise:
- United Kingdom: Enjoy the ride out to Stonehenge in a Seat Toledo, a family car meticulously crafted from headlight to tail lamp with a host of features, or see the Scottish Highlands in style in a Peugeot 308, an award-winning family hatchback with a focus on comfort and quality.
- France: Cruise the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysees in a Peugeot RCZ, an upscale sports car with unique design and impressive performance, or discover the thrill of open motoring in the French countryside in a Mini Cooper Convertible, perfect for winding roads and highways alike.
- Italy: From Florence and Venice in the north down to Sicily in southernmost Italy, all of Italy is legendary for culture, history and spectacular scenery. See the country by car in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a small family car combining sportiness, elegance and dynamic performance, or an Audi A1, a supermini economy car boasting smart styling and refinement into a compact body.
- Turkey: Visit the ruins of the city of Ephesus on Turkey’s west coast, once famed for the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, in a Renault Fluence sedan, which allies design, comfort, technology and safety, or tour ancient Istanbul in a Fiat Linea sedan, with precision engineering and a spacious interior with comforts of home.
Across Europe, members of Avis Preferred, Avis Car Rental’s loyalty program, can take advantage of the Avis “Three Minute Promise,” whereby members receive their vehicle keys within three minutes of arrival at the location. If it takes longer, members have 30 euros deducted directly from the rental cost.
Avis Budget Group, Inc., together with its auxiliaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary services to businesses and consumers worldwide. The company has three segments: North America, International, and Truck Rental. It operates the Avis car rental system with about 5,450 locations, that supply rental cars to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; the Budget vehicle rental system with about 3,500 car rental locations, which serve the value-conscious segments of the industry; and Zipcar, a membership-based car sharing network that provides vehicles to about 915,000 members.
At the end of Wednesday’s trade, Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)‘s shares surged 0.83% to $23.07.
Two of the biggest property sales in Dublin this year went to U.S.-based Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (STWD) and Germany’s Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, long-term investors from out of town. The deals mark a shift for Ireland, where private-equity firms, typically interested in flipping properties for quick returns, dominated in the immediate aftermath of the country’s financial crisis.
Starwood Property Trust, the biggest U.S. commercial mortgage real-estate investment trust, paid about €452 million ($508 million) for 12 Dublin office buildings and a multifamily residential property, according to the firm. It was the biggest property deal in Ireland so far this year.
Union Investment, an arm of German lender DZ Bank AG, last month bought two office buildings rented to Facebook Inc. for €230 million, the firm said.
Starwood bought the Dublin portfolio—its second acquisition in a long-term investment strategy that started with a U.S. shopping mall portfolio last year—from U.S. private-equity firm Lone Star Funds.
Starwood Property Trust, Inc. originates, acquires, finances, and manages commercial mortgage loans, other commercial real estate debt investments, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States and Europe.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:HIG), ended its Wednesday’s trading session with 2.49% gain, and closed at $42.03.
While 40 percent of Boomers expect to remodel their homes sometime in the future, few do so with their own health and aging in mind, according to a new study from Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG) and the University of Southern California.
When planning to remodel, Boomers indicated they will focus primarily on updating “dated” rooms – kitchens and bathrooms top the list – and making their homes more attractive, with only 21 percent considering their own health and aging. But Jodi Olshevski, gerontologist and executive director of The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence®, advises that people can do both with universal design – an approach to design that’s easy for everyone to use, regardless of age, size, or ability.
In The Hartford and USC study, when Boomers were shown photos of universal design ideas for the bathroom, the most common features in which they expressed interest comprise:
- Single lever faucet handle (56%).
- Comfort height toilet (56%).
- Grab bars in tub and shower (53%).
- Adjustable-height, hand-held shower hose (49%).
- Walk-in shower with little or no threshold (47%).
As part of its commitment to assisting Boomers make their house a home for a lifetime, The Hartford developed several resources for livable design ideas counting a free guide, “Remodeling Recently for a Better Tomorrow,” and an interactive home universal design quiz. These resources and more are accessible at www.thehartfordmile.com/remodel.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., through its auxiliaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers primarily in the United States. The company’s Commercial Lines segment offers workers compensation, property, automobile, marine, umbrella, liability, and livestock coverage’s, in addition to customized insurance products and risk administration services, counting professional liability, bond, and specialty casualty coverage’s.
DISCLAIMER:
This article is published by www.wsnewspublishers.com. The Content included in this article is just for informational purposes only. All information used in this article is believed to be from reliable sources, but we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, or reliability with respect to this article.
All visitors are advised to conduct their own independent research into individual stocks before making a purchase decision.
Information contained in this article contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, counting statements regarding the predictable continual growth of the market for the corporation’s products, the corporation’s ability to fund its capital requirement in the near term and in the long term; pricing pressures; etc.
Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, aims, assumptions, or future events or performance may be forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates, and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward looking statements may be identified through the use of such words as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could, should might occur.
