Briefcase: Warm winter reduces Avista earnings
The warm winter cut into Avista Corp.’s first-quarter earnings through lower sales of electricity and natural gas, company officials said Wednesday.
The Spokane-based utility reported first-quarter profits of $46.4 million, or 74 cents per share, compared to first-quarter profits of $48.5 million, or 81 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2014. Avista reported operating revenues of $446 million during the quarter.
A Washington rate increase that took effect Jan. 1 helped offset reduced power sales, company officials said.
The above-normal temperatures and rainfall during the first quarter also resulted in strong hydropower generation, which benefited Avista’s bottom line. In addition, the cost of electricity and natural gas purchased by the utility was below expectations.
“Excluding the impacts of weather, we had a solid first quarter,” Avista Chairman and CEO Scott Morris said in a statement.
The company is expecting 2015 earnings in the range of $1.86 to $2.06 per share.
Stock market prices high, Yellen says
WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday described stock market valuations as high and said the central bank was carefully monitoring their impact on financial stability.
Coupled with weak economic reports in the morning, her remarks drove stocks broadly lower in Wednesday trading.
Yellen added, however, that the overall risks to financial stability are “moderated, not elevated” and she does not see the hallmarks of any bubbles.
She cited one reason stock prices were high: the meager returns on safer investments such as bonds because of low interest rates.
Survey: Hiring pace slows down in April
WASHINGTON – U.S. companies hired in April at the slowest pace in nearly a year and a half, a private survey found, as the strong dollar dragged down overseas sales and energy companies cut back on spending in the face of lower oil prices.
Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added just 169,000 jobs in April, down from 175,000 in the previous month. That was the fewest since January 2014. March’s total was revised down from 189,000.
Worker productivity drops in first quarter
WASHINGTON – U.S. worker productivity declined in the first three months of the year as labor costs jumped, reflecting a slowdown in growth.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that productivity, which is the amount of output per hour of work, fell at a 1.9 percent rate in the first quarter. Productivity dropped at a 2.1 percent rate in the final three months of 2014.
Whole Foods chain aimed at millennials
NEW YORK – Whole Foods is planning to open a new chain of stores that courts millennials with lower prices as it faces intensifying competition as a purveyor of organic and natural products.
The company said Wednesday it’s building a team to focus exclusively on the new concept and that it’s already negotiating leases. Stores are expected to start opening next year, followed by a “fairly rapid expansion,” it said.
Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods, said the stores will also appeal to younger customers with a “modern, streamlined design, innovative technology and a curated selection.”