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The transaction is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2022, according to Equinor.
Formerly known as Statoil, Equinor’s chief shareholder is the Norwegian state.
Its plans to acquire East Point Energy represent the company’s latest foray into the U.S.

Although it is involved in renewable energy projects, Equinor is a major producer of fossil fuels. The Norwegian state has a 67% holding in the company.
Hakon Mosvold Larsen | Afp | Getty Images

Norway’s Equinor is to acquire U.S.-based battery storage developer East Point Energy after signing an agreement to take a 100% stake in the company.
Equinor, a major producer of oil and gas, said Tuesday that Charlottesville-headquartered East Point Energy had a 4.1-gigawatt pipeline of “early to mid-stage battery storage projects focused on the US East Coast.”

According to Equinor, the transaction is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2022.
“Battery storage will play an important role in the energy transition as the world increases its share of intermittent renewable power,” Equinor said.
“Battery storage is key to enabling further penetration of renewables, can contribute to stabilizing power markets and improve the security of supply,” it added.
In Dec. 2021, the International Energy Agency said the world’s installed storage capacity was projected to jump by 56% over the next five years, hitting 270 GW by 2026.

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According to the IEA, the chief driver of this growth is “the increasing need for system flexibility and storage around the world to fully utilise and integrate larger shares of variable renewable energy … into power systems.”

The IEA says investment in battery storage grew by nearly 40% in 2020, reaching $5.5 billion.
Formerly known as Statoil, Equinor’s chief shareholder is the Norwegian state, which has a 67% holding in the company.
Its plans to acquire East Point Energy represent the company’s latest foray into the U.S. It already has substantial oil and gas operations in the country and is working on large-scale offshore wind projects.

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In 2021, the IEA said there should be “no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects, and no further final investment decisions for new unabated coal plants.”
What’s more, a recent report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also weighed in on the subject of fossil fuels.
“Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector,” the IPCC said in a news release accompanying its publication.
“This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen),” the IPCC said. More

PepsiCo raised its revenue outlook for the year as consumers paid more for its Doritos chips and Gatorade.
This marks the second consecutive quarter that the company has hiked its revenue forecast without updating its expectations for earnings.
While higher costs weighed on its profits, the food and beverage giant saw a larger hit from the Russia-Ukraine war.

A customer holds a can of Pepsi beverage at a shopping mall on March 9, 2022 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province of China.
VCG | Getty Images

PepsiCo on Tuesday raised its revenue outlook for the year, as inflation pushed up prices and people paid more for its Doritos chips and Gatorade drinks
Expecting costs to rise even higher in the second half of the year, the global food and drink giant said it plans to keep shrinking product sizes and deploying other ways to manage rising expenses.

“We are facing inflation like everyone else, and we think that is going to persist for a while, but we are taking enough pricing to be able to manage the inflation, and our focus is really much more on how do we drive costs out of the business,” Hugh Johnston, PepsiCo’s chief financial officer, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Shares of the company rose less than 1% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $1.86 adjusted vs. $1.74 expected
Revenue: $20.23 billion vs. $19.51 billion expected

Pepsi reported second-quarter net income of $1.43 billion, or $1.03 per share, down from $2.36 billion, or $1.70 per share, a year earlier.
The company’s margins shrank as it faced higher freight and commodity costs during the quarter. CEO Ramon Laguarta said in prepared remarks that Pepsi is accelerating its cost management initiatives and using “mix and assortment solutions,” like smaller sizes for its variety packs. Johnston said the company may sometimes choose to reduce the number of chips in a bag rather than hike prices.

While higher costs weighed on its profits, PepsiCo saw a larger hit from the Russia-Ukraine war. It reported a $1.17 billion charge for the quarter related to the conflict. In the wake of the Kremlin’s invasion of the neighboring country last quarter, Pepsi said it was pausing sales in Russia except for some essential items, like baby formula. The company is now trying to discontinue or reposition some of its Russian juice and dairy brands.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.86 per share. Net sales rose 5% to $20.23 billion. Organic revenue, which strips out the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, climbed 13%.
Frito-Lay North America’s organic revenue rose 14% as sales of Cheetos and Doritos grew. But volume, which excludes the impact of pricing or currency fluctuation, declined 2%. Laguarta said the division gained market share during the quarter.
The company’s North American beverage unit saw organic revenue growth of 9%, but its volume fell 1%. Gatorade, Aquafina and Lifewtr saw double-digit growth in the quarter.
Quaker Foods North America, usually the laggard of Pepsi’s portfolio, was the only domestic segment to report volume growth. Its organic revenue climbed 18%, helped by double-digit growth in rice and pasta, oatmeal and cookies. Volume rose 2%.
For 2022, Pepsi now expects organic revenue growth of 10%, up from its prior forecast of 8%. This marks the second consecutive quarter that the company hiked its revenue forecast without updating its earnings guidance. Pepsi still expects core constant currency earnings per share growth of 8%.
Laguarta said the company expects that the North American business will be resilient and most of its international markets will be strong, despite macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility.
Read the full earnings report here.

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Walmart will buy at least 4,500, and up to 10,000, of Canoo’s electric delivery vans.
The vans are expected to go into service in 2023.
Shares of Canoo were up more than 70% following the news.

Walmart to Purchase 4,500 Canoo Electric Delivery Vehicles to be Used for Last Mile Deliveries in Support of Its Growing eCommerce Business
Courtesy: Canoo | Walmart

Electric vehicle startup Canoo said Tuesday Walmart has agreed to buy at least 4,500 of its upcoming electric delivery vans, in a significant win for the embattled vehicle maker.
Shares of Canoo were up more than 70% in premarket trading after the news was announced to trade above $4 per share.

Walmart has signed a “definitive agreement” to purchase at least 4,500, and possibly as many as 10,000, of its all-electric Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles, a small electric van designed for local delivery service, Canoo said.
The big-box retailer plans to use the vans for local deliveries of items ordered online. The vans will be built at Canoo’s Oklahoma factory and are expected to go into service next year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Canoo is one of several U.S.-based electric vehicle startups to have gone public via mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. The company’s shares briefly surged to over $20 after its stock-market debut in late 2020, but have slid since co-founder and CEO Ulrich Kranz departed last year.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the vans will be built in Canoo’s factory in Oklahoma.

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Lordstown’s new CEO, Edward Hightower, is a veteran auto engineer who was most recently the company’s president.
Outgoing CEO Daniel Ninivaggi becomes Lordstown’s executive chairman, focused on corporate strategy.

Signage outside Lordstown Motors Corp. headquarters in Lordstown, Ohio, on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
Dustin Franz | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors said Tuesday that its president, Edward Hightower, will be its new CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Daniel Ninivaggi, who moves into a strategic role as the company’s executive chairman.
Hightower, a veteran engineer with past experience at Ford Motor and General Motors, will continue to lead the company’s joint venture with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, which bought Lordstown’s Ohio factory for $230 million in May. The joint venture plans to design and develop EVs, which will be manufactured by Foxconn.

“With over 30 years of automotive experience and having made significant contributions to the Endurance launch preparation and Foxconn transactions, Edward is the perfect person to lead the company and launch our product development efforts with Foxconn,” Ninivaggi said in a statement. 
Ninivaggi joined Lordstown in August 2021 after the company’s founder, Steve Burns, was forced out amid allegations that he had misled investors. Ninivaggi is credited with leading an overhaul of Lordstown’s production plan for the Endurance, an electric pickup truck, and with engineering the sale of its factory to Foxconn in exchange for much-needed capital. He will focus on “corporate strategy, strategic partnerships, and capital raising” in his new role, the company said.
Lordstown’s shares were up more than 3% in premarket trading after the announcement.

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Peloton said it plans to exit all of its in-house manufacturing and instead will expand its current relationship with Taiwanese manufacturer Rexon Industrial.
CEO Barry McCarthy said this is a step for the company to simplify its supply chain and fix its cost structure, which is a top priority.
Peloton is also going to be suspending operations at its Tonic Fitness facility through the remainder of 2022. Peloton acquired Tonic in October 2019.

A Peloton Interactive Inc. logo on a stationary bike at the company’s showroom in Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Peloton said Tuesday it plans to exit all of its in-house manufacturing and instead will expand its current relationship with Taiwanese manufacturer Rexon Industrial, in a bid to turn the money-losing business around.
Peloton Chief Executive Officer Barry McCarthy said this is a step for the company to simplify its supply chain and fix its cost structure, which is a top priority.

“We believe that this along with other initiatives will enable us to continue reducing the cash burden on the business and increase our flexibility,” McCarty said in a statement.
Peloton shares climbed more than 6% in premarket trading.
Peloton said Rexon is now set to become the primary manufacturer of Peloton’s Bike and Tread machines. The company is also going to be suspending operations at its Tonic Fitness facility through the remainder of 2022. Peloton acquired Tonic in October 2019.
The company did not disclose any financial impact in its press release. It also wasn’t immediately clear what this meant for Peloton’s Precor business, which it bought for $420 million in order to expand its manufacturing capabilities in the United States.
McCarthy, a former Spotify and Netflix executive, was named CEO of Peloton in early February, succeeding founder John Foley. He took over as the company’s expenses spiraled out of control and demand for its connected fitness equipment waned.

At that time of the C-suite shake-up, Peloton announced it was slashing roughly $800 million in annual costs. That included cutting 2,800 jobs, or about 20% of corporate positions. Peloton also said it would be walking away from plans to build a sprawling production facility in Ohio.
CNBC reported in January that Peloton planned to temporarily halt production of its equipment, according to internal documents detailing those plans, as a way to control costs with demand dropping.
One of Foley’s biggest missteps was making long-term bets on Peloton’s supply chain during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic, as stuck-at-home consumers were eager to shell out hundreds of dollars for ways to break a sweat in the living room or garage.
The dynamic quickly reversed, however, as Covid vaccines were made widely available and gyms and indoor fitness studios were able to reopen without so many restrictions.
From the start of his reign, McCarthy has made it clear he is more interested in Peloton as a subscription business than as a manufacturer.
Already, he has raised prices of Peloton’s all-access fitness membership and is testing a new model where customers can pay a flat rate to rent a piece of equipment and take its on-demand workout classes.
He’s also been tasked with trying to boost employee morale, particularly with the company’s share price under so much pressure. Peloton’s stock is down more than 75% so far this year, as of Monday’s market close.
Last week, employees at the company learned that Peloton is offering one-time cash bonuses to hourly workers who stay on through early next year and is making changes to its stock compensation plans, given the share price.
“Pivoting away from owned manufacturing is likely the right move,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel, who added that McCarthy appears to be trying to “reverse past mistakes” from the Foley era. Foley is executive chairman of Peloton.
“There will clearly be savings,” Siegel said. “But given the state of Peloton’s balance sheet, it is worth questioning what it costs to unwind and what else needs to be done.”

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The euro is bordering on parity with the U.S. dollar. The last time the currencies were equal in value was 2002.
Americans traveling to one of the 19 European Union countries that accept the euro are getting a 15% discount on purchases today relative to a year ago due to the exchange rate.
There are certain ways travelers can use their debit and credit cards to boost those savings, however.

A customer reaches down to pick up a bottle of water from a street vendor in Paris on June 17, 2022.
Stefano Rellandini | Afp | Getty Images

The value of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar has sunk near a two-decade low — and that’s good news for Americans traveling to Europe this summer.
A favorable exchange rate means travelers’ dollars will go further when making purchases abroad.

“Right now, your money goes further in Europe than it has in quite a few years, and it’s a great time to have that dream trip you’ve been putting off to Italy, France or Spain,” said Kate McCulley, a travel writer who lives in the Czech Republic and publisher of travel site AdventurousKate.com.

Parity approach ‘is like getting a 15% discount’

Not all European countries use the euro — it’s the official currency for 19 out of 27 European Union members.
Those countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
The euro is soon expected to hit parity with the U.S. dollar, meaning the two currencies will have a 1:1 exchange rate. That hasn’t occurred since 2002, when the euro was in its infancy.
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Triggers for the relative decline of the euro include the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has fueled fear of an energy crunch and recession, as well as U.S. interest rates moving sharply higher, pushing investors toward the dollar and from the euro.
One euro is currently worth less than $1.01 — down 11% from nearly $1.13 at the beginning of the year and down 15% from almost $1.19 a year ago.
As an example, an American who bought a €15 sandwich in Paris a year ago would have paid about $17.80. Today, that traveler would pay roughly $15.10.
“It’s kind of like getting a 15% discount,” according to Sara Rathner, a travel expert at NerdWallet. “It’s more gentle on people’s travel budgets,” she added.

Inflation is raising travel costs

Brabo Fountain and City Hall, Antwerp, Belgium.
Shaun Egan | The Image Bank | Getty Images

That discount comes at a good time: Stubbornly high inflation has made it an expensive time to travel almost anywhere.
Costs at home in the U.S. for items like airfare, lodging, recreation and meals were up almost 19% in May relative to the same time in 2019, before the pandemic, according to the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Price Index. (Domestic travel costs are also up more than 19% versus last year, but that partly reflects a comparison to low pandemic-era prices, the association said.)
Meanwhile, Americans’ appetite for international travel appears to be growing, spurred by factors like the recent scrapping of a Covid-19 testing requirement for international travelers flying to the U.S., as well as the lifting of a separate mask mandate on airplanes.

About 34% of U.S. travelers are likely to travel abroad this year, up 6 percentage points in a month, according to Destination Analysts, a tourism market research firm. The firm polled 4,000 travelers June 15-23.
When asked to list the foreign destinations they most want to visit in the next 12 months, European destinations comprised 6 of the top 10 most commonly named, according to Destination Analysts.
“It’s become an expensive time to travel,” Rathner said. “But people want to get back out there.
“People are ready to travel again,” she added.

How to take advantage of favorable exchange rates

Manarola fishing village in Cinque Terre, Italy
Matteo Colombo | Moment | Getty Images

Americans who want to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate should use a credit card without a foreign transaction fee whenever possible. Those fees can add 3% to the cost of each purchase, thereby eating into the euro-dollar savings, Rathner said.
Bring a backup credit card (if you have one) in addition to your primary in case yours isn’t accepted in certain establishments, she advised. This is generally due to card brands — while Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted around the world, that’s less true of American Express and Discover, Rathner said.
Further, travelers booking hotels or tours in advance (and have the option to be charged now or later) may wish to pay now to make sure they’re taking advantage of the low rate, McCulley said. It’s not a given the exchange rate will continue to get more favorable.
Travelers using cash should generally avoid converting their currency ahead of a trip, according to experts. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s unnecessary, and you’ll get a worse conversion rate,” said McCulley.
Instead, travelers typically get a better rate by withdrawing money from an ATM in their destination country, experts said.

There are some caveats, however. For one, travelers should call their bank to make sure foreign ATMs accept their debit card. Banks also generally charge fees to withdraw money from ATMs overseas; travelers can assess how much cash they’ll need for the whole trip and make one big withdrawal instead of several smaller withdrawals to reduce those fees, according to Rathner.
Further, ATM operators may ask if users want money “with or without conversion,” or a similarly worded prompt. Basically, this practice, called “dynamic currency conversion,” means the ATM operator does the currency conversion instead of the bank.
However, travelers should decline the conversion offer since the ATM operator’s exchange rate is often worse, experts said. The same principle applies to local merchants that ask a similar question relative to credit or debit card transactions.

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