WIND POWER
Orsted buys out Eversource’s stake in Sunrise
One down, two to go. Eversource has found a buyer for its 50-percent stake in the Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm development, but it didn’t have to go far. Danish energy company Orsted, Eversource’s partner in the joint venture, announced it agreed to buy out Eversource’s stake in Sunrise. The acquisition is subject to Sunrise winning a contract in an ongoing New York solicitation for offshore wind energy. The proposed wind farm, which would go up in waters south of New England, would generate more than 900 megawatts of electricity. Neither company disclosed the transaction’s financial terms. Eversource is still in the process of selling its 50-percent stake in two other offshore wind projects with Orsted known as South Fork Wind and Revolution Wind, also located in waters south of New England; a spokesperson for Eversource said the company remains in “advanced, exclusive negotiations” with a buyer for its stakes in those projects. — JON CHESTO
TECHNOLOGY
Analog Devices gets a new CFO
Analog Devices Inc. has tapped an Amazon executive to be its next chief financial officer. The Wilmington-based semiconductor company said it has hired Richard Puccio to be its next CFO and executive vice president, as of Feb. 5. Puccio, who joins Analog Devices from Amazon Web Services, will report directly to chief executive Vincent Roche. Prior to his nearly three-year tenure as CFO at AWS, Puccio worked at accounting giant PwC for three decades where he focused on tech clients. Analog Devices executive Jim Mollica has been the company’s interim CFO since Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah left in the fall to take the CFO job at Uber. — JON CHESTO
LABOR
Forbes employees strike for the first time
Forbes Media employees are striking for the first time, protesting the lack of progress in collective bargaining more than two years since voting to join a union. Unionized employees, including reporters, editors, designers, and videographers, planned to start a work stoppage at 9 a.m. on Thursday and remain on strike through Monday, according to the Communications Workers of America’s NewsGuild. Staff voted in July 2021 to join the guild, part of a larger wave of organizing and activism that’s swept the media industry over the past decade. Little progress has been made in contract talks since then, the Forbes union’s chair Andrea Murphy said. That includes responses to union proposals to preserve remote working and convert temps to permanent employees, she said. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
FAST FOOD
In-N-Out Burger closes Oakland location due to crime
In-N-Out Burger says it will close its first location in its 75-year history due to a wave of car break-ins, property damage, theft, and robberies affecting customers and employees alike at its only restaurant in Oakland, Calif. The fast-food burger joint in a busy corridor near Oakland International Airport will close on March 24 because even though the company has taken “repeated steps to create safer conditions our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized,” Denny Warnick, In-N-Out’s chief operating officer, said in a statement Wednesday. Oakland has seen a spike in property crime and robberies throughout the city located across the bay from San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AIRLINES
American and Southwest struggle with higher labor costs
Fourth-quarter profit fell sharply at American Airlines, and the carrier predicted it would lose money in early 2024, while Southwest Airlines posted a loss, as both carriers struggled to cover rising labor costs. Southwest also said Thursday that it expects to receive fewer new planes than it expected this year because of ongoing production problems at Boeing. American said Thursday that it earned $19 million in the fourth quarter, down from $803 million a year earlier. Southwest lost $219 million in the fourth quarter, nearly identical to its results in the same quarter a year earlier. Excluding one-time costs, mostly tied to a new contract with pilots, the airline said adjusted earnings were 37 cents per share. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
JET FUEL
First plant for ethanol-based jet fuel opens
The world’s first plant using ethanol to make lower-polluting jet fuel opened in the United States, a development that Iowa corn growers and biofuel producers say is a wake-up call to move faster to decarbonize. Illinois-based LanzaJet Inc. formally unveiled its $200 million facility in rural Georgia at an event Wednesday with investors, including Suncor Energy Inc. and British Airways as well as US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and local officials. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Porsche unveils electric SUV
Porsche unveiled the electric Macan, its long-delayed first battery-powered sport utility vehicle, just as the EV market shows signs of cooling. Presented Thursday in Singapore, the model that starts at $91,593 will test appetite for luxury EVs as consumers grapple with higher borrowing costs and sub-par charging infrastructure. The German carmaker is under pressure to address its poor stock-market performance and slowing business in China, where Tesla, BYD, and BMW compete with a broader electric offering. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
COSMETICS
ChapStick sold to Suave
Haleon agreed to sell its ChapStick lip balms to Suave Brands in a deal valued at around $510 million to streamline its portfolio. The consumer-health company will receive about $430 million in cash from the sale, it said in a statement Thursday. It will also get a minority stake in Suave, owned by the private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners, worth around $80 million as part of the deal. Haleon, spun off by drugmaker GSK about 18 months ago, is working to pare down its portfolio, which includes Centrum vitamins and Sensodyne toothpaste. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
HEALTH CARE
Private Medicare plans a drag on health insurers
Private Medicare plans that drove years of growth for US health insurers are getting less profitable and may cost seniors more money, Humana’s results showed, sending shares down across the sector. The second-largest Medicare Advantage company, Humana struck a dire tone as it pulled its earnings guidance for 2025 and forecast 2024 profits short of analysts’ most pessimistic outlooks. As medical costs rise, Humana will have to raise prices and pull back on benefits to shore up profit margins, executives said. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
BROADBAND
Comcast making money on high-speed internet
Comcast reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates as broadband customers spent more on pricier services. Revenue climbed 2.3 percent to $31.3 billion in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement Thursday. Adjusted earnings per share rose 2.4 percent to 84 cents. The largest US cable company and owner of Xfinity broadband business has been losing subscribers to telecom rivals that are deploying fast fiber connections and improved wireless offerings. But those that stick to Comcast spent on average 3.9 percent more in the fourth quarter as they moved to more expensive higher-speed offerings. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
LABOR
Strike called at airline owned by Lufthansa
Cockpit and cabin crew working under Lufthansa’s Discover Airlines subsidiary said they will strike on Friday after failed negotiations with management, which will disrupt flights from two major German airports. Vereinigung Cockpit and the UFO union late on Wednesday announced industrial action at Discover, a new leisure airline owned by Lufthansa, from early Friday morning until just before midnight. The two German unions have sought to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with Discover but without success, they said in a statement. — BLOOMBERG NEWS