Gas overtakes coal: Electricity generated from natural gas surpassed the amount made from coal-fired production in July, marking the second time ever the phenomenon has occurred in the U.S. The first instance was in April. According to FuelFix.com, natural gas-fired power plants generated 35% of electricity in July, barely edging coal-fired plants at 34.9%. One reason for the shift is that companies are harvesting large quantities of natural gas at cheap prices from domestic shale at the same time that only a handful of new coal plants are being constructed because of increasing federal regulations on carbon emissions. Fuel Fix has the full story.
Spending slowdown: The National Retail Federation estimates shoppers will spend more than $630 billion this holiday season, up 3.7% from last year. That increase would be mark a spending slowdown after the 4.1% increase last year, the first slowdown since 2011. According to the Associated Press, the slowdown can be attributed to slow wage growth and other market concerns. “While economic indicators have improved in several areas, Americans remain somewhat torn between their desire and their ability to spend,” says Matthew Shay, CEO and president of the National Retail Federation, in a prepared statement.” The Associated Press has the full story.
A good sign: The price of oil could end the week 8% percent higher than last week, after prices continued to rise Thursday. Reuters reports, however, that larger-than-expected U.S. inventory levels could temper optimism among investors. Analysts predicted a 2.2-million barrel supply increase as refineries lower output, but were surprised when inventory showed a 3.1-million barrel increase. “There was a hiccup with the U.S. data this week, but production is still expected to continue to slow,” Saxo Bank commodities strategist Ole Hansen says. Reuters has the full story.
Correction: The latest edition of Business Report’s ‘The Brief,’ which was published in Daily Report AM on Wednesday, has been removed due to outdated and inaccurate data sets used in the video’s narrative. The data represented occupancy rates and average daily rates for hotels located directly within downtown or adjacent to the downtown area. However, some of the data sets were outdated, and the video did not take into consideration some hotels that are not in the downtown district but are close by and are considered more likely competition for those hotels. Business Report regrets the error.
