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Dominion offshore wind farm delivers first power to the grid

Dominion Energy’s $11.5 billion Coastal Virginia () project off ‘s coast on Monday reached a milestone, delivering its first power to the grid.

The marker follows the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility’s installation of CVOW’s first turbine tower in January. The project’s turbines are about 380 feet tall and have a capacity of 14.7 megawatts.

The utility says currently there are two fully constructed turbines, and a third is under construction. also installed a third and final offshore substation in the past month.

Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said in a statement that the power generation adds “much-needed electricity to help serve the fastest-growing power demand in the country.”

He noted that CVOW will continue to deliver more power to the grid as additional turbines are installed, with full completion expected in early 2027. Once operational, CVOW will consist of 176 wind turbines generating up to 9.5 million megawatt-hours per year, or enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes.

“CVOW is critical to Virginia’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to meet the increasing power needs of a growing economy and population, the largest data center market in the world and among the largest military installations and defense manufacturers in the country,” Slayton said.

A Jan. 30 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed the project’s cost had increased by about $300 million, tied to additional estimated costs associated with and a December 2025 stop-work order by the administration.

The U.S. Department of the Interior in December 2025 issued stop-work orders on five offshore wind projects already underway, including CVOW. In response, Dominion sued the federal government.

On Jan. 16, a federal judge allowed Dominion to continue work on CVOW as it pursues its legal challenge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

This week, the reached an agreement to pay French company $1 billion to stop developing two offshore wind projects off the coasts of New York and North Carolina, The Washington Post reported.

US fourth-quarter productivity growth revised sharply lower

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) – U.S. worker productivity growth slowed more than initially thought in the , government data showed, boosting growth in .

, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a downwardly revised 1.8% annualized rate last quarter, the ‘s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected productivity growth would be revised down to a 2.0% rate from the previously reported 2.8% pace.

Productivity grew at a 2.5% rate from a year ago. Third-quarter productivity grew at an unrevised 5.2% rate. Productivity increased 2.1% in 2025. The report was delayed by last year’s government shutdown.

The downward revisions to were telegraphed by a sharp downgrade to growth in the fourth quarter, to a 0.7% rate from the initially estimated 1.4% pace.

Economists believe the adoption of will boost productivity and rein in .

Unit labor costs – the price of labor per single unit of output – increased at a 4.4% rate last quarter. That figure was revised up from the initially estimated 2.8% pace. Economists had forecast growth in unit labor costs would be revised up to a 3.5% rate.

They grew at a 2.4% rate from a year ago. Growth in unit labor costs for the third quarter was revised down to a 1.0% pace from a 1.8% rate. Unit labor costs increased 2.3% in 2025.

 

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

 

Dollar regains ground as investors doubt swift end to Iran war

Summary:
  • The index rose 0.1% after dipping near a two-week low, supported by safe-haven demand amid Middle East conflict.
  • U.S. President delayed bombing Iranian power stations, signaling possible but uncertain negotiations with .
  • The conflict disrupted about one-fifth of global oil and LNG shipments through the , pushing higher.

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) – The dollar regained some ground on Tuesday as investors remained doubtful the war in the Middle East could be quickly resolved, even though U.S. President Donald delayed the bombing of Iranian power stations and .

Trump on Monday said that the U.S. and Iran had held “very good and productive” conversations about a “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East”. Iran denied it had engaged in any direct negotiations.

Trump’s comments were “giving a breather to volatility at least, but it’s difficult to see that this is going to trigger a risk-on trend,” said Rodrigo Catril, ‌currency strategist at National Australia Bank.

Trump’s track record for unpredictable policy has kept markets wary and traders were uncertain whether he had begun genuine negotiations or only retreated from volatility-inducing threats, Catril said.

EARLY SIGNS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT

Survey data on Friday showed early signs that the war was starting to impact the global economy. Business activity in the euro zone and Britain fell to multi-month lows, suggesting Europe was already suffering economically from the conflict.

The euro was last down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.1593 after gaining 0.4% in the previous trading session. Sterling eased 0.4% to $1.3406 after jumping 0.9% on Monday.

Tommy von Brömsen, FX strategist at Handelsbanken, said Trump’s comments were a signal that he was looking for an end to the war.

“Once we get an end, I think we’re going to see some reversal of the FX moves that we’ve seen so far, which would mean a weaker dollar,” von Brömsen said.

SEVERE DISRUPTION OF

The contrasting comments and a new wave of fighting have left markets in flux, with investors mindful that the war has all but halted shipments of about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices rose again on Tuesday after plunging more than 10% on Monday.

The U.S. is a net energy exporter, which has supported the dollar since the start of the war as energy prices soared.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of peers, rose 0.1% on Tuesday to 99.293 after dipping 0.4% to near a two-week low on Monday.

The index has still strengthened 1.7% this month, on track for its strongest monthly gain since October, as the conflict also fuelled safe-haven demand.

The expected inflationary impact from the jump in energy prices has also prompted markets to scale back expectations of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, although investors are not yet pricing in any tightening this year.

They are, however, for other banks. Markets have priced in at least two hikes each from the and the this year.

“I think most central banks are in wait-and-see mode to see how severe and how persistent this (inflation) will be,” said Handelsbanken’s von Brömsen.

The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with Fed rate expectations, rose 5 basis points to 3.878% on Tuesday after dropping over 6 bps on Monday. [US/]

(Reporting by Samuel Indyk in London, Jiaxing Li in Hong Kong and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Barbara Lewis)

 

Oil rises as supply disruption persists and Iran denies US talks

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) – Oil rose on Tuesday as the world’s biggest persisted and as denied it had talks with the U.S. to end the war in the Gulf, contradicting U.S. President Donald who said a deal could be reached soon.

Crude futures had dropped more than 10% on Monday, after Trump ordered a five-day delay to attacks on Iran’s power plants, saying the U.S. had talks with unnamed Iranian officials that produced “major points of agreement”.

rose $1.83, or 1.8%, to $101.77 a barrel at 1130 GMT. U.S. (WTI) climbed $2.21, or 2.5%, to $90.34.

The war has all but halted shipments of about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas through the , causing what the has called the biggest-ever oil supply disruption.

“The reality on the ground is unchanged,” said Nikos Tzabouras, analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com. “The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed and supply disruptions linger, tightening the market.”

Iran on Tuesday sent waves of missiles into Israel. Three senior Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump appeared determined to reach a deal, but that they thought it highly unlikely that Iran would agree to U.S. demands in any new round of negotiations.

“The Iran conflict sees tentative de-escalation, but unresolved risks remain around Hormuz,” BCA Research said in a report. “Given continued attack risks and headline volatility, it remains too early to position aggressively for lower .”

If the strait remains effectively shut until the end of April, Brent could still reach $150 a barrel, said. That would exceed the all-time high of $147 set in 2008.

In the latest attacks on across the region, a gas company office and a pressure-reduction station were hit in the Iranian city of Isfahan, while a projectile struck a gas pipeline feeding a power station in Khorramshahr, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

(Additional reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru and Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Arun Koyyur)

 

Dollar General taps Ahold US head as new CEO replacing veteran Vasos

Summary:
  • Jerry ‘JJ’ Fleeman Jr., current CEO of Ahold Delhaize US, will become ‘s CEO on January 1, 2024.
  • , General’s veteran CEO, is stepping down but will stay on as senior advisor through April 2027.
  • Dollar General faces challenges including muted sales, impacts from , and rising gas prices.

March 24 (Reuters) – Dollar General on Tuesday named Jerry “JJ” Fleeman Jr. as its new CEO, succeeding company veteran Todd Vasos, as the dollar-store chain banks on the seasoned to steady the business after several quarters of muted sales.

Fleeman is currently the CEO of the U.S. division of Ahold Delhaize after spending more than 35 years at the multinational retailer. He helmed the creation of a proprietary for the company, Dollar General said.

Dollar General’s shares were down about 5% in morning trading.

Fleeman, who will take over as Dollar General’s top boss on January 1, must tackle the fallout on consumer spending from U.S. import tariffs and rising gas prices due to the .

The announcement of a new CEO comes just days after the company forecast soft full-year sales that sent shares tumbling.

Vasos served as Dollar General’s top boss for a combined 10 years from 2015, steering the company as it expanded its digital presence and delivery options.

He returned as CEO for a second term in 2023, less than a year after stepping down, to help tackle weakening consumer spending among lower- and middle-income consumers amid sticky inflation and elevated inventory levels.

“Dollar General brought back Todd Vasos out of retirement to stabilize the business, and he’s largely done that. The next CEO will be less focused about a turnaround and more focused about driving consistent growth in sales and margins,” said CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram.

The company’s stock has risen 23% since Vasos started his second term in October 2023.

Vasos is expected to remain on the board and will serve as senior advisor through April 2, 2027, Dollar General said in a statement.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Koyena Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Sriraj Kalluvila)

 

Trump administration to pay $1B to stop two East Coast wind farms

Summary:
  • The administration agreed to pay $1 billion to to stop two projects.
  • The projects were located off the coasts of New York and North Carolina and were still in planning stages.
  • TotalEnergies will redirect $928 million from wind leases to invest in oil and natural gas projects in Texas.

HOUSTON – The reached an agreement to pay $1 billion to French energy firm TotalEnergies to stop developing two offshore wind farms off the coast of New York and North Carolina, instead directing the investments to oil and gas projects.

Trump has campaigned against offshore wind for more than a decade, eventually losing a battle to stop a farm from being built off the coast from a golf course he owns in Scotland in 2015. He has called turbines ugly, expensive and dangerous to animals, though offshore wind proponents say those concerns are unfounded and that stopping any energy projects will only make electricity prices surge further.

The settlement introduces a new strategy in the ‘s long-running battle to stop offshore wind. The department has also issued stop-work orders for the five fully permitted offshore wind projects already being built, although all won court injunctions earlier this year to allow construction to go forward.

The settlement agreement will pay TotalEnergies to return its two offshore wind leases to the federal government, the Interior Department said in a statement. The company, which bid for the leases under President Joe Biden, “has pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States,” the department said.

“We’re partnering with TotalEnergies to unleash nearly $1 billion that was tied up in a lease deposit directed towards the prior administration’s subsidies that were pushing expensive, weather dependent offshore wind,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, speaking to reporters Monday at by S&P Global, an energy industry conference in Houston.
“We’re allowing this great company to redirect those dollars that have been paid into the Treasury to affordable, reliable and secure oil and natural gas production in the U.S.”

TotalEnergies will instead invest the $928 million from the wind leases in a liquefied natural gas facility in Texas, shale gas production and oil drilling.
The company’s two offshore wind projects – called Attentive Energy and – were still in the planning stages, having yet to be fully permitted, and far from being built. Last year, the Interior Department had stopped all additional federal permits for projects, leaving the vast majority of offshore wind projects dead in the water.
The department based the stop-work orders on national security concerns, flagged in a classified report by the Defense Department that has not been made public.

“I will not argue with secretary about national security concerns. It’s not our job,” Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and chief executive officer of TotalEnergies. “It’s not up to us to argue with the state.”

Pouyanné, also speaking at CERAWeek, added: “In the situation of the U.S., where you have huge amount of resources, huge amount of land to produce electricity, offshore wind is not the most affordable way to produce electricity.”

Pouyanné said the company had proposed the idea of the settlement that would redirect its investments toward gas last summer.
Offshore wind lobby group Turn Forward said the decision to stop the TotalEnergies projects threatens American energy security.
“The conflict in underlines the importance of having different energy options at your disposal when unexpected events occur,” Turn Forward Executive

Director Hillary Bright said in a statement. “Offshore wind is showing its effectiveness in the U.S. every day and presents a near-term, cost-effective solution to help power the .”

Jake Spring reported from Washington.

by Evan Halper, Jake Spring | (c) 2026 , The Washington Post

Wall Street indexes rise after Trump postpones strikes on Iran’s power plants

Summary:
  • President postponed military strikes on Iranian power plants after ‘productive conversations’ with Tehran.
  • U.S. stock indexes including the S&P 500, , and Dow Jones rose over 1% on March 23.
  • fell more than 10%, contributing to gains in cyclical sectors and airline stocks.

March 23 (Reuters) – The main U.S. indexes closed up more than 1% on Monday as oil prices fell after President Donald said he had ordered the military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants following “productive conversations” with Tehran.

However, ‘s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted on social media that no talks had been held with the U.S., contradicting Trump’s announcement that there were talks between the United States and Iran in the past day in which the two sides had “major points of agreement” and that a deal could be done soon to settle the war.

While U.S. equities fell last week, they staged a sharp recovery on Monday after Trump’s comments sent oil prices lower. Equities had been trading lower earlier in the day after threats of attacks on Israeli and Iranian power networks.

“You never know who to believe but it does appear that Trump is trying to start discussions with somebody in Iran to resolve the war despite strong denials from Iran. This has caused significant optimism in stock prices today with the market up strongly although off its highest levels because of the Iranian denials,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 73.77 points, or 1.13%, to end at 6,580.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 300.94 points, or 1.39%, to 21,948.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 631.06 points, or 1.39%, to 46,211.53.

The , Wall Street’s fear gauge, retreated after earlier hitting its highest level in two weeks.

Oil prices settled down more than 10% on Monday. All of the S&P 500’s 11 major industry sectors advanced with big gains in cyclical sectors such as consumer discretionary while advances in defensive sectors such as healthcare and consumer staples were weaker.

“The volatility is likely to continue and it’s all about the price of oil. Nothing else really matters to people in the short term. So when oil prices are down, stocks go up and vice versa,” said Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments. “What’s up the most today is not a surprise. It’s things with economic sensitivity.”

Meanwhile, investors trimmed bets for an interest-rate hike from the U.S. to a roughly 12% probability for December from 25% in the prior session, according to CME Group’s FedWatch.

Traders were betting on a 70.8% chance that rates would be unchanged by year end after scaling back bets for cuts last week after the central bank struck a hawkish tone due to concerns about higher inflation.

The small-cap was outperforming large-cap indexes on Monday. On Friday, the index, which is sensitive to higher interest rates, had ended more than 10% below its record close of January 22, confirming it had been in correction territory.

Fuel-hungry airlines jumped on Monday as the price of oil fell with Alaska Air, American Airlines and United Airlines all gaining. Shares in cruise ship operators soared with Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Corp and Viking Holdings all gaining.

Banks, which had weakened during the conflict, gained ground on Monday with the S&P 500 Banking index showing its biggest daily gain since before the war.

Investors will look forward to Fed speakers, business activity surveys and consumer sentiment readings this week.

In individual stocks, Synopsys rallied after activist investor has a multibillion- investment in the electronic design automation firm.

(Reporting by Sinéad Carew in New York, Purvi Agarwal, Twesha Dikshit and Johann Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Pooja Desai and Aurora Ellis)

 

Vienna roadside tech firm to be acquired by Mass. competitor

Vienna-based tech company will soon be acquired by Massachusetts-based competitor Agero and taken private, ending a less than three-year run as a public company.

Agero announced this month it will acquire Urgent.ly (branded Urgently) for $5.50 per share. Based on the 2,196,934 shares outstanding as of March 12, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the deal comes to roughly $12 million.

Founded in 2013, Urgent.ly provides on-demand roadside assistance services, including towing, jump starts and lockout assistance. It also offers an -powered platform that connects drivers, service providers and partners like automakers and insurers to manage those services in real time.

The company went public in October 2023 amid a merger with Israel-based Otonomo Technologies.  However, the global company failed to turn a profit, reporting losses of $44 million in 2024 and $20.43 million in 2025.

According to Urgent.ly’s website, the company partners with more than 150 companies, has a leadership team of more than 20 people, over 70 software and artificial intelligence engineers and more than 200 operations specialists.

In a March 13 email to employees, Urgent.ly CEO and President Matt Booth said the transaction is expected to close in late May or early June. He said by merging, the companies “are creating something far more powerful than either organization could achieve alone.”

“This presents a natural fit,” Booth said in a statement. “Agero shares our commitment to continually improving the roadside experience through sophisticated technology and unmatched data scale. Together, we will elevate how we serve our customers by combining our strengths to accelerate innovation and growth.”

It had not yet been specified what would happen to Urgent.ly leadership and employees post-acquisition, nor how many employees the combined company would have. Both companies stated that clients, customers, service providers and employees should expect “steady continuity.” Urgent.ly did not immediately return a request for comment, and Agero declined to comment further than its news release.

Agero serves over 150 million vehicles annually. The companies said the acquisition will enhance services for automakers, dealerships, insurance carriers, fleet operators and drivers.

“Urgently has established a strong presence in the automotive, fleet and rental markets with its tech-forward approach,” Agero President and CEO David Ferrick said in a statement. “By enhancing that foundation with Agero’s platform, service provider network depth and quality and unmatched scale, we’re positioned to redefine what’s possible in roadside assistance and deliver even greater value to the clients and customers we serve.”

Dollar weakens as Trump delays Iran strikes

Summary:
  • U.S. President Donald delayed military strikes on Iran’s for five days.
  • The dropped against the euro, yen, and sterling following the announcement.
  • Global stock and energy markets recovered sharply after Trump’s comments.

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) – The dollar weakened on Monday after U.S. President said he would delay striking Iran’s energy infrastructure after productive talks between the two countries, easing near-term concerns and slightly boosting risk assets.

Trump said he had asked the Department of Defense to postpone “any and all” military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.

He made the announcement on Truth Social just hours before a deadline he had set for Tehran to “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to destroy Iranian power plants in a further escalation in a conflict now in its fourth week.

“The market is looking at this thing saying maybe some of the near-term danger in the energy side is falling off because they won’t be bombing each other’s infrastructure within the next couple of days,” said Steven Englander, head of global G10 FX research and North America macro strategy at in New York.

“It is not saying that the worst is over, but that the odds that the worst will manifest itself in the next couple of days have gone down.”

DOLLAR FALLS AGAINST EURO, YEN AND STERLING

The dollar dropped by 0.7% against the euro and 0.6% against the yen immediately after Trump’s post and was last trading down 0.53% against the at $1.163.

The buck was 0.6% weaker at 158.27 yen, retreating slightly from the key 160 yen level that puts traders on alert for potential intervention from the . Meanwhile, sterling rose 0.92% to $1.3464.

That left the <USD=>, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of peers, down 0.6% at 98.94.

On Friday, the index had notched its first weekly decline since the start of the war, as the inflationary effects of surging prompted central banks to turn hawkish, supporting other currencies.

Global stock [MKTS/GLOB] and energy markets also recovered sharply after Trump’s comments. [O/R]

“All the moves are consistent with markets starting to sniff out a peak in Iran war fear, but still too soon to tell,” said Elias Haddad, global head of markets strategy, , in London.

He said it was still unclear whether the talks were merely intended to calm markets or a bona fide de-escalation.

A reporter for the U.S. news outlet said Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan had met Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and, separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Araghchi’s ministry said there were “initiatives” to reduce tensions, the Mehr news agency reported.

The price of the benchmark Brent blend crude oil was last down around 9% at $101.50 a barrel, after earlier falling to $96.

Strategists said the initial market relief could fade, given the extreme uncertainty.

“This says ‘strikes on energy infrastructure’. What about the rest – do the Iranians twiddle their thumbs for five days, and what about Israel? There are so many questions here that are unresolved,” said IG strategist Chris Beauchamp.

“Yes, markets have reacted positively. But it doesn’t change the fact that the Straits are still closed.”

(Reporting by Laura Matthews in New York and Harry Robertson in London; Additional reporting by Rocky Swift in Tokyo and Harry Robertson in London; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Aidan Lewis and Kevin Liffey)

 

General Dynamics subsidiary lands $15.4B submarine modification

General Dynamics Electric Boat, the Connecticut subsidiary of -based Fortune 500 defense contractor , has received a $15.38 billion Navy contract modification for work on .

The Department of Defense announced the contract award Wednesday. It supports the Navy’s production of Columbia-class ballistic missile , which are designed to replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine fleet.

Under the cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification from the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., General Dynamics Electric Boat will perform additional Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines design, class lead yard support and sustainment, integrated enterprise plan initiatives and submarine industrial base supplier development efforts.

Work is expected to be completed by June 2035 and will be performed in Groton, Connecticut; Newport News; Sunnyvale, California; Menomonee, Wisconsin; Quonset Point, Rhode Island; Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Philadelphia; Mobile, Alabama; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and other locations.

The Navy first awarded the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine contract in 2017: $5 billion to complete design work for the new ballistic missile submarines and to develop components and technologies as well as missile tube module and reactor compartment bulkhead prototyping and manufacturing efforts.

The contract has been expanded multiple times since then, including several multibillion- modifications in more recent years. In 2020, the Navy added a $9.7 billion modification to fund construction and testing of the two Columbia-class submarines, SSBN 826 and SSBN 827. Another modification in December 2022 provided $5.13 billion for advance procurement and early construction of critical components and materials needed for five additional Columbia-class boats. Then, in November 2025, the Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $2.28 billion modification.

General Dynamics Electric Boat has more than 24,000 employees. General Dynamics has more than 110,000 employees worldwide and reported $52.6 billion in 2025 revenue.