Covenant keeps its option to offer more company stock
Covenant Logistics Group Inc., the Chattanooga-based trucking giant, announced Friday it has filed a universal shelf registration statement to potentially issue up to $200 million of additional company stock.
The company said it filed the shelf registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to "provide the company with flexibility to access the capital markets in the future if circumstances arise."
"The Company has no immediate plans to offer or sell any securities under this shelf registration statement to the public," Covenant Logistics said in a statement. "However, the company felt it was prudent to file the shelf registration statement as a matter of standard corporate governance to respond to future financing and business opportunities."
Under the shelf registration statement, if approved by the SEC, Covenant may from time to time issue various types of securities, including Class A common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, rights, and warrants, up to an aggregate amount of $200 million.
Governor backs extension for California nuclear plant
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proposed extending the life of the state's last operating nuclear power plant by at least five to 10 years to maintain reliable power supplies in the climate change era.
A draft bill obtained by The Associated Press said the plan would allow the plant to continue operating beyond a scheduled closing by 2025. The draft proposal also includes a possible loan for operator Pacific Gas & Electric for up to $1.4 billion.
The proposal was confirmed by Newsom spokesman Anthony York. The bill says impacts of climate change are occurring sooner than anticipated and are simultaneously driving up electrical demand while reducing power supplies.
"The governor has been clear for months about the potential need to extend the life of Diablo Canyon," York said. He added that Newsom's administration has stressed the need to keep all options on the table to maintain reliable power and that "this proposal reflects the continued need to keep that flexibility."
Judge restores moratorium on coal leases on federal land
A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review before they can resume coal sales from federal lands.
Almost half the nation's annual coal production - some 260 million tons last year - is mined by private companies from leases on federal land, primarily in Western states such as Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
Few coal leases were sold in recent years after demand for the fuel shrank drastically. But the industry's opponents had urged Morris to revive the Obama-era moratorium to ensure it can't make a comeback as wildfires, drought, rising sea levels and other effects of climate change worsen.
The coal program brought in about $400 million to federal and state coffers through royalties and other payments in 2021, according to government data. It supports thousands of jobs and has been fiercely defended by industry representatives, Republicans in Congress and officials in coal-producing states.
NTSB probes Kia/Hyundai for seat belt pretensioners
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation has opened a query into seat belt pretensioners on certain 2020-2022 Kia/Hyundai vehicles, saying that they may rupture or explode.
A seat belt pretensioner is a part of the seat belt system that locks the seat belt in place during a crash. The ODI said that if the pretensioner ruptures it could release shrapnel, causing abrasions or other injuries.
ODI is aware of three separate incidents of possible faulty seat belt pretensioners. In all three incidents, the driver-side seat belt pretensioner deployed abnormally, causing metal fragments to enter the rear cabin resulting in injuries to the rear occupants.
Hyundai and Kia have issued five separate recalls from October 2021 to April of this year concerning pretensioner ruptures.
The initial ODI investigation includes 2021 Hyundai Elantra/Elantra HEV vehicles; 2021 Hyundai Venue vehicles; 2021 Genesis GV80; 2022 Genesis GV70 vehicles; 2020-2021 Hyundai Accent vehicles; 2022 Hyundai Elantra/Elantra HEV vehicles; 2022 Kia Sorento Hybrid/Sorento PHEV vehicles; 2021-2022 Hyundai Elantra vehicles and 2020 Hyundai Accent vehicles.
The ODI said that it may expand the scope of the investigation if necessary.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner