The new Chevrolet Beat Battery Electric

Chevrolet has confirmed plans for the production of its next-generation pure electric vehicle, based on the Bolt EV concept, to be constructed at its General Motors’ Orion Assembly facility near Detroit. “GM North America President Alan Batey made the announcement ahead of the Chicago Auto Show. The Bolt EV concept was introduced last month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

“The message from consumers about the Bolt EV concept was clear and unequivocal: Build it,” said Batey. “We are moving quickly because of its potential to completely shake up the status quo for electric vehicles.”

Leveraging the industry-leading battery technology found in the Chevrolet Volt and Spark EV, the Bolt EV concept was developed as a game-changing, long-range pure electric for all 50 states, designed to offer more than a GM-estimated 200 miles of range at a target price of around $30,000.” [Chevrolet Media]

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP will represent Vopak North America Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Vopak, in an agreement to sell three terminals and undeveloped land to a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) for $158 million. “The sale includes two terminals located in Wilmington, North Carolina, one in Galena Park, Texas, and undeveloped land located in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The transaction is in line with Vopak’s business strategy announced on July 2, 2014, which included plans to divest approximately 15 terminals.

Dutch oil and chemical storage company, Royal Vopak, is the world’s largest independent tank storage company by capacity, specialized in the storage and handling of oil products, liquid chemicals and gasses. Vopak operates 80 terminals in 28 countries with a combined storage capacity of 34.0 million cbm, with another 6.1 million cbm under development.” [Bracewell & Giuliani LLP]

U.S. stocks climbed back close to record levels by the close of Thursday as technology, materials and energy companies all recorded significant gains. “Cisco Systems led the technology sector higher after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Energy stocks rose as the price of oil rebounded following two days of heavy losses.

There were also big gains for online travel companies. Expedia and Orbitz jumped after Expedia said that it was acquiring its rival. TripAdvisor also surged on speculation that the wave of consolidation in the industry would continue.

Stocks have logged big gains in February after a slumping to their worst month in a year in January on worries about the outlook for the global economy. Reports this month have shown that company earnings are still growing and the U.S. economy appears to be maintaining its recovery as hiring picks up.” [ABC News]