Raphael Stevens

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    FDA authorizes additional omicron Covid booster for seniors and people with weak immune systems

    Seniors who have already received a vaccine targeting the omicron BA.5 subvariant are now eligible to receive another dose four months after their last shot.
    People with weak immune systems can receive another omicron shot two months after their last dose and receive additional shots at the discretion of their doctor.
    Although the burden of the pandemic has eased substantially, Covid continues to kill more than 1,300 people per week, according to the CDC.

    Sylvester Fisher gets a influenza vaccine from pharmacist Patricia Pernal during an event hosted by the Chicago Department of Public Health at the Southwest Senior Center on September 09, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. The vaccines were being offered along with pneumonia vaccines and the recently authorized COVID-19 booster vaccine, which protects against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the more recent omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5 during the event. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
    Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized an additional dose of Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant for seniors and people with weak immune systems.
    Seniors who are 65 years of age or older and who have already received a vaccine targeting the omicron BA.5 subvariant are now eligible to receive another dose at least four months after their last shot, according to the FDA. People with weak immune systems can receive another omicron shot at least two months after their last dose and receive additional shots at the discretion of their doctor.

    Children 6 months through 5 years of age who are unvaccinated can now receive the full two-dose series of Moderna’s omicron vaccine. Kids 6 months through 4 years of age can receive three doses of Pfizer’s shot that targets omicron.
    Children who are 5 years old can receive either two doses of Moderna or a single dose of Pfizer.
    Children under age 5 who have already started their vaccination series with the old Covid vaccines that target the original strain of the virus can receive the omicron shots to finish their course, though how many doses they receive will depend on whether they took Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
    Although the burden of the pandemic has eased substantially, Covid continues to kill more than 1,300 people per week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 1,600 people are still hospitalized with Covid daily on average, according to the public health agency.
    “Covid-19 continues to be a very real risk for many people, and we encourage individuals to consider staying current with vaccination, including with a bivalent Covid-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, who heads the FDA department responsible for vaccines.
    The FDA first authorized the omicron BA.5 shots last August, but that subvariant has long since been displaced by a version of omicron called XBB.1.5. In June, the agency will likely update the variant that the Covid vaccines target, ahead of the fall respiratory virus season.

    CNBC Health & Science

    Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage: More

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    Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says he sees a relatively mild recession

    Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp., during a panel session on corporate ESG standards at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023.
    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Tuesday he sees only a slight recession hitting the U.S. as consumers remain in solid shape.
    “Everything points to a relatively mild recession given the amount of stimulus that was paid to people and the money they have left over,” Moynihan said on the bank’s quarterly earnings call. “At the end of the day, we don’t see the activity on the consumer side slowing at a pace that would indicate that, but we would see commercial customers are being more careful.”

    Moynihan said that Bank of America’s research team has been consistent in calling for a mild downturn in light of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes. The central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate nine times over the past year for a total of 4.75 percentage points, the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s.
    The bank is predicting annualized GDP contraction in the range of half to 1 percentage point in the next three quarters before going back to positive growth, he said.
    Moynihan took solace in a low unemployment rate and easing wage inflation, which should prevent the economy from tipping into a deep recession.
    “The fact that unemployment is still 3.5% [indicates] full employment-plus. And then the wage growth is slowing and tipping over,” he said. “So the signs of inflation are tipping down and it’s still there but that translates into relatively good activity so we see a slight recession and we’ll see what happens.”
    Bank of America on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations on the back of higher interest rates. The bank said its net interest income — what it makes lending minus what it pays out to customers — jumped 25% to $14.4 billion during the quarter from a year earlier.
    “Our stress scenarios are always less than anybody else’s because of how we built the company to go through problems including the pandemic,” Moynihan said. More

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    Johnson & Johnson beats on earnings and revenue, raises full-year guidance

    Johnson & Johnson reported adjusted earnings and revenue that beat expectations, and raised its full-year guidance.
    J&J, whose financial results are considered a bellwether for many health companies, said its first-quarter sales grew 5.6% over the same quarter last year. 
    The consumer staples giant reported a net loss of $68 million, or 3 cents per share, due to a special one-time charge.

    Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images

    Johnson & Johnson reported adjusted earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday, and lifted its full-year forecast as it cited strong growth across all business units led by its pharmaceutical arm.
    J&J, whose financial results are considered a bellwether for many health companies, said its first-quarter sales grew 5.6% over the same quarter last year. 

    The consumer staples giant reported a net loss of $68 million, or 3 cents per share, related to its talc baby powder liabilities and costs tied to the upcoming spin-off of its consumer health business. That compares to a net income of $5.2 billion, or $1.93 per share, for the same period a year ago. Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share were $2.68 for the period.
    Here’s how J&J results compared with Wall Street expectations based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

    Earnings per share:  $2.68 adjusted, vs. $2.50 expected
    Revenue: $24.75 billion, vs. $23.67 billion expected

    J&J is now forecasting 2023 sales of $97.9 billion to $98.9 billion, about $1 billion higher than the guidance provided in January. The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to $10.60 to $10.70 per share, from a previous forecast of $10.45 to $10.65.
    The company’s shares were roughly flat in premarket trading. The stock is down more than 6% for the year through Monday’s close, putting the company’s market value at roughly $430 billion. 
    CFO Joseph Wolk told CNBC on Tuesday that J&J raised its guidance due to strong growth across all three business sectors — consumer health, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

    “If you think about how we started the year and guidance in January, we were responsibly cautious,” he said on “Squawk Box.” “First-quarter growth was much stronger than even fourth-quarter growth for all three business units, and our positions kind of change to responsibly optimistic at this point. We feel very good about 2023.”
    He added that data being produced on J&J’s drug for the cancer multiple myeloma and procedural data in its medical devices unit make the company “feel very, very good about what lies beyond 2023.”
    J&J reported $13.4 billion in pharmaceutical sales, which grew more than 4% over the same quarter last year. The company said that increase was driven by sales of Darzalex, a biologic for the treatment of multiple myeloma, and the blockbuster drug Stelara, which is used to treat a number of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
    J&J will lose patent protection on Stelara later this year. During a conference call, Wolk said the company is “committed to growing through the loss.”
    Sales for the company’s medical devices business rose to nearly $7.5 billion, up 7.3% from the first quarter of 2022. J&J said its acquisition of Abiomed, a cardiovascular medical technology company, in December last year fueled that rise.
    J&J’s consumer health business, which it is spinning off into a separate publicly traded company this year, reported about $3.8 billion in sales. That unit grew 7.4% over the same period last year, primarily driven by over-the-counter products like Tylenol and skin health products under brands like Neutrogena and Aveeno.
    Wolk told CNBC the company is making “great progress” on the separation of its consumer health business. But J&J hasn’t been clear about when exactly the split will happen.
    J&J also announced its board has approved a 5.3% quarterly dividend increase, to $1.19 per share, due to the company’s strong 2022 performance.
    The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company entered this earnings season with its shares on the rise after it offered more clarity on the long-running legal fight over its talc-based baby powder products. Earlier this month, J&J  proposed to pay nearly $9 billion over the next 25 years to settle thousands of allegations that its baby powder and other talc products caused cancer. 
    Read the full J&J earnings report. More

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    Goldman Sachs misses revenue estimates after taking $470 million hit on Marcus loans

    Here’s what the company reported: Earnings of $8.79 a share vs. $8.10 estimate
    Revenue of $12.22 billion vs. $12.79 billion

    David Solomon, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., during a Bloomberg Television at the Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference in New York, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. 
    Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Goldman Sachs posted first-quarter results on Tuesday that missed analysts’ expectations for revenue after taking a $470 million hit tied to the sale of consumer loans.
    Here’s what the company reported:

    Earnings: $8.79 a share vs. $8.10 estimate from Refinitiv
    Revenue: $12.22 billion vs. $12.79 billion

    The bank said earnings fell 18% to $3.23 billion, or $8.79 a share, topping the estimate of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
    That EPS beat was also driven by Goldman’s loan sale because offloading the debt allowed it to release $440 million in reserves for loan losses, which added roughly $1.20 per share to earnings, Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo said in a research note.
    Companywide revenue fell 5% to $12.22 billion, below estimates on the consumer loan hit and weaker-than-expected bond trading and asset & wealth management results.
    Shares of the New York-based bank slipped 3.8% in premarket trading.
    Unlike its more diversified rivals, Goldman gets the majority of its revenue from Wall Street activities, primarily trading and investment banking. Heading into the quarter, analysts wondered whether turmoil during March — in which two American banks failed and a global investment bank was forced to merge with a longtime rival — would provide a good or bad backdrop to trading.

    While JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup beat first-quarter estimates in part because of better-than-expected fixed income trading, Goldman’s traders didn’t fare as well.

    Bad comps

    Fixed income trading revenue fell 17% to $3.93 billion, roughly $230 million below the StreetAccount estimate, on lower activity in currencies and commodities. Equities trading revenue slipped 7% to $3.02 billion, edging out the $2.9 billion estimate.
    While investment banking revenue remained weak, falling 26% from a year earlier to $1.58 billion, that was better than the $1.44 billion estimate.
    Goldman’s results show how closely the bank is tethered to the ups and downs of Wall Street. With both trading and investment banking well below results from a year ago, the bank had few options to generate revenue growth.
    The bank’s combined trading and advisory revenue decline was a “worst in class” drop of 16%, according to Mayo.
    One metric that is closely watched by investors, the bank’s return on tangible equity, hit 12.6% in the quarter on an annualized basis. That is below the bank’s longer-term target of $15 to 17% returns.
    The firm’s other units posted mixed results. Goldman’s asset & wealth management division posted a 24% increase in revenue from a year earlier to $3.22 billion, well below the $3.7 billion estimate. The bank’s platform solutions business generated $564 million in revenue, a 110% increase from a year earlier and topping the $535.1 million estimate.
    So far this earnings season, big banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America outperformed their smaller peers, helped by an influx of deposits after Silicon Valley Bank’s meltdown. But since retail banking plays a small — and shrinking — role at Goldman, much more focus will be on trading and investment banking and what expectations are for the rest of the year.

    More to come?

    In fact, the bank’s foray into consumer banking, which was pulled back in recent months after losses and management turnover, weighed on the quarter’s results.
    Goldman said it posted a roughly $470 million loss on the partial sale of its Marcus loans portfolio, and moved the remainder of loans to the “held for sale” category.
    On that topic, analysts will likely ask CEO David Solomon if more unwinding is left. The CEO said in February that Goldman was weighing “strategic alternatives” for its consumer platforms business. That has been interpreted as potentially selling off the GreenSky business it acquired recently or offloading credit-card partnerships with Apple and others.
    And they’ll likely ask for details about Goldman’s part in helping Apple offer new savings accounts; the product launched with a higher interest rate than the bank’s own Marcus product has.
    Goldman shares have dipped 1.1% this year before Tuesday, a better showing than the nearly 17% decline of the KBW Bank Index.
    Earlier Tuesday, Bank of America topped estimates on higher net interest income. Last week, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all topped profit expectations amid rising rates. Morgan Stanley is scheduled to release results Wednesday.
    This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More

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    SEC’s Gensler in congressional hot seat today over climate change and crypto

    Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, takes his seat before the start of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021.
    Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

    The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning. Oversight hearings are normally a snoozefest but this one has the potential for fireworks. 
    That’s because SEC Chair Gary Gensler has aroused the ire of many in corporate America over his 50+ list of new regulatory proposals the SEC is scheduled to vote on this year. 

    The proposals run the gamut, from addressing climate change and board diversity to updating rules on best execution and payment for order flow (PFOF), securities lending,  short sale disclosures, shortening the settlement cycle for securities, cybersecurity, and more disclosure on private funds and the advisors around them. 
    Too many rules, too little time to respond 
    Wall Street’s principal complaint against Gensler: Too much, too fast.
    “The barrage of rulemaking at the SEC is unprecedented and merits the close scrutiny of Congress,” Tom Quaadman, executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in an open letter to the House Financial Services Committee. “Chair Gensler has identified a range of 50-55 regulatory priorities since the start of his tenure, and has already proposed twice as many rules as his predecessor in just half the time.” 
    The chair of that committee seems to share those concerns. 
    “There’s a massive amount of change that this chair is trying to drive and it has a lot of expense in the markets and he’s given a limited amount of time for actually good comment,” House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R.-NC) said on CNBC Tuesday morning. “So we’re going to have shoddy rules that are very expensive on a market at a time where the rest of the world wants to take our capital markets. I don’t think it’s a smart agenda.”

    This is more than just a complaint: If the SEC is not giving due merit to the concerns of those affected by the proposed rules it could get sued, which is exactly what U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark said is the likely result. 
    The chamber can work with Gensler and his team, Clark said on CNBC Monday. “We submit comments and have pleadings, we do everything that we can to get the appropriate amount of regulation and smart regulation accomplished,” she said. “If that doesn’t work, then we take them to court.” 
    Challenging SEC authority on climate change
    Few proposals have aroused more debate than Gensler’s plan to have public companies disclose risks they may face around climate change. The SEC has received 15,000 comments so far. 
    In his prepared testimony, Gensler concedes, “The SEC has no role as to climate risk itself.  But we do have an important role with regard to ensuring for public companies’ full, fair, and truthful disclosure about material risks.” 
    Gensler says that hundreds of companies already make climate risk disclosures and he is simply trying to build order out of chaos. 
    But the proposed rule is facing considerable opposition from the business community, which argues that there is too much disclosure required, and from Republicans who claim that it’s a back-door means to push a climate change agenda. 
    Opponents of climate change disclosure have a big weapon 
    Opponents of increased regulation cite a potent court case that has emboldened them. 
    Last year, in West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled that there are limits on a regulator’s powers. In that case, the Court relied on the “major questions doctrine,” which holds that Congress has not delegated issues of major significance to regulatory agencies. Any agency must be able to point to a clear statement from Congress authorizing its action. 
    That case related to the Clean Air Act and the ability of the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. “The majority found that the EPA had exceeded its congressionally-delegated responsibility by pushing utilities to make system-wide moves away from coal-generated power and towards cleaner forms of electricity generation,” according to a summary of the case at JDSupra. 
    Since Congress has not passed major climate legislation for years, opponents of the SEC’s climate rule will likely sue the SEC and cite West Virginia v. EPA , again arguing that Congress has not granted specific authority for the SEC to act on climate change. 
    That is exactly the line of attack the Chamber of Commerce suggested: “How has the Securities and Exchange Commission heeded the major questions doctrine — as advanced in West Virginia v. EPA — in its interpretation of its rulemaking authority?,”  Quaadman said in his letter. 
    Gensler on crypto 
    Crypto enthusiasts have been frustrated by Gensler’s refusal to approve a spot bitcoin ETF and by his stepped-up enforcement efforts against crypto exchanges and others in the community, which critics say is an attempt by the SEC to gain control over the industry. 
    “The vast majority of crypto tokens are securities,” Gensler declared in his written testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. “Given that most crypto tokens are securities, it follows that many crypto intermediaries are transacting in securities and have to register with the SEC.” 
    But without clear regulatory authority from Congress, there has been considerable pushback. 
    “SEC Chair Gensler is long overdue to testify before the House Financial Services Committee,” Rep. French Hill (R.-Ark), Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement released to CNBC. “I have deep reservations about the SEC’s approach to digital assets, including its ongoing turf battle with the CFTC and its efforts to front-run bipartisan efforts in Congress to pass payment stablecoin legislation.” More

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    Fox News and Dominion trial kicks off with opening statements in defamation suit

    Opening arguments are set to begin in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
    Dominion has accused Fox of “intentionally and falsely” blaming it for former President Donald Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden by airing false claims that the company rigged the 2020 election.
    Fox has maintained the statements made about Dominion on its air are protected by the First Amendment.
    The case has led to the release of troves of private messages and testimony from top Fox News figures including Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and opinion host Tucker Carlson.

    A person walks by Fox News signage posted on the News Corporation building in New York City, April 12, 2023
    Andrew Kelly | Reuters

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday in the Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of spreading the damaging falsehood that the company rigged the 2020 election.
    The civil trial in Delaware Superior Court arrives more than two years after Dominion, which sells voting machines and election software, first accused Fox of knowingly airing lies about the company in order to boost its ratings.

    The network “intentionally and falsely” blamed Dominion for former President Donald Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden by broadcasting unsubstantiated claims about the company, including that it meddled with vote tallies, Dominion alleged.
    Fox has maintained that the statements made about Dominion on its air are protected by the First Amendment, which shields the freedoms of speech and press. The network also argued that Dominion’s suit does not establish that the claims were aired with “actual malice,” a requirement to meet the legal standard for defamation.

    Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems and their legal team arrive at the Leonard Williams Justice Center where the Dominion Voting Systems defamation trial against FOX News is taking place on April 18, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware.
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

    The trial’s unusual circumstances — most defamation cases settle out of court, and few promise in-person testimony from a parade of well-known media figures — along with a 10-figure claim for damages have generated cacophonous media buzz. But it’s far from clear what impact, if any, the case will have on Fox’s reputation or its bottom line.
    Dominion has also filed defamation lawsuits against Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani, his ex-campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, right-wing news networks and other figures. Smartmatic, another elections technology firm, has filed similar defamation lawsuits demanding billions of dollars in damages.
    But the case against Fox has seized the spotlight in recent months — especially following the release of troves of private messages and testimony from top Fox News talent and executives, including Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and opinion host Tucker Carlson.

    The communications have cast a shade of scandal over the legal battle, revealing how some Fox personnel and other high-profile figures reacted behind the scenes to the events following the 2020 election. News outlets were quick to contrast some Fox personalities’ private remarks about the election fraud claims with what was being said on air at the same time.
    The trial is expected to last up to six weeks. But an unexplained delay in the proceedings, and reports of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Fox and Dominion, cast doubt on whether the case would even make it to trial.
    And the two parties clashed Monday on how much money is actually at stake, with Fox stating Dominion had slashed its damages claim from an original amount of $1.6 billion and Dominion holding firm that “the damages claim remains.”
    One piece of the lawsuit has already been decided: Judge Eric Davis last month ruled that the statements flagged by Dominion were, indeed, false. “The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” Davis wrote.
    His ruling clarified that the trial jury will determine who is responsible for publishing the false claims, and if those people acted with actual malice. That legal standard means proving that the claims were published with the knowledge they were false, or with reckless disregard for the truth.
    The lead-up to the trial has already been marked by major twists, only heightening public interest.
    The judge ruled earlier this month that the 92-year-old Murdoch and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, can be forced to testify in court. Other witnesses include Carlson, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, Sean Hannity and other top TV personalities at Fox.

    Dominion lawyers Michael Farnan (L) and Rodney Smolla enter the Leonard Williams Justice Center where the Dominion Voting Systems defamation trial against FOX News is taking place on April 18, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware.
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

    And in a pretrial hearing last week, Davis sanctioned Fox and its parent company for withholding evidence from Dominion during the discovery process, NBC News reported.
    Recordings made by former Fox producer Abby Grossberg in 2020, which allegedly show Giuliani and Fox host Maria Bartiromo talking about voting software, were not handed over to Dominion, according to NBC. Grossberg sued the network last month, alleging she was coerced into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion case.
    A Fox spokeswoman said after the hearing that it had “produced the supplemental information from Ms. Grossberg when we first learned it.”
    This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
    — Kevin Breuninger reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Lillian Rizzo reported from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. More

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    Bank of America shares gain after first-quarter results top expectations on higher rates

    Bank of America’s first-quarter earnings and revenue topped expectations on the back of higher interest rates.
    “Every business segment performed well as we grew client relationships and accounts organically and at a strong pace,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

    Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, speaking on Squawk Box at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17th, 2023. 
    Adam Galica | CNBC

    Bank of America on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations on the back of higher interest rates.
    Here’s what the bank did compared with Wall Street estimates according to Refinitiv:

    Earnings: 94 cents per share versus 82 cents per share expected
    Revenue: $26.39 billion versus $25.13 billion expected

    The bank stock rose more than 2% in premarket trading after the results.
    Bank of America said its net interest income, what it makes lending money minus what it pays out to customers, jumped 25% to $14.4 billion during the quarter from a year earlier thanks to rising rates.
    “Every business segment performed well as we grew client relationships and accounts organically and at a strong pace,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement. “Our results demonstrate how our company’s decade-long commitment to responsible growth helped to provide stability in changing economic environments.”
    Its noninterest income increased by just 1% to $11.8 billion as higher sales and trading revenue offset lower service charges and declines in asset management and investment banking fees, the bank said.
    “We delivered our seventh straight quarter of operating leverage. We further strengthened our balance sheet and maintained strong liquidity,” Moynihan said.

    Bank of America set aside $931 million for credit losses in the first quarter. The bank said net charge-offs remained below pre-Covid pandemic levels.
    Sales and trading revenue gained 7% to $5.1 billion in the quarter. Revenue from fixed income, currency and commodity trading increased by 27% to $3.4 billion, while equities trading revenue fell 19% to $1.6 billion. More

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    United plans to expand Australia, New Zealand flights 40% in bet on international travel rebound

    United plans to expand its flights to Australia and New Zealand later this year.
    Airline executives have said they are logging strong international travel demand.
    United is scheduled to release quarterly results after the market closes.

    A United Airlines Boeing 777-200 lands at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California.
    Louis Nastro | Reuters

    United Airlines is planning to grow its service to Australia and New Zealand later this year, the carrier’s latest bet that travelers will continue to book international trips.
    The expansion to 66 weekly flights between the U.S. and the two countries amounts to a 40% increase in flights from last year, the carrier said Tuesday. The schedule also equates to about 75% more seats to those countries than the same season of 2019, United said.

    The new schedule includes nonstop flights between San Francisco and Christchurch, New Zealand, on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner starting Dec. 1, and from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, on a 787-9 on Oct. 28. United is also building up service from both San Francisco and Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia, and it is using its largest plane to fly between San Francisco and Melbourne, Australia.
    Airline executives have been upbeat about international travel demand and have been expanding their schedules to cater to the rebound.
    Delta Air Lines last week forecast second-quarter results ahead of analysts’ estimates and highlighted particular strength for international trips.
    “On international, we are excited with the momentum we’re seeing and expect record revenues and profitability for the summer travel season,” Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, said Thursday on an earnings call.
    The carrier is growing its international seats by 20% in the quarter ending in June and it has locked in about 75% of its bookings, he added.
    United Airlines is scheduled to report first-quarter results after the market closes Tuesday and will provide another demand forecast ahead of the peak summer travel season. More