Raphael Stevens

Boeing delivered 22 planes to customers in February, its fewest since August.
It booked gross orders for 37 planes, most of them 737 Maxes.
Deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner have been paused for most of the last 16 months.

A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, June 29, 2020.
Karen Ducey | Reuters

Boeing delivered 22 jetliners to customers in February, its fewest since August, as a pause in Dreamliner handovers continues to weigh on the company.
Twenty of those aircraft were 737 Max planes. Deliveries of jets are crucial for Boeing and other manufacturers because that’s when customers pay the bulk of the plane’s price.

Deliveries of the wide-body 787 Dreamliner have been paused for most of the time since fall 2020 as Boeing addresses a series of manufacturing flaws that have required fixes and more in-depth inspections.
American Airlines last month announced additional cuts to its international summer schedule because of Dreamliner delivery delays. It said it expects to receive 10 Dreamliners this year, down from the 13 it previously expected.
Boeing logged 37 new orders last month. Thirty-two of them were 737 Maxes, including 18 for lessor Air Lease. An unidentified customer bought five 777 freighters as air cargo demand continues to remain robust during the Covid pandemic. Air Lease canceled bookings for four Dreamliners.
Boeing’s orders for customers in Russia are still in its backlog, despite the fact that it and rival  Airbus said they would no longer supply parts or service aircraft there. Boeing’s deliveries to Russia have been suspended, however.
Boeing has 85 airplanes on order by Russian airlines or by lessors that are slated to go to Russian airlines, while Airbus has 66, according to aviation data and consulting firm Cirium.

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A man pumps gas into his vehicle at a petrol station in Montebello, California on February 23, 2022, as gas prices hit over $6 dollars per gallon.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

Oil prices jumped to their highs of the session on a report that the U.S. would ban Russian oil imports.
WTI crude oil jumped about 4% to near $124 a barrel.

The U.S. was set to ban Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal without European participation as soon as Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg News report.
Americans are now paying the most at the pump on record as energy prices surge, contributing to rampant inflation that’s hitting all areas of the economy.
The national average for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.173 on Tuesday, according to AAA.
The prior record was $4.114 from July 2008, not adjusted for inflation.
Tuesday’s new high follows a sharp spike in gas since Russia invaded Ukraine, sending oil prices surging.

Consumers are paying 55 cents more than one week ago, and about 72 cents more than last month.
Oil prices, meantime, jumped Sunday to prices last seen in 2008.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, traded as high as $132.07. International benchmark Brent crude hit $139.13. But both settled well below those highs during Monday’s trading session.
On Tuesday, WTI stood 2.9% higher at $122.76 per barrel, while Brent added 3.5% to trade at $127.40.
Experts expect oil prices — and therefore prices at the pump — to remain elevated.
Russia is a key oil and gas producer and exporter, and the country’s war on Ukraine is disrupting the global market.
“Given Russia’s key role in global energy supply, the global economy could soon be faced with one of the largest energy supply shocks ever,” Goldman Sachs said Monday in a note to clients.
Western officials’ sanctions have so far focused on hitting the country’s financial institutions, but possible energy sanctions have been left on the table as an option.
Additionally, the market is already exhibiting self-sanctioning as buyers shun Russian oil.
“Estimates vary but it is probably fair to say that should an import ban be imposed on Russia the additional volume that becomes unavailable would be relatively limited,” said Tamas Varga at brokerage PVM.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods reported fiscal fourth-quarter profits and sales growth that topped analysts’ estimates.
The company is lapping massive gains from the prior year that were fueled by pandemic purchases of outdoor equipment and fitness accessories.
The sporting goods giant offered a better-than-expected forecast for 2022 earnings and same-store sales.
Dick’s board also approved an 11% increase to its quarterly dividend.

Signage outside a Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. store in Clarksville, Indiana, on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday reported profits and sales growth in its holiday quarter that topped analysts’ estimates, as the company laps massive gains from the prior year that were fueled by pandemic purchases of outdoor equipment and fitness accessories.
The sporting goods giant offered a better-than-expected forecast for 2022 earnings and same-store sales, which it says sets a baseline for future growth coming out of Covid-19.

Chief Executive Lauren Hobart said Dick’s continues to see robust consumer demand. “Our 2022 sales and earnings outlook establishes a new foundation for us to build on in the future,” she said in a press release.
Dick’s shares rose more than 5% in premarket trading on the news.
Yet even with pandemic restrictions easing around the country and shoppers returning to stores, it’s still a tricky time for retailers to forecast future growth. Businesses are navigating against a backdrop of sky-high inflation and surging oil prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It’s unclear what kind of impact the war’s ripple effects will have on consumer demand in the U.S. But it’s likely to become a larger concern if rapid price growth persists. Companies from Kohl’s to Victoria’s Secret have mentioned this uncertainty in recent days, as they still project strong earnings this year once supply chain obstacles moderate.
Here’s how Dick’s did in its fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $3.64 adjusted vs. $3.43 expected
Revenue: $3.35 billion vs. $3.31 billion expected

Dick’s reported net income for the three-month period ended Jan. 29 of $346.1 million, or $3.16 per share, compared with income of $219.6 million, or $2.21 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Dick’s earned $3.64 per share, topping estimates for per-share earnings of $3.43.
Revenue grew 7.3% to $3.35 billion from $3.13 billion a year earlier. That topped estimates for $3.31 billion. On a two-year basis, Dick’s said it sales climbed 28.5%.
Same-store sales, a key metric that tracks revenue online and at stores open for at least 12 months, rose 5.9%, better than the 4.3% increase that analysts had been looking for, according to StreetAccount.
The same-store sales gain consisted of a 14% year-over-year increase at Dick’s retail stores, and an 11% decline in online revenue, the company said. A year ago, e-commerce sales had surged 57%, as consumers flocked to Dick’s website over the holiday months to buy kayaks, golf clubs, athletic apparel and other accessories for physical activities.
For the full year, Dick’s sees adjusted earnings per share in a range of $11.70 to $13.10, while analysts had been looking for $11.31, according to Refinitiv.
It sees same-store sales for the year down 4% to flat, while analysts had been looking for a 3.6% decline from the prior year, during which Dick’s reported a 26.5% increase.
Dick’s also announced Tuesday that its board approved an 11% increase to its quarterly dividend.
As of Monday’s market close, Dick’s shares are down 14% year to date, bringing its market cap to $8.9 billion.
Find the full earnings press release from Dick’s here.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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Breeze Airways is planning to add 35 routes, including cross-country flights.
JetBlue founder David Neeleman created the airline to capitalize on routes that other airlines don’t fly.
The expansion coincides with a surge in jet fuel prices to more than 13-year highs.

David Neeleman, founder and chief executive officer of Breeze Airways, during a champagne christening before the airlines’s inaugural flight at Tampa International Airport (TPA) in Tampa, Florida, May 27, 2021.
Matt May | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Breeze Airways on Tuesday said it plans nearly double its network to 77 routes this spring and summer, a massive expansion for the U.S. start-up that began flights last May.
The Salt Lake City-based airline is JetBlue Airways’ founder David Neeleman’s fifth carrier, one he created to capture travel demand between cities that large carriers weren’t serving. Avelo Airlines, another upstart founded by Andrew Levy, until 2018 United Airlines’ CFO, also launched last year, targeting underserved U.S. markets.

Breeze and other airlines have been preparing for a strong peak spring and summer travel season after two difficult Covid pandemic years. Now, a surge in jet fuel to a 13-year high after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is testing them on how much they can expand while costs are climbing.
“It’s not been the easiest,” Breeze’s chief commercial officer, Lukas Johnson, said in an interview.
He said that the list of new flights was “slightly smaller” than expected a few months ago and that the airline made last-minute tweaks over the weekend. Executives want to avoid changing the schedule on customers later on, Johnson said.
Still, domestic leisure travel, where Breeze and Avelo have been focused, has been relatively robust compared with international and corporate travel’s sluggish recovery from the pandemic.
Breeze has an order for 80 Airbus A220-300 jets, a model whose fuel efficiency and range are attractive to airlines including JetBlue and Delta.

Breeze expects to receive about a plane a month from Airbus, Johnson said. It has two in its fleet so far and they’ll start flying in May. The first deliveries have a 36-seat first class, 10 extra legroom seats and 80 in standard coach. Later, they will have 12 first-class seats, 45 in extra legroom and 80 in coach.
Breeze started out flying Embraer E190 and E195 jets.
The airline will use the new Airbus planes to fly longer distances: transcontinental flights like Savannah, Georgia, to Los Angeles and Providence, Rhode Island, to Los Angeles.
Fares will start at $99 for some of the longest routes such as Las Vegas to Jacksonville, Florida, which Breeze plans to launch in August. Johnson expects those fares will be snatched up quickly.
He said Breeze and other airlines are in a balancing act as costs rise.
“You don’t want to raise [fares] too much because you’re still recovering from the pandemic,” Johnson said.
Correction: The first deliveries of Breeze’s Airbus A220-300 jets have a 36-seat first class, 10 extra legroom seats and 80 in standard coach. An earlier version misstated the seating configuration.

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Vladimir Putin’s brutal campaign to deter Ukrainian admission to NATO has ironically boosted the military alliance’s popularity among other would-be members.
Finland and Sweden are rethinking their long-standing positions of military neutrality, with a majority of voters now favoring membership of the 30-member alliance, according to new opinion polls.
Speaking to CNBC Monday, Finland’s former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said the polls reflect “rational fear” among the public.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal campaign to deter Ukrainian admission to NATO has inadvertently boosted the military alliance’s popularity among other prospective member states.
As Russia’s assault on its neighbor intensifies, nearby Finland and Sweden are rethinking their long-standing positions of military neutrality, with a majority of voters now favoring membership of the 30-member alliance for the first time.

In opinion polls released Friday, half (51%) of Swedes and 48% of Finns said they would support their country joining NATO, while around one-quarter opposed it. An earlier poll conducted in February indicated majority Finnish support too.
Speaking to CNBC Monday, Finland’s former prime minister said the recent Finnish poll represents a “reversal” in public opinion reflecting the “rational fear” currently felt by the public.
“[It’s] fear of an aggressive superpower in the form of Russia. Fear of an aggressor and a military power,” Alexander Stubb told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe.”

A complex process

Prospective NATO members can apply to the defense bloc by meeting certain political and economic requirements, with eventual admittance being voted on by existing member states.
However, any move for the two Nordic states to join is unlikely to be speedy or straightforward.

Right now, we do not want to escalate the crisis or the war up here to the northeastern part of Europe.

Alexander Stubb
professor and director, European University Institute

Putin has long viewed NATO’s refusal to block its neighbor, Ukraine, from the alliance as an act of military aggression, listing it among a series of preconditions for halting his current assault. Admitting Finland — which shares a 1,300 kilometer land border with Russia, the European Union’s largest — or Sweden would likely be met with similar resistance.
Indeed, Russia’s defense minister has previously said such moves would be met with military consequences. Already, Russian warplanes have reportedly been intruding into Swedish airspace.

Jeff Overs | BBC News & Current Affairs | Getty Images

Authorities in Sweden and Finland have so far shown no signs of testing that resolve.
Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told reporters last week that despite deepening its cooperation with NATO, it would not change its position overnight based solely on opinion polls.
Meanwhile, Stubb, who served from 2014 to 2015, said the current government was increasing military spending but stopping short of NATO membership.
“Right now, we do not want to escalate the crisis or the war up here to the northeastern part of Europe,” said Stubb, who is currently a professor and director of transnational governance at the European University Institute.
Still, the shift in public mood is a historic one for two countries with previously amicable relations with Russia, and another potential miscalculation in Putin’s war.
“I predict that as the war is prolonged, day by day, support for Finnish NATO membership will increase,” said Stubb.
“The train has left the station,” he added.

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On Tuesday, Lego said its annual revenue jumped 27%, reaching $55.3 Danish krone, or about $8.06 billion, up from $43.7 Danish krone, or around $6.36 billion, in 2020.
Lego was one of the toy companies that saw massive gains during the pandemic, as consumers of all ages gravitated toward its building sets for entertainment.
The company touted its diverse selection, which appeals to a wide range of ages, as well as its e-commerce business to account for the sales surge.

A customer reaches for a box from the Lego Dots range at the Lego A/S store in London, U.K., on Monday, March 7, 2022.
Bloomberg | Getty Images

Sales of Lego building kits continued to soar in 2021, as kids and adults stayed home to build “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” models long after the coronavirus lockdown ended.
On Tuesday, the privately held Danish toymaker said its annual revenue jumped 27%, reaching $55.3 Danish krone, or about $8.06 billion, up from $43.7 Danish krone, or around $6.36 billion in 2020.

Lego was one of the toy companies that saw massive gains during the pandemic, as consumers of all ages gravitated toward its building sets for entertainment. The company touted its diverse selection of toys and their appeal across generations, as well as its e-commerce business to account for the sales surge.
The toymaker’s top performing brands included Lego City, Lego Technic, Lego Creator Expert, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Star Wars. These kits range in size and difficulty, with the company saying the themes make it fun for children to learn building skills while providing a creative outlet for adults.
Lego noted that as it enters its 90th year, it expects its growth rates to normalize and transition back to single-digit growth. Also in mid-2022, the company plans to begin phasing in sustainable sales packaging to replace single-use plastic bags it uses to separate Lego bricks.
During 2021, Lego opened 165 new stores, including 95 in China, bringing its total global store count to 832. China has become one of Lego’s top markets and accounts for 340 stores in its global retail footprint.
Lego’s strong earnings results comes as it has decided to stop delivering toys to around 80 independently owned stores in Russia in response to the war in Ukraine. The company has also donated around $16.5 million to emergency relief efforts, with a focus on providing support for children and families.

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Marketing.Media.Money

Garnier, which is part of the L’Oreal Group, was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier and is now one of the world’s biggest beauty brands.
The global brand recently launched the “first ever mass market no rinse conditioner” which, it says, saves 100 liters of water per tube compared to a traditional wash-out conditioner.
It also says that the product’s packaging contains 75% less plastic than traditional conditioners and is made in a carbon-neutral factory using a water loop, to re-use any water needed in its production.

Lechatnoir | E+ | Getty Images

Sustainability alone will not be enough for consumers to change their shopping habits and products must “deliver for the consumer, first and foremost,” according to Adrien Koskas, global brand president at cosmetics label Garnier.
“We conduct a survey every year about how people are committed to sustainability,” Adrien Koskas told CNBC’s “Marketing, Media, Money.”

“We actually interviewed 30,000 people in nine different countries and 83% of people want to be more sustainable every day, which is really a big number, but only 5% are actively sustainable day to day,” he added.
Garnier, which is part of the L’Oreal Group, was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier and is now one of the world’s biggest beauty brands. Koskas told CNBC that the brand understands that sustainability can be an overwhelming topic for many people who don’t know where they can begin to make a difference.
“This is why we are partnering with National Geographic, for example, to create content to educate people, actually 250 million people, on how to become more sustainable every day. How to recycle your beauty products, how to use less water in a beauty routine, and we think it’s a great mission for us and really helps the consumers in this green quest,” Koskas said.

The global brand recently launched the “first ever mass market no rinse conditioner” which, it says, saves 100 liters of water per tube compared to a traditional wash-out conditioner. It also says that the product’s packaging contains 75% less plastic than traditional conditioners and is made in a carbon-neutral factory using a water loop, to re-use any water needed in its production.
Garnier has set sustainability targets, with some set for as early as 2025, but Koskas remains confident they can be met.  “We are confirming those objectives today. We have very clear KPIs that we track every other month with my team, we regroup, we look at the conception, we have a recycled plastic because we want to have zero virgin plastic by 2025,” he said.

Garnier is also keen to encourage others to join them on their sustainability mission through their “One Green Step” initiative across its social media.
For everyone who shares its “One Green Step” video, Garnier is committing to recycle five bottles of plastic, and if people share their own “green steps” and how they are making a difference themselves, the brand will recycle ten bottles of plastic.
Garnier hopes the “snowball effect” of sharing will encourage people to become more sustainable.
Asked how the brand’s sustainability initiatives have affected its profitability, Koskas told CNBC:
“You know, we don’t look at sustainability and profit like that. For us, it’s what we have to do is the right thing to do and we don’t count, you know, how much it costs. We look at what is the right thing to do, and how can we afford it.”
Garnier’s earnings results are reported as part of L’Oreal’s larger consumer products division, and a look back over the past few years shows a fairly steady operating profit. As a percentage of sales, the unit saw profits of 20% back in 2017, which rose to 20.4% in 2020 before falling to 20.2% last year.

Koskas says this is only the beginning for the brand’s sustainability ambitions.
“At Garnier we really want to become the most sustainable beauty brand in the world. 
I think we’ve started well with the green beauty commitments we have, but it’s only the beginning. We’re very humble. We need to do more, we want to do more,” he said.
“I think Garnier can play a key role in the industry to really change what beauty is about and to make it a very sustainable category and push further out, you know, how much we can engage with our consumers on this topic all around the world.”

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