Raphael Stevens

Jim Fitterling, the CEO of Dow, a key Ralph Lauren partner on new color-dyeing technology, recently told the CNBC ESG Impact summit that the retailer’s flagship stores in New York next year will have the technology to let consumers have polo shirts dyed in-store.
New and unique retail experiences are critical to apparel company efforts to bring shoppers back post-pandemic.
Textile dyeing is a toxic process with major sustainability challenges, but technology innovation, from smaller and more eco-friendly dyeing equipment to digital printing breakthroughs, is going to lead to less energy, water and chemical intensive coloring, increased customization and faster fashion.

Ralph Lauren Polo shirts are on display in a store window in New York.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

If the colors that apparel retailers choose for their latest lines often aren’t to your liking, or by the time they hit the store shelves seem behind the latest trends on the sidewalks or on social media, a solution may be coming sooner than you imagined.
By next year, Ralph Lauren flagship stores may have the textile coloring technology to let shoppers have the blank slate of cotton polo shirt dyed in-store.

Chemicals giant Dow, a major player in textile dyes, has been working with Ralph Lauren on new processes for cotton dyeing that reduce use of chemicals, water and energy intensity.
“Ralph Lauren obviously is a big user of cotton and to dye textiles, it takes a lot of chemicals and a lot of water and you generate a lot of waste and mainly you do that because you’re trying to use heat and pressure to put that dye into the fabric,” Dow CEO Jim Fitterling said last week at the CNBC ESG Impact summit.
Trillions of liters of water, for example, are used for fabric dyeing, which is equal to 20% of the world’s wastewater.
That is one of the reasons Dow developed what it calls ECOFAST Pure, announced earlier this year, which to dye cotton needs up to 90% less chemicals, 50% less energy and 50% less water.
But the sustainability project could also have major implications for what is called experiential retail — the effort by retailers to give consumers new reasons to come into stores as e-commerce’s footprint, already large, only grows as a result of the pandemic.

Ralph Lauren’s Color on Demand project uses the Dow technology to color cotton at any point in manufacturing, and result in shorter lead times for making color decisions. Halide Alagöz, chief product and sustainability officer at Ralph Lauren, said in an announcement about the effort earlier this year that the retailer will be able to “meet personalized consumer demands faster than ever before.”
And while he didn’t say it, that means potentially coloring a shirt in the store.
“Ralph Lauren will be able to do something like put Color on Demand in one of their flagship stores in New York next year so that you can go in and get your Ralph Lauren polo dyed in the store,” Fitterling said at the CNBC ESG Impact event. “That would have never been possible without this technology.”
A Ralph Lauren spokeswoman said, “We look forward to sharing more about this in due course.”

The post-pandemic era of experiential retail

Coming up with new strategies to more deeply involve the consumer in the apparel production experience is not new for Ralph Lauren. It has allowed shoppers to customize colors for its iconic horse logo sewn into shirts for apparel ordered online. Other retailers, such as North Face, have been letting consumers pick and choose the components of jackets and have their preferences manufactured into the whole.
Customization and faster fashion that embeds the individual consumer in the shopping narrative is going to play out in many ways in the retail sector. Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Chip Bergh has said the traditional sizes will be a thing of the past in fashion as 3-D body scanners and camera technology, combined with much faster manufacturing, will allow retailers to make clothes a unique fit for each person. Nike and Amazon both have made body-scanning technology acquisitions in recent years.
Pre-pandemic every conversation in retail was about selling experiences over things, and while the lockdowns may have put much that had been in the works on pause as digital became the only way to do business, those strategies will now come back into focus.
“E-commerce has gained points of penetration and mindshare and will not give it back,” said Simeon Siegel, retail analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “But strong stores that made it through the pandemic are even stronger and are not likely to go away.”
That means an increasing blend of e-commerce and experiential stores, especially for high-profile locations. “The store will become more experiential each and every day,” Siegel said. “The trick is how to capitalize on it to sell more things.”
Allowing a consumer to choose a color and have a piece of apparel dyed in a store could help to create the type of emotional attachment tied to a purchase that is key to retail’s future.
Making the consumer “the creator,” according to Siegel, “has always been a powerful thing. Bringing the consumer into the story has always been a winning proposition.”
“People want to get back out after the pandemic,” said Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer and director of research at Tigress Financial Partners. “Lots of ideas got shelved because of the pandemic but will come back. A good portion of retail still takes place in a store” he said.  
Customization and rapid production of apparel that allows consumers to choose color is an interesting development because the process of fabric preparation has historically been toxic and only able to be done by workers wearing protection in plant settings.
“The chemicals to dye stuff, the whole handling of how companies get rid of stuff … you don’t take excess dye and dump it in a sink,” he said, though he added that removal of chemicals from many products, such as cleaning products, is becoming much more common.
Dow declined to elaborate on its CEO’s comments.
Ralph Lauren said in its official announcement that the goal is the world’s first “scalable zero wastewater cotton dyeing system,” and the first phase which will be in use with traditional dyeing equipment will use up to 85% less chemicals. By 2025, it aims to use the Color on Demand platform in more than 80% of solid cotton products. 
The companies also announced earlier this month that they are open-sourcing the dyeing process for the textile industry.

Breakthroughs in color technology

Multiple breakthroughs in fabric coloring are underway. Digital textile printing is already changing the way consumers control color and pattern.
“The sky is the limit to what consumers can order and receive,” said Ken Butts, global key account manager at Datacolor, which works with retailers on the implementation of digital color solutions for their supply chains. That has been mostly limited to online companies doing it for DIY crafters, and for patterns rather than solid colors on fabrics including upholstery or curtains, though it is moving into apparel, too. “We’re seeing companies investing in their own digital printers or print samples and the next step is printing directly for consumers,” he said.
Digital printing is able to respond to consumer interest and demand quickly, but it will not replace traditional dyeing any time soon because, among other factors, there are many fabrics which it still cannot handle.
“It doesn’t mean that won’t be overcome some day,” Butts said, “but your typical polo shirt, it is manufactured first to look like a shirt and then dyed in the form of a shirt. You can’t print it, you can’t twist it around in there [the printer].” 
The traditional approach to dyeing a piece of clothing like a polo shirt requires an intensive process with hundreds of gallons of pigment and a significant amount of large-scale machinery which would never be feasible for a store setting, but even in industrial textile facilities, there are smaller machines used to test color samples.  
“Anywhere in the world you find a factory dyeing fabrics on large-scale equipment, thousands of pounds at a time, they will have a similar piece in the lab on a small scale and that’s where the manufacturer is testing their ability to make a specific color,” Butts said. “The first step for a supplier when a retailer asks for a new color is to test it on smaller equipment.”
The smaller equipment still requires chemicals and water and the end of the process will include waste disposal issues, but as technology improves it is not unreasonable to foresee a future in which retailers can dye fabric in-store, especially larger, flagship-style stores where space is not constrained.
Customers may be able to come into a store and pick a color from a palette, or maybe even bring in a color with them, and software will be able to translate that into the dyes required. But timing will be an issue for an in-store revolution in color-dyeing. Chemical dyeing, even at its most efficient, can still take as long as an hour to produce the final garment. But for both consumer and retailer that might still be better than the current process.
“Now designers are choosing a palette that will appear in a store six to nine months from now, summer 2022, and trying to predict consumer trends,” Butts said. If retailers get the trend wrong, that may result in a rush process of new manufacturing and transport which has high costs and by the time they get the new units they may still miss trend. “With this, you can respond to current hot trends,” he said.
A consumer could come into a store with a color in mind, maybe they saw someone else wearing it, and within a day or two the apparel can be produced and the retailer didn’t need to order 10,000 shirts in advance. “Dying fabrics to customer preferences is really exciting,” Butts said.

Sustainability and the apparel consumer

Datacolor focuses on translating colors into numerical codes that can be communicated between designers and textile manufacturers in the supply chain, cutting down on the need to ship physical samples back and forth during the design process, and aiding quality control efforts related to making sure the color is correct when it comes time to manufacture thousands of pieces. That is a more efficient approach to apparel production than a designer in one location sending color palettes to dye mills around the world, which then have to send back fabric samples for visual review — “back and forth until the designed finds something they like,” Butts said.
But whether it is digital innovation or dyeing innovation, the retail industry has a sustainability issue that will remain challenging to address. Faster communication in the design and manufacturing process, and faster fashion is enticing for shoppers, but a consumer turning over a wardrobe more frequently is not necessarily being more sustainable even if the underlying processes used to produce the piece require less resources and energy. And giving consumers more reason to come into stores — and potentially spend a longer time while waiting for a custom item to be finished, leading to possibly even more purchases — means more consumption.
“You can eliminate all the big pigments in the machines but at the end of all of that you are still left with a garment or fabric,” Butts said. “That question still has to be addressed. I like seeing improvements in the coloration process, but we still need to address sustainability from an end-to-end view.”
“Let’s face it,” Siegel said. “In retail, the most sustainable option is to not sell the item in the first place.”
Manufacturing that is less harmful and less energy intensive with a lower carbon footprint is a good thing for retailers and brands, but it does not address consumer waste and landfills, which is why retail models are evolving in multiple ways, including the focus on resale and reuse businesses, such as Rent the Runway, which went public last week.
The Ralph Lauren-Dow partnership may be novel in how its sustainability in manufacturing story can lead to a new narrative in experiential retail for the consumer, but no brand has the answer to the bigger question.
“The retailers are in the business of selling more units, but also in the business of improving their sustainability. The question is how to marry those two,” Siegel said. “They need to balance a high-wire act of being better without alienating consumers, convincing consumers the best thing is to walk away. And that story is yet to be written.” More

American cancelled more than 700 flights over the weekend.
The Fort Worth-based airline said it expects issues to abate next month.
Weather disruptions caused staffing shortages, American said.

An American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER plane takes off from Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, October 28, 2020.
Loren Elliott | Reuters

American Airlines has canceled more than 1,000 flights since Friday, disruptions it blamed on staffing problems and high winds at its busiest hub.
On Saturday, American canceled nearly 460 flights, or 17% of its mainline schedule, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines cut 86 flights, or 2% of its Saturday operation.

American canceled another 285 flights, or 10% of its schedule planned for Sunday, on top of 340 cancellations on Friday.
American’s COO David Seymour said in a staff note on Saturday that the problems started with high wind gusts on Thursday that cut capacity at its Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport hub and that crew members ended up out of position for their next flights.
Pilot and flight attendant availability were listed as reasons for most of the cancellations on Saturday and Sunday, according to internal tallies, which were seen by CNBC.
“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” Seymour wrote. He said that most customers were rebooked the same day and that he expects the operation to stabilize in November.
Airlines have struggled with staffing shortfalls that have sparked hundreds of flight cancellations and other disruptions since travel demand rebounded sharply in late spring. Carriers had convinced thousands of staff members to accept voluntary buyouts or leaves of absence to cut their payroll expenses during the depths of the pandemic.

Now they are trying to staff up again, hiring pilots, flight attendants, ramp and customer service workers, and others. Leaner staffing makes it harder for airlines to recover from disruptions like bad weather or technology problems.
Southwest earlier this month said that a meltdown earlier this month in which it canceled more than 2,000 flights cost it $75 million. It also said it would further trim its remaining 2021 schedule after earlier cuts to avoid more disruptions.
American Airlines’ Seymour said that 1,800 flight attendants would be returning from leave starting Nov. 1 and that the rest would be back by December. It said it also is in the process of hiring pilots, mechanics, airport workers and reservations agents “so more team members will be in place for the holiday season.”

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Restaurant executives have painted a bleak picture of staffing challenges to investors on their earnings calls in the last two weeks.
McDonald’s and Starbucks are among the chains that have raised wages to attract workers.
The tight labor market is expected to persist for at least several more quarters.

Employees prepare orders for customers at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Hollywood, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Customers are returning to restaurants in droves, but workers haven’t, putting even more pressure on fast-food chains to retain market share and protect profits while navigating a tight labor market.
Restaurant executives have painted a bleak picture of staffing challenges to investors on their earnings calls in the last two weeks. CEOs like Domino’s Pizza’s Ritch Allison, Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Brian Niccol and McDonald’s Chris Kempczinski shared details on how eateries have shortened hours, restricted ordering methods and lost out on sales because they can’t find enough workers. Some chains have been hit harder by the labor crunch, like Restaurant Brands International’s Popeyes, which saw about 40% of its dining rooms closed due to understaffing.

“This is kind of where we’re separating the wheat from the chaff,” said Neuberger Berman analyst Kevin McCarthy.
Raising wages is one popular approach to staffing problems, although it isn’t a perfect solution. McDonald’s wages at its franchised restaurants have risen roughly 10% so far this year as part of an effort to attract workers. Higher labor costs have led to increased menu prices, which are up about 6% from a year ago, according to McDonald’s executives.

Starbucks plans to spend roughly $1 billion in fiscal 2021 and 2022 on improving benefits for its baristas, including two planned wage hikes. The decision reduced its earnings forecast for fiscal 2022, disappointing investors and shaving off $8 billion in market cap. But McCarthy thinks more companies should take a page from the company’s playbook and invest in their employees.
“The stock is down, but I think they’re a winner out of this. Great move on their part, long-term definitely the right decision,” he said.
McCarthy said he’s been assuming that restaurant companies are losing roughly 5 points of traffic due to understaffing.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2021 and into 2022, most publicly traded restaurants said they expect the problem to persist for at least several more quarters. Texas Roadhouse CEO Gerald Morgan told analysts on Thursday that there are “a little bit” more people in the applicant pool, but he still thinks there’s a long way to go before the company has enough employees to meet demand.
Mark Kalinowski, founder of Kalinowski Equity Research, said executives for privately held restaurant companies are more pessimistic about the timeline for the labor market’s recovery.
“Typically when you have high-level people at private companies saying this is going to get worse, it usually is,” Kalinowski said.
He has lowered estimates for Starbucks’ fiscal 2022 results and Domino’s U.S. same-store sales growth next quarter after the companies’ latest earnings reports.
“Not every company is going to necessarily see a change in the sales forecast, but the margin side of things, you got to pay closer attention to, particularly for concepts that have 100% company-owned locations in the U.S. or are significantly company stores,” Kalinowski said.
Kalinowski said he’s favoring stocks with a higher concentration of franchised restaurants. McDonald’s, for example, only operates 5% of its U.S. locations, while the rest are run by franchisees.
More restaurant earnings are still ahead. Outback Steakhouse owner Bloomin’ Brands, Wingstop and Applebee’s owner Dine Brands and IHOP parent Dine Brands are among the companies expected to report their latest results next week. Some analysts, like Wedbush Securities’ Nick Setyan, have tweaked their estimates, given the earnings reports from peer companies.

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General Motors’ new 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 marks the latest chapter in the famed American sports car’s nearly 70-year history.
In their own words, here’s what Corvette team members had to say about the new Z06 and what being part of GM’s most iconic franchise.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has said Corvette could be a $7 billion to $12 billion franchise for GM

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 team members from left to right: Aaron Link, lead development engineer; Dustin Gardner, assistant chief engineer, small block; Harlan Charles, product marketing manager; Josh Holder, chief engineer; Tadge Juechter, executive Chief engineer; Kirk Bennion, exterior design manager.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

DETROIT – General Motors’ new 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 marks the latest chapter in the famed American sports car’s nearly 70-year history.
Those who were intimately involved in making the car described it as “otherworldly” and an “utopian version of a sports car.” It’s a street-legal race car designed for the track that allows GM to flex its engineering muscle and draw attention to Corvette, which Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has said could be a $7 billion to $12 billion franchise for the automaker.

CNBC talked with several team members about the 2023 Corvette Z06, which features a new 5.5-liter V-8 naturally aspirated engine with 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque – the most powerful engine of its kind in any production car.
In their own words, here’s what Corvette team members had to say about the vehicle and their roles in GM’s most iconic franchise, including the regular Corvette Stingray.

Tadge Juechter, Corvette executive chief engineer
“When I think about why we do this, it’s going to sound funny, but I think about adults giggling. When you put somebody behind the wheel in a Corvette and put them on a good road and just let them go, that’s what you get, adults giggling.  It’s hard to control and it doesn’t get old. You hear the engine, it’s a super passionate machine in an age of hominization of transportation, there aren’t that many unique driver experiences out there. We’ve not only created a unique one, but way out in left field.
“The Stingray is this super nice, sweet, well developed car. This is a little bit of a bad boy. It’s got a little bit of edge to it. Not an edge in meaning tricky handling, but it’s got a lot more attitude, I would say. The character comes through loud and clear from the time you start it to anytime you drive it. The speed of the response of the car, it’s kind of otherworldly.”

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Aaron Link, Corvette lead Development Engineer
“This car represents the utopian version of a sports car to me. It’s a mid-engine architecture and all the inherent goodness that comes from that with a lightweight front end that really amplifies how quick the car turns, and then all the traction in the back where you need it, where you can have a huge power number. And then the natural aspirated engine part of that is kind of what everyone’s always thought of when you think of like this mid-engine supercar/sports car. And we’re doing it, right? And nobody else is really.
“So that’s the beauty to me is being part of that and getting to have a big hand in how that is formed and shaped and comes out … It just makes you smile and we say that a lot about cars, but this one really is like you never want it to stop.”
Dustin Gardner, GM small block engine assistant chief engineer
“The privilege to work on this as a career is huge. This engine, being able to do a clean sheet Z06 dedicated built for this mission, and then just so proud of the engineering team around it. This thing is an engineering masterpiece. To do a 5.5-liter flat plane crank, full mechanical valvetrain engine that’s making 670 horsepower to me is, it’s a highlight of the career …
“Just hearing it all work, feeling the power, all your senses are excited. It’s just exhilarating and it’s what it’s supposed to do and it does it so well. It’s been my baby for a while. It’s exciting.”

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Harlan Charles, Corvette product marketing manager
“For me, Corvette has always been the dream car, so making our customers dreams come true. I think with the Stingray we started that, giving people a mid-engine, exotic supercar. But with this one, I think it gets into more bringing the racing experience to the driver … The sounds, the way the car feels and handles, you feel like you’re driving the street legal race car, and basically you are. That means a lot and then also at an historic scale … the future or electrification or whatever, and the future will be here someday, obviously, but let’s just reflect on this moment right now. Here’s a pinnacle of technology and naturally aspirated, internal combustion engine.
“This is kind of a golden era where we are able to drive and operate an engine that’s a real engine and makes you feel alive … And so let’s all enjoy this while we can and really appreciate that we’re able to offer a supercar like this that is relatively attainable that people who work hard can afford it and drive it, and it’s American and people can be proud of having something that was designed, built and engineered here in America that can take on the world’s best and win.”
Josh Holder, Corvette chief engineer
“I think we would all say it’s a dream assignment, it’s a dream job. Especially anyone that’s a car guy and a gearhead, to get to work on any performance car, but especially Corvette, of course we’re bias. And then this Corvette makes it even more special. So, we’re all really glad that we get to do this job, super appreciated of it and very lucky …
“This car is for the thrill of driving. It’s for people who enjoy the driving experience, right? The journey as much as the destination. And when you’re in a car, especially this car, the new Z06, you feel not just the freedom to be able to go wherever you want, but like you’re a superhero, enjoying that freedom because you can go wherever you want, however you want; take on anything on the road or the track and compete and win. To have that kind of freedom in a car like this is something really special.”

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

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The U.S. is reporting an average of 72,000 new cases per day over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University,
That’s down 58% from the most recent high mark of 172,500 average daily cases on Sept. 13.
Case counts have fallen in every U.S. region, most sharply in the South, where the delta wave hit hardest over the summer.

A sign directs employees to return-to-work COVID-19 testing at the World Bank in Washington, October 19, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

U.S. Covid cases have fallen to less than half of the pandemic’s most recent peak, a sign that the country may be moving past the punishing wave brought on by the delta variant this summer.
The U.S. reported an average of 72,000 new cases per day over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, down 58% from the most recent high mark of 172,500 average daily cases on Sept. 13. Vaccination rates have also risen in recent months — albeit more slowly than when the shots were first rolled out — to nearly 58% of fully vaccinated Americans as of Thursday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

“Personally, I’m optimistic that this may be one of the last major surges, and the reason for that is because so many people have been vaccinated, and also because a lot of people have had Covid,” said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “We now have a lot of immunity in the population.”

Hospitalizations are also falling. About 51,600 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, according to a seven-day average of data from the Department of Health and Human Services, roughly half of the 103,000 Covid patients reported at the most recent high point in early September. And while the U.S. is still reporting 1,400 daily Covid deaths, that figure is down 33% from the latest peak of nearly 2,100 deaths per day on Sept. 22.
Case counts have fallen in every U.S. region, most sharply in the South, where the delta wave hit hardest over the summer.
Health experts are still urging caution to a country that they recognize is exhausted by the pandemic. Rising infections in Europe, the possibility of a new variant, and the approaching holiday season are concerns despite the positive trends.

Warning signs in Europe

As the pandemic eases in the U.S., global cases are on the rise again after two months of declines, World Health Organization officials said Thursday. Infections in Europe are fueling the worldwide increase, while case totals continue to fall in every other region of WHO member states, data from the organization shows.

Cases worldwide climbed 4% over the week ended Sunday, with almost 3 million new infections reported during that period. Europe alone represented nearly 57% of the total number of new cases, the WHO measured. 
That’s concerning for Americans because pandemic trends in the U.S. have often followed those overseas. The delta wave surged in Europe before it took hold in the U.S. this summer, for example. 
“A lot of times, what we see in Europe is sort of the harbinger of what we see in the U.S. And so it concerns me that cases there are on the rise,” said Dr. Barbara Taylor, an assistant dean and associate professor of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. 
Population-adjusted case counts in Europe including the United Kingdom recently overtook those in the U.S., according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data, and are up 14% over the prior week.

European countries are reporting a seven-day average of 275 daily new cases per million residents, compared to 218 daily cases per million people in the U.S. as of Oct. 28.

Threat of a new variant

Though U.S. case counts are trending downward, they are still elevated, and continued transmission of the virus means there are ongoing opportunities for new variants to emerge.
“The final potential threat or thing that worries us all is the ability of Covid to change and mutate,” said Taylor. The emergence of a new variant “could change everything about the pandemic over the next six months,” she added.
The WHO is monitoring four Covid variants of concern, a list reserved for mutations that are more contagious, more severe or more adept at evading vaccines and other treatments. Delta remains the world’s most dominant variant, and WHO researchers are tracking more than 30 subtypes of the strain, new mutations that haven’t changed enough to be considered individual variants.

CNBC Health & Science

The delta plus sublineage is currently gaining traction in the U.K., and some scientists say it could be up to 15% more contagious than delta itself. With two new adaptations to the spike protein that allow the virus to enter the body, 93% of delta plus cases sequenced are in the U.K., WHO reports. 
Infectious disease experts told CNBC there isn’t an immediate cause for alarm in the U.S.
“In every single case that you see, there is a finite probability that a new variant will arise. So as long as you have the fire ongoing, it can happen,” Casadevall said. “But if you get the numbers lower and lower, the likelihood of it happening is much lower.”
Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of infectious disease at Northwell Health in New York, agreed.
“Can there be another variant that spreads? Of course. Do I think it’s going to happen now? No,” he said.

‘Dark clouds on the horizon’

The upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays mean more Americans will soon be seeing more of their loved ones and gathering indoors, where the virus spreads more easily. U.S. Covid cases and deaths hit pandemic peaks after the 2020 holiday season, at averages of more than 250,000 infections and 3,400 fatalities per day in January of 2021.
Americans are armed with vaccines this year. Still, “The dark clouds on the horizon are obviously the holidays,” Farber said.
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky recently gave the go-ahead for parents to take their children out for Halloween this year, with some restrictions.
“I wouldn’t gather in large settings outside and do screaming like you’re seeing in those football games if you’re unvaccinated” she said on Fox News Sunday last weekend. “But if you’re spread out doing your trick-or-treating, that should be very safe for your children.”
Walensky advised using “prevention strategies” such as getting vaccinated and spending time outdoors to make the holidays as safe as possible.
It’s hard to project the path of a virus that has been consistently unpredictable. But there is a consensus among experts that Covid will likely transition into an “endemic” virus, meaning that it is not totally eradicated but becomes more manageable and part of the respiratory viruses that the country, and the world, deal with on a yearly basis.
“The way I view this is Covid is here forever, and we’re learning to live with it,” said Farber. “And we can live with it pretty well if we keep it to reasonably low levels and we’re smart about it.”

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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Friday defended the Biden administration’s proposal to give tax credits for electric vehicles made by unionized automakers.
The proposal could exclude EVs from nonunion Tesla.
Elon Musk’s Tesla recently surpassed a $1 trillion stock market value, making it more valuable than GM, Ford and several other global automakers combined.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Friday defended the Biden administration’s proposal to give tax credits for electric vehicles made by unionized automakers, a move that could exclude nonunion Tesla.
“This president is very, very favorable toward organized labor, because organized labor has raised the standard of living of so many Americans, and we want to make sure that we do everything possible to encourage that business and labor really focus on elevating the standards for everyday Americans,” Granholm told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

The tax credit in question would lower the cost by $12,500 for a middle-class family purchasing an EV that’s made in America with U.S. materials and union labor, according to the $1.75 trillion framework for President Joe Biden’s climate and social spending priorities. Biden announced the blueprint Thursday, after working out a deal with Senate Democratic holdouts. No details beyond the White House fact sheet were given.
Elon Musk’s Tesla is the largest producer of electric vehicles, recently surpassing a $1 trillion stock market value, which makes it more valuable than General Motors, Ford and several other of the biggest global automakers combined. The EV titan’s workforce is not unionized, leaving Tesla products ineligible for the government’s tax credits under the Democrats’ proposal.
In March, Tesla was ordered by the National Labor Relations Board to ask Musk to remove a tweet deemed threatening and anti-union as the company’s financial filings consider Musk’s tweets to be official company communication. In the tweet, Musk said his workforce was free to unionize but said they would win “nothing” because they would lose stock options and pay union dues if unionized.
Granholm said Biden is committed to creating an equal economic playing field.
“He wants to address the wealth gap in this country,” she said. “He wants to raise the middle class. He wants to have policy that builds the middle class from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down.” She said the president believes unions can help achieve that.

The Energy secretary also said she’s “totally bullish” around investing in the $23 trillion global market of clean energy that she believes will be there by 2030, saying the U.S. could have a share of that market instead of “standing on the sidelines.”
“We haven’t put more alternatives onto the grid. We haven’t put more technology into the vehicles to make it affordable for everybody,” she said. Tesla is often considered a luxury car company.
“So that requires investment,” Granholm said. “That’s why the tax credits associated with incentivizing the private sector to get off the sidelines on clean energy investment are so important in moving that forward.”

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