Raphael Stevens

CDC influenza experts are concerned that the United States could be at risk for a severe flu season this year, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned Wednesday.
That’s because the U.S. population may now have reduced immunity against influenza after flu cases reached an all-time low last year, she said.
Walensky urged Americans to get vaccinated for both Covid and the flu.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dr. Rochelle Walensky testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to examine the FY 2022 budget request for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 19, 2021 in Washington,DC.
Jim Lo Scalzo | AFP | Getty Images

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention influenza experts are concerned that the United States could be at risk for a severe flu season this year, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned Wednesday.
That’s because the U.S. population may now have reduced immunity against influenza after seasonal flu cases reached an all-time low last year when large parts of the nation were shut down, Walensky told reporters during a White House press briefing.

During the 2020-2021 flu season, there were very few flu cases, “largely because of masking and physical distancing and other prevention measures put in place for the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

There were around 2,000 flu cases last influenza season, according to data reported to the CDC. By comparison, the 2019-2020 flu season saw an estimated 35 million cases, according to the agency.
Walensky urged Americans to get shots for both Covid and the flu, saying vaccinations are not just important for ending the pandemic but also preventing other infectious diseases. An increase in flu infections this winter could put an additional burden on the nation’s health-care system, increasing stress on health care workers who are already fighting a high number of hospitalizations due to Covid, she said.
About 69,000 Americans are currently in inpatient beds with Covid, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“We continue to see many hospitals and intensive care units across the country at full capacity,” Walensky said. “Each year in the United States, influenza can claim between 12,000 and 52,000 lives and result in 140,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations.”

She said it is safe and effective to get vaccines for Covid and the flu at the same time.
“We need as many people as possible to be vaccinated for influenza, so that we can provide protection for those who are at most risk, such as adults who are over 65, those of any age who have chronic health conditions such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes, and children, especially under five who are at risk of severe complications from the flu,” she said.

CNBC Health & Science

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Levi Strauss reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales that topped analysts’ expectations.
Levi said consumer demand picked up during the back-to-school season and got a boost from shoppers looking for the latest denim trends.
Although many apparel companies have been hit by global supply chain bottlenecks, Levi has fared well comparatively due to its diversified manufacturing.

Jeans are displayed at a Levi Strauss store in New York, March 19, 2019.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

Levi Strauss & Co. on Wednesday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales that topped analysts’ expectations, as consumer demand picked up during the back-to-school season and shoppers looked to stock up on the latest denim trends.
Its stock rose more than 2% in extended trading on the news, having closed the day down more than 5%.

Although many apparel companies have been hit by global supply chain bottlenecks, Levi has fared well comparatively due to its diversified manufacturing. Less than 4% of its global volume comes from Vietnam, the company said. Production facilities there have been hard hit by periodic shutdowns during the pandemic.
“Our supply chain really is a source of competitive advantage,” Chief Executive Chip Bergh told CNBC. “We can move product around with a lot of agility. … We’ve been running the business against different scenarios for the last 18 months.”
Here’s how the company did in the three-month period ended Aug. 29 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: 48 cents adjusted vs. 37 cents expected
Revenue: $1.5 billion vs. $1.48 billion expected

Net income rose to $193 million, or 47 cents per share, from $27 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 48 cents per share. Analysts had expected profits of 37 cents per share.
Revenue rose 41% to $1.5 billion from $1.06 billion a year earlier. That slightly topped estimates of $1.48 billion.

Bergh said Levi took a roughly $10 million hit to its revenue due to supply chain issues.
Wholesale revenue grew 45% year over year, driven by strong demand in the U.S. and Europe, the company said. Direct-to-consumer sales rose 34% from 2020 levels, and climbed 3% on a two-year basis, as more shoppers visited Levi’s own brick-and-mortar stores for denim and lounge wear.
Digital transactions were up 10% year over year and up 76% on a two-year basis. They accounted for about 20% of Levi’s total sales.
The company noted that its earnings benefited from Levi selling more items directly to consumers and at fuller price points, rather than using promotions.
The lingering health crisis is still shuttering stores around the world. Levi said roughly 10% of its company-operated stores were closed during the latest quarter, primarily in Asia. Roughly 4% remain shut, it said.
For its fourth quarter, Levi is expecting year-over-year revenue growth of 20% to 21%, while analysts had been calling for a 22% increase. The company cautioned its outlook assumes the health crisis doesn’t dramatically worsen.
It sees fourth-quarter earnings ranging between 38 cents and 40 cents per share, on an adjusted basis. Analysts had been looking for an adjusted, per-share profit of 40 cents.
For the full year, Levi sees adjusted earnings in the range of $1.43 to $1.45 per share, ahead of Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $1.33 per share. That implies full-year revenue growth of more than 27%, which would bring sales close to 2019 levels.
“Our expectation is that holiday is going to be pretty good,” Bergh said. “We’re chasing demand right now, from a supply chain standpoint, to make sure that everybody can put Levi under their Christmas tree.”
The company also said Wednesday that its board approved a new $200 million share buyback program during the latest quarter.
Levi shares are up about 21% year to date, putting its market value of $9.76 billion.
Find the full earnings report here.

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St. Louis officials are seeking financial damages they claim they suffered when the Rams moved to Los Angeles in 2016.
NFL lawyers are trying to get the Jan. 2022 trial moved out of St. Louis.

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald #99 leads the defense onto the field to play the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Sunday, October 3, 2021.
Terry Pierson | MediaNews Group | Getty Images

The National Football League still can’t quite escape St. Louis.
Lawyers representing the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams and team owner Stan Kroenke filed an appeal to move their January 2022 trial out of St. Louis. The trial stems from a lawsuit regarding the Rams’ relocation in 2016.

The appeal was filed on Oct. 1. It cites “prejudicial effects of extensive pretrial publicity” as a cause for the venue change. The filing was first reported by Conduct Detrimental, a website that covers sports law.
Beneath all of that legalese lies a pivotal fight for the NFL.
St. Louis officials are seeking financial damages they claim they suffered when the Rams moved to Los Angeles in 2016. The move left St. Louis with debt on the team’s former stadium, which built with public funds. A judge in August already denied a Rams request for change of venue. And sensitive documents about NFL owners’ finances could become public during the trial, which has already been postponed.
The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, City of St. Louis, and the County of St. Louis claim the NFL didn’t honor its relocation policy and hold good faith negotiations to prevent the Rams’ departure. The 2017 lawsuit is listed in the Circuit Court of St. Louis City under case No.1722-CC00976.
The suit claims Kroenke and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones allegedly conspired “to develop a plan to relocate the Rams to Los Angeles and convincing the other member-teams to approve the relocation.” The suit also alleges Kroenke and Jones discussed SoFi Stadium site plans in Inglewood, California, as far back as 2013.

City officials blame the NFL and its owners for lost revenue. Documents about NFL owners’ finances could become public.
Attorneys for St. Louis officials did not respond to a CNBC request for comment. An NFL spokesperson declined to comment.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, left, with Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kronke prior to a NFL playoff football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, January 12, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
Keith Birmingham | MediaNews Group | Getty Images

Understating the lawsuit

To understand this lawsuit, flashback to 2010. Then, Kroenke, who also ran the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche under Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, was approved as the majority owner of the Rams. Kronke was involved with the Rams since the move to the city in 1995 and increased his stake to 40% in 1997.
Kroenke said one of the reasons for taking over was the treatment the Rams received in stadium negotiations. “I knew it was something I couldn’t ignore because my 31 partners would not allow us to continue to play in a non-first-class facility,” he told Sports Illustrated in 2016.
With complete control and language in the stadium lease that required the then Edward Jones Dome to remain one of the top stadiums in the NFL, the plans to lure a new sports complex commenced.
The lawsuit alleges the Rams officials lied to the public about the team’s intent to stay following rumors about a possible return to Los Angeles. The Rams had already played there from 1946 until 1994, and the NFL desired to return a team to L.A. to leverage the top media market.
But in St. Louis, discussions for a new stadium failed and in January 2015, it was announced Kroenke had a stake in a real estate project in Inglewood. The team then notified St. Louis officials it would switch its lease option to play at Edward Jones Dome to a yearly contract. And in January 2016, NFL owners voted to relocate the Rams to Los Angeles, costing St. Louis its second NFL franchise. The city also housed the Arizona Cardinals until 1987. And the Rams’ approval required the franchise to share a venue with the San Diego Chargers.
“This decision was not about me or St. Louis,” Kroenke said in 2016. “It was about what was in the best long-term interest of the NFL and our 31 partners.”
The 2017 lawsuit alleged the NFL violated its relocation policy, and claims team officials misled the public about the Rams’ plans. It said the Rams failed to hold public hearings about the intent to move and claims the team failed to have good faith negotiations. St. Louis said it wanted to secure the Rams a new stadium, but the suit added Kroenke never met with former St. Louis mayor Francis Slay or then Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to discuss the matter.
Since the legal challenge, though, the NFL and Rams have constantly been sacked as they attempt to escape St. Louis entirely. The first blow came when the Rams settled a class-action lawsuit for $24 million in 2018. Fans sued the team after paying for personal seat licenses, a one-time fee that charges consumers for rights to purchase season tickets. NFL teams use the fees to help cover construction costs in stadium financing deals.
Lawyers also attempted to have the case heard by arbitrators, to no avail. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to get involved. And the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in favor of St. Louis Circuit Judge Christopher McGraugh, who declined request the case be changed to a different jurisdiction. In addition, last month the court also upheld a mandate that Kroenke and other NFL owners, including Jones, provide financial documents to asses potential damages. Should those records become public, it could shed light on NFL team owners’ finances.
The parties had a Sept. 28 deadline to provide the statements or face a $1,000 per day penalty, according to Bloomberg. However, it’s not clear if the documents have been submitted or if fines have been issued.
“I feel bad for the city of St. Louis,” said sports attorney Irwin Kishner. “It’s a very emotionally charged issue – losing your team to another city.”
Kishner, the co-chair of the sports law firm Herrick, Feinstein, is following the case. He said when courts request financial documents during the pretrial period, it comes after officials “established liability.”
When discussing the case on Tuesday, Kishner said that language in the Rams’ St. Louis lease could be “hard to assert that there is some binding obligation to remain in the city,” Kishner said. “And there was no contractual obligation that would subject the team to damages if they were to move when the lease expired.”

An exterior view of The Dome at America’s Center prior to the St. Louis Rams 29-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in St. Louis, Missouri.
Elsa | Getty Images

Assessing profits and losses 

The move to Los Angeles hasn’t exactly gone smoothly for the Rams.
The pandemic delayed SoFi Stadium’s opening to fans in 2020. And a November 2019 ESPN article revealed additional details on the relocation, citing feuds with the Charges and failure to reach seat licensing revenue goals. The lawsuit notes Kroenke paid a $550 million relocation fee but alleges the Rams valuation “doubled to $3 billion,” citing Forbes.
“This increase in value was at the expense of Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit says.
As the case proceeds, the Dome of America’s Center sits primarily empty in downtown St. Louis without yearly NFL football. And city officials want the NFL to pay for the economic decline.
The lawsuit alleges St. Louis lost between $1.85 million to $3.5 million per year in amusement and ticket tax collections. It added that roughly $7.5 million was lost in property tax and $1.4 million in sales tax, totaling over $100 million in revenue for the city. 
The suit also claims the County of St. Louis also lost hotel, property, and sales tax revenue after the Rams relocated. The impact on the state totals more than $15 million. The lawsuit used figures from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
“The city lost a valuable member, and it’s pissed,” Kishner said. “And it’s a city that’s looking for its piece of the pie.” And the he further the issue lingers, the NFL is risking public sentiment, Kishner added.
“They have to manage that and be very aware of it,” said Kishner, adding the outcome of the matter is likely to end in a settlement. “Most trials settle before you get to the actual decision because there is a lot of time, effort, money, publicity associated with this.”
But how much would a settlement cost? 
St. Louis officials seek not only damages but a piece of the increased valuation associated with the Rams’ relocation revenue losses, according to suit. That total eclipses $1 billion.
“But those kinds of settlements almost always remain confidential,” said Kishner.

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Canada, Chile and Uruguay have each fully vaccinated over 70% of their population against Covid.
Argentina, Ecuador, Panama and the U.S. report vaccination rates of 50% or more.
But at least 10 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have vaccinated less than 25% of their population, including Guatemala, Venezuela and Honduras.

A maquiladora worker receives a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at a Lear Corp. factory in Ciudad Jurez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Tuesday August, 23, 2021.
Paul Ratje | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Just 37% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, almost half the rate of Canada as emerging economies struggle to access the life-saving shots, officials from the World Health Organization’s regional branch for the Americas said Wednesday.
An overall lack of vaccine availability is a main factor restricting immunization rates in both regions, Pan American Health Organization Director Dr. Carissa Etienne said at a briefing. Disparities in vaccine distribution are especially stark in Jamaica, Nicaragua and Haiti where Etienne said less than 10% of the population has received a full series of Covid doses.

“We must focus our attention to close this gap as quickly as possible,” Etienne said. “In just the past week, 875,000 vaccine doses arrived in countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, but we know these are not enough to protect everyone.”
“So we continue to urge countries with surplus doses to share theirs with countries in our region, where they can have life-saving impact,” she added.
Canada, Chile and Uruguay have each fully vaccinated over 70% of their population against Covid, while nations including Argentina, Ecuador, Panama and the U.S. report vaccination rates of 50% or more, according to Our World in Data, which compiles vaccination figures from official public reports. But at least 10 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have vaccinated less than 25% of their population, including Guatemala, Venezuela and Honduras.
Current estimates indicate Haiti has fully immunized less than 1% of its population.

CNBC Health & Science

In addition to inequities in access, vaccine hesitancy is also suppressing vaccination rates across Latin America and the Caribbean, Etienne said. She called for vaccine distributors to bring doses directly to communities, transportation to vaccination clinics and clearer communication on the safety and effectiveness of current vaccine options.

“While we still face a shortage of vaccines in many of our countries, what we are saying is that in some areas, even when vaccines are available, persons are not coming forward,” Etienne said. “In many settings, vaccine hesitancy is assumed to be the cause of low uptake of vaccines.”
“But on closer study, we see the greater importance of other factors, such as accessibility, availability and quality of services,” Etienne noted.
Etienne’s comments came as the organization announced new details on its vaccine distribution agreements with manufacturers Sinovac, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca. PAHO will procure approximately 18.5 million doses from Sinovac and AstraZeneca this year, but officials are still negotiating how many vaccines will be delivered in 2022.

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Activist investor Jana Partners is reportedly encouraging the department store chain Macy’s to spin off its e-commerce business, in order to seek a higher valuation from the separate entity.
Jana said in an investor presentation Wednesday that Macy’s online business could be worth about $14 billion if it were to go through with the split, Bloomberg reported.
The move would mimic a similar one from the high-end department store operator Saks Fifth Avenue, which earlier this year split off its digital business into a separate company.

Macy’s Herald Square Flagship Department Store in Midtown Manhattan New York.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Activist investor Jana Partners is reportedly encouraging the department store chain Macy’s to spin off its e-commerce business, in order to seek a higher valuation from the separate entity.
Jana said in an investor presentation Wednesday that Macy’s online business could be worth about $14 billion, if it were to go through with the split, Bloomberg reported. Macy’s current market value is $6.9 billion.

The move would mimic a similar one from the high-end department store operator Saks Fifth Avenue, which earlier this year spilt off its digital business into a separate company. The deal valued Saks.com at $2 billion, or about double its annual sales.
Representatives from Jana and Macy’s did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Macy’s told investors in August that it expected its e-commerce sales this year to be between $8.35 billion and $8.45 billion, after nearly doubling in the past four years.
If Macy’s split off its online business at a sales multiple similar to that of Saks.com, it would be valued at about $16.8 billion including debt, or $14.1 billion on an equity basis, Bloomberg said, citing Jana’s presentation.
Shares of Macy’s jumped nearly 4% on the report, erasing losses earlier in the day. The stock was recently up less than 1%, having doubled in value year to date.
Find the full report from Bloomberg here.

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