Raphael Stevens

Rebecca Minkoff, who spent 20 years building her business, is hopeful about her post-pandemic future.Source: Rebecca MinkoffWhen Rebecca Minkoff landed in New York at the age of 18, she had some money saved and big dreams of becoming a fashion designer.”I had $10,000 in savings from babysitting, bat mitzvah money that I’d never touched, some bonds that I was given,” said Minkoff, co-founder and creative director of her eponymous fashion line.She blew it all on the material for her first clothing line and expensive look-books, which showed off the line’s look. Only one store called her.”You never forget that first moment where you’re terrified,” Minkoff said. “That’s all you have. “That’s your cushion — and then it’s gone.”More from Invest in You:Almost half of Americans will take on debt in a post-pandemic splurgeStart-ups boomed during Covid. How some entrepreneurs found a nicheShoe company Birdies soared during Covid and learned a hard lessonShe didn’t let it crush her. Instead, the fashion designer repurposed the fabric and made things that the two boutiques selling her clothing committed to taking on consignment.”Then I would hand make these postcards,” recalled Minkoff, who chronicles her success and imparts advice in “Fearless,” her new book. “I’d go to Union Square and I’d be like, ‘New designer, up and coming designer, please go see her.'”I would drive people to these stores so that they could purchase those goods,” she said.Risk-taking has always been a part of Minkoff’s DNA. She moved to New York instead of going to college, and started her business after being fired from her first fashion job.Rebecca Minkoff has made a point of talking directly to her customers.Source: Rebecca MinkoffShe also was in touch with her consumer early on, despite being told it would damage her business.”We actually had meetings with every single incredible department store that exists that we were selling to, and also some very powerful [fashion publication] editors-in-chief that said, ‘If you continue to talk to your customer, we just don’t think we can carry you or cover this brand, you are dirtying yourself,'” Minkoff said.”We were willing to take the risk,” she added.It paid off — customers were drawn to her in-person events and retailers stuck with her.Lessons learned during the pandemicThat mindset also helped her weather the coronavirus pandemic.After stores shuttered in March of 2020, Minkoff said she lost 70% of last year’s business. She focused all her attention on her direct-to-consumer sales, and spent a lot of time talking with her customers on social media and through her podcast, “Superwomen.””It would have been a lot easier, a lot less work to be like, ‘Well, that was fun. … Just shut everything down, we’ll be back in a year,'” she said.”We chose to keep going,” she added. “We said we owe it to ourselves … to give this everything we got.”Sometimes that determines success alone.”While Minkoff doesn’t disclose sales figures, in a May 2019 interview she said her gross sales figures were “north of $100 million.” That means the 70% loss she referenced would translate to $30 million in gross sales.Fortunately for Minkoff, the retailers are back and are increasing their orders. Her direct-to-consumer business was up 10% in 2020 compared to the prior year, she said.She is also launching new categories, including home, and her second scent is coming out. Later this year, Minkoff will also be collaborating with some footwear brands.”The consumer, she wants to shop again, she’s excited to go out,” Minkoff said.Advice to women entrepreneursLike other female entrepreneurs, Minkoff had to fight for her success.”We have to stick our own necks out and make the sacrifices and take the risks to ask [for help],” she said.Minkoff advises being specific when you ask others for help, like where they make their bags or where they get their leather, and network.”I used to come home every night and count business cards like they were cash,” Minkoff recalled.”I didn’t have any money but I had opportunity,” she added. “When you meet people that can help you or get you to the next level of that ladder, take advantage of that opportunity.”Yet the most important thing budding entrepreneurs need to know is that Minkoff’s career was not an overnight success, she said.”This has been 20 years in the making,” she explained. “So please approach that journey in your career, with that in mind.”It doesn’t happen overnight,” Minkoff added. “Work hard and keep going.”SIGN UP: Money 101 is an 8-week learning course to financial freedom, delivered weekly to your inbox.CHECK OUT: 3 side hustle apps that could help you earn money — including one that’s ‘surprisingly lucrative’ via Grow with Acorns+CNBCDisclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns. More

In this articleFAn electrified logo from Ford’s luxury Lincoln brand, which is accelerating its EV plans through 2030.FordDETROIT — Ford Motor’s luxury Lincoln brand expects about half of its sales to be all-electric models by 2026, as it plans to offer new EVs across its portfolio of vehicles within the next decade, the company said Wednesday.Ford announced last month it would accelerate the rollout of EVs under a new restructuring plan, called “Ford+,” led by CEO Jim Farley. The plan aims to bring in 40% of Ford’s global sales volume via EVs by 2030. “Lincoln will usher in a new era of electrified vehicles and connected experiences globally, and we plan to deliver a full portfolio of electrified Lincoln vehicles globally by the end of the decade,” Lincoln President Joy Falotico said during a media briefing.Lincoln’s EV targets fall short of its largest American rival, Cadillac. The General Motors luxury brand has plans to offer only EVs by 2030. Neither Lincoln nor Cadillac offer a fully electric vehicle in their current lineups as they attempt to catch up to EV leader Tesla.Cadillac’s plans are part of a larger “aspiration” by GM to exclusively sell EVs by 2035.Falotico said Lincoln will continue to offer plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as well as gas vehicles as the brand transitions to EVs. She declined to set a timeline for Lincoln to reach a 100% electric lineup, saying it will depend on customer demand, specifically in its largest markets of North America and China.”We’re going all-in to be a fully electric brand, but we’ll do it as the customers adopt,” she told CNBC.Lincoln said it will debut a new EV for China and North America next year as the brand celebrates its 100th anniversary. It will join the plug-in hybrid Aviator and Corsair SUVs.Lincoln said its plans to launch four new EVs, but it did not disclose a specific timeframe for those vehicles. Falotico also declined to specify whether Lincoln’s new EVs will share names with their current four vehicles, including the well-known Navigator SUV. More

In this articleREGNLONDON — Another potentially life-saving treatment for hospitalized Covid-19 patients has been discovered by researchers at the University of Oxford.The British study — part of the wider Recovery trial investigating various possible treatments for people hospitalized with coronavirus — found that an antibody combination made by Regeneron reduces the risk of death when given to patients with severe Covid who have not mounted a natural antibody response of their own.The treatment uses a “cocktail” of two monoclonal antibodies (casirivimab and imdevimab, known as Regen-Cov in the U.S.) that bind specifically to two different sites on the coronavirus spike protein, neutralizing the ability of the virus to infect cells.Previous studies in nonhospitalized Covid patients have shown that the treatment reduces viral load, shortens the time to the resolution of symptoms, and significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization or death.But in a small trial in hospitalized patients, preliminary evidence suggested a clinical benefit for patients who had not mounted a natural antibody response of their own (that is, they were seronegative) when they entered the trial.This latest study is the first trial large enough to determine definitively whether this treatment reduces mortality in patients hospitalized with severe Covid.The trial, which took place between September and May, involved 9,785 patients hospitalized with Covid.For patients who were seronegative at the start of the study, the antibody combination significantly reduced their chances of dying by one-fifth compared with those receiving usual care alone (that is, 24% of patients in the antibody combination group died versus 30% of patients in the usual care group).Thus, for every 100 such patients treated with the antibody combination, there would be six fewer deaths.As well as reducing the risk of death, for the seronegative patients who received the antibody combination treatment, the duration of hospital stay was four days shorter than for those receiving usual care. The chances of needing a ventilator was also lower.The treatment had no noticeable beneficial effect on patients who were seropositive at the start of the trial.The preliminary results from the trial, which will soon be submitted to a leading peer-reviewed medical journal, could determine how Covid patients are treated in future in hospital, one expert noted.”It means that patients being hospitalised with Covid-19 can be divided into two groups based on whether or not they have made antibodies to the virus,” Fiona Watt, executive chair of the U.K.’s Medical Research Council, said in a statement.”If they do not have antibodies then treatment with antibody-based drugs to the spike protein can reduce their risk of death and also time spent in hospital. Patients who have made their own antibodies to the virus do not benefit from the new treatment, which is important information given the cost of drugs.”Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, and the joint chief investigator for the Recovery trial, described the results as “very exciting.””The hope was that by giving a combination of antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 virus we would be able to reduce the worst manifestations of Covid-19. There was, however, great uncertainty about the value of antiviral therapies in late-stage Covid-19 disease. It is wonderful to learn that even in advanced Covid-19 disease, targeting the virus can reduce mortality in patients who have failed to mount an antibody response of their own,” he said in a statement.The Recovery trial has already made several life-saving discoveries, one being that dexamethasone, a cheap and widely used steroid, was able to save lives among severely ill Covid patients. Last week it published the results of another trial that showed aspirin did not improve the survival rates for patients hospitalized with Covid who are at an increased risk of blood clots. More

In this article175-HKPolestar released this teaser image on June 16, 2021 of its upcoming Polestar 3 EV SUV, which will be produced by Volvo at a plant in South Carolina.PolestarSwedish carmaker Volvo plans to produce a new premium SUV for its electric Polestar brand at a plant in Charleston, South Carolina, the company said Wednesday.It will be the first vehicle produced domestically for Polestar, which was formed in 2017 by Volvo Cars and its China-based parent company, Geely Holding Group. It also is expected to be one of the first electric vehicles, if not the first, produced by Volvo in the U.S.Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said the new Polestar 3 SUV will “absolutely” be the new flagship for the brand as it expands its lineup and retail network in the U.S.”It will be a big milestone for our brand,” he told CNBC during an interview. “The expression of the car will be so much Polestar and show where our brand is going in the future ahead.”Workers assembling parts of a Volvo AB S60 sedan at the Volvo Cars USA plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, U.S., on Wednesday, June 20, 2018.Logan Cyrus | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesVolvo is investing $118 million for production of the Polestar 3 at the South Carolina plant. The vehicle is expected to go into production in 2022. It will have the same platform as the next-generation Volvo XC90, which also will be produced at the plant.Polestar is unique, as it’s an electric-vehicle brand from an established automaker, rather than a new EV start-up or a traditional automotive brand adding EVs to its lineup. Such a structure allows Polestar to move quickly while having the resources of an established automaker to rely on when needed, according to Ingenlath.In April, Polestar announced that it had raised $550 million from a group of long-term external investors and that more fundraising was a possibility.Polestar currently operates in 13 countries, with plans to sell tens of thousands of vehicles globally. More

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said “open and free” air travel in Asia remains unlikely in the near term as parts of the region battle with an increase in Covid-19 infections.”I am somewhat less sanguine about the prospects for air travel,” Wong told Martin Soong as part of the virtual CNBC Evolve Global Summit.”The region is still facing rolling waves of infection, and vaccination rates for many countries in the region are still not high enough. So I don’t think we will be able to see open and free travel in the region, in particular, any time soon,” said the minister who also co-chairs Singapore’s coronavirus task force.Singapore is a Southeast Asian city-state with no domestic air travel market. International travel came to a sudden halt in the past year due to the pandemic, and that’s hurt Singapore’s aviation and tourism sectors — two major contributors to economic growth.  For the most part … all of that is not going to add up to what we used to have pre-Covid. So air travel, I’m afraid, will take some time to recover.Lawrence WongFinance Minister, SingaporeWong said the Singapore government continues to talk with its counterparts in the region about setting up “safe travel lanes.” He didn’t name the places Singapore is in talks.”Perhaps amongst the countries with low and stable infections, we may have some travel arrangements. Perhaps for vaccinated travelers, there may be some benefits in terms of shorter quarantine times,” said the minister.”But for the most part … all of that is not going to add up to what we used to have pre-Covid. So air travel, I’m afraid, will take some time to recover,” Wong added.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsSingapore has an air travel bubble agreement with Hong Kong that will allow travelers to skip quarantine. But the launch of the scheme has been postponed twice — first from November and then again in May — due to renewed Covid outbreaks in either cities.Last week, the prime ministers of Singapore and Australia said they will work toward an air travel bubble arrangement between the two countries.Singapore’s Covid situationAsia, where the coronavirus was first detected, saw a spike in infections in recent months. Places ranging from developing nations — such as India and Nepal — to more developed economies including Japan and Taiwan had a resurgence in cases.Singapore also experienced a renewed rise in cases last month after previous successes in containing the outbreak — which led the government to tighten social-distancing measures.Wong said those measures have been working and that allows the country to gradually ease restrictions again. But he warned that the situation could be unpredictable.”You know, with this virus, you can never tell what happens in the next few days, because … there will always be surprises. It’s a very tricky virus. Each time you think you have it under control, it pops up in a new direction,” said Wong.The minister reiterated the government’s goal of having at least 50% of the population fully vaccinated by August.Singapore appears on track to meet that goal. Around 2.7 million people — or 47% of the country’s population — have received at least the first dose of Covid vaccine as of Monday, according to the latest health ministry data.   More

A citizen reacts to a throat swab sampling during a mass covid test in Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong province Monday, May 31, 2021.Barcroft Media | Barcroft Media | Getty ImagesGUANGZHOU, China — The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has reported zero new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the first time since a new cluster of cases cropped up in May.The recent uptick in cases prompted mass testing and lockdowns, and also threatened global trade.On Tuesday, health authorities found no new confirmed cases in Guangzhou, a city of over 15 million people which became China’s new Covid hotspot.The first new case, a 75-year-old woman, was detected on May 21. It was the first time the delta variant of the virus, first identified in India, was detected in China.Authorities were concerned because of the highly transmissible nature of the variant and took action swiftly.Liwan, in the west of Guangzhou, had parts of the district locked down. People were not allowed in or out of these areas except under special circumstances. Some restaurants had to close, while others operated take-out only or at a reduced capacity.Health workers lined the streets of Guangzhou to carry out mass coronavirus testing on the population. Tens of millions of people have been tested in the last two weeks.Meanwhile, police in Guangzhou fined and detained individuals who allegedly broke laws such as not wearing masks in public, or not cooperating when asked to take a coronavirus test.Guangzhou’s outbreak, which threatened to spread more broadly across the Guangdong province, an economic and trading powerhouse, has also impacted shipping. Increased checks and virus prevention measures have caused delays at Guangdong’s key shipping ports with experts warning it could lead to disruptions to the global supply chain.Authorities have also urged people to get vaccinated in Guangdong province and across China. Over 900 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the country.While one day of zero new cases is a positive development, authorities will be hoping it can be sustained so they can eventually fully reopen the local economy and take areas out of lockdown.On Wednesday, Chen Bin, deputy director of the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission, said zero cases “does not mean zero risk,” according to comments reported by local media. Authorities have continuously urged citizens to remain cautious and continue to wear masks and reduce unnecessary social contact. More