Raphael Stevens

In this articleSBUXJohn Culver, StarbucksSource: StarbucksStarbucks on Tuesday tapped company veteran John Culver as its newest chief operating officer.Culver succeeds Roz Brewer, who exited Starbucks in February to become chief executive of Walgreens Boots Alliance. In addition to being named COO, he has also been promoted to North American group president.Before the promotion, Culver served as Starbucks’ group president of international, channel development and global coffee, tea and cocoa. In that role, he oversaw Starbucks’ cafes across 58 international markets and its consumer packaged goods products. He’s been with the company since 2002 and currently serves on the boards of Columbia Sportswear and Kimberly-Clark.”As we plan for the 2022 fiscal year and beyond, Starbucks is fortunate to have a deep, talented and diverse team of senior executives we are able to tap to help lead us forward,” CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement.Michael Conway, who currently serves as president of international licensed markets, will take over as group president of international and channel development. Michelle Burns, who serves as senior vice president of coffee and tea, has been promoted to executive vice president of global coffee, tea and cocoa.The promotions go into effect June 28.Shares of Starbucks are up 4% this year, giving it a market value of $132 billion, as of Tuesday’s close. More

In this articleDFSFifty-six percent of travelers told Discover they’ll use contactless payment methods more often while on trips this year.martin-dm | E+ | Getty ImagesMost news about travel may have focused on health and safety since the pandemic hit over a year ago. However, cost and booking flexibility are now even more top of mind for Americans looking to finally get away again, according to Discover Financial Services.The credit card company’s latest annual travel survey, released Tuesday, finds that the 70% of consumers willing to travel again place price and flexibility ahead of the spread of Covid variants, infection rates at destinations or accommodations’ cleanliness ratings when considering a trip. Additionally, 87% of those surveyed said cost was an important factor in booking, and 86% cited flexibility of cancellation policies.More from Personal Finance:Eager Americans head to Sun Belt cities and beaches for vacation7 ways to save on travel this summerTravel advisors share top theme park tipsHealth and safety concerns, meanwhile, lagged price, but not by much: 80%, meanwhile, pointed to news of Covid variants and/or the number of new infections at a destination, and 74% said they’d prioritize sanitization efforts when making an accommodations choice. “It’s clear consumers have a strong desire to travel again as we head into the summer months and the economic recovery continues,” said Jacob Ayoub, vice president of consumer and competitive insights at Discover, in a statement. “We know travel trends and consumer needs are going to continue to shift, but it’s important to note that, right now, U.S. consumers are considering costs, flexibility and the spread of Covid-19 while traveling.”The survey also addressed which Americans are traveling and why (see chart below).Who’s traveling … and why Sixty-six percent of consumers are planning trips of 1 to 6 days, and they’re traveling:To relax: 37%To visit family and friends: 18%For a change of scenery: 10%Among generations, here’s how interest in family trips vs. adventure travel compares:Baby boomers: 28% family, 7% adventureGen X: 18% family, 10% adventureMillennials: 12% family, 12% adventureGen Z: 9% family, 21% adventureSource: Discover Financial Services/Dynata survey, April 2021In some cases, willingness to spend more is related to health and safety concerns. Half of all respondents, for example, told Discover they’d be more likely to splurge on pricier trips if they include stricter Covid-19 hygiene protocols, and 49% would invest in priority travel passes to avoid crowds. Two out of 3 travelers surveyed said they’d continue to wear masks while traveling — even when not required — with 62% saying they’re hesitant to use transportation where they’ll be in close proximity to strangers.When it comes to paying, 55% of travelers told Discover that credit cards are the preferred method — a 16-point jump from 2019. That may be tied to another survey finding, that 56% will use contactless payment options more often while on the road.”For many consumers, the pandemic may have shifted how they pay for items,” Ayoub told CNBC. “Consumers may feel more comfortable using digital payment options like contactless credit cards because they are fast, easy and safe.”Speaking of credit cards, about a third of respondents also said they planned to redeem card loyalty points for vacation-related expenses. “Consumers may have also seen their credit card points stack up during the pandemic and may be looking to redeem those rewards as the world reopens,” noted Ayoub. “In our travel survey, 34% of consumers say they plan to use credit card points and rewards on vacation-related expenses during the next six months.”Research firm Dynata conducted the survey for Discover Financial Services April 23 to 28 among 2,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. More

A woman looks at the “Naming the Lost Memorials,” as the U.S. deaths from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are expected to surpass 600,000, at The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., June 10, 2021.Brendan McDermid | ReutersThe U.S. hit another grim milestone in the pandemic Tuesday, reaching more than 600,000 Covid fatalities as the nation races to administer at least one vaccine shot to 70% of adult Americans by the Fourth of July.Deaths in the U.S. have been slowing for months, according to Johns Hopkins University data, due largely to an aggressive campaign to vaccinate the nation’s elderly and medically vulnerable people who are most at risk of dying from Covid. About 76% of Americans 65 and older, the group that accounted for a majority of pandemic deaths, have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Healthcare personnel perform CPR on a patient inside a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) unit at United Memorial Medical Center as the United States nears 300,000 COVID-19 deaths, in Houston, Texas, U.S., December 12, 2020. Picture taken December 12, 2020.Callaghan O’Hare | ReutersCovid deaths in the U.S., which peaked in January at a daily average of more than 3,000 fatalities, have fallen to a daily average of about 360 as of Sunday, according to a seven-day average based on data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Deaths have gradually declined as vaccination rates increased.Covid vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use in December, followed Johnson & Johnson’s in February.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:More than 600,000 people have died from Covid in the U.S. New York lifts most Covid restrictions ‘effective immediately’Five U.S. states had coronavirus infections even before first reported cases, study says India’s ambitious vaccine targets alone will not help immunize its massive population The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have been administered to almost 300 million people, have demonstrated more than 90% efficacy against the original “wild type” Covid strain. Studies have shown that he vaccines are still effective against some of the new variants that have emerged over the last year, including the the delta variant first identified in India, but less so.Johnson & Johnson has administered about 9 million doses of its one-shot vaccine in the U.S. The company’s shot was paused for 10 days in April by the FDA after reports of rare blood clots emerged in several patients.The U.S. has recorded more Covid cases than any other country in the world — about 33.5 million cases, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University. Globally, there have been more than 176 million cases recorded, and more than 3.8 million deaths.With new variants emerging that are more transmissible and could potentially lead to more severe illness, federal health officials have pushed young adults to get their vaccines as well. Pfizer’s Covid vaccine was given emergency approval for adolescents last month.President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff attend a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony to commemorate the grim milestone of 500,000 U.S. deaths from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2021.Jonathan Ernst | ReutersThe impact of the pandemic was felt deeply across the U.S. The national unemployment rate soared to 14.8% in April 2020, the highest since data collection began in 1948, as states across the nation instituted lockdowns to control the outbreak, according to the Congressional Research Service.Black, Hispanic and young workers were disproportionately impacted by the lockdowns. Throughout the pandemic, Black workers experienced a peak unemployment rate of 16.7%, while Hispanic workers experienced a peak unemployment rate of 18.5%. For white workers, the number hit a peak of 14.1%. As of May 2021, unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic workers are still higher than those for white workers.In Feb. 2020, before most lockdowns occurred, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was 3.5%. Unemployment has improved, but is still stubbornly high compared with recent years, hovering at 5.8% in May.Currently, more than half of the U.S. population, 174.2 million people, have received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine and about 44% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.More than 64% of adults in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine dose, inching closer to an optimistic goal of having 70% of all adults in the country at least partially immunized by Fourth of July.Correction: This story was updated to correct the day the U.S. surpassed 600,000 fatalities. It was Tuesday. More

For Lease sign in window, Queens, New York.Lindsey Nicholson | Education Images | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesOnce-temporary rent breaks for retailers are expected to become the new standard among landlords, even after pandemic restrictions end and shopping rebounds, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.Mall vacancies in the U.S. hit a record high in April as retail stores have struggled to stay open after Covid shutdowns. Retailers are searching for new ways to survive, prompting many landlords to offer percentage-rent leases — pegging monthly rent payments to a percentage of the tenant’s monthly sales — in place of traditional, fixed payments, the Journal reported. Those flexible leasing agreements allowed retailers to manage costs and have been particularly helpful for new retailers, the Journal reported. Now brands are increasingly demanding percentage-rent leases, according to the report.Read more about percentage-rent leases in the Wall Street Journal. More

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport on September 16, 2020 in Burbank, California.AaronP/Bauer-Griffin | GC Images | Getty ImagesSouthwest Airlines canceled 500 flights, 15% of its schedule, Tuesday as it struggled with connectivity issues, a day after technical problem with a weather data supplier delayed hundreds of flights.The Federal Aviation Administration briefly issued a nationwide ground stop for Southwest, which prevents its flights from taking off to avoid overwhelming destinations.More than 1,290 Southwest flights were delayed on Tuesday, more than a third of the carrier’s schedule, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. The airline said operations were returning to normal by Tuesday afternoon.”Southwest is in the process of resuming normal operations after a brief pause in our flight activity resulting from intermittent performance issues with our network connectivity Tuesday afternoon,” Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said in a statement. “Our Teams are working quickly to minimize flight disruptions and Customer impact. We appreciate our Customers’ patience as we work to get them to their destinations.”Southwest said it is investigating the issue and doesn’t have reason to believe it’s connected to Monday’s problem.Denver International Airport earlier tweeted that Southwest was having a “network connectivity issue” and warned travelers that flight delays are likely.On Monday, 1,541 Southwest flights, about 41% of its schedule, were delayed, according to FlightAware.The airline said that its operations on were disrupted Monday evening after its “third-party weather provider experienced intermittent performance issues” but told employees earlier Tuesday that it was in “relatively good shape” as operations resumed.The issue occurred just as airlines like Southwest are flying an increasing number of travelers as demand rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic.Carriers are grappling with a surge in customers along with employee reductions after they offered buyouts and other packages to cut costs in the pandemic. Southwest, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, for example, have warned travelers about long hold times for customer service and encouraged them to use self-service options.While Southwest’s issue Tuesday appeared to have only briefly impacted its systems, longer-lasting technology issues or outages can be costly. Delta estimated an August 2016 data center outage that led to about 2,300 cancelations over three days cost it about $150 million in pretax income that quarter. More

People without mask walk at Times Square on May 19, 2021 in New York City.John Smith | Corbis News | Getty ImagesNew York will lift most of its Covid-19 restrictions now that 70% of all adults in the state have been vaccinated with at least one dose, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.Cuomo said all state-mandated restrictions on commercial businesses, social settings, sports and recreation events, construction, manufacturing and retail that were put in place beginning in March 2020 were being rolled back, “effective immediately.””We can get back to living. Businesses can open, because the state mandates are gone social gathering restrictions, the capacity restrictions the health screenings, the cleaning and disinfecting protocols” are all gone, he said. “Remember June 15. Remember today because it is the day New York rose again.”CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:More than 600,000 people have died from Covid in the U.S. New York lifts most Covid restrictions ‘effective immediately’Five U.S. states had coronavirus infections even before first reported cases, study says India’s ambitious vaccine targets alone will not help immunize its massive population Residents and visitors will still need to wear masks in some settings, like hospitals, public transportation and schools per guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said, but all other state-mandated Covid restrictions will be lifted across New York. The state will allow schools and camps to decide whether to require masks for children during outdoor activities.While New York, which was an early epicenter of the global outbreak last March and April, has recorded more than 2 million cases and almost 53,000 Covid deaths, it now boasts one of the lowest positivity rates in the United States.On Sunday, the seven-day positivity rate across the state was 0.41%, down from a high of 7.9% on Jan. 4. Every region of the state has a positivity rate below 1%.Cuomo emphasized that 70% is a great milestone and a marker that the state is doing well but it is not the finish line. “We want to celebrate, but we want to remember what we are celebrating,” Cuomo said Monday. “We’re coming around the last turn.”More than 11.1 million of the state’s residents have been vaccinated with at least one shot and about 9.8 million are fully vaccinated, according to state data.The state has administered more shots per capita than any other big state in the country, according to data compiled by the CDC.New York suffered widespread closures of its bars and restaurants due to pandemic lockdowns. Many restaurants and bars in New York City didn’t survive. The restaurant industry employs nearly 1 million people in the state, accounting for 9% of total employment in the state.Before the pandemic, the unemployment rate in New York state was 3.9%. That number shot up to 16.2% during the worst of the pandemic in April 2020. About one year later, the unemployment rate is at 8.2% as of April.Cuomo said the state will lift capacity restrictions, social distancing, hygiene protocols, health screenings, some contact tracing and more.President Joe Biden has laid out a goal of vaccinating 70% of adults in the U.S. with at least one shot by the Fourth of July.The Empire State Building and all other state assets will light up with blue and gold to celebrate the milestone vaccination rate. More