Raphael Stevens

More stories

  • 263 Shares129 Views

    in Finance

    States will start cutting off federal unemployment benefits this week. Here’s a map of where (and how soon) aid is ending

    A Help Wanted sign in the Queens borough of New York on June 4, 2021.Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThere are 25 states ending their participation in federal unemployment programs early — some as soon as this week.Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi and Missouri will be the first to opt out of the pandemic-era programs, as of June 12, almost three months ahead of their official expiration.They represent a handful of the 25 states that will do the same in coming weeks, through July 10.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsIn total, roughly 3.9 million Americans will be affected by the state decisions, according to Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at Glassdoor, a job and recruiting site.The states, all of which are led by Republican governors, claim enhanced jobless benefits offer an incentive to stay home and are making it difficult for businesses to hire.Critics say other pandemic-era factors, like continued health risks, childcare duties and early retirements are the bigger causes of any labor shortages. Ending income support prematurely could also undercut the economic recovery, they said.Unemployment programsMost of the states are withdrawing from all federal programs created by the CARES Act.They include: a weekly supplement to benefits (currently $300 a week); Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, for self-employed, gig and other workers who don’t typically qualify for state benefits; and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, for the long-term unemployed who’ve exhausted their state aid.More from Personal Finance:IRS sending 2.8 million refunds to people who paid taxes on unemployment benefitsIs there a labor shortage? What the May jobs report tells usLong-term unemployment is falling for first time during pandemicFour states — Alaska, Arizona, Florida and Ohio — are only ending the $300-a-week payment. They’re keeping the other programs intact. (States ending the $300 weekly payment are also withdrawing from a separate program, created in December, that pays an additional $100 a week to some self-employed workers.)A handful of the states are offering return-to-work bonuses of up to $2,000 in lieu of the enhanced unemployment benefits, though there are caveats like limited availability.Here’s a list of all the states opting out: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. More

  • 188 Shares189 Views

    in Business

    U.S. reports fewer than 15,000 Covid cases per day, averaging about 1 million daily vaccinations

    12-year-old Justing Concepcion receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from registered nurse Angela Nyarko, during a vaccination event for local adolescents and adults outside the Bronx Writing Academy school in the Bronx, New York City, June 4, 2021.Mike Segar | ReutersThe U.S. is reporting an average of about 14,500 daily infections over the past week, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows, as average daily cases have held below 15,000 for three days straight.About 960,000 vaccinations are being reported administered each day nationwide, according to a seven-day average of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. More than half of Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 42% are fully vaccinated.U.S. Covid casesThe U.S. is reporting an average of 14,410 daily new infections over the past week, according to Hopkins data, numbers not seen since the early days of the pandemic.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsAverage daily case counts have declined by 5% or more in 44 states over the past week, a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data shows.U.S. vaccine shots administeredAbout 960,000 vaccinations are being reported administered in the U.S. on average over the past week, CDC data shows. That figure has bounced between 900,000 and 1.1 million over the past few days, and is down 27% from a week ago.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsFormer Food and Drug Administration chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday that he expects the vaccination pace to fall further.”Vaccination rates are going to fall off quite sharply in July and August,” Gottlieb said. “The bottom line is, people who haven’t been vaccinated at this point are more marginal customers for vaccination.”Vaccinations may pick back up closer to the fall as Americans start thinking about going back to work and school, Gottlieb added.U.S. Covid deathsThe latest seven-day average of daily U.S. Covid deaths is 455, according to Hopkins data.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsAbout 597,600 Covid deaths have been reported in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic, more than any other country.U.S. share of the population vaccinatedRoughly 52% of the population has received at least one shot and 42% is fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsOf those aged 18 and older, 63.5% are at least partially vaccinated. President Joe Biden has set a goal of getting that figure to 70% by July 4.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:Fauci’s 2,000 emails a day show how little U.S. officials knew in the early days of the Covid pandemic CDC director ‘deeply concerned’ over rise in teens hospitalized with Covid United offers flight attendants, pilots offered extra pay for proof of Covid vaccinationMalaysia’s Covid lockdown puts ‘a lot of pressure’ on government finances, says minister   Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus, health-care tech company Aetion and biotech company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings′ and Royal Caribbean’s “Healthy Sail Panel.” More

  • 200 Shares129 Views

    in Business

    Dr. Gottlieb: Fully vaccinated people should feel safe this summer but fall booster may be needed

    Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday that fully vaccinated Americans should feel well-protected against the coronavirus throughout the summer.However, Gottlieb, who serves on the board of vaccine maker Pfizer, said an additional dose might to boost immunity could still be needed later this year.”I think you could feel safe through the summer,” the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner said on “Squawk Box.” “The combination of the protective immunity that people have through vaccination — even if it’s declining over time — combined with the fact that prevalence is very low, I think people could feel reasonably assured through the summer.”While many U.S. health officials and pharmaceutical executives have both signaled that further Covid shots are likely necessary down the road, the exact timing of when they would be needed has been less clear.”It would be nice if it’ll turn out that it’ll be a year before anyone might need a booster,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said last month. “But we still don’t know,” Marks added. “It could be more, it could be a little less but … this is just something we’re gonna have to figure out as we go.” CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:Fauci’s 2,000 emails a day show how little U.S. officials knew in the early days of the Covid pandemic CDC director ‘deeply concerned’ over rise in teens hospitalized with Covid United offers flight attendants, pilots offered extra pay for proof of Covid vaccinationMalaysia’s Covid lockdown puts ‘a lot of pressure’ on government finances, says minister   Gottlieb, who led the FDA from 2017 to 2019 in the Trump administration, said more clarity on timing could arrive in the coming months.”I think as we get into the fall, we’re going to have to look at giving, especially the vulnerable population, boosters,” Gottlieb said, predicting that those discussions will be more of a focus after July 4. That’s when President Joe Biden set a goal of having 70% of U.S. adults be at least partially vaccinated against Covid.Currently, 63.5% of the country’s adult population have received at least one Covid vaccine dose, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 53% of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.The pace of Covid vaccinations has slowed in recent weeks, and Gottlieb said he expects it to persist through July and August. At that point, Gottlieb said Americans who have not been vaccinated might decide to get the shot before they return to the office or their kids head back to school.Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus, health-care tech company Aetion and biotech company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ and Royal Caribbean’s “Healthy Sail Panel.” More

  • 200 Shares179 Views

    in Business

    Jeff Bezos will fly on the first passenger spaceflight of his company Blue Origin in July

    In this articleAMZNJeff Bezos will fly on the first passenger flight of his space company Blue Origin, which the company plans to launch on July 20, the billionaire announced Monday.”I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life,” Bezos said in a video posted to his Instagram.Bezos’ brother Mark will join him, as will the winner of an auction being held for one of the seats. The highest bid stands at $2.8 million as of Monday morning, five days before the auction closes.”I wasn’t even expecting him to say that he was going to be on the first flight,” Mark Bezos said in the video. “What a remarkable opportunity, not only to have this adventure but to do it with my best friend.”Jeff Bezos takes a look at the New Shepard rocket booster on the landing pad after a successful NS-15 flight and landing in April 2021.Blue OriginBlue Origin’s space tourism system New Shepard, a rocket that carries a capsule to the edge of space, has flown more than a dozen successful test flights without passengers on board, including one in April at the company’s facility in the Texas desert.New Shepard is designed to carry up to six people on a ride past the edge of space, with the capsules on previous test flights reaching an altitude of more than 340,000 feet (more than 100 kilometers). The capsule has massive windows to give passengers a view, spending a few minutes in zero gravity before returning to Earth.Jeff Bezos opens the hatch of the New Shepard capsule after a test flight in April 2021.Blue OriginThe rocket launches vertically, with the booster detaching and returning to land at a concrete pad nearby. The capsule’s return is slowed by a set of parachutes, before softly landing in the desert.”To see the Earth from space, it changes you,” the Amazon CEO said. “It’s an adventure; it’s a big deal for me.”Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and continues to wholly own the company, funding it through share sales of his Amazon stock.July 20 will mark the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro.Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. Sign up to start a free trial today. More

  • 150 Shares179 Views

    in Finance

    Is there a labor shortage? What the May jobs report tells us

    A help wanted sign is displayed outside of a business before Memorial Day near the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey.Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe weaker-than-expected April jobs report fueled speculation of U.S. labor shortages and led some state officials to declare an early end to enhanced unemployment benefits.  Yet forecasters hoping for clarity from the May tally may be left scratching their heads.It’s hard to draw conclusions about sustained weakness or labor-supply issues from the data published Friday, according to economists. The May report offers something of a mixed bag and somewhat contradictory data points, they said.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards”It’s a Rorschach test,” according to Nick Bunker, an economist at job site Indeed. “It’s a bunch of ink on a piece of paper, and everyone is seeing different images.”May jobs reportFor example, there’s the headline number: The U.S. economy added 559,000 people to payrolls in May.On one hand, some observers may use the data point to suggest workers aren’t rejoining the labor force as quickly as one might expect.The jobs figure was below economists’ estimate of 671,000. At that pace, it would take more than a year to regain all the jobs lost since February, 2020.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsOn the other hand, job growth accelerated in May — new payrolls doubled from April. And the last few recessions were characterized by long job recoveries, economists said.May’s job gains are also roughly equivalent to the average over the past three months — suggesting they were in line with what expectations should perhaps have been, Bunker said.”I think it’s a story of expectation versus reality,” he said. “What’s a good pace of growth is sort of in the eye of the beholder.”Labor force participationThe labor force shrank slightly — by 53,000 workers — in May, to around 160.9 million.That gives ammunition to observers who believe there’s a labor shortage. There are about 3.5 million fewer people in the workforce relative to February, 2020.More from Personal Finance:Long-term unemployment is falling for first time during pandemicHere are the best ways to tap your home for cashThis renter got more than $5,000 in assistance. What to know about applying”The rate at which adults are participating in the workforce has been flat since last summer,” Michel Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank, said in a tweet Friday. “This is a significant issue. Workers are not coming back.”Rising wagesPerhaps the most pronounced evidence of a labor shortage in the May jobs report is wage growth, especially in the labor and hospitality sector, according to Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at Glassdoor, a job and recruiting site.Rising wages suggest businesses struggling to hire may be paying more to attract workers.Unfortunately, the [May] report isn’t going to end this debate about labor shortages. Both sides have ammo to use to bolster their arguments.Daniel Zhaosenior economist at GlassdoorHourly pay jumped nearly 9% over the past year, to $15.87, for non-managerial workers in the sector, which includes restaurants, hotels and bars, for example. (Earnings grew by $0.19 an hour from April.)That growth is significant since leisure and hospitality seems to be where hiring challenges are being most widely reported, Zhao said.However, the bump may not be solely — or even mostly — attributable to businesses raising pay.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsInstead, tips likely account for the pay increase as restaurants and bars return to pre-Covid customer capacity, according to Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.”Since December 2020, the rise in tip income, not an increase in base wages, can likely entirely explain the acceleration of wages for production and nonsupervisory workers in restaurants and bars,” he wrote Friday.Plus, leisure and hospitality jobs grew by 292,000 in May — the most of any industry and potentially undercutting the argument about worker supply. At the same time, that was a slowdown from 328,000 jobs added in April.Critics of the labor-shortage argument point to other data points, such as average hours worked remaining relatively flat. (Businesses tend to boost hours for existing workers if they can’t onboard other staff.)”Unfortunately, the [May] report isn’t going to end this debate about labor shortages,” Zhao said. “Both sides have ammo to use to bolster their arguments.”What’s causing supply constraints?To the extent that there are labor shortages, hiring challenges are likely to be temporary, according to economists.Twenty-five states are ending enhanced federal unemployment benefits earlier than their official Sept. 6 expiration to try to encourage reentry to the labor force.The earliest that the states, all led by Republican governors, are doing so is June 12.”The most vocal source of speculation [for labor shortages] is that the supplement to weekly unemployment benefits is enticing a lot of people to stay home,” said Erica Groshen, a labor economist at Cornell University and a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the Obama administration. “I think that’s far too simplistic.”Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsEconomists point to a host of other factors that may also be dampening a return of workers to the labor force: child-care duties, ongoing health risks, health complications for Covid long-haulers, early retirements, career changes or reassessments, and a high historical share of workers who are furloughed and expect to be recalled to their prior workplace.However, it’s impossible to quantify the extent to which any of these factors are playing a role during the economic recovery, experts said.”These factors interact with unemployment insurance, which can allow workers to take longer to rethink their careers, try to find jobs in new industries and negotiate for higher wages — but can also slow employment growth and prolong long-term unemployment,” according to Harvard University economists Jason Furman and Wilson Powell III. More

  • 213 Shares109 Views

    in Finance

    Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: G-III Apparel, U.S. Concrete, QTS Realty Trust & more

    Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:Amazon.com (AMZN) – CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he and his brother Mark will join an auction winner aboard the first human spaceflight by Bezos’ Blue Origin on July 20. Bezos is set to step down as Amazon CEO on July 5 in favor of Andy Jassy.U.S. Concrete (USCR) – The concrete supplier agreed to be bought by construction materials maker Vulcan Materials (VMC) for $74 per share in cash, or about $1.29 billion. That’s a nearly 30% premium over U.S. Concrete’s Friday closing price of $57.14. U.S. Concrete shares soared 27.7% in premarket action.G-III Apparel (GIII) – The apparel maker reported quarterly earnings of 53 cents per share, compared to a 15 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue also came in above Wall Street forecasts. G-III issued an upbeat full-year outlook as well, noting growth in sales of its sportswear and wear-to-work attire. Its shares rallied 5.8% in premarket trading.Blackstone (BX), Carlyle Group (CG) – The two private-equity firms, along with Hellman & Friedman, agreed to buy medical supplies company Medline Industries for about $34 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. That would be the largest leveraged buyout deal since the 2008 financial crisis. Separately, the Journal reports that Blackstone will announce a deal to buy data center operator QTS Realty Trust (QTS) for $6.7 billion. QTS shares leaped 19.8% in the premarket.”Meme” stocks – These stocks will remain in the spotlight, after wide swings last week for the likes of AMC Entertainment (AMC), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), GameStop (GME), BlackBerry (BB) and Koss Corp (KOSS). The biggest premarket moves came from BlackBerry, up 1.4% and Koss, down 2.7%.Lordstown Motors (RIDE) – Lordstown Motors received a delinquency notice from Nasdaq due to a late filing for its quarterly report. The electric vehicle company said it does intend to file its form 10-Q as soon as possible.Biogen (BIIB) – The drugmaker’s shares gained 2.2% in the premarket ahead of an expected ruling by the Food and Drug Administration on Biogen’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment aducanumab. The drug would be the first major drug approved for Alzheimer’s, but some experts say there’s not enough evidence the treatment provides meaningful benefit.Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla has canceled production of its planned Tesla Model S Plaid+, a high-end version of the Model S with a projected range of 520 miles. The Tesla Model S Plaid – with a projected range of 390 miles – is set to be released next week.Microsoft (MSFT) – Microsoft won approval from U.S. antitrust regulators for its $16 billion deal to buy artificial intelligence company Nuance Communications (NUAN). Microsoft said reviews are still taking place in other jurisdictions, but that it expected to close the deal by the end of 2021.KKR (KKR) – KKR will buy airport services company Atlantic Aviation from current owner Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC) for nearly $4.5 billion, seeking to benefit from growing demand for private jet services. KKR added 1.5% in premarket action.Visa (V) – Visa was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” at Piper Sandler, which said it expected the payments network operator to benefit more from the vaccine-driven U.S. recovery than rival Mastercard (MA). Visa added 1.1% in the premarket.Peloton (PTON) – The fitness equipment maker was rated “buy” in new coverage at Loop Capital, which notes a 40% drop from January highs and an expectation that the financial impact of the company’s treadmill recalls is likely overstated. Peloton rose 1.2% in premarket trading. More

  • 188 Shares129 Views

    in Business

    Major Chinese city battles Delta Covid variant first detected in India with lockdowns, mass testing

    People wait in lines for nucleic acid testing on May 26, 2021 in Guangzhou, China.Visual China Group | Getty ImagesGUANGZHOU, China — Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong are carrying out mass testing and have locked down areas to try to control a flare up of coronavirus cases in Guangzhou.The city has cited the Delta variant of the coronavirus, first detected in India, as a driver behind the uptick in cases it has reported since the latter part of May. The Delta strain is known to be highly transmissible.Guangzhou, a city of over 15 million people and the provincial capital, has reported 96 of the over 100 cases in Guangdong province in this latest outbreak.China, where the coronavirus first emerged last year, quickly got the epidemic under control and has had very few cases over the past 12 months. However, clusters have emerged in parts of the country including major cities like capital Beijing and finance hub Shanghai.The Guangzhou cases are potentially even more concerning because they involve the Delta strain of the coronavirus, which can spread very quickly.LockdownsA 75-year old woman in Liwan, a district of Guangzhou in the west of the city, was the first confirmed case of the Delta variant on May 21. She visited a restaurant and ended up infecting her husband. The latest infections began from there and has since spread to other areas of the city.Liwan, still the worst-hit district, has imposed strict lockdowns on certain streets. Some areas are not letting people in an out of a certain zone and residents are not allowed to leave their building. Twenty-four hour checkpoints have been set up to monitor movement in and out of these areas.Read more about China from CNBC ProCiti upgrades Nio, says growing EV demand in China can lift stock more than 50%Chinese yuan will become a top reserve currency sooner than expected, says Ray DalioChinese consumers are getting richer. UBS picks the stocks to cash inRestaurants and entertainment venues have also been shut down.But the virus has also spread to other parts of the city and province, too. Foshan, a city just southwest of Guangzhou has reported cases. On June 4, six members of the same family in the Nansha district of Guangzhou tested positive for the coronavirus. On Sunday, a positive case was found in the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen, home to companies including Huawei and Tencent.In other areas of Guangzhou less affected by latest cluster of cases, some restaurants and bars have begun offering takeout menus.Mass testing, travel restrictionsAfter the first case was found, Guangzhou initially carried out mass testing in Liwan that has since expanded to other areas.In the central business district, known as Zhujiang New Town, residents were asked to take a test at a site near their apartments between Friday and Sunday.One such testing site, which was set up on a road full of bars and restaurants, had huge lines on Friday.Guangzhou carried out over 16 million tests between May 26 and midnight on June 5.In Guangzhou, authorities have imposed tighter travel restrictions. Some metro stations in the city are closed. Authorities have urged people to not leave the city. But if residents need to leave the province, they should have a negative nucleic acid test conducted within 48 hours of their departure. Previously, travelers had a 72 hour window.Hundreds of domestic flights have also been canceled from Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport.Driverless cars transporting suppliesGuangzhou has become a hub for driverless car companies to test their vehicles on public roads. And with Liwan locked down, these firms are transporting goods with their autonomous vehicles to Liwan.Guangzhou-headquartered company WeRide has used its autonomous bus to transport food to Liwan. Pony.ai, another autonomous driving firm, has sent its vehicles to Liwan with supplies.Chinese internet giant Baidu also used its autonomous vehicles to deliver food and medical staff to affected areas. More

  • 200 Shares189 Views

    in Business

    World Bank says critical measures are needed to return women to the workforce after the pandemic

    Indian women wait in a queue for food in New Delhi.SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesThe World Bank has warned that critical measures need to be taken during the pandemic recovery to get women back to work and on the path to gender equality.The pandemic has exacerbated existing gender gaps, and now more than ever, additional efforts are needed to move women forward, Caren Grown, global director of the World Bank Group, told CNBC on Friday.”While everyone has faced the same storm, it has really differentially impacted men and women,” Grown told “Squawk Box Asia.”For instance, though the death rate from Covid-19 has generally been higher among men, women have been more adversely impacted socially and economically, she said.That’s due in part to women’s disproportionate representation in hard-hit industries, such as hospitality and tourism, ut also because of the additional caregiving duties they typically face.It was always called the shadow pandemic, but as we think about recovery we actually have to put in place stronger responses.Caren Grownglobal director, World Bank GroupEven before the pandemic, the World Bank estimated it could take 150 years for women to achieve gender equality with men. The health crisis has likely extended that timeline.To help overcome those disparities, Grown said ensuring equitable access to vaccines would be critical. That includes making sure women have the time and means to make their appointments.Beyond that, further financial and caregiving support is needed to get the hardest-hit women back on their feet and into work.Finally, more safeguards need to be put in place against gender-based abuse, she said.”Something that has been exposed during this pandemic is the increases in gender-based violence,” said Grown. “It was always called the shadow pandemic, but as we think about recovery we actually have to put in place stronger responses and preventative measures.” More