Raphael Stevens

A butcher stocks a display case with packages of steaks at a Costco store on May 24, 2021 in Novato, California.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesDon’t tell Costco executives that inflation is low.The big-box club chain said it’s been seeing accelerating prices across a range of products, including shipping containers, aluminum foil and a 20% spike in meat prices over the past month.”Inflationary factors abound,” CFO Richard Galanti said on the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call Thursday.”These include higher labor costs, higher freight costs, higher transportation demand, along with the container shortage and port delays … increased demand in various product categories some shortages, various shortages of everything from chips to oils and chemical supplies by facilities hit by the Gulf freeze and storms and, in some cases, higher commodity prices,” he added.Costco reported a profit of $2.75 a share for the period, well above Wall Street estimates. It also saw revenues of $45.3 billion that also beat the Street, which had been looking for $43.6 billion.Beneath those numbers, though, was a story of how higher prices across the board impacted the chain.On the plus side, there was a boost from gas inflation as prices at the pump have soared about 30% nationally this year. In other cases, it wasn’t so simple.Like other companies, Costco wrestled with passing costs onto customers. The firm expects there could be some margin pressures, though the degree remains to be seen and there haven’t been any significant impacts so far.Economists largely see the current spate of inflation — one closely followed gauge released Friday estimated the annual pace at 3.1% — as temporary. They list many of the same factors as Costco executives, mainly a string of supply chain issues that have caused spikes in products core to the U.S. economy and household consumption.Galanti cited price increases as high as 8% and cited goods including pulp and paper, an assortment of plastic products as well as soda and cheese. Some apparel items saw price hikes of 3% to 10%.Overall, he said the company has gone from seeing inflation in the 1%-to-1.5% range in March to 2.5% to 3.5% today.”Some items are up more and some items, the sale prices haven’t yet changed. And some items are even down a little bit,” Galanti said. “We think, again, we’ve done pretty well in terms of controlling that as best as we can, but the inflation pressures abound.”Costco has worked with its supplies to keep a handle on price pressures. But Galanti conceded that “some of [inflation] has passed through.”In the future, he said items like the warehouse’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken and $2.99 40-pack case of water could be impacted. More

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCar shoppers hoping to cash in on Memorial Day weekend sales events may want to rein in their expectations.On top of reduced inventory due to a shortage of microchips — key parts needed for today’s autos to operate — and unrelenting consumer demand pushing prices higher, there are fewer incentives being offered by manufacturers and dealers.The average incentive is $2,957, down from $4,825 in May 2020 and $3,878 in May 2019, according to a new forecast from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive.”People will be in for a bit of a surprise,” said Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights at Edmunds.com. “There will be little to no negotiation on price.”We’re seeing more people pay sticker price or above.”At the start of the pandemic more than a year ago, when dealerships and manufacturing plants were shut down, chipmakers pivoted to focusing on the consumer electronics industry — i.e., computers and gaming consoles — and there are still kinks in their ability to meet the renewed demand from automakers.Some automakers have idled manufacturing plants or cut back production of certain models, or stopped including certain high-end packages — things like navigation systems or blind-spot detectors — in vehicles that typically would have them, Drury said. “The shortage is really kicking the legs out from under the industry,” Drury said.More from Personal Finance:Inflation worries? Retirees may want to consider this investmentBanks to offer credit cards to people without credit scoresTake these 5 steps to bulk up your emergency savingsIn May, an estimated 33% of vehicles are selling within 10 days of arriving at a dealership, according to new estimates from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. That compares to 18% selling that fast in May 2019.Additionally, car shoppers may struggle to find the car they really want. To that point, 40% of car shoppers say they’re facing that problem, according to a recent survey from Cars.com.”If you’re picky, this may not be the right time to buy,” Drury said. “But if you’re open-minded … you’ll be in a better position.”Of course, it’s uncertain when the squeeze on inventory will lessen.”By the end of year, things will start to improve,” Drury said. “But we’ll be nowhere near normal levels.”The average price paid for a new car is close to $40,000, according to Edmunds.com. For used cars, it’s above $23,000. Some of the increase in prices are due to consumer preferences shifting over the last decade to pricier pickup trucks and SUVs and away from lower-priced sedans and small cars. Improved technology and safety features add to the price, as well.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsDiscounts are averaging about 7% or 8%, said Kelsey Mays, assistant managing editor for Cars.com. That compares to past years when that average was 10% to 12%.Among the incentives being offered: The Chevrolet Silverado 1500, which starts at about $29,000, has a decent discount of around $4,000, depending on the trim level, Mays said. The Toyota Camry, with a starting price of about $25,000, may come with a $1,000 discount, depending on the specifics.The silver lining to the higher cost for used cars is that trade-ins are worth more, as well. And while there may be little price negotiation for the car you’re buying, you may be able to get more for your trade-in to bring down the amount you have to finance.”Potential wiggle room for consumers is going to be with their trade-in,” said Mays at Cars.com. “Consumers should leverage those elevated values and get the most they can.”There are also other ways to bring down the cost of your purchase. Depending on your credit score, you may be able to find a 0% (or close to it) financing deal on a new car. Otherwise, the average interest rate paid on a five-year new-car loan is 4.12%, according to Bankrate. For a three-year used car loan, it’s 4.42%.”Shop the interest rate,” Drury said. “That’s where savings can come from.”If you’re picky, this may not be the right time to buy. But if you’re open-minded … you’ll be in a better position.Ivan DrurySenior manager of insights at Edmunds.comUnless paying with cash, you should get preapproved for a loan from a bank or credit union. While there’s no obligation to use the preapproval, you’ll at least be armed with a comparison when the dealership offers its loan terms.Be aware that the longer you stretch out your loan — say, for 72 or 84 months — in an effort to afford the monthly payments, the more you’ll pay in interest (unless it’s 0%) and the greater the chance that you’ll end up trading in your car for a new one before you’ve paid it off.And in that scenario, if the trade-in value is less than what’s owed on the loan, consumers often end up rolling that “negative equity” into the loan for their next car.If you want a brand-new car but can’t find exactly what you want, you may want to consider leasing instead of making a purchase.”It’s not a long-term commitment … and might be better than financing something over six years that you don’t like,” Drury said. More

In this articlePEPAAPLSo-called green bonds have become more popular in recent years, and this fast-growing segment of the $128.3 trillion global bond market could grow even more.When an issuer sells a green bond, they’re making a nonbinding commitment to earmark the sale’s proceeds for environmentally friendly projects. That could include renewable energy projects, constructing energy efficient buildings or making investments in clean water or transportation.Green bonds fall under the wider umbrella of sustainable bonds, which include fixed-income instruments whose proceeds are set aside for social or sustainability projects. Big household names such as Apple and PepsiCo are diving into this space. A handful of massive banks and governments around the world are also issuing sustainable bonds, including China, Russia and the European Union. This may be contributing to the space’s rapid growth. A report from Moody’s said new sustainable bond issuance may top $650 billion in 2021. That would represent a 32% jump from 2020.Watch the video above to learn more about how green bonds work, how issuers can be held accountable and how green bonds can move capital toward climate-friendly projects and goals. More

When pandemic lockdowns swept the country in Spring 2020, there were concerns that the booming podcast business might take a pause — the dramatic decline in people commuting meant fewer people listening on the go. Podcast downloads did initially decline, 10% between February 25 and March 25, but instead of that decline accelerating, digital audio rebounded, and 2020 catapulted a new generation of social audio companies into prominence.The new format — live conversations — emerged as an audio trend that has social media giants stepping up efforts to keep their control over internet experiences. One of the audio upstarts, Discord — which started as a chat platform for gamers and has been around since 2015 — saw its popularity explode. Meanwhile, Clubhouse, which launched during the pandemic, quickly scaled its user base to number in the millions and its valuation into the billions.Defying expectations, podcasting revenue continued to grow and eMarketer had to revise its 2020 estimate from a 1% decline in the time U.S. adults spend with audio, to 8.3% growth, for about an hour and a half a day. Clubhouse claims users spend over one hour, on average, on the app daily.While people may have been commuting less, and may have spent the pandemic’s early days watching the news, the versatility of the audio format endured: people listened while cooking, cleaning, and exercising. It turns out that audio may be the last unfilled window of consumers’ time: there are many more occasions in which someone can listen, or even participate in a conversation, than they can glue their eyes to a video.Witthaya Prasongsin | Moment | Getty ImagesDiscord landed at No. 3 on this year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list because of its scale and fast growth. The company that enables people for conversations via text and audio chat, along with video, says it has about 150 million monthly active users, up from 56 million at the end of 2019. The company enables people to set up “channels” or virtual rooms, that serve as online communities to talk about different topics. While the company’s early user base was largely focused on talking about video games, the company’s appeal has expanded dramatically in the past year, as people found communities on the platform to talk about video games, news, sports or fantasy football, and their neighborhoods. More coverage of the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50Meet the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50 companiesWhy Robinhood is the No. 1 companyA look back at the CNBC Disruptor 50: 9 years, 233 companiesWhen disruption becomes a force for good — and badCybereason CEO told world about DarkSide from a bomb shelterRipple on the future of cryptocurrencies as international bans increaseHow Relativity Space is reinventing the rocket, and building a multiplanetary futureDiscord lays out its game theory on the virtual ‘space’ of the futureIt’s not a vaccine passport, but more people travel ‘CLEAR’Patreon CEO on the ‘incredible leverage” creators now possessClubhouse has ‘millions more’ waiting to join its audio appHow we choose Disruptor companiesIts CEO Jason Citron wants to provide the best version of community “space” on the internet, whether that be the reimagining of a dorm room, library, restaurant or auditorium experience in a virtual environment. Citron says many Discord users today still experience it in smaller groups of friends, say six to 10 people, but the company sees significant potential in satisfying the needs of bigger communities around topics of interest, and that is a focus of new product development, including its Stage channels.”We see tremendous opportunity to grow our business model,” he said.The platform drew the attention of Microsoft, which bid a reported $10 billion for the platform — in an ironic twist, Citron and his Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy were gamers who started the company because they were frustrated with communication technology like Microsoft’s Skype.Discord has raised nearly $500 million from investors including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Tencent, Index Ventures, and Reid Hoffman’s Greylock.Clubhouse launched in April 2020 as an invite-only live audio conversation platform with events hosted by people in the community. The app’s audience grew in the early months of the pandemic, bolstered by the frequent participation of Andreessen Horowitz partners, who have led three rounds of investment into the company. Facebook, Twitter, Spotify talk backBut it was in February that Clubhouse user numbers really took off: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg both appeared in Clubhouse chats, drawing so many listeners that the rooms maxxed out their 5,000 person limit and sent people to overflow rooms. Conversations — including some with 2021 No. 1 Disruptor company Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev — about the WallStreetBets trading phenomenon drew buzz and interest. (Discord also found its user base growing among stock market traders this year.)For Clubhouse, exclusivity helped: the company capped the number of people who could join. New users needed an invite from a member and the company only expanded from iOS to Android devices this May after a year of iPhone exclusivity. CEO Paul Davison told CNBC this week that since the Android launch there are “millions more” waiting to join the platform. Voice is the oldest medium. … Voice is a durable medium.Paul Davison, Clubhouse CEOIn the ultimate validation of the innovative models from Discord and Clubhouse, the social media giants have launched similar services. Twitter first started testing Spaces, to enable people to click from a tweet to enter a live chat, late last year and has been rolling it out in 2021. Facebook announced ‘Live Audio Rooms’ in April — Zuckerberg said the company has been working on audio for “a very long time” — and also started testing a Q&A product where creators can talk to an audience (either with video or audio only), that can ask questions via either text or audio.Microsoft’s LinkedIn is working on an audio feature that will focus on professional conversations. To expand on the conversations that used to happen around the watercooler, Slack, recently acquired by Salesforce, has been experimenting with a feature designed to recreate the spontaneity of office hallway conversations. And in March, Spotify bought Betty Labs, the parent company of Locker Room, a Clubhouse alternative. Some social media trends come and go, but Clubhouse CEO Davison told CNBC this week that history is on the side of his company’s business model: “Voice is the oldest medium. … We’ve been gathering with other people in small groups and talking since the beginning of civilization. … Voice is a durable medium.”SIGN UP for our weekly, original newsletter that goes beyond the list, offering a closer look at CNBC Disruptor 50 companies, and the founders who continue to innovate across every sector of the economy. More

Hounslow, London, which has become one of the U.K.’s biggest hotspots for the variant of coronavirus first identified in India, on Thursday 27th May 2021.Tejas Sandhu | MI News | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesCases of the Covid-19 variant first identified in India have more than doubled in England within one week, the country’s health authority said.The number of cases of the strain had reached 6,959 by Wednesday, an increase of 3,535 cases from the previous week.The B.1.617.2 variant, a highly contagious triple-mutant strain of the coronavirus, is likely to be more transmissible than the variant first identified in England last fall, Public Health England said Thursday.Bolton, Bedford and Blackburn were the most affected areas in England, according to PHE, although it said there were small numbers of cases of the variant in most parts of the country.Hospitalizations were also rising in some areas, PHE added, noting that most hospital admissions were in unvaccinated people.Research published by PHE last week showed that two doses of Covid vaccines gives people high levels of protection against the B.1.617.2 strain.Jenny Harries, CEO of the U.K. Health Security Agency, said in PHE’s weekly update that the public should continue to act with caution as Britain eases lockdown restrictions.”We now know that getting both vaccine doses gives a high degree of protection against this variant and we urge everyone to have the vaccine,” she said.”Make sure that you remain careful, work from home if you can, meet people outside where possible and remember ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times.”The U.K. has begun to tentatively lift lockdown restrictions in recent months, with the government hoping to remove all measures by June 21.However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the country “may need to wait” for a complete return to normality, although he told the BBC on Thursday there was nothing “currently in the data” to suggest the June unlocking would be derailed.Johnson announced earlier this month that the U.K. would accelerate second vaccine doses for people over age 50 and clinically vulnerable in an effort to combat the spread of the B.1.617.2 strain.More than 62.6 million vaccines had been given in the U.K. by Wednesday, with 73% of the adult population having received their first dose. Almost half of British adults have been fully vaccinated with both doses.On May 22, 883 people were in hospital with Covid in the U.K. — a huge drop from January’s peak of 39,249. More

A box of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine doses are pictured at Grubb’s Pharmacy on Capitol Hill on Monday, April 12, 2021.Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesLONDON — The U.K.’s medicines regulator on Friday approved Janssen’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine for use.Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a statement that doses were expected to be available in the U.K. later this year.The British government’s Vaccine Taskforce has secured 20 million doses to be rolled out across the U.K. Initially, it had secured 30 million doses but amended the order as the vaccination program continues at what the government described as an “unprecedented scale and pace.”Earlier this year, the vaccine was found to be 67% effective in preventing infections and 85% effective in preventing severe cases of Covid-19 and hospitalizations. Janssen is a pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson.U.K. Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Friday that the approval of the Janssen vaccine would further boost the country’s “hugely successful” vaccination program.”As Janssen is a single-dose vaccine, it will play an important role in the months to come as we redouble our efforts to encourage everyone to get their jabs and potentially begin a booster programme later this year,” he said in a statement.The vaccine can be stored in refrigerators between two to eight degrees Celsius (35.6 to 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit), making its storage and transportation easier than some alternative vaccines.The Janssen vaccine is the fourth to be authorized for use in the U.K., joining the Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna alternatives in being approved by the MHRA.The Vaccine Taskforce has secured early access to more than 500 million doses of eight vaccine candidates, including those being developed by Novavax, GlaxoSmithKline and CureVac, as well as the four the U.K. has already approved for use.Safety and efficacyThe government said it was in regular contact with the manufacturers of the vaccine to help optimize supply and prepare for a possible vaccination booster program later in 2021.Janssen’s Covid-19 vaccine is currently involved in a government study to assess the safety and efficacy of giving people a third dose to boost their immunity to the virus. The Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines all require two doses for patients to reach optimum immunity.The U.K.’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will submit updated advice for use of the Janssen vaccine before it is rolled out.Janssen’s vaccine is already being used elsewhere, including in the U.S. and the European Union.There have been concerns among health authorities about possible links between the vaccine and rare blood clots, but regulators have said the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh the risks.Janssen is exploring the possibility of a two-dose program for its vaccine, according to the U.K.’s Department for Health and Social Care.The U.K. government has set a target of offering all adults in the country a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of July, which it says it is on track to achieve.More than 62.6 million vaccines had been given in the U.K. by May 26, with 73% of the adult population having received their first dose. Almost half of British adults have been fully vaccinated with both doses. More

Incidents of unruly behavior from airplane passengers has risen to an unprecedented level this year, union leader Sara Nelson told CNBC on Friday, the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.”This is an environment that we just haven’t seen before, and we can’t wait for it to be over,” the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said on “Squawk Box.”The behavior has become “complete nuts,” added Nelson, whose union represents around 50,000 cabin crew members across more than a dozen carriers. “It’s a constant combative attitude. … It’s got to stop.”Nelson’s comments follow a recent violent confrontation that resulted in a Southwest Airlines flight attendant sustaining facial injuries and losing two teeth. In a statement to NBC News earlier this week, Southwest said the passenger “repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing.”A 28-year-old woman has been charged with felony battery in the incident, which occurred on a Sacramento to San Diego flight.The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it has received around 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, roughly three-quarters of which involve failure to adhere to the federal face mask mandate that has been instituted due to the coronavirus pandemic.That’s more than 20 times higher than what’s normally recorded in an entire year, Nelson told CNBC. She noted the role masks are playing in the surge and expressed disappointment that health protocols on planes are seen as “a political issue.”The federal mask requirement is on the books until Sept. 14, and the FAA intends to keep its zero-tolerance policy for passenger disturbances in place as long as the mandate applies.While airline travel has picked up in recent months as Covid vaccinations become more available, TSA checkpoint data shows travel is still notably below 2019 levels.”Typically what flight attendants will do, when we see a conflict arise on the plane, we’re trained to deescalate. We look for our helpers,” Nelson said. However, she said the passenger mix is different than pre-Covid.”It’s very difficult when you don’t have people on the plane who are regularly flying, who sort of know the program, who are our typical people that we’d go to, at least, create peer pressure but also help to try to calm down these incidents,” she said.Nelson said increased messaging around the consequences for passengers who act out — such as FAA fines — would be helpful. That includes not only on-board messages from the flight captain, but also throughout airports, she said.Temporary restrictions on alcohol sales also would be beneficial, Nelson said.”A lot of times these events are exacerbated by alcohol, so we’ve been asking the government and the airlines to make sure they’re not selling alcohol right now because that’s only adding to the problem that is clearly out of control.” More