Raphael Stevens

In this articleFORDFord is launching the 2021 Bronco with more than 200 factory-backed aftermarket accessories for more capability and personalization.Source: FordDETROIT – Ford Motor confirmed Wednesday another round of production cuts due to the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips, saying it will impact early output of its highly anticipated Bronco SUV.The automaker said it will extend shutdown times at several plants and add two weeks of downtime starting May 17 at its Michigan Assembly plant. The facility currently produces the Ford Ranger midsize pickup and early models of the relaunched Bronco, which was scheduled to start full production this summer.The downtime won’t impact Ford’s plan to begin delivering the vehicles to dealers this summer, according to a company spokeswoman. Ford previously delayed the Bronco’s spring launch due to coronavirus-related problems in its supply chain.Other than Michigan Assembly, Ford said it was adding shutdowns during that two-week timeframe at three other plants in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri. They produce a variety of vehicles ranging from the automaker’s Super Duty pickups to Ford Mustang.The added shutdown times come a week after Ford CEO Jim Farley warned investors that the company expected to lose about 50% of its planned second-quarter production, up from 17% in the first quarter.Ford now expects problems from the chip shortage to cut about $2.5 billion from its earnings in 2021, the high end of its previous guidance for the year.Semiconductors are key components in automotive manufacturing, used in infotainment, power steering and braking systems, among other things.As multiple plants shuttered last year due to Covid, suppliers directed semiconductors away from automakers to other industries, creating a shortage after consumer demand snapped back stronger than expected. The parts can contain several different sizes and types of chips.Here’s a look at the most recent shutdown announcements provided by Ford:Chicago Assembly Plant, Flat Rock Assembly Plant, Kansas City Assembly Plant F-150 and Transit lines, and Michigan Assembly Plant will be down the weeks of May 17 and May 24.Ohio Assembly Plant will continue to produce only Super Duty Chassis cabs and Medium Duty trucks through the week of May 17 and will be down the week of May 24.Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri, which builds the Ford Transit van, will operate just one shift the weeks of May 31 and June 7 to complete early builds of the E-Transit.Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico is down through the week of May 10.In addition, Kentucky Truck Plant will be down the weeks of June 7 and 14 to make plant modifications to prepare for the upcoming launch of the next-generation Super Duty. More

In this articleJNJPFEMRNAWASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it supports waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses.”This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai wrote in a statement.”As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the Administration will continue to ramp up its efforts — working with the private sector and all possible partners — to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution. It will also work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines,” the statement added.The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised the U.S. decision as a “monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19” that reflects the “moral leadership” of the White House in the fight to end the pandemic. Stocks of major pharmaceutical companies that have produced vaccines, including Moderna, BioNTech and Pfizer, dropped sharply after news of the potential waivers first broke. Pfizer ended its trading day flat, while Moderna lost 6.1%; Johnson & Johnson shed a modest 0.4%.The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America expressed pointed opposition to the Biden administration’s support for waiving IP protections. The trade group’s members include vaccine makers such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.  “In the midst of a deadly pandemic, the Biden Administration has taken an unprecedented step that will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety,” said Stephen J. Ubi, the group’s president and CEO. “This decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines. “World Trade Organization leaders reportedly urged member nations this week to quickly hash out the details of an agreement to temporarily ease the rules protecting intellectual property behind coronavirus vaccines. The waiver, proposed by South Africa and India, could remove obstacles to ramping up the production of vaccines in developing countries.An administration official with knowledge of Tai’s decision cautioned that the WTO’s discussions over waivers could take time and, since the body’s rulings are based on consensus, will require approval from all 164 members.The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that Tai held at least two dozen meetings and calls with various industry stakeholders, including the major vaccine manufacturers. The person added that Tai plans to advocate for friendly cooperation between global firms to ease supply-chain bottlenecks.President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday affirmed that the White House would back the World Trade Organization’s IP waiver proposal. “Yes, I’m going to talk about that later today. Yes,” Biden said shortly before Tai’s statement was released.The Biden administration’s move comes as coronavirus infections surge to their highest levels in countries that have struggled to procure or distribute vaccines, highlighting a contrast with other nations, including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.Edith Arangoitia, 46, (who came as a companion to her elderly mother) is vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by Doctor Galen Harnden at La Colaborativa in Chelsea, Massachusetts on February 16, 2021.Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty ImagesIn recent weeks, India has grappled with a staggering rise in new coronavirus infections. Over the weekend, India reported 400,000 daily cases, bringing the nation’s cumulative total to 20,665,148 cases, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The spike may have been triggered by a highly contagious Covid variant, known as B.1.617, which was first identified in India.The variant has since been identified in other countries, including the United States.In April, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed lifting the patent protections of coronavirus vaccines with Biden, according to a readout of their call. The relaxation would grant governments quicker and more affordable access to the lifesaving doses.Last week, the Biden administration announced that it will immediately make raw materials needed for India’s coronavirus vaccine production available. Critics have argued that patents on vaccines and other protections are not the central obstacle to producing more vaccines for the nations that need them most. Some also suggest such agreements could harm companies’ incentives to innovate.”This is a huge misstep by the Biden Administration that will do nothing to increase vaccine distribution and will endorse China’s ability to piggyback on U.S. innovation to further its vaccine diplomacy aims,” Clete Willems, a former attorney at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said of the decision.”A solution more in line with the Administration’s stated objectives of improving U.S. competitiveness and keeping jobs in America would be to produce and export vaccines from the United States,” said Willems, who worked under both the Obama and Trump administrations.A Washington Post editorial this week said the goal of creating a “people’s vaccine” to defeat Covid is “more slogan than solution.”— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger and Tom Franck reported from New York. More

In this articleMRNAA doctor draws up a syringe with Moderna’s vaccine.Oliver Berg | picture alliance | Getty ImagesA booster shot of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine generated a promising immune response against the B.1.351 and P.1 variants first identified in South Africa and Brazil, respectively, the company announced Wednesday, citing early data from an ongoing clinical trial.In the trial, Moderna is testing a 50-microgram dose of its vaccine in previously vaccinated individuals. It found the booster dose increased neutralizing antibody responses against the original virus as well as B.1.351 and P.1, two variants that have since spread to other countries, including the U.S.The company also said a booster shot of its other vaccine, which it is calling mRNA-1273.351, generated an even better immune response over its current vaccine against the B.1.351 variant from South Africa. The new vaccine is a variant-specific booster shot intended to target B.1.351.The preliminary results, which Moderna says will be published online, have not yet been peer-reviewed.”As we seek to defeat the ongoing pandemic, we remain committed to being proactive as the virus evolves,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a press release. “We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants.”Moderna said side effects were similar to those observed after the second dose of the vaccine in the previously reported studies. Side effects included pain at the injection site, fatigue and headache as well as muscle and joint pain.The new data comes as drugmakers and scientists now say people will likely need a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccines and possibly additional shots each year, just like for the seasonal flu.Moderna’s vaccine requires two doses given four weeks apart. Like Pfizer’s and Johnson & Johnson’s, the shot is highly effective against Covid, though company executives and officials now say they expect that strong protection to wane over time. Pfizer’s vaccine is also a two-dose regimen while the J&J immunization is just one jab.White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has previously said Americans may need to get booster shots to better protect against variants.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:India foreign minister self-isolating after Covid scare at UK’s in-person G-7 summitWhy India — the world’s biggest producer of Covid vaccines — has a major shortage of doses   Biden’s new Covid vaccination goal is for 70% of adults to have at least one shot by July 4 Pfizer scientist expects elderly, people with underlying conditions to be first to get Covid booster shotsEarlier Wednesday, U.S. health officials said highly contagious variants remain a “wild card” in their nationwide campaign to get most American adults vaccinated by the Fourth of July.A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Wednesday projected Covid-19 cases would surge through May — due to the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the U.K. — before sharply declining by July as vaccinations drive down infections. Still, variants threaten to reverse the nation’s progress, officials said,”We are seeing that our current vaccines are protecting against the contaminant variants circulating in the country. Simply put, the sooner we get more and more people vaccinated, the sooner we will all get back to normal,”  CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House Covid news briefing.Moderna is evaluating three approaches to increasing immunity. The first approach would use variant-specific booster shots, such as mRNA-1273.351, but at a lower dose than the original vaccine. The second one would combine the original vaccine with a variant-specific vaccine into a single shot at 50 micrograms or lower, Moderna said. The third would test a third shot of the original vaccine at a lower dosage.Bancel told CNBC last month that the company hopes to have a booster shot for its two-dose vaccine available in the fall. More

Covid-19 cases will likely surge again in the U.S. as the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant takes hold across the country, peaking in May before sharply declining by July, according to new data released Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The rise in Covid cases is expected as states relax pandemic prevention strategies for businesses, large-scale gatherings and schools, and the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the U.K., spreads more rapidly throughout the country, the CDC said in the report.The agency projected the trajectory of the pandemic based on four different scenarios of vaccination rates and state reopenings. While the case numbers differed in each scenario, the general direction of the outbreak remained mostly the same in all four forecasts with cases surging in May before falling in July.While Covid cases are expected to increase this month, hospitalizations and deaths will likely remain low nationally, the U.S. agency said, with cases expected to plummet by July as more Americans get vaccinated against the virus.High vaccination coverage and compliance with pandemic safety measures “are essential to control COVID-19 and prevent surges in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months,” federal health officials wrote in the report.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:India foreign minister self-isolating after Covid scare at UK’s in-person G-7 summitWhy India — the world’s biggest producer of Covid vaccines — has a major shortage of doses   Biden’s new Covid vaccination goal is for 70% of adults to have at least one shot by July 4 Pfizer scientist expects elderly, people with underlying conditions to be first to get Covid booster shotsDuring a White House Covid press briefing later Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the projections should remind Americans “we have a path out of this.””Although we are seeing progress in terms of decreased cases, hospitalizations and death, variants are a wild card that could reverse this progress we have made,” she said. “We are seeing that our current vaccines are protecting against the contaminant variants circulating in the country. Simply put, the sooner we get more and more people vaccinated, the sooner we will all get back to normal.” The rate of daily new infections fell below 50,000 per day over the weekend and continues to decline, according to Johns Hopkins University data, as the latest seven-day average stands at 48,100 cases per day.The new data comes just ahead of the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays. President Joe Biden has said he hopes to see enough Americans vaccinated by Independence Day to safely hold small outdoor gatherings.On Tuesday, Biden announced his administration’s latest goals in the fight against the coronavirus: getting 70% of U.S. adults to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and having 160 million adults fully vaccinated by July 4.As of Tuesday, more than 145 million Americans age 18 and older, or 56.4% of the total adult population, have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to data compiled by the CDC. More than 105 million Americans age 18 and older, or 40.8% of the total adult population, are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.In recent weeks, the pace of individuals receiving their first vaccine doses has fallen, though U.S. health officials say they are working to improve access to the shots as well as encourage more hesitant Americans to get vaccinated.The CDC used data from the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, which developed six models to assess the potential course of Covid-19 in the U.S. across four scenarios. Researchers took into consideration vaccination rates and the implementation of policies such as mask-wearing and social distancing.Additionally, the projections were based on data through late March, when Covid cases were on the rebound.– CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report. More

Bill and Melinda GatesFrederic Stevens | Getty ImagesSure, you likely have nowhere near the wealth held by divorcing couple Bill and Melinda Gates.Yet when it comes to protecting your assets ahead of marriage, that doesn’t particularly matter, experts say. If you plan to wed, it may be worth determining how you and your spouse would each protect your assets and financial interests in case you end up going your separate ways.”Anyone who has significant assets — which is in the eye of the beholder — that they either earned or inherited, and would want protected in the event of divorce, should consider a premarital agreement,” said Gary Altman, founder and principal attorney of estate-planning law firm Altman & Associates.More from Your Money, Your Future:Here’s a look at more on how to manage, grow and protect your money.Why 75% of stock owners won’t be hit by Biden’s capital gains tax hikeLatest batch of stimulus checks go those recently filing tax returnsAdvisors must meet the digital demands of young investorsThe Gates, worth an estimated $130.3 billion and splitting after 27 years of marriage, apparently had no prenuptial contract — a so-called “prenup” — in place. Instead, a separation agreement — aka a postnuptial agreement — is guiding how their assets will be divided, according to published reports.Most soon-to-be newlyweds likely don’t envision divorce in their future and therefore may think an agreement is unnecessary. Yet if the unanticipated event happens — whether soon or decades down the road — trying to agree on who gets what could be challenging at best and devastating at worst.”It’s about the idea of protection,” said certified financial planner Heather Comella, lead planner with financial wellness site Origin. “Think about if you’d need these assets to survive if your marriage were to fall apart.”Comella said if you have children when you enter the marriage, you also need to consider how much you’d need to support them over time, as well. A prenup also could specify whether or not there would be spousal support — aka alimony — if there is a divorce or breakup, said CFP Stacy Francis, president and CEO of Francis Financial in New York. “We’ve also seen couples … protect themselves from each other’s debt issues or past run-ins with addiction,” Francis said.Additionally, if you expect a large inheritance down the line, you may want a prenup to ensure those assets are not factored into the divorce equation at all, Francis said.”The goal of a good prenup should be the facilitation of an honest discussion on finances, kids, future goals, and the financial consequences of the marriage ending,” she added.While prenuptial agreements in various forms have been around for centuries, they have been put more to use in recent decades. “The use has increased, but not by as much as I think it should be,” said Altman, who has been doing estate planning for more than three decades.Altman routinely now asks his estate-planning clients if they want a clause in their legal documents that would require their children to enter into pre- or post-marital agreements if they want to access their inheritance.”They say you can inherit $1 million, but you can only get it if you sign an agreement saying your spouse can’t have it,” Altman said. More

Chairs and tables are seen outside a closed restaurant in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 24, 2020.Liu Jie | Xinhua via Getty ImagesAfter a year of unthinkable challenges for the restaurant industry, targeted aid is on its way.The Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund opened its portal Monday, allowing hard-hit restaurants, bars, food trucks and more to apply for $28.6 billion in grants, and it’s already seeing robust demand. The White House released a fact sheet Wednesday that said in its first two days 186,200 restaurants, bars, and other eligible businesses across the country applied for relief. For the first three weeks, small businesses owned by women, veterans and the socially and economically disadvantaged have priority in application processing. According to the White House, 97,600 applications were from eligible businesses in these groups. Also, more than 61,000 applications were made by businesses with less than $500,000 in annual pre-pandemic revenue, meaning some of the smallest restaurants and bars in America are seeking relief.The American Rescue Plan Act established the RRF to provide restaurants with funding equal to pandemic-related revenue losses of up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. The funds must be used by March 2023 and do not need to be repaid so long as the money is used on eligible expenses including payroll, suppliers, mortgages, maintenance and rent. The SBA said there was “extremely high demand” for the program in its opening days.”With the launch of the application portal, an overwhelming number of restaurant owners have taken the first step and successfully submitted their applications. We will begin processing and funding applications shortly,” an SBA spokesperson said in a statement.The industry has been among the hardest hit over the course of the last year. The National Restaurant Association estimates that from March 2020 through April of this year 110,000 restaurants have closed either permanently or long-term. The trade group also said restaurant and food service sales are down $280 billion from projected levels.Enough to go around?The bigger concern is if the program will have enough aid to help all the businesses that need it.”The question that everybody is asking, of course, is how long is the money going to last and who’s not going to have a place to go when the music stops,” Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association said in an interview. The launch of the fund is a result of a yearlong effort led in part by the restaurant group.The SBA recently faced challenges with another small business aid portal, for its Shuttered Venue Operator Program. The site was closed down on its first day and remained shuttered for more than a week before being reopened for application submissions.So far, the portal for struggling restaurants has been accepting applications smoothly, Kennedy said, save for a slight hiccup Monday that had to do with an issue outside the platform.The SBA did not immediately comment on the applications received or the program’s operations so far.Operators such as Pete Cortez are hoping to access aid before the fund runs dry. Cortez is chief operating officer of La Familia Cortez restaurants in San Antonio, Texas. Now in its fourth generation, the restaurant group has five full-service locations. It is down 300 employees over the course of the pandemic from a high of 725 before the crisis hit.The restaurants have had to grapple with both mandated closings to help control the spread of Covid-19 and a once-in-a-lifetime storm that walloped Texas in February. Cortez said he was able to access the Paycheck Protection Program but more aid is needed.”We feel that we’re blessed just to be here still — it’s been a long road. We see this as an opportunity to really get back on solid footing and try to rehire all the employees. We lost them,” Cortez said.Rehiring as wages riseRehiring is bringing its own challenges, he said. La Familia Cortez is facing staffing woes like so many businesses across the country, including restaurants, bars and hotels. Cortez said the company is offering referral and sign-on bonuses at the same time wages are rising.”That’s another one of the reasons why this grant is so important to restaurants, because at a time when we’re coming off of a pandemic and trying to recover from everything that we lost, we’re coming back to an industry where there’s supply chain disruption. Beef prices and chicken prices and other goods are very expensive right now,” Cortez said. “And on top of that, we don’t have enough employees and we’re having to close restaurants or reduce hours.”Kennedy said that challenge is being felt across the restaurant industry. Some executives have pointed to government stimulus as an incentive to keep workers away from heading back to the job, while advocates are pushing for higher pay for low-wage workers.”We do have a growing number of operators that say, ‘We just want to operate … we just need a workforce, and an operating environment that allows us to bring people back in,'” he said. “It’s a growing concern.”PPP runs dryBeyond the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the PPP has been a lifeline for small businesses and many restaurants. The SBA confirmed Tuesday that general funding for the program had been exhausted and was closed to most new applicants, save for an allocation for community financial institutions that typically fund loans for the underserved. The program was extended to run through May 31, although many believed the funding would not last through that deadline.”After more than a year of operation and serving more than eight million small businesses, funding for the bi-partisan Paycheck Protection Program has been exhausted. The SBA will continue funding outstanding approved PPP applications, but new qualifying applications will only be funded through Community Financial Institutions, financial lenders who serve underserved communities. The SBA is committed to delivering economic aid through the many COVID relief programs it’s currently administering and beyond,” the SBA said in a statement.More than 400,000 businesses in accommodation and food service were able to access forgivable loans under the program. More

In this articleTSLAGMGM unveilied the Cadillac Personal Autonomous Vehicle concept during CES 2021 in January.ScreenshotDETROIT – General Motors CEO Mary Barra expects the automaker to offer self-driving vehicles to consumers later this decade.While autonomous vehicles for deliveries and ride-hailing services are currently undergoing rigorous testing, manufacturing them for retail customers hasn’t been a priority for automakers because the technology needed for the systems is prohibitively expensive.”Later in the decade, I believe, and there’s a lot to still unfold, but I believe we’ll have personal autonomous vehicles,” she told investors Wednesday during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.She did not specifically say GM would sell such vehicles directly to consumers. It could lease them or offer customers a subscription service like it did previously for Cadillac vehicles. A GM spokesman said the company has no further comment at this time.Barra’s comments come after GM showcased a personal autonomous vehicle concept car for its Cadillac brand in January. The vehicle was based on the Origin, an autonomous shuttle from its majority-owned subsidiary Cruise.GM has a two-pronged approach regarding such systems. Cruise is leading development of fully autonomous vehicles, while the automaker expands its advanced driver-assist Super Cruise system to 22 vehicles by 2023. Barra said the goal for Super Cruise is to eventually offer hands-free driving in 95% of driving conditions.”Both paths are very important because the technology we put on vehicles today, I think makes them safer and delights the customers, and is going to give us an opportunity for subscription revenue,” she said Wednesday. “And then the ultimate work that we’re doing at Cruise that is full autonomous really opens up more possibilities than I think we can online today.”Super Cruise currently allows hands-free driving on more than 200,000 miles of pre-mapped highways in the U.S. and Canada. Other systems, specifically Tesla’s Autopilot, offer greater capabilities but require drivers to “check-in” by touching the steering wheel.The main differences between Super Cruise and Autopilot is GM’s system include a driver-facing infrared camera to monitor attentiveness and the pre-mapped roads that work with onboard radar, sensors and cameras to drive the vehicle.Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been far more challenging than many predicted just a few years ago.In 2018, GM announced plans to launch ride-hailing services in 2019 with self-driving vehicles that don’t have manual controls such as steering wheels and pedals. It indefinitely delayed those plans to conduct further testing.In April 2019, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the automaker would deliver a car without a steering wheel within two years, however the company has not given an update on those plans. Tesla did not respond to an email seeking comment.Tesla is currently beta testing a next generation of its system marketed as a “full self-driving” premium option for $10,000. Only some owners get access to the beta version of the self-driving system. Despite the name, Tesla has told the California DMV that the system isn’t fully autonomous, according to correspondence between the company and the agency obtained by CNBC and other media outlets.Last year, GM confirmed plans for a system called “Ultra Cruise,” however it has not released details of the next-generation technology.– CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report. More