Raphael Stevens

In this articleFDXUPSPeople aged 18 and over waiting to be inoculated against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre at Radha Soami Satsang grounds being run by BLK-Max hospital on May 4, 2021 in New Delhi, India.Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty ImagesGlobal logistics companies UPS and FedEx are providing critical aid to India as Covid cases there topped 20 million, including more than 222,000 deaths.UPS announced Wednesday that its philanthropic arm, The UPS Foundation, is pledging $1 million in aid to India in a mix of emergency funding, transportation of goods, technical expertise and the support of its 1,000 employees in India.”There is nothing in the world right now that matters more than getting aid to India during this tragic time,” UPS Foundation President Nikki Clifton told CNBC. “Providing global humanitarian relief in times of crisis is a core part of our work.”India has about 3.45 million active Covid cases, according to health ministry data. On Wednesday, India reported 382,315 new daily infections, the 14th straight day of new cases over 300,000.UPS is coordinating with UNICEF, CARE International, The Salvation Army, Sewa International and other groups to ship and deliver oxygen concentrators, ventilators, nebulizers, respiratory supplies, personal protective equipment, Covid test kits and antiviral medications.The Atlanta-based carrier delivered more than 5,000 oxygen concentrators Monday as well as respirator equipment for hospitals rural areas north of the nation’s largest city, Mumbai. An oxygen concentrator, as described by the World Health Organization, is a device that draws in room air and passes it through a series of filters and much like an oxygen tank delivers it to the patient.Last week, FedEx announced a $4 million commitment, including a cash donation, equipment transport and support from its 7,000 employees in India. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company has already sent an initial shipment of 1,000 of oxygen concentrators. It’s in the process of transporting more than 1,800 pounds of medicine and PPE through a partnership with Direct Relief.Raj Subramaniam, president and COO at FedEx, appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Tuesday to discuss the company’s effort. “We have been working with the Indian ambassador and we are able to move things in a streamlined fashion into India. … Our job is to move those oxygen containers and oxygen concentrators to India, and the supplies all over the world.””FedEx is uniquely positioned to help because of our networks,” he continued. “We fly on a day on a regularly scheduled basis four [Boeing 777 jets] and an MD 11 into India into three different markets. It’s coming from all over. There’s an outpouring of support from across the world, and we have a unique capability of actually bringing that to India, so that’s what we’re doing.”Subramaniam, who grew up in India, said this mission is deeply personal. “I have family members and friends who have really been impacted by the crisis. So we are doing everything in our power to make sure we leave no stone unturned … to deliver critical components to India.”Another U.S. company, Amazon, said it’s providing over $5 million in aid to India by purchasing critical medical equipment and transporting with its logistics arm. The effort, which began last week, includes encouraging employees in India who have recovered from Covid to donate blood plasma. More

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a press conference with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar following a bilateral meeting in London on May 3, 2021, during the G7 foreign ministers meeting.BEN STANSALL | AFP | Getty ImagesLONDON — India’s foreign minister on Wednesday said he had been made aware of positive Covid cases among the country’s delegation to the G-7 summit in the U.K., prompting his entire team to self-isolate.Britain is hosting the three-day meeting in the capital city of London, seeking to restart face-to-face diplomacy and discuss the most pressing geopolitical challenges with the world’s most industrialized countries. It is the first gathering of the group’s foreign ministers since 2019.India, the current epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, is not in the G-7 nations but delegates from the country were invited as guests to try to deepen ties with the Indo-Pacific region.Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said via Twitter on Wednesday that he was “made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases.””As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode. That will be the case with the G7 Meeting today as well,” he said.India’s foreign minister met in person with U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.Patel had said it was a “pleasure to welcome” Jaishankar as new trade investment deals were signed with India, while Blinken said the pair had discussed their “joint efforts to combat COVID-19 and to advance our broader comprehensive global strategic partnership.”A senior U.K. diplomat told CNBC: “We deeply regret that Foreign Minister Dr Jaishankar will be unable to attend the meeting today in person and will now attend virtually, but this is exactly why we have put in place strict Covid protocols and daily testing.”A British official confirmed to Reuters that two positive Covid tests were returned among India’s delegation and said the entire team was now self-isolating. U.K. rules require a 10-day self-isolation period.The G-7 is comprised of the U.K., U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. The EU participates in all discussions as a guest.The three-day meeting in London is a precursor to a G-7 summit in Cornwall, U.K. in early June, which will be attended by G-7 leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden who will make his first scheduled trip abroad since taking office. More

Canadian-owned American multinational chain of convenience store.Budrul Chukrut | LightRocket | Getty ImagesConvenience store chain Circle K is launching a beverage subscription program, following in the footsteps of Burger King and Panera Bread.Starting Wednesday, U.S. customers who pay $5.99 per month can have one tea, coffee, Froster slushy or Polar Pop fountain drink of their choosing every day.Circle K’s Sip & Save program looks to build loyalty and coax people into its stores again on a regular basis. During the coronavirus pandemic, consumers made fewer trips to convenience stores.Sales of self-serve beverages took a hit industrywide. Hot dispensed drinks’ sales fell by a third, while cold dispensed drinks shrank by 7.9%, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.”We really see this an opportunity to drive traffic at a time that people are just starting to come out of the understandable cocoons that they’ve been in for the last 12-plus months,” said Kevin Lewis, chief marketing officer of Alimentation Couche-Tard, Circle K’s parent company.Montreal-based Couche-Tard operates more than 7,200 convenience stores across the U.S., including other brands like On the Run and Holiday. The company reported U.S. revenue of $37.8 billion in 2020.Circle K had plans to roll the program out last year, but the pandemic hit and public health officials were urging consumers to stay at home, Lewis said. Now, the consumer environment is once again changing as Americans are inoculated and states ease restrictions.It has been testing the Sip & Save program over the last 90 days in more than 100 stores near Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina. Lewis said data from the trial shows that customers are visiting more frequently, surpassing Circle K’s expectations.Trial customers were also buying food along with their drinks. That’s good news for the convenience store chain, which is upgrading its hot food options. During the crisis, it launched new items in roughly 1,500 locations. Over the next year, it plans to bring the improved food offerings to an additional 3,000 locations. Circle K is tailoring the menu to fit the locality, like offering tacos in Texas.Wawa, 7-Eleven and Sheetz have also been revamping their fresh-food offerings in recent years to steal market share from fast-food restaurants. The hope is to increase sales among customers who are already buying fuel, pantry staples or prepackaged snacks from their stores. Like the restaurant industry, however, convenience stores’ food-service sales weakened last year due to the pandemic.Lewis said the low price of the drink subscription program is the chain’s way of thanking its customers and celebrating that the pandemic is ending. Panera Bread launched its coffee subscription last year to attract customers to its restaurants during morning hours in the hopes that they try the chain’s new breakfast items. Restaurant Brands International’s Burger King introduced its version of a coffee subscription in 2019 to persuade consumers to try its revamped java. The burger chain quietly ended its program after a few months.For now, Circle K is planning on running the Sip & Save program for 90 days.”But if the feedback we get at the end of the 90 days nationally is the same, I think we’d be hard-pressed to say stop,” Lewis said. More

In this articleF2021 Ford Explorer TimberlineFordDETROIT – Ford Motor plans to offer a new lineup of off-road vehicles under the name Timberline, starting this summer with its Explorer SUV.The 2021 Explorer Timberline, which the company unveiled Wednesday, features an updated exterior design, increased ground clearance and other off-road features such as heavy-duty shocks and skid plates to protect the undercarriage of the vehicle.Other SUVs with similar features and capabilities under the Timberline name are expected to follow, however Ford officials declined to discuss further details.”Ford is delivering on more capable SUVs with Timberline. Consumer data has shown us that now more than ever, customers want to get outside and explore nature with friends and family,” Kumar Galhotra, Ford president of the Americas & International Markets Group, said in a statement.2021 Ford Explorer TimberlineFordWith the new Timberline trim, Ford looks to capitalize on increasing sales of SUVs and demand for off-road-capable vehicles. The looks and features of such vehicles have become more popular with mainstream consumers in recent years.Off-road models also typically boost profits. The Explorer Timberland will start at $45,765, according to Ford. That pricing positions it in the middle of the Explorer lineup but about $13,000 more than the base model.Ford reports there’s been a 56% increase in off-road use over the last three years for its current Explorer owners.2021 Ford Explorer TimberlineFord More

SINGAPORE — Singapore is facing its biggest local outbreak of Covid-19 infections in months — but the situation could improve in the coming weeks, according to Dale Fisher, chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. “We believe that we can break the transmission chains,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday.”With pretty sophisticated and thorough contact tracing, together with the quarantine of the contacts and the isolation of the cases, I would have confidence that we’d start to see things improving over the next couple of weeks,” said Fisher, who is also a professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.Singapore’s new cases in the community have increased to 64 cases in the past week, up from 11 in the week before, according the health ministry’s update on Tuesday.The country’s multi-ministry task force announced Tuesday that tighter restrictions will be reimposed from May 8 through to May 30. The Straits Times index was down 1.04% on Wednesday afternoon.Variants in the communityAuthorities also said the “double mutant” Covid variant — first detected in India — has been found among locally transmitted cases. That B.1.617 strain is seen as partly to blame for India’s soaring caseload that has pushed its health-care system to the brink, with hospitals running out of beds and oxygen.Fisher said it’s difficult to determine just how much impact a variant can have on transmission of the virus.While there’s “good evidence” that many variants have “increased transmissibility,” it’s not the only factor.”It’s also about all the various measures that are in place, and in fact, those measures work. It’s just … this version of the virus is less forgiving of any breaches,” he said.It’s about shutting down clusters, stopping transmission chains and living with (the virus) rather than sort of having a … blunt shutdown.Dale FisherProfessor, National University of Singapore.He noted that some cases were confirmed after their 14-day quarantines were completed. Singapore has now increased the quarantine period to 21 days for travelers arriving from higher risk countries.But it’s not clear whether the incubation period is longer for variants of the virus, said Fisher, who added there might also be false-negative Covid test results — that means a person has actually contracted the disease but the test indicates he is not infected.’Confidence’ in SingaporeStill, he said he has “a lot of confidence” in Singapore’s systems, and believes the country is taking the right approach by not going into lockdown.”It’s about shutting down clusters, stopping transmission chains and living with (the virus) rather than sort of having a … blunt shutdown,” he said. “We’re aware of the social and economic consequences of that.”As for vaccinations, Fisher said Singapore probably leads the rest of Asia in terms of the share of its population that has received at least one shot. “I think we’re getting there steadily,” he said. “There’s expected to be a very high level of nationwide immunization by October.”More than 2.2 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Singapore as of April 18, the ministry said. The country reported 16 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 61,268. More

Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund controls the ball next to Maximilian Arnold of Wolfsburg, during the Bundesliga match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena on May 23, 2020 in Wolfsburg, Germany.Michael Sohn | Getty ImagesOne of European soccer’s most prominent young stars, Erling Haaland, finalized his first business investment and is now an equity holder in sports tech company Hyperice.In the agreement, Haaland, who plays for German club Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga league, will serve as Hyperice’s face of its global soccer push as the company expanded in markets including France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The company makes muscle recovery gadgets that have become prominent in professional locker rooms across many sports.Financial teams of the agreement were not made available.”I’ve been a Hyperice fan for years so honestly it felt like an authentic move to join their team,” Haaland told CNBC via email.”Erling is not only one of the world’s best footballers, but is also a leader and inspiration for young athletes all around the globe,” said Hyperice CEO Jim Huether in a statement. “We are proud to have Erling on team Hyperice as both an investor and our face of global football to drive innovation and performance for years to come.”Haaland, 20, joins a list of athlete investors in Hyperice. He called it an “honor” to own equity with names including National Basketball Association star Chris Paul, Major League Baseball’s Fernando Tatis Jr. and tennis champion Naomi Osaka.Hyperice also aligned with the National Football League in an equity deal last November, which was expected to increase the company’s valuation to $1 billion.On the sponsorship front, Haaland is aligned with Nike. Asked what other firms he would invest in as his career progresses, Haaland mentioned “sports, technology and training” companies. Landing Haaland is beneficial for Hyperice as it attempts to hold off other companies entering the space.Haaland is one of the more dynamic stars in European soccer. The striker is 6-foot-3 and a pure scorer. He entered the Bundesliga league in January 2020, racking up 38 goals in 41 games, including 25 goals this season tied for second in the league. Overall, Haaland has 53 goals in 56 games playing for Borussia Dortmund.There is speculation Haaland could be on the move to a bigger club like Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid, which would mean bigger brand exposure for Hyperice. But the Borussia Dortmund said the club expects Haaland to return next season.And clubs interested in obtaining Haaland could pay a hefty transfer fee that could exceed $200 million. The compensation is paid to a club should another soccer organization want to obtain a player’s rights.Some of the more notable transfer fees include Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain who paid Barcelona a record $263 million transfer fee for soccer star Neymar in 2017. The club also paid over $200 million for the rights to French forward Kylian Mbappe. More