Raphael Stevens

Rendering of a United Launch Alliance’ Atlas V rocket carrying Amazon satellites.ULA/AmazonAmazon is preparing to send its first Project Kuiper internet satellites into orbit, with Jeff Bezos’ company announcing on Monday that it signed a contract with United Launch Alliance for nine launches.ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will use its Atlas V series of rockets to launch the Kuiper missions. Amazon’s planned constellation would include 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit. The company has said it will invest $10 billion in to bring high-speed broadband to consumers, businesses and governments.”We’re determined to make affordable broadband a reality for customers and communities around the world,” Bezos said in a statement. “ULA is a fantastic partner that’s successfully launched dozens of missions for commercial and government customers, and we’re grateful for their support of Kuiper.”An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the value of the launch contract. The company is also not disclosing how many Kuiper satellites will launch on each mission, nor what version of ULA’s Atlas V rocket it will use.Rendering of a United Launch Alliance’ Atlas V rocket carrying Amazon satellites.ULA/Amazon”The scope and scale of the initiative will also provide an enormous boost to U.S. leadership in space, helping create jobs and providing steady, reliable demand for the launch services industry,” ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said in a statement.The ULA contract is Amazon’s first with a rocket operator, although the company noted that it “will need multiple launch vehicles and launch partners” to deploy Kuiper satellites on time. That leaves the door open for future Amazon launch deals with the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Bezos’ space company Blue Origin, or European launcher Arianespace. Although Bezos founded both Amazon and Blue Origin, the latter company is private and wholly separate from the former.Amazon has not yet released a timeline for when Kuiper launches will begin.However, with the Federal Communications Commission authorizing those launches last year, Amazon is required to deploy half of its planned satellites within six years – or about 1,600 in orbit by July 2026.The company now has more than 500 people working on Project Kuiper, and in December completed initial development of the antenna that will connect users to the satellite network.In recent months Amazon has clashed with SpaceX in front of government regulators, with Bezos’ firm opposing changes that Musk’s company wants to make to its Starlink network, which so far has more than 1,300 satellites in orbit. The two companies are among an international cohort of competing global satellite broadband networks, including OneWeb, Astranis, Telesat, and Lockheed Martin partner Omnispace.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

The U.S. will see a significant reduction in new coronavirus infections in the coming weeks, Dr. Scott Gottlieb predicted Monday on CNBC.”I think we’re going to start to see the pandemic roll over in the United States, in terms of cases coming down,” Gottlieb said in an interview on “Squawk Box.”However, the former Food and Drug Administration chief cautioned that, even if the top-line number of new infections falls, “we’re still going to have outbreaks in some parts of the country.””We’re never going to virtually eliminate this virus,” said Gottlieb, who led the regulatory agency from 2017 to 2019 in the Trump administration, reiterating a concern he raised Friday when he warned that vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. makes it unlikely that the nation will eradicate Covid like it’s done with other diseases, such as polio and smallpox.”But I think you’re going to start to see cases come down quite dramatically as we get into May,” said Gottlieb, who serves on the board of Pfizer, which makes one of the three Covid vaccines cleared for emergency use in the U.S. Moderna makes the other two-shot vaccine. Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine has been paused by the FDA due to cases of rare but severe blood clotting issues.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:FDA asks Emergent plant to pause manufacturing while it investigates botched J&J Covid vaccinesUK scientists launch human challenge trial to study Covid reinfection Chile has one of the world’s best vaccination rates. Covid is surging there anywayHalf of U.S. adults have received at least one Covid shot in milestone for vaccination campaignOn Monday, the seven-day average of daily new coronavirus cases in the U.S. was about 67,400, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That figure is down slightly from one week ago, although it represents an increase from levels seen in late March and on par with last summer’s surge.Deaths from the disease have fallen more considerably in the U.S. According to CNBC’s analysis of Johns Hopkins’ data, the seven-day average of daily new Covid deaths on Monday was 723, which is down 25% compared with one week ago.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsGottlieb said he expects to see a continued improvement in the pandemic landscape for two reasons. The first is warming weather allowing for more activities to take place outside, where risk of coronavirus transmission is lower. The second is additional progress rolling out Covid vaccines, he said.Every U.S. adult officially became eligible for the coronavirus vaccine Monday. Just over half of U.S. adults have already received at least one vaccine dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.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 Inc. and biotech company Illumina. He also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings′ and Royal Caribbean’s “Healthy Sail Panel.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. More

Black Space Floral Trainer by NobullSource: NobullNobull, an athletic apparel and footwear maker with a cult-like following in the CrossFit community, has completed another round of funding with a valuation north of $500 million, CNBC has learned.Co-founders Marcus Wilson and Michael Schaeffer told CNBC that Nobull has seen explosive growth during the Covid pandemic, as consumers have put spending on clothes for work or going out on hold but are still in the market for workout gear to either lounge in or use for their at-home fitness routines. That same demand has benefited the likes of Nike, Under Armour, Lululemon and Adidas.The health crisis has, however, also created supply-chain constraints and led to merchandise being out of stock. Nobull said it plans to use the fresh financing to help replenish inventories.Boston-based Nobull is best known for its training gear: items such as lightweight and sweat-wicking shorts, sleeveless tops, and training shoes. It makes a special pair of sneakers just for lifting that will set you back about $300. More recently, it has ventured into selling items for other sports and activities, including running, and it debuted a $180 cycling cleat last year.Its women’s business currently outpaces its men’s, in part thanks to a growing list of female athletes who serve as Nobull brand ambassadors, including CrossFit Games athlete and professional weightlifter Tia-Clair Toomey.Wilson and Schaeffer are both lifelong athletes and members of the CrossFit community.”It was kind of a no-brainer,” Schaeffer said about how Nobull initially reached the world of CrossFit about six years ago. “We’ve both loved CrossFit. We love the community … and that’s organically what we targeted.”That call is paying off. Last month, CrossFit announced that Nobull would become the title sponsor of its CrossFit Games, which kick off again this summer. The brand will also serve as the official footwear and apparel sponsor for the CrossFit community. The partnership is expected to run for at least three years.”We’re not a CrossFit brand,” Wilson explained. “But CrossFit is a sport and a form of training for people who train hard and don’t believe in excuses. So there’s really great synergies within CrossFit.”Once it catches up to the demand it’s seeing in the United States, Nobull’s next ambitions include expanding overseas.”We’ve got high global awareness,” Wilson said. “So the other thing that we’re doing is building out our ability to distribute products around the world. … We want to make sure we bring down the barriers to entry in those markets for our customers who are already demanding products.”It continues to sell primarily online. It has three stores in the U.S. — in Boston, Miami and the SoHo neighborhood of New York City — which are still temporarily shut due to the pandemic. It hopes to open more in the coming years, with no plans to get into wholesale channels such as department stores.”We’ve gotten very creative … when it comes to product launches. We’ve just been super flexible, and this is where not having a lot of wholesale makes it a lot easier,” Wilson said.Nobull has raised $32 million to date, according to Pitchbook. More

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is pictured during a “Fridays for Future” protest in front of the Swedish Parliament Riksdagen in Stockholm on October 9, 2020.JONATHAN NACKSTRAND | AFP | Getty ImagesLONDON — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Monday pressed world leaders to do more to tackle Covid-19 vaccine inequity, describing the growing gap between the number of shots being delivered in high-income countries and those administered in low-income countries as a “tragedy.”At present, an average of one-in-four people in high-income nations has received a Covid vaccine, compared to just one in more than 500 for people in low-income countries.The trend comes despite repeated warnings from health experts that a delay in the equitable distribution of vaccines worldwide may facilitate the emergence of new disease strains and prolong the pandemic.Thunberg, via her foundation, will donate 100,000 euros ($120,000) to the WHO Foundation in support of COVAX, an initiative working for global equitable access to Covid vaccines.”The international community must do more to address the tragedy that is vaccine inequity. We have the means at our disposal to correct the great imbalance that exists around the world today in the fight against COVID-19,” Thunberg said in a statement.”Just as with the climate crisis, we must help those who are the most vulnerable first. That is why I am supporting WHO, Gavi and all involved in the COVAX initiative, which I believe offers the best path forward to ensure true vaccine equity and a way out of the pandemic,” she added.Thunberg said earlier this month that she would not attend this year’s COP26, a high-profile United Nations climate summit, if current vaccination trends continue.’Moral test'”It is completely unethical that high-income countries are now vaccinating young and healthy people if that happens at the expense of people in risk groups and on the frontlines in low- and middle-income countries,” Thunberg said during a virtual WHO briefing.”This is a moral test, we talk today about showing solidarity and yet vaccine nationalism is what is running vaccine distribution,” she added.The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, thanked Thunberg for her advocacy in support of vaccine equity and for the donation to COVAX. He said Thunberg, at 18 years old, was the youngest person so far to contribute to the initiative.”Greta Thunberg has inspired millions of people worldwide to take action to address the climate crisis, and her strong support of vaccine equity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic yet again demonstrates her commitment to making our world a healthier, safer and fairer place for all people,” Tedros said.”I urge the global community to follow Greta’s example and do what they can, in support of COVAX, to protect the world’s most vulnerable people from this pandemic,” he added.Tedros has previously said that one of the WHO’s main priorities is to increase the ambition of COVAX to help all countries end the pandemic.COVAX was expected to deliver almost 100 million vaccines to people by the end of March, but it has only distributed some 38 million doses so far.Workers stand by an aeroplane that delivered the first batch of the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty) at Kyiv International Airport, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine. (Photo credit should read Pavlo_Bagmut/ Ukrinform/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)Pavlo Bagmut | Ukrinform | Barcroft Media via Getty ImagesThe WHO has said it hopes the initiative will be able to catch up in the coming months but has condemned what it describes as a “shocking imbalance” in the distribution of vaccines between high- and low-income countries.The health agency has also criticized countries that have sought their own vaccine deals outside of the COVAX initiative for political or commercial reasons.The international scramble to secure a wide range of Covid vaccines may make sense from the perspective of an individual country, but it has led to deep inequities in terms of global allocation.Canada, for example, has purchased enough Covid vaccines to inoculate its entire population five times over, according to data compiled by researchers at Duke University’s Global Health Innovation Centre.At a virtual G-7 summit in February, the group of major economies issued a statement committing to “intensify cooperation on the health response to Covid-19.”The G-7 also pledged support for “affordable and equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, reflecting the role of extensive immunisation as a global public good.” More

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases testifies before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on the Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 15, 2021.Amr Alfiky | ReutersWhite House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday it is “disturbing” that some Americans won’t take a Covid-19 vaccine due to political reasons.Fauci said those refusing to get vaccinated against the virus are the same ones who say the U.S. government is “encroaching on our liberties” by asking Americans to wear masks and implement other pandemic safety measures. He said the “easiest” way to get out of the pandemic is to get a vaccine.”It’s almost paradoxical that they don’t want to get vaccinated,” Fauci said during an interview with “CBS This Morning.” “So that’s the thing that we’ve got to work on. We can’t be pejorative to them. We’ve got to try and convince them why it’s so important to get to where they want to be and where I want to be and where all public health officials want to be, would be to get vaccinated.”Fauci’s comments come as President Joe Biden’s deadline arrived for states to expand their vaccine eligibility requirements. Biden asked states to open appointments to all U.S. adults by Monday.Even with vaccine eligibility opening up, polls suggest a significant portion of Americans will refuse to take the shots, potentially stalling that nation’s recovery from the pandemic that has killed at least 567,233 Americans in a little over a year.About 28% of Republicans said they will “definitely not” get a Covid-19, and 18% said they will “wait and see” before getting a shot, according to a poll from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation released in late February.Anthony D. Dell’Aera, Worcester State University assistant professor of political science, told CNBC in a recent interview that these Republicans, many of them supporters of former President Donald Trump, are often distrustful of government and therefore will likely refuse the vaccines.He said researchers saw similar vaccine resistance among Republicans during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic.”Republicans, and the Trump supporters specifically, are the most likely to have less confidence in government and the vaccination push,” he said, adding that vaccine resistance goes “beyond” Trump himself. Trump simply “tapped into this distrust of government and I think Trump helped get this prospect more out in the open,” he added.Fauci said the U.S. has deployed thousands of clergy, athletes and other respected members of local communities to persuade people to get vaccinated.”There really is going to be a full-court press on getting people [vaccinated,] no matter who they are,” he said. More

In this articleBKNGBooking Holdings may be about to book some gains.So says JC O’Hara, chief market technician at MKM Partners, who sees potential in the travel services name as it lags its rivals year to date.Though Booking is up more than 10% this year, other travel stocks are winning out, with Spirit Airlines, JetBlue and Expedia logging some of the largest returns.”A lot of the travel names have basically moved sideways since March,” O’Hara told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. “But Bookings is breaking out. … If it holds its current levels, it would be a new weekly closing high and that’s very powerful by our work.”Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsO’Hara set a $2,750 to $2,800 target for Booking, roughly 11.5% and 13.5% above its Monday trading price near $2,460.”We are buyers of Booking on the breakout,” O’Hara said.Booking shares fell nearly 1% by midday Monday.Though travel stocks are largely pricing in a rebound, there’s still runway for many of the names, Quint Tatro, chief investment officer of Joule Financial, said in the same “Trading Nation” interview.”Honestly, we think that the stocks are still underappreciated here,” Tatro said. “I think people are really underestimating the incredible pent-up demand that we see.”He suggested watching the casino stocks. MGM Resorts in particular has the potential not only “to return to pre-pandemic levels, but go far beyond that” as it makes its way back to profitability, he said.”Look, these stocks have run. Any dip in here, any news or short-term weakness I think is an opportunity to buy these names,” Tatro said.MGM dropped nearly 1% by midday Monday.Disclaimer More

Europe should be open to taking up and using Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, according to Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, amid what he described as a “Pfizer monopoly” across the region.Dmitriev at RDIF, which backed the development of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, told CNBC that the vaccine could be useful to Europe where Covid immunization programs have been slow to progress.”It’s very important that Europe is open to different vaccines because it’s not good to have a Pfizer monopoly in Europe,” Dmitriev told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Monday.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:FDA asks Emergent plant to pause manufacturing while it investigates botched J&J Covid vaccinesUK scientists launch human challenge trial to study Covid reinfection Chile has one of the world’s best vaccination rates. Covid is surging there anywayHalf of U.S. adults have received at least one Covid shot in milestone for vaccination campaign”It’s good to have AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and other vaccines so that prices are reasonable and Europe is not subject to a vaccine monopoly that may be in the process of being created.”Coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and the vaccine from Pfizer and German pharmaceutical firm BioNTech are currently the predominant shots being used in Europe. However, the former has been subject to investigations by the European Medicines Agency over concerns that it could be linked to a small number of rare but serious blood clotting incidents in post-vaccinated people.Similar concerns have impacted the Johnson & Johnson shot (soon to be rolled out in the EU) but following investigations, the EMA has deemed the benefits of both shots to outweigh the risks.There are now anecdotal reports of Europeans refusing the AstraZeneca shot, which is cheaper to produce and buy, and asking instead for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. CNBC has contacted Pfizer for a response to Dmitriev’s comments.In the meantime, a dispute has been brewing in the EU over the potential use of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, which was initially the subject of doubts over its clinical data and safety standards and has more recently been seen as a geopolitical tool by Russia which has sold the vaccine to various countries around the world, mainly to its allies.Interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trials of the shot, involving 20,000 participants and published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet in early February, found that it was 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 infection. The EMA is currently evaluating the clinical data ahead of a possible authorization of the shot which would pave the way for the vaccine to be used in the EU.Several countries in Eastern Europe have expressed an interest in, or have bought and deployed doses of the vaccine already, including Hungary, despite the fact that it has not yet been approved by the EMA.Such purchases have not been without controversy: Slovakia’s drug agency, for example, claimed earlier in April that doses of Sputnik V that it received were not the same as those reviewed by international experts. Russia responded by demanding that Slovakia return hundreds of thousands of doses, citing contract violations, Reuters reported.RDIF’s CEO said that negotiations over vaccine supplies had taken place with Germany “and several other countries” although he did not name these. France is also known to have had talks with Russia over possible purchases of the vaccine, however.Dmitriev said he hoped the EMA would have finished its evaluation of the shot by June. “We are very clear that we can provide 50 million doses of the vaccine … from June to September, to Europe.” More