Raphael Stevens

In this articleAZN-GBA health worker holds a box of the AstraZeneneca vaccine at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok.Chaiwat Subprasom | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty ImagesThe coronavirus shot developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford will be Thailand’s “principal vaccine” as the country seeks to revive its crucial tourism sector, the Thai public health minister told CNBC on Monday.  Renewed safety concerns around the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot led countries including Germany and the Netherlands to halt the use of the vaccine for people under 60.Before those latest moves, several countries — including Thailand — suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of blood clots in some people who received the shot. But many lifted their suspensions after the World Health Organization said its review of available data showed the vaccine’s benefits outweighing any risks.In Thailand, more than 150,000 people have been inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine and the percentage of people who developed side effects “is considered very low,” said Anutin Charnvirakul, the country’s deputy prime minister and public health minister.Anutin told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that Thailand is awaiting further deliveries of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which are expected around June. In addition to the AstraZeneca vaccine, Thailand also uses one developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, said the minister.Since end-February, nearly 250,000 people in Thailand have received Covid vaccines, said Anutin.Attracting foreign visitorsCompared with many countries globally, Thailand has reported relatively few Covid cases and deaths. Official data showed that as of Sunday, the country has confirmed more than 29,000 infections and 95 deaths.But its tourism-dependent economy has been badly hit, shrinking 6.1% in 2020 compared with a year ago as countries restricted travel to slow the spread of Covid-19, according to data from the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council.Thailand is ramping up efforts to restart its tourism industry, including rolling out vaccines in “significant” numbers in popular tourist destinations such as Phuket and Koh Samui, said Anutin.”We want to make sure that our people are safe, that is our first priority. So once our people are safe, we believe that our guests, namely tourists or any business people, would definitely come to visit our country,” said the minister.  To attract visitors, Thailand has shortened the quarantine period for foreigners arriving into the country starting this month. The country is also aiming to waive quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign visitors to its biggest holiday island Phuket.   More

South Asia is facing a wake up call as it trails the world in its efforts to address the gender gap, one expert told CNBC. The World Economic Forum predicts it could now take 195 years to reach gender equality in the region — 59 years more than the global average.Businesses have a major responsibility to bridge that gap, Sharmini Wainwright, senior managing director at recruitment agency Michael Page Australia, told CNBC. “It’s perhaps a good wake up moment here,” Wainwright said Thursday.India, in particular, has a long way to go in this regard, she said, noting that the pandemic and other cultural and demographic issues made it an “incredibly challenging year” for the country. Currently, just 13% of senior executives in India are women.”There’s a long way to go,” said Wainwright. “Big Indian companies (need) to really push for change.”The findings come as part of a wider WEF study into the impact of the pandemic on gender gap. It is now estimated that it will take 135.6 years to reach gender equality — a generation longer than previously thought.Western Europe led the way in gender equity, with the gap there estimated to close in 53 years, followed by North America (62 years) and Latin America and the Caribbean (69 years), according to the study.Thailand leads Asia-PacificOther parts of Asia-Pacific showed signs of progress, however. Most notably, Thailand saw more than half (53%) of senior executive roles being filled by women in 2020.Those senior women executives tended to be a combination of international as well as homegrown talent, particularly within multinational companies in the manufacturing and supply chain sectors.”What you’ve got is an economy and a market that is moving very quickly and pursuing talent very aggressively,” said Wainwright.She added that it was also the result of concerted efforts in recent decades by certain industries, such as manufacturing, to attract and nurture a pipeline of women leaders.”Now, 20 years later, you’ve seen the benefit of that, of individuals who’ve really taken the opportunity to enjoy exceptional careers within this sector and really rise into leadership roles within that,” she said.More women needed in the top chairStill, too few women today occupy the top leadership position, namely the chief executive’s role.According to the report, the top three job titles held by senior women executives were chief finance officer, marketing director and legal director.Wainwright described that as the next “big breakthrough that needs to happen,” and called on men to be better allies.”How do we break through to that number one seat? That’s still yet to come,” she said.”This conversation is equally about males as it is females. They’re the ones typically in the positions of highest influence to make a change, to make a decision.” More

Godzilla and King Kong battle in Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla vs. Kong.”Source: Warner Bros.The domestic box office is back.Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” tallied a pandemic-best opening over the weekend, securing $32.2 million over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The film, which was released domestically on Wednesday, has how garnered $48.5 million in the U.S. and Canada.Internationally, “Godzilla vs. Kong” added an additional $71.6 million to its box office haul. Since opening last week in foreign markets, the film has tallied $285.4 million.”The results for ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ are absolutely mind-blowing and a represent a ‘welcome back’ of sorts for an industry that has been working its way back from the brink for over a year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.”Godzilla vs. Kong” opened in more than 3,000 theaters in North America over the weekend, the most of any film during the pandemic. In addition to posting the largest opening weekend since the coronavirus pandemic began, the film also had the largest opening day on Wednesday with $9.6 million and the largest single day on Saturday with $12.5 million.”For anyone who may have doubted the pent-up demand for moviegoing, this performance is yet another sign of just how resilient the theatrical industry can be,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.Over the weekend only 55% of theaters were open in North America, compared to the total open in 2019, according to data from Comscore. The majority of those cinemas are operating at around 50% capacity.”It should again send a message to studios that the world’s audiences are hungry for big cinematic releases,” Robbins said. “If ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ can break out to these numbers in a still-handicapped domestic market with a simultaneous streaming release, imagine what other blockbuster contenders will be able to achieve in the months ahead when given a reasonable window of theatrical exclusivity from day one.” “A sleeping giant is truly beginning to wake up,” he said. More

In this articleIEPCarl Icahn speaking at Delivering Alpha in New York on Sept. 13, 2016.David A. Grogan | CNBCCarl Icahn has named former General Electric executive Aris Kekedjian to take the helm at his namesake investment firm, Icahn Enterprises, the billionaire businessman told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Sunday.Kekedjian, the chief investment officer at GE until 2019, will take over as chief executive and chief operating officer of Icahn Enterprises on Monday, Icahn said.Keith Cozza, the firm’s current CEO, and SungHwan Cho, the chief financial officer, are departing, Icahn said. He said that one reason for the departures is the firm’s relocation to Florida from New York. The newspaper reported that Icahn Enterprises will name a new CFO at an unspecified date in the future.Icahn Enterprises and Kekedjian did not immediately return requests for comment from CNBC.Icahn Enterprises is a holding company with significant investments in energy, autos, real estate and other sectors.The company is publicly traded and has a market cap of more than $13 billion. Icahn, 85, the chairman of Icahn Enterprises, is expected to eventually turn leadership of the company over to his son, Brett. More

In this articleTVAG-FFDrazen_ | E+ | Getty ImagesNow that spring has sprung and it looks as if an end to the pandemic might be in sight, many Americans are again planning vacations — and they’re booking beach destinations in a big way, says Trivago.The online global accommodations platform, based in Dusseldorf, Germany, has seen “clickouts” — users clicking on trip deal links to other travel booking sites — steadily increase since the start of the year, with 27% month-over-month growth in March, compared to 17% in January. (Increasing clickouts indicate more people are looking to book travel, according to Trivago.)Top 7 Destinations in March 2021Las VegasMiami Beach, FloridaOrlando, FloridaMyrtle Beach, South CarolinaCancun, MexicoSan AntonioPanama City Beach, FloridaSource: TrivagoMost of those clicks were for trips to warm weather climes. The top destinations for March 2021 as tracked by Trivago included Miami Beach and Panama City Beach in Florida; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Cancun, Mexico. Also trending with U.S. travelers were San Juan, Puerto Rico, and other overseas sun-and-fun destinations like Playa Bavaro in the Dominican Republic and Playa del Carmen, Mexico.”With many Americans craving safe, warm weather getaways, beach destinations have been the No. 1 choice for travelers as the country reopens,” said Axel Hefer, CEO of Trivago. “In fact, our recent consumer travel survey found that nearly a fourth of U.S. travelers’ idea of a ‘dream vacation’ post-pandemic is being on a tropical island.”More from Personal Finance:Top-rated frequent flyer programs can cut travel costsHere’s what post-pandemic travel might look likeHow travelers could benefit from hotel industry strugglesHefer said a year of lockdowns and new progress in the fight against Covid is behind the surge in travel interest to sunny stretches of seaside sand.”The pent-up demand, as well as significant progress in recent weeks on the vaccination front, has led Americans to pursue spring break trips to coastal destinations where social distancing is easy, as well as neighboring international cities like Cancun and Playa Bavaro,” he said.In other findings, Trivago said domestic travel represented 79% of clickouts by Americans in February and March, and same-day and next-day travel remained the most popular to book — accounting for 14% of total clickouts in March. More

In this articleGMCI-EGGMC-AUThe 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV and 2022 GMC Hummer EV sport utility truck, or SUT.GMDETROIT – General Motors unveiled an all-electric Hummer SUV Saturday that will top $110,000 when it goes on sale in 2023. The vehicle will be the stablemate to an upcoming Hummer pickup that’s scheduled to go on sale this fall.”The GMC Hummer EVs were envisioned to be the most capable and compelling electric supertrucks ever,” Duncan Aldred, global vice president of GMC, said in a statement.The 2024 Hummer EV SUV features the same eye-popping torque of up to 11,500 foot-pounds as the pickup, however it is estimated to have 50 miles less range, 170 less horsepower and be half a second slower than the pickup due to a smaller battery size.The SUV’s range is estimated to be between 250 miles and more than 300 miles depending on the model. The 0 to 60 mph is as fast as about 3.5 seconds. It has up to 830 horsepower, according to GM.The Hummer EV SUV debuted during an ad narrated by NBA star LeBron James during the NCAA’s Final Four game between the Baylor Bears and Houston Cougars on CBS.PricingFull pricing for the SUV will range from about $80,000 for a base model to $110,595 for a special “Edition 1” launch model with an available “extreme off-road package.” The pricing varies based on the range, performance and battery size of the vehicle.GM said it will begin with producing the highest priced models in early 2023, followed by less expensive versions into spring 2024. The automaker is taking reservations for the vehicle on its website.2024 GMC Hummer EV SUVGMThe pricing and tiered production are similar to how GM is launching the Hummer pickup. Initial availability of the Hummer EV pickup in the fall will start at $112,595 for an “Edition 1,” which has sold out. A $99,995 version will be available a year later, followed by $89,995 and $79,995 models in the springs of 2023 and 2024, respectively.The exterior of the vehicles look the same aside from the closed-off back of the SUV compared to the open bed of the pickup. They both feature a new iteration of Hummer’s traditional slotted grille with “HUMMER” backlit across the front of the vehicles.  The 2022 Hummer EV features a new iteration of the vehicle’s traditional slotted grille with “HUMMER” backlit across the front of the truck.GMBoth also offer a host of off-road parts and features such as adaptive air suspension and “crab mode” that allows it to rotate all four wheels at once, allowing the truck to almost move diagonally.The SUV, like the pickup, is available with GM’s Super Cruise driver-assist system that allows for hands-free driving on more than 200,000 miles of limited-access freeways in the U.S. and Canada.Resurrecting HummerThe Hummer and SUV will be produced at an assembly plant in Detroit. They are the first Hummers since GM discontinued well-known, gas-guzzling versions of the vehicles in 2010.GM President Mark Reuss previously told CNBC that the decision to resurrect Hummer for EVs was made following a discussion between himself, GM CEO Mary Barra and at least one other executive in early 2019 about reimagining Hummer for a new generation of buyers. 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUVGM”We just wanted to do it. We saw the opportunity for trucks,” Reuss said during GM’s “EV Day” earlier this year. “We always wanted to do this with Hummer, but it had so much baggage from a gas guzzler standpoint, so we turned it on its head.”The Hummer pickups, which GM is calling a sport utility truck, or SUT, will be the first vehicle with the automaker’s next-generation electric vehicle platform and batteries under a $27 billion plan to shift to electric and autonomous vehicles through 2025. More