Raphael Stevens

In this articleBATRMBDE9988-HK9618-HKSPCELMTLHXKTOSIRDMARKXNFLXTrading in the new space exploration ETF from Ark Invest began on Tuesday, as Cathie Wood’s firm looks to tap the growing space industry.”Space is already an invisible backbone to our economy and we think that’s only going to become more so as [satellite] constellations launch,” Ark Invest analyst Sam Korus told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan on “Power Lunch.”Shares of ARKX slipped about 1% in its first day of trading, with the stock closing at $20.30 a share.ARKX’s 39 stocks includes pure-play space companies like Iridium and Virgin Galactic, as well as defense and aerospace giants such as Kratos, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.But the ETF also includes names not traditionally connected to the space industry, such Chinese e-commerce firms JD.com and Alibaba, or agriculture businesses like Trimble and Deere.”We’ve all seen the memes going around on Twitter,” Korus said, acknowledging public skepticism of ARKX’s holdings.”The fact that people are dismissing this out of hand is very reassuring to us, and kind of demonstrates the type of research that we’re doing and how we can be unique,” he added.Korus gave the example of Netflix, which has a 1.25% weighting in ARKX.”Netflix … has 200 million paying subscribers. In the U.S. alone, there’s over 40 million people who don’t have access to broadband and so, if a satellite solution can bring access to those customers and expand the addressable market and the topline for Netflix, then this is something that is very important,” Korus said.While none of the seven SPACs that recently announced mergers with space companies are in ARKX, Korus noted that Ark is “constantly evaluating these companies.””I think with SPACs it’s important to remember that a lot these are almost at the pre-IPO stage,” Korus said. “We really want to be sure that we’re picking the winners long term, particularly in aerospace – where many companies do go bust and things get delayed.” More

In this articleDISFDXRashard Higgins #82 of the Cleveland Browns goes to stiff arm Minkah Fitzpatrick #39 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio.Nic Antaya | Getty ImagesThe National Football League made it official on Tuesday, adding another game to its regular-season schedule.Team owners voted in favor of the NFL expanding to 17 games starting with the 2021 season. The NFL had played a 16-game schedule since 1978 when it added two additional games. Then, the league removed two of its preseason games and will do something similar this time.The NFL Players Association agreed to add another game when it reached its new 10-year collective bargaining agreement last year. As part of the added contest, the NFL will reduce its preseason from four to three games.The NFL recently agreed to a new 11-year media rights agreement with media partners worth more than $100 billion. As part of its new $2.7 billion rights fee, Disney’s ABC network will carry two Saturday games in Week 18. The network will receive a new divisional round playoff contest too.With a 17th game and reformatted playoff tournament, networks will benefit from the added content to help pay for the doubled rights fees.Advertising data firm MediaRadar estimated Fox alone generated approximately $2 billion in national advertising for its 2020 NFL games. The firm estimated the average ad spend around NFL games last season accounted for $15.23 million per contest. Hence, that ad revenue should increase with more games on the NFL’s lineup.NFL expands international seriesThe NFL also approved expanding its global games.Each team will play at least once in the international series over the next eight years and the NFL can play four games per year in that span starting in 2022. The league wants to play more games in Mexico and the United Kingdom, and is exploring Germany as possible location, too.NFL owners will vote Wednesday on guidelines around club marketing internationally which will allow teams to leverage their intellectual property outside the U.S.In addition, Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder’s $450 million debt request to help finance buying the remaining limited partnerships of the club is also scheduled for tomorrow. The minority shares are worth $875 million according to The New York Times and the move would give Snyder complete control of the team he purchased in 1999. Owners of the minority shares include FedEx CEO Frederick Smith. More

In this articleBACPatrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBank of America is expanding its racial justice initiative, devoting more funding toward advocacy and equality for communities of color.”The urgency we feel to address long-standing issues of inclusion and racial inequality has only increased following the attacks and hate speech directed at Asian people over the last year,” said Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan.The bank announced a four-year commitment backed by $1 billion in June of last year in response to the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as well as the effects of the pandemic on communities of color, saying “the programs will be focused on assisting people and communities of color that have experienced a greater impact from the health crisis.”The initiative is now being extended by one more year and the bank raised its investment in the program to $1.25 billion. The bank says the additional funds “will further support investments to address racial justice, advocacy and equality for people and communities of color, including those of Asian descent.”Bank of America said that it has already invested $350 million from the initial $1 billion in areas of health, jobs and reskilling, affordable housing, and small business. Initiatives the bank supported with the funding include applying more than $13 million committed to Native American communities, distributing 25 million masks to underserved communities across the U.S. and partnering with 21 higher education institutions and major employers for skill enhancement for Black and Hispani students.The bank also says it will immediately direct $1 million “in support of increased advocacy, dialogue and engagement with the Asian American community.”These immediate actions include a grant to the Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the addition of Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Los Angeles’ Asian Americans Advancing Justice, to serve as a member of Bank of America’s National Community Advisory Council. The bank will also provide additional support for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development and The Leadership Conference Education Fund.Bank of America added that it will match employee donations to these organizations in an effort to double donations through its matching gift program.”The rising number of attacks against Asian people, including the tragic shootings in Atlanta recently, have served as a stark reminder that we must stand united against discrimination, hate speech and violence,” said Thong Nguyen, vice chairman at Bank of America. “We will not tolerate acts of racism in any form. Today’s commitment builds upon Bank of America’s many years of work in support of inclusion and racial equality.” More

In this articleCMCSAGeneral views of Universal Studios Hollywood on December 24, 2020 in Universal City, California.AaronP/Bauer-Griffin | GC Images | Getty ImagesUniversal Studios Hollywood will reopen its gates to the public on April 16, more than a year after shuttering due to the coronavirus pandemic.The park will begin selling tickets to California residents only on April 8. Attendance will be limited in accordance with local government guidelines. Annual and season pass members will get a sneak preview on April 15, Universal said.”We are incredibly thrilled to finally be able to open Universal Studios Hollywood, return team members to work and welcome guests back to enjoy our amazing rides,” said Karen Irwin, president and chief operating officer at Universal Studios Hollywood. “It has been a very challenging year and we are overjoyed to have arrived at this moment.”Most rides will be operational when the park opens on April 16, however some will remain closed due to government restrictions. Universal did not provide a list of which attractions will be open to the public. Rival Disneyland in Anaheim, California, is expected to reopen on April 30.Guests must adhere to health and safety protocols, such as social distancing and wearing a face covering. Coverings may be removed in designated dining areas.Temperature checks will be done before guests enter the park, and those whose temperatures exceed 100.4 degrees will not be permitted inside. Due to California guidelines, only residents of the state are permitted to visit the theme park for the time being.When Universal Studios Hollywood reopens, it will debut a new ride, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash.Max, Snowball, Gidget, Chloe and Duke, among others, have been brought into the real world and guide guests, who take on the role of stray puppies, as they try to find their forever homes.The park will also open with a new, fully articulated version of the Indominus Rex from “Jurassic World.” The creature spans 55 feet and is over 22 feet tall and awaits guests at the top of the big drop on Jurassic World: The Ride.Universal’s theme park division, which is a unit of Comcast and which includes the Los Angeles-based Universal Studios Hollywood, two parks in Orlando and one in Japan, saw its annual revenue tumble to $1.8 billion in 2020, a 69% loss from the $5.9 billion it reported a year prior.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

The head of the Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday urged companies to pick up their shipments in a more expedited manner to help ease congestion.”The container dwell time is much higher than it was pre-pandemic,” Executive Director Gene Seroka said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” referring to the length of time a container spends at the port.”We’re asking our importers to pick up the cargo as quickly as they can, devan the products and return those containers back to the port,” added Seroka, who has led the busiest container port in North America since 2014.Volumes at the Port of Los Angeles have risen during the coronavirus pandemic after an initial slowdown; in February, it saw its seventh straight month of year-over-year increases in the number of twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, it processed.”The time it takes for the importer to pick up their cargo at the port is now over four days, but it’s off its high of five days sitting under dwell,” Seroka said, adding there’s been progress in other metrics, too.”Truck turn times — the amount of time that it takes a trucker to move in and out of the port to drop off and pick up containers — has decreased to 77 minutes from 88 back in December. So we’re starting to see some of the trending in the right direction,” he said.Containers are seen on a shipping dock, as the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in the Port of Los Angeles, California, April 16, 2020.Lucy Nicholson | ReutersHowever, Seroka said he would like to see the improvements accelerate because it won’t be long before traditionally higher volume periods roll around.”Before we know it, August will be upon us and we’ll start to see back-to-school goods, other sale items and then the year-end holidays, the all-important season for retailers,” Seroka said.Asked by CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla whether there was something policymakers could do to help ease the burden on ports, Seroka pointed to the importance of workers being vaccinated to protect against Covid.”There are more than 100,000 folks that come to work here at the port complex every day. We’ve made significant strides with our dock workers and longshore members, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us with respect to truck drivers, warehouse workers and others,” Seroka said.”Second … we’ve got to pick up the cargo faster. We can then increase fluidity much more quickly. Our tarmacs are about 90% full and, in our industry, 80% is considered full capacity,” he said.Questions about the global supply chain were raised in recent days after one of the world’s largest container ships blocked the Suez Canal. While traffic resumed Monday on the vital waterway, some experts have warned the impact of the multiday blockage will be felt in the months ahead.Seroka did not seem particularly concerned about the consequences for the Port of Los Angeles in Southern California.”You’ll see some bunching of cargo vessels as they arrive at East Coast and European ports of call. You may even see some of the liner companies adjust their schedules to miss port calls and get their ships back on schedule,” he said. “For the West Coast, we continue to see a strong outlook of import shipments through the middle of the summer.” More

In this articleAMZNAn AWS Ground Station satellite antenna at one of the company’s data center in Boardman, Oregon.AmazonAmazon Web Services announced the launch of a new space startup assistance program on Tuesday, with the tech giant partnering with U.K.-based venture firm Seraphim Capital on the project.The AWS Space Accelerator is a four-week business support program that will take place in June, AWS vice president of partners and program Sandy Carter wrote in a blog post.The accelerator will select 10 companies to participate, with startups receiving as much as $100,000 in “AWS Activate credit” – essentially funds to use for various parts of Amazon’s cloud service. Startups will also receive mentoring during the accelerator, “from space domain and technical subject matter experts with deep experience working on AWS,” the company said.”Startups provide a catalyst for bold new experimentation in the space industry,” AWS’ Aerospace and Satellite division director Clint Crosier said in a statement. “We look forward to helping the first cohort of companies launch and grow through this new program.”AWS established the Aerospace and Satellite unit last year, as the company identified a growing need for cloud-based support across the space industry.Applications for to join the AWS Space Accelerator open on Tuesday, with proposals due April 21. More