Raphael Stevens

In this articleCBJCLCOTRPSPGAn empty parking lot is seen outside a closed JC Penney Co. store in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, on Thursday, April 16, 2020.Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJust a few months into serving as interim CEO of J.C. Penney, Stanley Shashoua said he sees signs of growth in the business.”J.C. Penney is a great American family destination, and our strength is in our storied brands and the services we provide,” he said in a phone interview. “We’re seeing week-over-week improvements in the business, and we’re increasingly optimistic as we work our way through this.”Specifically, he cited growth in home goods and athletic apparel — two categories that have outperformed during the Covid pandemic as Americans look to refresh their houses and restock their wardrobes with more comfortable clothing. More recently, Shashoua said, customers have been coming to Penney for Easter dresses and other formal wear — another sign that people are ready to dress up again.Shashoua, who also is chief investment officer of the biggest U.S. mall owner — Simon Property Group — has been at the helm of Penney since Dec. 31. That’s when former CEO Jill Soltau abruptly left, following the department store chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing seven months earlier.Simon, along with the U.S. mall owner Brookfield, came to the rescue late last year, acquiring nearly all of Penney’s assets out of bankruptcy for $1.75 billion in cash and debt. That included taking control of roughly 670 stores, compared with the more than 800 that Penney had when it filed. For now, the company said, no additional store closures are being planned.According to Shashoua, the search for a permanent CEO is also ongoing and the prospects are plentiful.”We are taking our time,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of interest from a lot of very high-quality, highly qualified people. And that’s very encouraging. People come to us and tell us they love Penney, they grew up with Penney, and they’re emotionally invested in it and have real points of view about the business.”Simon Property hopes for another success storyJ.C. Penney’s troubles didn’t crop up overnight. The business had been stumbling for years due to the ascent of e-commerce and what many analysts say was a failure by management to invest in upgrading stores and modern merchandising. A heavy debt load and the pandemic are ultimately what pushed it over the edge.After working through bankruptcy proceedings, Shashoua said the Texas-headquartered company has emerged with a stronger balance sheet and better liquidity, though he did not provide figures. He said the focus has shifted to keeping cash flowing into the coffers. It has scaled back contracts with vendors and has invested in launching more private labels across apparel and home, he added.”It’s a very similar approach in the initial stages that we’ve taken with all the other companies that we’ve managed to turn around,” he said.Simon has already helped to take several retailers out of bankruptcy. Those include the mall-based retailers Aeropostale, Forever 21, Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand. The latter two filed for bankruptcy in 2020.Simon CEO David Simon has said his company “made a ton of money” in its Aeropostale deal. He’s also told analysts, “We’re certainly as good as the private-equity guys when it comes to retail investment.”In its bid to save Penney with Brookfield, Simon saw an opportunity in Penney’s loyal and diverse customer base. It also at one point had a Penney store in about 50% of its U.S. malls, based on one analyst’s analysis, which also likely spurred the landlord’s interest in investing to avoid further store closures at its own shopping centers.Simon Property shares are up more than 33% this year. It has a market cap of $42.7 billion.New brands coming to storesSimon’s retail deals often involve collaboration with the apparel-licensing firm Authentic Brands Group, who is also now playing a role in reviving J.C. Penney.Shashoua said some of ABG’s apparel brands, like Forever 21 and Juicy Couture, are going to be added to Penney’s merchandise assortment in stores and online. “2021 is more about rebuilding the company, and I think 2022 you’re going to see good growth,” he said.For Penney, categories of focus in coming months include home goods, men’s merchandise in big-and-tall sizes, women’s merchandise in inclusive size ranges, and baby and kids gear, according to Shashoua. He also wants to grow online commerce, which now represents about 20% of Penney’s sales.To be sure, Penney’s path to profitable growth, winning back customers, and gaining market share in key categories like apparel and footwear won’t come easily.Consumers have increasingly steered clear of suburban malls, and especially during the pandemic. Many have shifted their purchasing online to the benefit of e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart. Clothing sales also have been hampered during the health crisis, as Americans have been spending much less time getting dressed up to get out.Spending by U.S. consumers on clothing and footwear tumbled 48% year over year last April, when many retail stores that sell apparel and accessories were shut for the full month, according to a tracking by Coresight Research. More recently, spending in the category has ticked back up, growing 0.8% in January, Coresight said.Last year, along with Penney, department store operators Neiman Marcus, Stage Stores, Lord & Taylor and Century 21 filed for bankruptcy.Penney hopes to avoid the fate of the iconic department store chain Sears. Since filing for bankruptcy in 2018, Sears has slowly been whittling down its store footprint to become a fraction of its former self.”We’re strengthening our retail fundamentals, with a focus on modern retail, digital, and an engaging customer experience,” Shashoua said. “Retail is evolving faster than ever … and so our goal is to execute swiftly.” More

piola666 | E+ | Getty ImagesSome £7.5 million ($10.33 million) of public funding will be used to support the development of eight wave energy projects led by U.K. universities, including one inspired by marine life, in a bid to boost the sector’s efficiency and resilience over the coming years.The money will come from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), an organization sponsored by the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.The funded research will be centered around wave energy converters, or WECs. According to Ocean Energy Europe (OEE), these devices are able to “capture the physical movement of swells and waves and transform it into energy – usually electricity.”The projects to receive backing are varied. One, for instance, has taken inspiration from nature and will benefit from a £975,000 grant.Led by the University of Strathclyde’s Qing Xiao, it will look into the potential of using “flexible materials inspired by the fins and other body parts of aquatic animals” in wave energy converters.In a statement issued on the university’s website Wednesday, Xiao explained there were a number of benefits when it came to using a flexible material in the structures of WECs.She added: “The adaptive shape feature may allow the device to deform in extreme wave events, contributing to reductions of peak wave load and increases in device fatigue life, thus extending the device’s survivability compared with rigid body WECs.”Another project to receive funding will analyze WECs which use “deformable materials, such as flexible fabrics.” Led by academics from the University of Plymouth, University of Southampton and University of Oxford, it’s received a grant of £984,000.While there is excitement regarding the future of WECs, there are undoubted hurdles which need to be overcome before they make a wider impact. According to UKRI, their wider deployment is “hampered by challenges such as their ability to survive in extreme weather conditions and their efficiency.”Wave energy’s current footprint is small, too. Recent figures from OEE show that just 200 kilowatts of capacity was installed in Europe last year.By contrast, 2020 saw 14.7 gigawatts of wind energy capacity installed in Europe, according to industry body WindEurope.Indeed, while the International Energy Agency describes marine technologies as holding “great potential,” it adds that extra policy support is required for research, design and development in order to “enable the cost reductions that come with the commissioning of larger commercial plants.”Change could be on the way, however, with the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, wanting the capacity of ocean energy technologies to hit 100 megawatts by 2025 and at least 1 gigawatt by 2030.Back in the U.K. — which left the EU on Jan. 31, 2020 — Lynn Gladden, the EPSRC’s executive chair, appeared optimistic about the future.”As a source of renewable power, marine wave energy would complement existing wind and solar technologies and help to provide a balanced supply,” she said.”By overcoming challenges to effective marine wave energy technologies, the projects will help to unlock a valuable source of renewable energy,” Gladden added. More

In this articleAZN-GBPresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — The European Union has stepped up tough rules on the exports of Covid vaccines, while also piling pressure on AstraZeneca to deliver more shots to the region. It comes as the region’s sluggish vaccine rollout faces scrutiny, despite the EU continuing to export millions of coronavirus shots abroad.In an attempt to have a stronger negotiating position with pharmaceutical firms that do not respect delivery targets, the bloc has extended its strict rules on vaccine exports.Before approving shipments of Covid-19 shots, the EU will consider whether the recipient country has any restrictions on vaccines or raw materials, as well as if it is in a better epidemiological situation.”We want to make sure that Europe gets its fair share of vaccines. Because we must be able to explain to our citizens that if companies export their vaccines to the whole world, it is because they are fully honoring their commitments and it does not risk security of supply in the European Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.We all know, we could have been much faster if all pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts.Ursula von der LeyenEuropean Commission PresidentData released on Thursday showed that the EU has exported 77 million doses of Covid shots since December to 33 countries worldwide. At the same time, 88 million have been delivered to EU countries, of which 62 million have been administered. As such, the EU has exported more shots than it has given to its citizens so far.However, some EU nations have voiced concerns about the stricter export rules, with countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands wanting supply chains to remain open. There is a risk that if exports of vaccines are stopped, it could start a trade war and other parts of the world — which make the raw materials needed for vaccine production — might stop shipping them to Europe.Pressure on AstraZenecaThe EU has also been at odds with the Swedish-British drugmaker for not delivering as many Covid shots as the bloc was expecting.The 27 nations were awaiting 90 million doses of this vaccine in the first quarter and 180 million in the second quarter of 2021. However, AstraZeneca has said that production issues mean it can only deliver 30 million doses until the end of March and 70 million between April and June.Read CNBC’s latest coverage of the pandemic:Data, doubts and disputes: A timeline of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine problemsAstraZeneca may have included outdated information in Covid vaccine trial, U.S. health agency says’Highly unfair’ to accuse the EU of vaccine nationalism, trade chief saysThe reduced delivery targets are a concern for EU nations, some of whom wanted more of this vaccine as it’s cheaper and easier to store than others. Any further delivery delays to Europe could compromise its wider rollout plans.”We all know, we could have been much faster if all pharmaceutical companies had fulfilled their contracts,” von der Leyen said on Thursday.During a press conference, she added that AstraZeneca, “has to catch up, has to honor the contract it has with the European member states, before it can engage again in exporting vaccines.”The EU’s vaccine rollout has faced a number of challenges since the beginning and the Commission, which negotiated with the drugmakers, has been criticized for taking too long to sign vaccine deals.Speaking to CNBC on Friday, Italy’s former prime minister Mario Monti said: “We should not be too surprised that Europe has reacted quite well in terms of monetary, financial fiscal response to the pandemic, and so far not quite (as) well in terms of procurement and industrial response.”He argued that while EU nations have integrated their monetary policies and part of their fiscal responses, “there has never been such a thing as a health union.”The individual governments are still in charge of their own health policies, whereas areas like international trade are the main responsibility of the European Commission.A deal with the U.K.The EU’s tighter export rules could become an issue for the U.K. in particular, which has been receiving vaccines from the EU. Its vaccination rate is higher than the bloc’s, when looking at the number of first doses given.Numbers from the European Commission show that the U.K. has received 21 million doses of vaccines produced in the bloc — the highest share of EU exports so far. The U.K. has administered 31 million doses of Covid-19 shots to its population so far, which suggests that about two-thirds of the vaccines used in the U.K. have come from the EU.”We have been discussing what more we can do to ensure a reciprocally beneficial relationship between the U.K. and EU on Covid-19,” the two sides said in a joint statement on Wednesday.”Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take – in the short-, medium – and long term – to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens.”Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference on Thursday that a vaccine supply agreement between the EU and the U.K. could be announced as early as Saturday. More

In this articleXPEVLINIOEmployees make checks at an inspection line during a media tour of the Nio Inc. production facility in Hefei, Anhui province, China, on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020.Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese electric car start-up Nio said Friday it is shutting a factory for five days due to the global shortage in semiconductors.The production halt beginning March 29 will reduce Nio’s first-quarter deliveries by at least 500 vehicles, the company said.That puts expected deliveries for the first three months of the year at 19,500, versus the previously announced forecast of 20,000 to 20,500.Even with the reduction, Nio is on track for more car deliveries to start 2021 than rivals Xpeng and Li Auto.Global automakers have announced production halts due to a shortage in semiconductors. The highly specialized supply chain for chips has suffered from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and trade tensions between China and the U.S. that began under the Trump administration. More

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a news conference after discussions via video with the heads of federal governments on the vaccination strategy at the Federal Chancellery, on March 23, 2021 in Berlin, Germany.Pool | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — A third wave of the coronavirus pandemic has heaped more political problems onto Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ruling CDU party as the country edges closer to federal elections later this year.Germany was initially widely praised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, dealing deftly with the initial outbreak in the country by isolating cases and tracing contacts while its modern and well-equipped hospitals helped to keep fatalities low.A year on, and the situation is very different, with Europe’s biggest economy confronting a third wave of infections, a rising death toll and accusations of health crisis mismanagement aimed at the government.On Wednesday, Merkel made waves by reversing a plan to lockdown the country over the Easter break saying she had made a “mistake.” This came after criticism from health experts and business leaders, who said the proposal could cause more harm than good.The concession comes as experts reflect on Germany’s handling of the pandemic, and look at how the ruling Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union parties could be affected when Germans cast their votes in a federal election in September.Merkel’s CDU party has already fared poorly in recent state elections, signaling that it could be punished again later in the year by voters erring toward the center-left Social Democrats and particularly, the environmentalist Greens, whose support has risen markedly.”Mismanagement hurts,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, commented in a note Thursday.”Last March, a deft response to the pandemic sent support for Chancellor Angela Merkel and her CDU/CSU almost into the stratosphere.” But he added that while Germany handled the first wave of the pandemic better than most other developed countries, “this is no longer the case.””Confusing policy shifts and slow vaccination progress have now undermined public confidence in the ability of the CDU/CSU, which has led the government for most of post-war history including the past 15 years, to steer Germany through the crisis,” he noted.Schmieding noted that a kickback scandal involving CDU-CSU members of Parliament had resonated with the public, with polls showing a fall in support for the CDU-CSU back to pre-pandemic levels. “Merkel’s U-turn away from an ‘Easter shutdown’ may add to the woes,” he added.What’s going wrong?A drop in popularity for the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, comes as question marks remain over who will be at the helm of Germany’s government come September when Merkel’s final term in office comes to an end. The CDU-CSU have not yet said which candidate it will put forward for the election.Merkel’s U-turn on Wednesday was unusual given that she has long been considered a steady hand during times of crisis. The move showed that the German government is also feeling the pressure of having to make difficult decisions amid a fast-moving pandemic situation.Following the U-turn on Wednesday, Merkel rejected demands by the opposition to ask Parliament for a vote of confidence in her government.CNBC Health & ScienceRead CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:Data, doubts and disputes: A timeline of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine problemCompensation for victims of Covid vaccine injuries is limitedCovid live updates:  Latest news on the coronavirus pandemicGermany has now recorded over 2.7 million cases and 75,498 deaths, to date, according to Johns Hopkins University data, far lower than the U.K.’s This compares with the U.K.’s 4.3 million cases and over 126,621 deaths.The country had started to ease lockdown measures recently, allowing schools to reopen in February and some nonessential shops to admit customers again earlier this month. Like other European nations, it was banking on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines to enable it to slowly reopen its economy, the largest in Europe.Germany is not alone in having to adjust its plans; Italy is to reimpose a national lockdown over the Easter period for the second-year running while Paris and other parts of France are again under a partial lockdown.Public tolerance of renewed lockdowns might be higher were vaccine rollouts going to plan in the EU. But, as a whole, immunization programs across the bloc reveal a checkered rate of vaccinations.EU leaders met virtually on Thursday to discuss whether to block vaccine exports from the EU, as other countries like the U.K race ahead with their programs. Earlier on Thursday, Merkel defended the EU’s strategy to procure vaccines as a bloc, rather than individually.”Now that we see even small differences in the distribution of vaccines cause big discussions, I would not like to imagine if some member states had vaccines and others did not. That would shake the internal market to its core,” she told German lawmakers ahead of the EU summit, Reuters reported.She also suggested the region’s vaccination issues were more to do with lower production capacity rather than under-ordering shots.”British production sites are manufacturing for Britain and the United States is not exporting, so we are reliant on what we can make in Europe,” she said. “We have to assume that the virus, with its mutations, may be occupying us for a long time to come so the question goes far beyond this year,” she added. More