Raphael Stevens

President Joe Biden is poised to meet his goal of delivering 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office as early as Thursday, a senior administration official told NBC News.The president reached the goal ahead of schedule, the official said. Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Jan. 20, about 57 days ago. Biden said last week that he expected to hit the goal on day 60.Biden is scheduled to make an announcement on the “state of vaccinations” later Thursday where he may discuss the milestone.Health experts say the president’s goal of 100 million shots in 100 days was an attainable benchmark. After a slower-than-expected rollout under former President Donald Trump, the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. has rapidly increased, averaging about 2 million to 3 million shots per day.Since taking office, the Biden administration has worked to ramp up the supply of vaccine doses in the U.S. after states complained that demand for the shots was outpacing supply.Last week, the administration said it would buy 100 million additional doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine. The deal would double the nation’s supply of the J&J vaccine, as the company already has a deal with the government to provide 100 million doses by the end of June. Merck is helping to make J&J’s Covid vaccine.The administration also has deals with drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna for 600 million doses combined, enough to inoculate 300 million Americans, since those two vaccines require two shots given three to four weeks apart.Biden is directing states to make all adults, ages 18 and up, eligible for the vaccines by May 1, he announced a week ago. The administration in May will launch a website to help people find nearby vaccination sites, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue new guidance about health and safety for those who have been vaccinated.Though the pace of vaccinations is increasing, the administration still faces another problem: Vaccine hesitancy.Even though clinical trial data shows the vaccines are safe and highly effective, just under half of adults in the U.S. surveyed in December said they were very likely to get vaccinated, according to a study from the CDC.Public officials are also running into an unforeseen issue with distributing J&J’s shots. Though J&J’s vaccine is a highly effective shot, especially against severe illness and death, its efficacy rate is lower than Pfizer’s and Moderna’s and is perceived by some Americans as inferior as a result.The administration also faces the threat of new, emerging variants. The CDC has said the B.1.1.7 variant first identified the U.K. is expected to become the dominant strain in the U.S. by the end of this month or in early April. A study published in the British Medical Journal found the highly contagious strain is associated with a 64% higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than earlier strains.Top health officials including White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci are urging Americans to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, saying the virus can’t mutate if it can’t infect hosts and replicate.Correction: The headline on this story was updated to reflect that President Joe Biden’s goal of having 100 million Covid vaccines administered during his first 100 days in office will be met as early as Thursday. More

Oakland Athletics president David Kaval said the A’s are on the verge of selling the first luxury suite using bitcoin, part of a promotion that expires on April 1.”I think we’ll probably have a transaction today or [Friday] to see the first one go,” Kaval said told CNBC’s “The Exchange.”This week the A’s made 10 suites available for purchase using bitcoin, which was up 1.1% and trading over $59,000 per share as of Thursday afternoon. Consumers can pay one bitcoin in exchange for a luxury suite for the 2021 Major League Baseball season. A suite usually runs $64,000 for the year. Kaval labeled the promotion a “bitcoin discount.”Though the A’s are the first MLB team to experiment with bitcoin to sell suites, other pro sports teams like the National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings have offered to purchase merchandise using the digital currency. The Kings started accepting bitcoin in 2014.”We thought this was a good way to test the market to see if there really was the interest level in transacting in the cryptocurrency as opposed to just using it to store value, and we felt a suite to the A’s game for a whole season was a good place to start,” Kaval said.”If you see it in baseball, you can see it anywhere,” Kaval added. “It’s an important point to see if this is a real way to transact in the marketplace.”MLB will return to a 162-game schedule this season after playing a 60-game campaign last year due to Covid-19. The A’s are allowed 20% capacity as the pandemic continues, but Kaval said the team is on the right “trajectory” to have full capacity in July. President Joe Biden said the vaccine should be widely available by May.”I think we’re on that, and we want to do it in a safe way for our players, fans, and for staff,” Kaval said. “I think it will happen this year, and it will be a great moment to celebrate getting through the pandemic.” More

A dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is prepared by a member of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service at Basingstoke fire station, which has been set up as a vaccination centre and where crews are still answering 999 calls on February 4, 2021 in Basingstoke, England.WPA Pool | Getty ImagesLONDON — The European Medicines Agency has ruled that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective, despite some concerns over possible side effects.The announcement Thursday comes after more than a dozen EU nations halted the use of the AstraZeneca shot, which was developed with the University of Oxford, after around 30 cases of blood clots. A few other countries stopped using individual batches of the vaccine.France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and several other European nations now plan to resume use of the shot after the regulator’s OK.The EMA said Thursday that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks. It found no batch issues or quality issues with the vaccine, although it was unable to definitively rule out a link with the blood clot incidents.”This is a safe and effective vaccine,” EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said Thursday at a press briefing.”Its benefits in protecting people from Covid-19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalization outweigh the possible risks. The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots. … We still cannot rule out a definitive link between these cases and the vaccine.”The regulator said it would continue to study possible links between rare blood clots and the vaccine. It will also update its guidance for the vaccine to explain the potential risks.SuspensionsThe suspensions were not uniform across the 27 member states of the European Union, with a number of nations continuing to deploy the AstraZeneca shot in their vaccination campaigns.Austria was the first country to suspend the use of a specific batch of AstraZeneca shots last week, following the death of a 49-year-old woman who had received the vaccine.This was followed by reports of blood clots elsewhere, although in a very small number of individuals, which led other heads to state to pause its use and wait for a new assessment from the region’s health authority.The EMA said in its review that the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of blood platelets, including rare cases of clots in the vessels draining blood from the brain, known as CVST.”These are rare cases — around 20 million people in the U.K. and EEA (European Economic Area) had received the vaccine as of March 16 and EMA had reviewed only 7 cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels and 18 cases of CVST. A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and deserves further analysis,” the EMA added in a statement.AstraZeneca’s vaccine is being widely used in the U.K., but has not yet been approved by authorities in the United States.The benefits ‘outweigh its risks’The World Health Organization said Wednesday that “vaccination against Covid-19 will not reduce illness or deaths from other causes. Thromboembolic events are known to occur frequently.”In addition, the WHO said that the reaction of some EU nations showed that “the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place.” Nonetheless, the institution reiterated that it believes “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue.”The U.K.’s medicines regulator also said on Thursday that people should continue to receive the AstraZeneca shot.Some health experts have raised wider concerns over pausing the use of this vaccine. Speaking earlier this week, the EMA’s Cooke said the institution was worried that the suspensions could affect peoples’ trust of vaccines.The recent concerns over side affects follow uncertainty from some EU nations over a supposed lack of data on the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine for elderly populations. These countries subsequently decided to go ahead with using the shot for inoculations, however.Situation in Europe ‘getting worse’The distribution of vaccines is crucial from both a health and economic perspective in Europe.Speaking on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “The epidemiological situation is getting worse.””We see the crest of a third wave forming in member states, and we know that we need to accelerate the vaccination rates,” she added.The EU is aiming to inoculate 70% of its adult population by the end of the summer.Data presented on Wednesday suggested the bloc is on track to achieve that target, assuming that pharmaceutical firms respect their delivery contracts in the next three months and that member states are successful in using them.—CNBC’s Sara Salinas contributed to this report. More

Exterior of the 2019 Lamborghini Urus with a base retail price starting at $200,000.Adam Jeffery | CNBCLamborghini reported record profits in 2020 as its wealthy customers — especially in China — rode the global bull market in style.Despite a mandatory factory shutdown of over two months during the Covid-19 pandemic, the “raging bull” of the auto world delivered 7,430 cars in 2020, down only 9% from the record high in 2019. Sales topped 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion at the current exchange rate), down 11% from 2019, but the company said profits increased to a record high as customers ordered more pricey, highly customized cars.The outlook for 2021 looks even brighter as soaring stocks and asset values around the world boost the fortunes of wealthy car buyers. Wealth creation from cryptocurrencies, special purpose acquisition companies, IPOs and company takeovers has also created a new generation of younger super car buyers.Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told CNBC the company already has nine months of orders booked for 2021.”It’s a bit like with the stock markets,” Winklemann said. “The buyer’s spirits are up, they can’t wait to the moment to get out again and to enjoy life.”Lamborghini, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, is also benefitting from the success of its $220,000 SUV, the Urus. The company’s total production has more than doubled since it started delivering the Urus in 2018.Winkelmann said China is expected to become the company’s second-largest market this year, replacing Germany, for the first time. The U.S. is still far and away Lamborghini’s market, with delivery of 2,224 cars in 2020.The biggest challenge for Lamborghini, along with other sports-car companies like Ferrari, McLaren and Bugatti, is the tightening of emissions regulations around the world and the shift to electric vehicles. With Teslas now about to rocket from 0-60 mph in less than two seconds, sports car companies that rose to fame by building ever-faster, louder engines and dramatic designs now need to redefine themselves in an electric world.At the same time, they also have to continue pleasing their customers — wealthy car-collectors who love the emotion and feel of roaring V-8 and V-12 engines.Lamborghini hasn’t announced plans for an EV, but Winkelmann hinted that announcements could be coming in April.”At the end of the day, we have to look forward to what is going to happen in five to 10 years from now and how this will change our way of looking at these type of cars,” he said. “We have to anticipate also a change of mind of our customers and the enthusiasts as well. This is a very crucial moment for super sports cars, where you have to really set the marks for the future without scaring anybody by admitting clearly what is going to be the limit for the future in terms of normal combustion engines.”Lamborghini has started dipping its toes into electrification with the launch of its first-ever hybrid, the Sian FKP 37. The super car, which retails for over $3.6 million and means “lightening bolt” in Bolognese dialect, has a V-12 engine boosted by a lithium-ion super capacitor. The company quickly sold out of all 63 Sian coupes and 19 open-topped Sian roadsters planned for its limited production.Winkelmann declined to comment on speculation that VW could spin-off Lamborghini or take it public. But he said VW remains an ideal owner of the brand, given it’s capital and technology.”Volkswagen Group is the perfect match for Lamborghini because we have the freedom to decide what is top priority for us, so where we put our money,” he said. “They also have a lot of expertise and all the upcoming technologies, which are the three mega trends — electrification, digitalization and for sure, autonomous driving.”He said self-driving may not be “the big task” for the brand, “at least not for the time being, but the two others for sure are things which are constantly on our agenda.” More

AHMEDABAD, INDIA – MARCH 18: Suryakumar Yadav of India hits out for six runs during the 4th T20 International between India and England.Surjeet Yadav | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesSuryakumar Yadav’s eye-catching fifty in his maiden international knock paved the way for India’s eight-run, series-leveling win over England in the fourth T20, in Ahmedabad.Suryakumar marked his second cap with a sparkling 31-ball innings that together with contributions from Shreyas Iyer (37) and Rishabh Pant (30) lifted India to 185-8 despite a career-best 4-33 from fast bowler Jofra Archer.England chased hard with Jason Roy (40 off 27) and Ben Stokes (46 off 23) to the fore in a total of 177-8 only for India’s attack — led by Hardik Pandya (2-16) and Shardul Thakur (3-42) — to claim the first win by a side batting first in four games despite a heavy dew.It means the series will now be decided on Saturday, when the teams will contest the fifth and final T20 at the Narendra Modi Stadium — a match you can watch live on Sky Sports Cricket from 1 p.m.Unchanged England appeared to have an early advantage when captain Eoin Morgan put India into bat but Rohit Sharma’s response was to strike the first ball of the contest — an Adil Rashid googly — for six over long off, the opener passing 9,000 T20 runs in the same over.It was Suryakumar who lit the touchpaper, though, after Rohit (12) had spliced an Archer slower ball back to the fast bowler.The 30-year-old came in at three ahead of Virat Kohli and straight away showed the intent that had produced a strike-rate of 140.10 in 171 T20 matches by pulling his first ball in international cricket for six, with his leading leg in the air.AHMEDABAD, INDIA – MARCH 18: Hardik Pandya of India bats during the 4th T20 International between India and England at Narendra Modi Stadium on March 18, 2021 in Ahmedabad, India.Surjeet Yadav | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesSupreme shots continued to flow, the finest of them a six off Rashid in the seventh over as Suryakumar struck inside-out against the spin.The 30-year-old was joined by his skipper when KL Rahul clothed a slower ball from Stokes to mid-off – the opener’s 14 off 17 balls a modest improvement on previous scores of one, nought and nought.This time it was Kohli’s turn to fall cheaply as he came down the track only to lose his shape and be stumped for one off a Rashid googly — India 70-3 at that point.Suryakumar reached his half-century off just 28 balls with a crunching cut for four off Rashid and his scintillating stroke-play continued as he swept Sam Curran’s first ball.Read more stories from Sky SportsEngland squad: Ollie Watkins earns first England call-up; Jesse Lingard, Luke Shaw, John Stones all recalledAnthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will soon be presented with venue for world title fight, says promoter Eddie HearnAllaho rockets to Ryanair Chase glory under Rachael Blackmore at CheltenhamHe tried to repeat the stroke off the very next delivery but this time couldn’t clear Dawid Malan, who just managed to get his hands under the ball — Suryakumar given out following a four-minute delay in which TV umpire Virender Sharma could not find conclusive evidence to the contrary.Shreyas was quickly up and running with two fours off his first four balls and Pant matched his aggression, flicking an audacious four off Chris Jordan without moving his feet one jot.The pair put on 30 off three overs before Pant lost his middle stump to Archer but Shreyas pressed on, pummeling Jordan for six over the covers, before falling to a fine tumbling catch from Stokes in the covers.England leaked 57 runs off the last four overs but picked up four wickets in the process including two in Archer’s final over.India put the squeeze on straight away at the start of England’s chase — Bhuvneshwar Kumar claiming the precious wicket of in-form Jos Buttler (nine) with a cutter that found the leading edge.Roy overcame a scratchy start to lift England to 48-1 at the end of a powerplay in which Malan was dropped on three by Shardul Thakur at short third man.The reprieve was short-lived as Malan (14) lost his leg stump to Rahul Chahar trying to reverse sweep and when Roy fell in the next over, miscuing Hardik Pandya, England were 66-3.AHMEDABAD, INDIA – MARCH 18: Jonathan Bairstow of England bats during the 4th T20 International between India and England at Narendra Modi Stadium on March 18, 2021 in Ahmedabad, India.Surjeet Yadav/Getty ImagesAfter 11 overs England were neck-and-neck with India’s 79-3 and the tourists matched India’s acceleration as Stokes and Jonny Bairstow (25 off 19), in his 50th T20, shared a 65-run stand off 36 balls.The tourists needed 54 off the final 30 balls with Morgan new to the wicket after Bairstow failed to launch Chahar over the in-field and 46 were still required when Stokes picked out long off, off Thakur — the all-rounder now without a fifty in 33 matches.Morgan (four) holed out to deep point off the very next ball from which point England’s chase faded to the point where they needed 23 off the final over.With Kohli off the field, stand-in captain Rohit looked on anxiously as Thakur conceded 10 off two balls to Archer (18no) before bowling two wides but the seamer regathered to see India across the line. 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Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson speaks during the company’s annual shareholders meeting at WAMU Theater, on March 20, 2019 in Seattle, Washington.Stephen Brashear | Getty ImagesStarbucks shareholders rejected the coffee chain’s executive compensation proposal, in a rare admonition of an S&P 500 company.The resolution is not binding and likely won’t impact the board’s decision. However, The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, said only 10 S&P 500 companies have had shareholders reject annual say-on-pay resolutions in the last year, based on data from ISS Corporate Solutions.The proposal included a $1.86 million payout for CEO Kevin Johnson for fiscal 2020 performance as the company weathered the coronavirus pandemic and $50 million in retention pay if he sticks around through fiscal 2022.”The board unanimously supported the performance-based retention rewards granted to our executives in late 2019,” board member and Ulta CEO Mary Dillon said in a statement to CNBC. “This award – which is earned through exceptional company performance over a period of time – is consistent with our commitment to shareholder value creation and ‘pay-for-performance’ philosophy.”In 2020, 84% of Starbucks shareholders voted in favor of the pay resolution.Ahead of the shareholder meeting, proxy advisory companies Institutional Shareholder Services, which also runs ISS Corporate Solutions, and Glass Lewis recommended that shareholders reject the incentive scheme for performance from October 2019 through September 2022. Both firms disagreed with Starbucks’ rationale for one-time cash bonuses given to former COO Roz Brewer and Johnson. Brewer forfeited her cash award when she left the company in February to serve as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance.ISS wrote that it was concerned about the frequency of one-time awards and that Starbucks hadn’t provided an adequate explanation for why the long-term award was distributed in cash.Starbucks said in a filing asking shareholders to approve the resolution that the ultimate payout for the cash award won’t be known until fiscal 2022. The company also noted that Starbucks’ market value has risen by $39 billion since Johnson became chief executive in 2017.Shares of Starbucks were down about 1.6% in afternoon trading Thursday. The stock has risen 92% over the last year, giving it a market value of $128 billion. More

With more companies allowing their employees to work from home during the Covid pandemic, young urbanites have been moving into suburban and rural areas that give their pets more space to roam, said Petco CEO Ron Coughlin in a “Squawk on the Street” interview.”There are people, millennials, who couldn’t have pets in apartments, who are now buying homes,” he said. “There could be a second wave of pet buying.”Last year, 3.3 million new pets found homes as the pandemic made people long for a furry friend to keep them company during Covid lockdowns.As a result of this shift to the suburbs, Coughlin noted that Petco’s 1,500 store locations across the U.S. and Mexico gave them a competitive advantage over online-only retailers like Chewy.”Online competitors are shipping it from a distribution center going across multiple zones where we’re taking it in the back of a DoorDasher’s car for the same cost as if it was a tennis ball, delivering it the same day, and delivering it at lower cost,” said Coughlin, adding that 80% of its e-commerce orders are shipped or delivered via their stores.Chewy declined to comment, citing pre-earnings quiet period. Petco announced on Thursday that fourth quarter revenue and comparable store sales increased 16% and 17%, respectively, while digital sales grew over 90%. The company said fiscal 2020 revenue and comparable store sales both grew 11%.Last December, Petco announced a partnership with DoorDash to offer same-day delivery to its customers. The company also tripled the number of ship-from-store locations as soon as Covid hit.In addition, Coughlin told CNBC that 39% of its customers say they prefer to shop in store for its various pet services.”They want to come in to our pet-care centers, they want to come in for a groom, they want to come in for veterinary care. We are the only player in the industry that has this end-to-end ecosystem,” said Coughlin.Petco’s stock rose about 0.5% in afternoon trading. More