Raphael Stevens

The United Auto Workers union will strike against the Detroit automakers if the sides don’t reach labor deals by an 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday deadline, UAW President Shawn Fain said Wednesday.
Fain’s comments came the morning after he outlined plans to local union leaders about implementing targeted strikes at certain plants if deals aren’t reached.
Fain said Wednesday the union continues to seek double-digit wage increases.

The United Auto Workers union will strike against the Detroit automakers if the sides don’t reach labor deals by an 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday deadline, UAW President Shawn Fain said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Fain’s comments came the morning after he outlined plans to local union leaders about implementing targeted strikes at certain General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis plants, if agreements aren’t reached by Thursday.

“As it stands right now, all three are most likely to be struck unless we get a deal by Sept. 14 at midnight,” Fain said Wednesday to CNBC’s Phil LeBeau when asked whether Ford is the less likely to be struck. “All three are expected to deliver for their workers and if they don’t, there will be action.”
Targeted strikes refer to work stoppages only at certain plants, related to local contract issues that many, if not most, facilities have. That differs from national strikes where all union members exit plants, which occurred four years ago during the last round of negotiations with GM.
Fain said the UAW and automakers “have a lot of work” to do, but he believes the sides can reach contracts before the deadline.
“We can get there, but the companies need to get serious and buckle down,” he said.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain greets workers at the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, to mark the beginning of contract negotiations in Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S. July 12, 2023. 
Rebecca Cook | Reuters

Fain said Wednesday the union continues to seek double-digit wage increases. The UAW most recently sought 36% hikes – down from initial demands of 40%. The union’s raise proposals to the automakers have not fallen below 30%, he said.

Key demands from the union have included 40% hourly pay increases, a reduced 32-hour work week, a shift back to traditional pensions, the elimination of compensation tiers and a restoration of cost-of-living adjustments, among other items on the table.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said late Tuesday night the company remains “optimistic that we can reach an agreement with the UAW in the next two days.”
However, he said there are limits to what Ford is willing to offer.
Farley said the company’s latest offer includes “pay increases, elimination of tiers, inflation protection, five weeks of vacation, 17 paid holidays [and] bigger contributions for retirement.”
“We put an offer in today that’s our most generous offer in 80 years of the UAW and Ford,” Farley said during the reveal of the 2024 Ford F-150 in Detroit. “It’s a significant enhancement, still optimistic that we’ll get a deal. But there is a limit because we have to protect for the future, future investments and the profitability of the company funds those.”
Farley said Ford is “not going to support” a four-day workweek. More

Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour have agreed to merge.
The move follows weeks of drama surrounding the rival pro pickleball leagues.
The leagues say the merger will help unify the sport and create stronger business opportunities.

Lacy Schneemann of the Florida Smash returns a shot during a group play Major League Pickleball match against BLQK at Pickle & Chill in Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2022.
Emilee Chinn | Getty Images

After weeks of drama in professional pickleball, the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball have again agreed to merge, the leagues said Wednesday.
The combination is backed by a $50 million investment led by private equity firm SC Holdings, PPA Tour owner Tom Dundon and various MLP owners.

“As professional pickleball continues to rapidly grow, we could not be more excited to provide both players and fans with the clarity and consistency of a unified professional pickleball organization,” MLP founder Steve Kuhn said in a statement.
The merger agreement was first announced in November. But in recent weeks, the MLP and PPA had a major falling out after the agreed upon merger terms still hadn’t been finalized.
The two competing leagues have been chasing the top players in the world in a spending war, signing them to contracts to play in their respective leagues.
“This merger will expand and improve opportunities for current and future players, creating a united experience and a better future playing professional pickleball,” Kuhn said.
The sport of pickleball has seen unprecedented growth in the past couple of years at both the amateur and professional level. More than 36 million people played pickleball in 2022, as courts are popping up all across the country. On the professional level, MLP teams’ values have skyrocketed, with some teams going for $10 million.

Dundon said the new holding company will help streamline the sport on issues from competition to broadcasting rights and sponsorship.
The PPA Tour is a bracket-style tour format, while the MLP is a coed, team-based league. MLP owners include many high-profile athletes from LeBron James and Kevin Durant to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
Under the merger, the organizations said fans can watch both formats of individual and team play under the same umbrella. The combined leagues will comprise 150 of the leading players in the world.
“Over the past few years, we have seen ever-increasing interest from investors, sponsors, fans and players who understand the immense value in the future of professional pickleball,” said Dundon. More

Higher fuel and other costs are biting airline profits in the third quarter.
American and Spirit joined Alaska and Southwest in cutting profit estimates for the summer.

An American Airlines plane takes off above Spirit Airlines planes and other aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on June 1, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. 
Mario Tama | Getty Images

American Airlines and Spirit Airlines on Wednesday joined other carriers in warning that higher costs will hit profits during the bustling summer quarter.
American said it expects adjusted earnings per share to come in between 20 cents and 30 cents in the third quarter, down from a previous forecast of as much as 95 cents a share, citing more expensive fuel and a new pilot labor deal. The carrier halved its operating margin from a forecast earlier this summer to 4% to 5%.

Spirit Airlines expects negative margins of as much as 15.5% in the three months ending Sept. 30, down from an earlier estimate of -5.5% to -7.5%. The budget airline also cut its revenue forecast for the third quarter.
Airlines have lost the pricing power they commanded last summer when capacity was more constrained coming out of the pandemic, even though demand has been strong.
Fare-tracking company Hopper on Tuesday said it expects fares to continue dropping in the fall shoulder season, with domestic U.S. tickets averaging $211 in September and October, down 30% from the peak of summer.
Shares of American and Spirit were down in premarket trading on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines cut their third-quarter forecasts earlier this month.
Airlines start reporting third-quarter results in mid-October. More

Moderna said its experimental mRNA-based flu vaccine generated a stronger immune response against four strains of the virus than a currently available flu vaccine.
The late-stage trial results cleared the way for a path to approval in the U.S. 
The results come as Moderna tries to beef up its pipeline and become a company known for more than its blockbuster mRNA Covid vaccine.

A nurse prepares a flu shot at Huntington Village Pediatrics, in Huntington, New York on December 8, 2021.
Steve Pfost | Newsday | Getty Images

Moderna on Wednesday said its experimental mRNA-based flu vaccine produced a stronger immune response against four strains of the virus than a currently available flu vaccine in a late-stage trial, clearing the way for a path to approval in the U.S. 
Shares of Moderna rose 4% in premarket trading Wednesday following the announcement.

The results come as Moderna tries to beef up its pipeline and become a company known for more than its blockbuster mRNA Covid vaccine, which won more approvals from U.S. regulators this week. Moderna expects its Covid shot – its only commercially available product – along with its flu jab, and other experimental respiratory vaccines to make up to $15 billion in sales by 2027.
Wednesday’s results are also a sigh of relief for Moderna after the company pushed back its experimental flu shot program in April. An initial vaccine formula didn’t accumulate enough data to determine its efficacy, so the company reformulated the shot. 
That appeared to pay off in the latest phase three trial. Moderna compared the flu vaccine, dubbed mRNA-1010, to a currently approved seasonal flu vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline called Fluarix. 
An interim analysis of the trial found that mRNA-1010 produced higher antibody levels for all four influenza strains recommended by the World Health Organization – two each for influenza A and B – compared to Fluarix. Moderna’s flu shot also generated higher seroconversion rates, which refers to the development of specific antibodies against a virus.
Moderna said the safety findings were similar in the trial to previous ones, which found muscle pain, headache, fatigue, pain and swelling as the most common side effects of mRNA-1010. 

Also on Wednesday, Moderna said it is ending a separate phase three trial on the first version of its flu vaccine. That study did not generate enough cases to provide efficacy data. 
Meanwhile, Moderna on Wednesday said it expects a decision from the Food and Drug Administration on its mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus in adults 60 and older by April. The FDA approved RSV vaccines for older adults from Pfizer and GSK in May. 
“Our mRNA platform is working,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a press release. “With today’s positive phase 3 flu results, along with previous results in Covid and RSV, we are now three for three on advancing respiratory disease programs to positive phase 3 data.”
The company will hold a virtual event at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday to discuss research and development updates with investors. More