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    in Finance

    Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Intel, Roku, Procter & Gamble and more

    Signage outside Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.
    David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.
    Intel — Shares popped 6.7% after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected second-quarter results and a return to profitability after two consecutive losing periods. Intel’s forecast for the third quarter also came in above analyst expectations. The company reported adjusted earnings of 13 cents a share on revenues of $12.95 billion.

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    Roku — The streaming stock rallied nearly 10% after reporting a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter. Roku reported a loss of 76 cents a share and revenues of $847 million. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had anticipated a loss of $1.26 per share and $775 million in revenue.
    Biogen — Biogen shares moved slightly lower after the biotechnology company said it’s acquiring Reata Pharmaceuticals for $172.50 per share, in a cash deal valued at about $7.3 billion. Shares of Reata soared more than 51% on the news.
    Procter & Gamble — The consumer giant saw shares rise more than 1% in premarket trading after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. However, P&G released a gloomy outlook for its fiscal 2024 sales that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.
    Exxon Mobil — Shares moved slightly lower after the oil stock posted mixed second-quarter results. The company reported earnings of $1.94 a share, excluding items, that fell short of the $2.01 expected by analysts, per Refinitiv. Revenues came in at $82.91 billion, above the expected $80.19 billion.
    Chevron — The oil stock lost nearly 1% even after reporting a beat on the top and bottom lines for the second quarter. Earnings fell from a year ago due to a drop in oil prices.

    First Solar – Shares soared 12% after the solar company posted earnings per share of $1.59 on revenue of $811 million for the second quarter. Those results beat Wall Street expectations of 96 cents per share on revenue of $721 million, according to Refinitiv. The company also announced plans to invest up to $1.1 billion to build a fifth manufacturing facility in the United States.
    Enphase Energy – Shares of Enphase dropped more than 15% after the company posted second-quarter revenue Thursday of $711 million that fell short of analyst estimates of $722 million, according to Refinitiv. The stock also faced a wave of downgrades Friday morning from Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and Roth MKM.Sweetgreen – Shares of the salad chain slid more than 13% after the company posted weak sales that missed Wall Street expectations in the second quarter and a net loss of $27.3 million, or 24 cents per share. Sweetgreen did say it’s aiming to turn a profit for the first time by 2024.Ford Motor – The automaker said adoption of electric vehicles is going more slowly than the company forecast and that it expects to lose $4.5 billion on the EV business this year, widening losses from roughly $3 billion a year earlier. Otherwise, Ford posted strong quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year guidance. Shares were flat in premarket trading.
    Juniper Networks — Shares of the technology company fell 8% after Juniper’s third-quarter guidance came in lighter than expected. The company said it expects earnings per share between 49 cents and 59 cents, with revenue between $1.34 billion and $1.44 billion. Analysts had penciled in 62 cents per share and $1.48 billion of revenue. The company’s second-quarter results did come in slightly above expectations.
    AstraZeneca — U.S. listed shares of the drugmaker added more than 5% before the bell. The U.K.-based company reported second-quarter earnings of $2.15 per share on $11.42 billion in revenue. That surpassed the EPS of $1.95 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv on revenues of $11.03 billion. AstraZeneca also said it would buy a portfolio of preclinical rare disease gene therapies from Pfizer for up to $1 billion.
    Xpeng — The Chinese electric vehicle stock jumped more than 6% in the premarket. Jefferies upgraded shares to a buy from a hold, citing Xpeng’s joint development plan with Volkswagen
    New York Community Bancorp — The regional bank stock rose about 2% before the bell after JPMorgan upgraded New York Community Bancorp to an overweight rating from neutral. The Wall Street firm called the company a “massive market share taker” in its upgrade.
    Mondelez International — Mondelez International added 2.7% before the bell on strong second-quarter results. The snack maker on Thursday reported earnings of 76 cents a share, excluding items, on $8.51 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had estimated EPS of 69 cents and revenues of $8.21 billion.
    — CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed reporting More

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    The Bank of Japan jolts global markets

    On July 28th the Bank of Japan (boj) took markets by surprise. At the end of a two-day policy meeting Ueda Kazuo, the central bank’s governor, announced an unexpected change to its increasingly expensive policy of yield-curve control. The boj raised its cap on ten-year government-bond yields, which it defends with regular and sometimes vast purchases, from 0.5% to 1%. Ten-year yields climbed to around 0.57% after the announcement, the highest in nearly a decade. Surging inflation over the past two years has led central banks around the world to raise interest rates forcefully. Japan’s central bank has been a stubborn outlier, keeping most of its monetary-stimulus measures—including negative interest rates and aggressive bond purchases—firmly in place. All told, the boj’s ultra-low interest-rate regime, introduced in an attempt to boost the country’s sluggish rate of economic growth and prevent outright deflation, has now been active for a quarter of a century. Tweaking yield-curve control is not quite an abandonment of the regime. It does, however, set the country on course for higher rates.Under yield-curve control, the boj buys government bonds when yields approach the stated cap—pushing yields, which move inversely to bond prices, back down. The approach has been in place since 2016, when it was introduced as an alternative to huge asset purchases, which were distorting the bond market. In the past year the policy has come under pressure as inflation has soared worldwide. In January the boj was forced to make enormous bond purchases—surpassing ¥13trn ($100bn) in one week—in order to defend the policy. Hedge funds have short-sold government bonds, expecting that the boj eventually will have to abandon the policy. Every extra boj bond purchase increases eventual losses on the central bank’s portfolio should yields eventually rise. And with the boj owning vast amounts of government bonds, there are few left for others to trade, leaving the market increasingly illiquid. Most economists had therefore expected the boj to eventually junk or tweak the policy, though not until later in the year. The boj says that allowing a wider trading range will bring flexibility, allowing the bond market to function better, whichever way the economic winds blow. The central bank also said that it would be “nimbly conducting market operations” when the ten-year yield was between 0.5% and 1%. The central bank seems to be giving itself wriggle room to buy bonds, even if yields do not bump up against the new upper bound. In doing so, it risks causing confusion about its goals.Despite the boj’s insistence that the change to yield-curve control is not an act of monetary tightening, any loosening of the band inevitably means higher market interest rates, since yields were already bumping up against the previous cap. Even if the boj does not want to fire the starting gun on a cycle of tighter policy, the move is “effectively akin to a rate hike”, as Naohiko Baba of Goldman Sachs, a bank, has written.For now there are few advocates of more aggressive tightening at the boj. But rate rises no longer look as unlikely as they did. Based on the price of interest-rate swaps, investors expect short-term interest rates to rise from -0.1% now to zero in a year’s time. Data released on July 28th showed core inflation (excluding fresh food and fuel) in Tokyo rising by 4% year-on-year in July, twice the boj’s target. What happens in the labour market will be crucial. Signs of broader pressures on wages are still limited, but the shunto, springtime wage negotiations, saw promises of the largest wage rises in three decades. Years of ultra-low interest rates have left Japan exposed to higher interest rates, whether market or official ones. The most obvious source of risk is the country’s government debt, which on a net basis ran to a staggering 161% of gdp last year, and which will become much more expensive to service. Despite low borrowing costs in recent years, the government already spends 7.4% of its annual budget on interest payments—more than it does on defence, education or public infrastructure. Higher interest rates for any sustained period would put huge pressure on Japan’s fiscal arithmetic.Thus the BoJ faces a balancing act. Backing away from its yield-control policies without sending yields surging will require immaculate communication. If inflation fades as the boj hopes, officials may just pull it off. But if price pressures are more sticky and sustained, then painful monetary tightening will follow. ■For more expert analysis of the biggest stories in economics, finance and markets, sign up to Money Talks, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter. More

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    China’s housing ministry is getting ‘bolder’ about real estate support

    China’s housing ministry has announced plans to make it easier for people to buy property.
    They include easing purchase restrictions for people wanting to buy a second house, and reducing down payment ratios for first-time homebuyers, according to an article on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development’s website.
    “It seems to us that [the housing ministry] is quick in response this time and also gets bolder on relaxing property policies,” Jizhou Dong, China property research analyst at Nomura, said in a note Friday.

    A residential complex constructed by Evergrande in Huai’an, Jiangsu, China, on July 20, 2023.
    Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

    BEIJING — China’s housing ministry has announced plans to make it easier for people to buy property.
    The news, out late Thursday, indicates how different levels of government are starting to act just days after Beijing signaled a shift away from its crackdown on real estate speculation.

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    The planned measures include easing purchase restrictions for people wanting to buy a second house, and reducing down payment ratios for first-time homebuyers, according to an article on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development’s website.
    In an effort to reduce speculation in its massive property market, China has made it much harder for people to buy a second house.
    Mortgage rates for the second purchase can be a full percentage point higher than for the first, while the second-home down payment ratio can skyrocket to 70% or 80% in large cities, according to Natixis.

    The housing ministry article referred to comments from its minister Ni Hong at a recent meeting with eight state-owned and non-state-owned companies in construction and real estate.
    Since it was a meeting at the central government ministry level, it did not discuss policies for individual cities, said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at JLL.

    But he expects Beijing will encourage local governments to announce real estate policy changes that fit their specific situation. Pang also pointed out that including construction companies at the meeting emphasized their role in promoting investment and stabilizing growth.

    Waiting on details

    China has not yet announced formal measures for supporting real estate. However, top level leaders on Monday signaled a greater focus on housing demand, rather than supply.
    On Tuesday, China’s State Taxation Administration announced “guidelines” for waiving or reducing housing-related taxes. It was not immediately clear what implementation would look like for home buyers.

    We continue to expect the property sector rally to continue and advise investors to focus on beta names within the property sector.

    Jizhou Dong

    The readout of Monday’s Politburo meeting also removed the phrase “houses are for living in, not speculation,” which has been a mantra for Beijing’s tight stance and efforts to rein in developers’ high reliance on debt for growth.
    “It seems to us that [the housing ministry] is quick in response this time and also gets bolder on relaxing property policies,” Jizhou Dong, China property research analyst at Nomura, said in a note Friday.
    Given such speed, Dong expects markets are anticipating specific policy implementation in cities such as Shanghai or Guangzhou.

    Read more about China from CNBC Pro

    Hong Kong-traded Chinese property stocks such as Longfor, Country Garden and Greentown China traded higher Friday, on pace to close out the week with gains after plunging on Monday over debt worries.
    “We continue to expect the property sector rally to continue and advise investors to focus on beta names within the property sector,” Nomura’s Dong said.
    Those stocks include U.S.-listed Ke Holdings, as well as Hong Kong-listed Longfor and China Overseas Land and Investment, the report said, noting Nomura has a “buy” rating on all three.
    “We still advise investors to stay away from weaker privately-owned developers.” More

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    The secret to the huge ‘Barbenheimer’ box office take? FOMO

    The historic box office combination of Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” arrived at a time when even the most dependable franchise movies have failed to lure in audiences.
    “Barbenheimer’s” historic weekend was fueled by a sense of urgency, which the box office has been lacking in recent months.
    The two movies will face some competition from Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” this coming weekend, but box-office analysts expect word of mouth to fuel ticket sales for both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in the weeks to come.

    An employee adds letters for upcoming film releases “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” to a marquee at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, July 16, 2023.
    Hannah Beier | The Washington Post | Getty Images

    Hollywood’s biggest weekend at the box office in years wasn’t fueled by superheroes, Jedi or the promise of a sequel.
    Sure, there were big names: Barbie, the iconic fashion doll; Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb; and, of course, directors Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan.

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    But what set “Barbenheimer” weekend apart was fresh storytelling, a fear of missing out on a cultural moment and a desire to experience movies on the biggest screen possible.
    “They did a great job of positioning it as a movie that not only needed to be seen in theaters, but needed to be seen with your friends in a theater,” said Mike Polydoros, CEO at cinema marketing firm PaperAirplane Media.

    ‘At a crossroads’

    The historic box office combination of Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” arrived at a time when even the most dependable franchise movies have failed to lure in audiences.
    Marvel and DC movies aren’t pulling in the same ticket sales as they did before the Covid-19 pandemic, nor are new installments in film series such as Mission Impossible, Fast and Furious, Indiana Jones and Transformers.
    Movie nostalgia is no longer enough to inspire consumers to leave their couches for cinemas.

    “The industry is at a crossroads,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “The success of ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ shows why studios need to start thinking more outside the box while allowing creative talent the room to do what they do best. Gone are the days when a brand can simply be slapped onto a product and people be expected to show up in droves just because they have before or because an algorithm suggests they will.”Together, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” generated $244.5 million during their first three days in theaters — $162 million for “Barbie” and $82.5 million for “Oppenheimer.”
    Adding ticket sales from Paramount’s newest “Mission: Impossible” film, Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Angel Studios’ “The Sound of Freedom,” the weekend box office topped $311 million, the fourth-highest weekend haul in history.

    The FOMO effect

    “Barbenheimer’s” historic weekend was also fueled by a sense of urgency, which the box office has been lacking in recent months.
    “A fear of missing out on such a special moment motivated people to see one or both, perhaps sooner than they ordinarily would have,” Robbins said.
    Audiences were drawn to see “Oppenheimer” on the biggest screen possible, or in specialty theaters that showed the exclusive 70mm footage of Nolan’s biopic. Nolan’s films have come to be event cinema, as the director shies away from computer-generated images in favor of practical effects and is known for creating powerful visuals.
    As for “Barbie,” a huge draw for audiences was the communal experience of donning bubblegum pink and going out in large groups, and, of course, Gerwig, who is known for her sharp, witty dialogue and focus on female-driven stories.

    Meme-worthy

    Another piece of the appeal was the fact that the two films were so drastically different.
    “They compounded one another’s success via the Barbenheimer meme, as it organically took over the pop culture consciousness and crossed over into mainstream channels that don’t normally include movies in their casual daily discourse,” Robbins said.
    He noted that both films would have been box-office hits regardless, but “the mystique of them opening on the same day elevated their profiles to an entirely new level.”
    The meme-worthy trend of seeing both in the same day drove hundreds of thousands of people to cinemas over the weekend. Typically, two films arriving on the same weekend from rival studios would lead to cannibalization of ticket sales.

    “The fact that it was serendipitous was a salient element,” said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and a pop culture expert. “That this was not part of a top-down marketing scheme gave it extra voltage.”
    The momentum of “Barbenheimer” isn’t over.
    IMAX screens that have the 70mm showings of “Oppenheimer” are sold out for weeks to come and “Barbie” continues to draw in moviegoers even on weekdays.
    On Monday, “Barbie” added $26 million to its haul, the biggest Monday in the history of Warner Bros. and the best ever for a female director. It added another $26 million Tuesday, extending its domestic box office to $214 million through its first five days in theaters.
    “Lest anyone think this was a mere flash in the pan, the upcoming weekend should see tremendous sophomore sessions for both films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, noting that curiosity and repeat viewings will continue to drive ticket sales.
    “Barbenheimer” will face some competition from Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” this coming weekend, but box-office analysts expect word of mouth to fuel ticket sales for both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in the weeks to come.
    “These films aren’t going to face significant competition for the rest of summer either, which means their stellar opening weekends should be followed by robust staying power going into the final weeks of summer and early fall,” Robbins said. “It’s truly a duo that will go down in the annals of movie history.”
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “Oppenheimer.” More

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    Ford raises full-year guidance after solid earnings beat

    Ford Motor on Thursday raised its 2023 guidance after second-quarter earnings significantly beat Wall Street expectations, boosted by strong pricing and demand for the automaker’s traditional vehicles.
    Ford increased its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to a range of between $11 billion and $12 billion, up from a prior forecast $9 billion and $11 billion.
    EV adoption, however, is taking place more slowly than the company expected, in part because of higher costs.

    Ford Mustang on display at the NY Auto Show, April 6, 2023.
    Scott Mlyn | CNBC

    DETROIT — Ford Motor on Thursday raised its 2023 guidance after second-quarter earnings significantly beat Wall Street expectations, boosted by strong pricing and demand for the automaker’s traditional vehicles even as adoption of EVs took hold slower than the company expected.
    Ford increased its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to a range of between $11 billion and $12 billion, up from a prior forecast $9 billion and $11 billion. It also upped its expected adjusted free cash flow to a range of $6.5 billion to $7 billion from earlier guidance of $6 billion.

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    There was pressure on Ford to raise its guidance after crosstown rival General Motors raised its yearly guidance Tuesday for the second time this year.
    Ford finance chief John Lawler said vehicle demand and pricing were “holding up” better than the company anticipated at the beginning of the year for its traditional businesses. However, he said, electric vehicle adoption is taking place more slowly than the company expected, in part because of higher costs.
    Ford’s traditional business operations, known as Ford Blue, earned $2.31 billion during the quarter, while it’s Ford Pro commercial business earned $2.39 billion. Its “Model e” electric vehicle unit lost $1.08 billion from April through June.
    The company said it now expects to lose $4.5 billion on the EV business this year, widening losses from roughly $3 billion a year earlier.
    Here’s how Ford did during the second quarter, compared with what Wall Street expected based on average estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

    Adjusted earnings per share: 72 cents vs. 55 cents expected
    Automotive revenue: $42.43 billion vs. $40.38 billion expected

    The automaker reported net income of $1.92 billion, or 47 cents per share, substantially up from a year earlier when it earned $667 million, or 16 cents per share.
    Ford said its adjusted earnings before interest and tax, or adjusted EBIT, jumped to $3.79 billion, up from $3.72 billion a year ago. Its adjusted margin dropped to 8.4%, from from 9.3% in the year-ago period, amid increased production and sales.
    Total revenue for the quarter was $45 billion, up 12% from $40.2 billion a year earlier.
    It’s the second quarterly report in which the automaker broke down its financial results by business unit instead of by region.
    — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report. More

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    Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Intel, Ford, Roku, Enphase Energy and more

    3,760 Enphase microinverters will power the drying and storage of more than 50,000 tons of California rice at Strain Ranches in Arbuckle, California, Feb. 19, 2013.
    Alison Yin | AP

    Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.
    Intel — The technology stock jumped nearly 6% as investors cheered a return to profitability and better-than-expected guidance. Intel projected third-quarter adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share, compared with estimates of 16 cents per share, according to Refinitiv.

    Ford — The auto giant added 1% after raising full-year guidance and beating expectations for the second quarter. Ford reported 72 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $42.43 billion, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv estimated 55 cents earned and $40.38 billion in revenue.
    Roku — Shares of the streamer advanced 8.5% following a better-than-expected quarterly report. The company lost 76 cents per share in the second quarter, a narrower loss than the consensus estimate of $1.26 compiled by Refinitiv. Roku’s revenue also came in better than anticipated, with the company posting $847 million against a $775 million estimate.
    First Solar — The solar stock gained 6.6% after solidly beating Wall Street expectations in the second quarter. First Solar earned $1.59 per share and saw $811 million in revenue, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv anticipated 96 cents earned per share on $721 million of revenue.
    Enphase Energy — Enphase tumbled 12% after the solar stock gave a mixed financial report. The company said it earned $1.47 per share, adjusted, ahead of the $1.25 per share estimated by analysts, per Refinitiv. But revenue missed the consensus estimate by $11 million, coming in at $711 million.
    Sweetgreen — The salad chain slid 7% after missing revenue expectations for the second quarter. The company reported $153 million while analysts polled by Refinitiv forecast $157 million.

    Dexcom — The medical device stock rose 2% after delivering better quarterly earnings and forward guidance than Wall Street anticipated. The firm reported 34 cents earned per share, excluding items, on revenue of $871.3 million. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 23 cents per share and $841.2 million in revenue. Dexcom raised full-year revenue guidance to between $3.5 billion and $3.55 billion, while the average analyst predicted $3.5 billion.
    T-Mobile — The telecommunications stock shed 1.6% on a mixed earnings report for the second quarter. T-Mobile earned $1.86 per share, above the analyst consensus estimate of $1.69, per Refinitiv. But revenue came in weaker than expected, with T-Mobile reporting $19.2 billion despite Wall Street forecasting $19.31 billion.
    Boston Beer — Shares climbed 9% after the alcoholic beverage company reaffirmed guidance for the full year and gave a strong quarterly report. Boston Beer posted $4.72 in earnings per share on $603 million in revenue, while analysts polled by Refinitiv expected $3.43 per share and $593 million in revenue. More

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    Ford pushes back EV target, warns of wider losses due to slower-than-expected adoption

    Ford now expects to be building EVs at a rate of 600,000 per year sometime during 2024, a delay from earlier estimates that it would reach that level by the end of 2023.
    Ford also said it now expects its EV business unit, Ford Model e, to post an operating loss of about $4.5 billion this year.
    In a statement, CEO Jim Farley argued that the more gradual ramp-up of electric vehicle production could be a boon for Ford.

    Ford CEO Jim Farley poses for a photo at the launch of the all-new electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center on April 26, 2022 in Dearborn, Michigan.
    Bill Pugliano | Getty Images

    Ford Motor said Thursday pushed back production targets for its electric vehicles, citing slower-than-expected adoption.
    Ford now expects to be building EVs at a rate of 600,000 per year sometime during 2024, a delay from earlier estimates that it would reach that level by the end of 2023. The automaker had previously targeted a rate of more than 2 million per year by the end of 2026, but now says it doesn’t know when it’ll achieve that volume.

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    “The transition to EVs is happening, it just may take a little longer,” CFO John Lawler said following the automaker’s second-quarter earnings results.
    “It will be a little slower than the industry expected,” he said.
    But Lawler emphasized that Ford’s EV spending plan and its profitability goal for its electric vehicle unit haven’t changed. He said that Ford is still targeting an 8% operating margin for its EV business, and that it isn’t planning to reduce its capital spending on the vehicles.
    “We’re going to find a way to get to that 8%,” Lawler said.
    In a statement, CEO Jim Farley argued that the more gradual ramp-up of electric vehicle production could be a boon for Ford.

    “The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected, which is going to benefit early movers like Ford,” Farley said, noting the success of Ford’s first generation F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E EVs. “While others are trying to catch up, we have clean-sheet, next-generation products in advanced development that will blow people away.”
    While Ford overall was solidly profitable during the second quarter, the Model e unit posted an operating loss of $1.8 billion. More

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    American Airlines pilots’ union accepts sweetened labor deal

    American Airlines’ pilots union has accepted a sweetened labor deal.
    The union had a preliminary agreement but a richer deal at United Airlines derailed voting.
    Pilots at both United and American still need to vote on their tentative agreements.

    American Airlines plane
    Silas Stein | picture alliance | Getty Images

    American Airlines pilots’ union said Thursday that they agreed to a sweetened offer for a new labor contract, less than two weeks after a richer deal at rival United Airlines derailed voting at American.
    The new preliminary agreement includes pay matching with United, whose pilots are on track to get about 40% raises over four years, and at Delta Air Lines, whose aviators approved their contract in March, as well as other improvements. American CEO Robert Isom last week increased the company’s offer by about $1 billion.

    “We appreciate the Allied Pilots Association for its collaborative work to reach an updated agreement on a four-year contract for American’s pilots,” American said in a statement. “It’s a contract we’re proud of and one our pilots deserve.”
    American’s pilots would start voting on the new deal in August.
    The deal is the latest in the transportation industry where workers are seeking, and getting, higher wages. A shortage of pilots has emboldened unions to seek bigger raises and other improvements after the pandemic stalled negotiations.
    UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters earlier this week struck a preliminary labor agreement to raise pay for more than 300,000 workers, a deal that averted a massive strike that could have rippled throughout the U.S. economy. Workers will vote on that deal next month. More