Business

TerraPower, the nuclear innovation company founded by Bill Gates, announced a $750 million funding raise co-led by Gates and SK, a large South Korean conglomerate that is one of South Korea’s largest energy providers.
The money will go toward the development of nuclear energy innovations and nuclear medicine.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and Chair of the Gates Foundation, walks to a morning session during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 08, 2022 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

Bill Gates’ nuclear innovation company, TerraPower, announced Monday it has secured at least $750 million in new funding.
The funding was co-led by Gates and SK. Gates is the founder and chairman of TerraPower. SK, one of South Korea’s largest energy providers, invested $250 million.

The money will be used to develop nuclear energy technology and innovations in nuclear medicine, according to a statement from TerraPower.
“Whether it’s addressing climate change with carbon-free advanced nuclear energy, or fighting cancer with nuclear isotopes, our team is deploying technology solutions and investors across the world are taking note,” Chris Levesque, the CEO of TerraPower, said in a statement.
Nuclear energy has been undergoing a renaissance because the energy created by nuclear reactors doesn’t release the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. There is, however, long-lasting nuclear waste that has to be stored carefully.

An artist rendition of the Natrium nuclear power plant.
Photo courtesy TerraPower

What TerraPower’s working on

TerraPower is working with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a division of General Electric, to commercialize the Natrium system. It includes a smaller reactor than the conventional ones used in the United States and a molten salt energy storage system that allows the microreactor to boost its energy output for short periods of time as needed.
TerraPower is currently working to demonstrate its Natrium reactor technology at a soon-to-be-retired coal plant in Wyoming. The project is a collaboration with the federal government as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).

TerraPower also wants to commercialize a kind of molten salt reactor technology that could be used to provide carbon-free energy to heavy industrial operations, like water treatment plants, chemical processors and heavy industrial users. And the company is building the Traveling Wave Reactor, which it says will use mined uranium 30 times more efficiently and greatly reduces nuclear waste.
The firm also hopes to help treat cancer with its TerraPower Isotopes program.
Small amounts of slightly radioactive material can be used to help treat certain cancers. One such radioactive material, Actinium-225, can be used to help treat prostate cancer, lymphoma, melanoma and other cancers. TerraPower is working to innovate in the process to extract Thorium-229, which is needed to create Actinium-225, from sources of Uranium-233 that are being managed by the Department of Energy.
There is not enough Actinium-225 right now to meet demand, so TerraPower says it will use its “unique access” to Actinium-225 to bring the isotope to the pharmaceutical community.

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Business travel spending will take two years longer than previously forecast to recover to 2019 levels.
Labor shortages, inflation and supply chain issues are among the challenges.

Lighted tunnel in the United Airlines terminal, O’Hare International Airport, Chicago Illinois.
Andrew Woodley | Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Business travel spending might not recover to pre-pandemic levels until sometime in 2026 — two years later than previously expected — as inflation, labor shortages and geopolitical issues slow the sector’s rebound, according to a new industry forecast.
Spending by business travelers, a key source of revenue for airlines and hotels, some of the hardest-hit industries in the pandemic, has been on the upswing this year. Spending worldwide is set to rise nearly 34% in 2022 to $933 billion, according to the Global Business Travel Association’s annual report and forecast, published Monday.

That’s still far short of the more than $1.4 trillion in business travel generated in 2019, before the Covid pandemic. One reason is that high inflation is driving up travel costs, which the industry group last week said would continue to climb through 2023.
For example, this year through July, revenue per available room in U.S. hotels was $92.36, up from $88.05 over the same period of 2019, according to preliminary data from hotel data firm STR. Occupancy was 63%, down from nearly 67% in 2019.
The report forecast a 42% increase in business travel spending in the U.S. this year from 2021, to nearly $213.4 billion. U.S. airline and hotel executives have touted a return of business travelers this year after many companies put trips on hold during the pandemic.

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HBO Max is eliminating 70 jobs, or 14% of its staff.
The cuts are part of a larger Warner Bros. Discovery effort to reduce costs after Discovery acquired WarnerMedia in April.
HBO Max and Discovery+ are combining to become one streaming service next year.

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery talks to the media as he arrives at the Sun Valley Resort for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 05, 2022 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

Warner Bros. Discovery is eliminating 70 jobs at HBO Max, primarily from the division’s reality, casting and acquisitions departments, according to people familiar with the matter.
The job cuts, which amount to 14% of staff at the streamer, are part of a larger effort at Warner Bros. Discovery to eliminate overlap as HBO Max and Discovery+ come together as one streaming service. Discovery closed on its $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia in April. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav has promised $3 billion in synergies from the merger.

Many of the employees who lost their jobs were members of teams that had been led by former HBO Max chief content officer Kevin Reilly that no longer fit within the new structure of Warner Bros. Discovery, two of the people said. Reilly left the company in 2020.
Zaslav is combining HBO Max and Discovery+ to form a new streaming service that will launch in the U.S. in mid-2023. Discovery will provide the reality programming for that product, making HBO Max’s reality division unnecessary, the people said. HBO also frequently works directly with casting directors, rather than using internal people, and has phased out many of its so-called pay-one deals, in which it acquires licensed films — work done by its acquisitions department.
Other departments affected include business affairs, programming and production, one of the people said.
No shows will be canceled as part of the job cuts, the people said. The job cuts aren’t targeted at HBO Max’s scripted series or films.
An HBO Max spokesperson declined to comment.
WATCH: Streaming is hard when you’re levered as much as Warner Bros. Discovery, says analyst

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The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped 6 points in August to 49. Anything below 50 is considered negative.
This marks the eighth straight decline in the index.
“Tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and persistently elevated construction costs have brought on a housing recession,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

A worker drills plywood on a single family home under construction in Lehi, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022.
George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Builder sentiment in the market for single-family homes fell into negative territory in August, as builders and buyers struggle with higher costs.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped 6 points to 49 this month, its eighth straight monthly decline. Anything above 50 is considered positive. The index has not been in negative territory since a very brief plunge at the start of the Covid pandemic. Before that, it hadn’t been negative since June 2014.

“Tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and persistently elevated construction costs have brought on a housing recession,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

Read more real estate coverage

Of the index’s three components, current sales conditions dropped 7 points to 57, sales expectations in the next six months fell 2 points to 47 and buyer traffic fell 5 points to 32.

Despite higher costs for land, labor and materials, about 1 in 5 builders in August reported lowering prices in the past month in an effort to increase sales or limit cancellations. The average drop reported was 5%.
The biggest hurdle for buyers right now is affordability. Home prices have been climbing since the start of the pandemic, and the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage, which had hit historic lows in the first part of the pandemic, is nearly twice what it was at the start of this year. Home price growth has cooled somewhat in recent weeks, while mortgage rates have come down from highs.
“The total volume of single-family starts will post a decline in 2022, the first such decrease since 2011. However, as signs grow that the rate of inflation is near peaking, long-term interest rates have stabilized, which will provide some stability for the demand-side of the market in the coming months,” Dietz said.
Regionally, on a three-month moving average, builder confidence in the Northeast fell 9 points to 56, and dropped 3 points in the Midwest to 49. In the South it fell 7 points to 63, and in the West, where home prices are highest, it declined 11 points to 51.

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Britain on Monday became the first country in the world to approve a dual Covid-19 vaccine, which tackles both the original virus and the newer Omicron variant.
Moderna’s “bivalent” vaccine was approved by the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and endorsed by the government’s independent scientific advisory body.
The updated vaccine is expected to be available to adults as a booster jab from the fall.

Britain has become the first country in the world to approve Moderna’s bivalent Covid-19 vaccine, which targets both the original strain of the virus and the newer Omicron variant.
Long Visual Press | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

LONDON — Britain on Monday became the first country in the world to approve a dual Covid-19 vaccine, which tackles both the original virus and the newer omicron variant.
The updated Moderna vaccine — known as a bivalent because it targets two variants — is expected to be available to adults as a booster jab from the fall after receiving the go-ahead by the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on Monday.

It also received endorsement from the British government’s independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines.
The MHRA said that while existing vaccines — which were designed to combat the original strain of Covid — continue to provide good protection, the augmented version would provide better defense as the virus evolves.
“The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives. What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armory to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of MHRA, said.

Greater protection against variants

The Commission on Human Medicines added that the approval marks a step forward for vaccine development, particularly for viruses with high levels of mutation.
“The virus, SARS-CoV-2, is continually evolving in order to evade the immunity provided by vaccines. This novel bivalent vaccine represents the next step in the development of vaccines to combat the virus, with its ability to lead to a broader immune response than the original vaccine.”

The approval follows clinical trials, in which a booster with Moderna’s bivalent vaccine was shown to trigger a strong immune response against both the original 2020 strain as well as omicron BA.1, which emerged in the U.K. last winter.

This bivalent vaccine has an important role to play in protecting people in the U.K. from Covid-19 as we enter the winter months.

Stephane Bancel
CEO, Moderna

It was also found to generate a good immune response against omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, currently the dominant strains in the country.
Following the release of its findings in June, Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said he was hopeful that the new iteration would become its “lead candidate for a Fall 2022 booster.”
“This bivalent vaccine has an important role to play in protecting people in the U.K. from Covid-19 as we enter the winter months,” Bancel added in a statement Monday.
The U.K. government has not yet announced exactly who will receive the vaccine, however all over-50s and people in high-risk groups in the U.K. will be offered some form of booster from next month.
The government lowered the age threshold for those eligible for an autumn booster in July, following the continue spread of the virus.
Vaccines are considered one of the most effective ways of reducing the spread and the severity of the virus. Research in the medical journal The Lancet estimated in June that Covid-19 vaccines prevented almost 20 million deaths in their first year of use.

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We’re buying 50 shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at roughly $165.39 each. Following Monday’s trade, Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust will own 425 shares of JNJ, increasing its weighting in the portfolio to 2.28% from 2.02%. Shares of the pharma, med tech, and consumer product company saw a two-session loss of 3% on Thursday and Friday of last week as investors weighed its potential exposure to Zantac litigation. While mindful of this risk, we continue to believe Johnson & Johnson’s exposure will be minimal, if anything. As we explained last week , J & J never sold the over-the-counter heartburn medicine in the United States and has not been named in any U.S. lawsuits. So, what we see here is a likely situation where J & J has lost more in market capitalization than what its shared liability would be in a worst-case scenario, making the recent pullback a buying opportunity in our view. We said last Thursday that we would be buyers of J & J if we were not restricted from trading the stock. As a reminder, we cannot buy or sell any stock Jim mentions on television for three days. With our trading restrictions cleared Monday, we are making that trade. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long JNJ. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.
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Starbucks is alleging that NLRB officials engaged in misconduct during an election in the Kansas City area.
The coffee giant is asking the labor board to suspend all mail-in ballot union elections nationwide.
Starbucks is also requesting that all future elections will be held in person.

A sign is seen as Activists participate in an event dubbed the Un-Birthday Party and picket line for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on July 19, 2022 in New York City. Activists gathered near Schultz’s West Village home on his 75th birthday to protest the treatment of Starbucks workers attempting to unionize, as well as Schultz’s recent announcement to permanently close 16 locations.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Starbucks is asking the federal labor board to suspend all mail-in ballot union elections nationwide, alleging misconduct in the voting process by the board’s personnel and the union organizing its baristas.
The Seattle-based coffee giant wrote in a letter to the National Labor Relations Board chairman and general counsel on Monday that the labor board’s officials acted inappropriately during an election in the Kansas City area and has likely acted similarly in other elections. Starbucks cited a career NLRB professional who approached the company as a whistleblower.

More than 220 Starbucks cafes in the U.S. have voted to unionize, according to an NLRB tally as of Friday. An additional 34 elections have been ordered or are in progress, and seven more stores are waiting to schedule elections.
Starbucks Workers United and the NLRB did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CNBC.
In addition for asking for a pause on all scheduled mail-in elections, Starbucks is requesting that all future elections will be held in person while the allegations can be investigated.
According to Starbucks, NLRB officials allegedly coordinated with union agents to arrange for in-person voting at the labor board’s offices during mail-in ballot elections. The company also alleges that Workers United agents were given confidential, real-time information about specific vote counts so the union could target employees who hadn’t voted yet. NLRB officials and Workers United then allegedly coordinated to cover up this activity, the company said.
Starbucks’ letter details email correspondence that allegedly occurred between union representatives and labor board officials. The company said it was informed of the emails’ contents by the whistleblower.

Starbucks said that similar behavior has occurred in elections in Seattle and Buffalo, New York, as well.
“Until a thorough investigation is conducted it’s anyone’s guess how many elections in how many other regions have been similarly infected,” the company said in the letter.
Under interim CEO Howard Schultz, Starbucks has more aggressively opposed unionization efforts at its locations. So far, the number of unionized cafes is a small portion of Starbucks’ nearly 9,000 company-owned cafes, but the coffee chain has been working to curb the union’s momentum.
For example, the company announced a new round of pay hikes in May for tenured workers but said the changes wouldn’t apply to unionized locations, saying they’d have to go through the bargaining process. Earlier this month, Workers United formally asked the company to extend the pay hikes to those locations.
Starbucks is also facing 284 charges of unfair labor practices from the union, according to the NLRB. Allegations of the company’s misconduct include claims that it illegally fired organizers, shuttered stores or harassed its employees to stop baristas from unionizing. Starbucks has denied all claims of union busting.
The company filed two of its own charges against union organizers in Phoenix and Denver with the labor board. The NLRB dismissed the Phoenix claim, saying there wasn’t enough evidence that pro-union workers harassed fellow employees and customers during a rally.

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State of Freight

U.S. freight rates increased 28% year over year, but declined nearly 2% month over month in July, according to new data from Cass Information Systems.
Similar to other recent inflation indicators which have shown easing, the data is a sign that freight rates have likely peaked.
Supply is up while demand is stable, but truck prices that have doubled since 2019 and a shortage of truck drivers will keep pressuring freight capacity.

Trucks at the entrance to the Port of Oakland in Oakland, California, US, on Thursday, July 14, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. freight rates increased 28% year over year, but declined almost 2% month over month in July, a likely signal that the U.S. market has reached peak freight rates, according to the July Cass Freight report, just as peak shipping season encompassing both back-to-school and the holidays begins.
“We’re coming into this peak season with much more free capacity. I think that’s going to be a good thing from a cost perspective for those big retailers who have been struggling with a lot of cost inflation,” Cass Freight report researcher and author Tim Denoyer told CNBC.

CNBC received a first look at the data compiled by Cass Information Systems that reviews rates and shipments in the North American market.

Shipments, freight moved by companies, increased by 0.4% year over year, according to the report, but declined nearly 2% month over month.
“The market balance has really shifted. It’s steady on the demand perspective, but supply has grown,” Denoyer said.

Even with shipment trend flattening, demand remains elevated over pre-pandemic levels, and U.S. logistics companies, especially trucking companies, should continue to see strong pricing power, according to Denoyer. The Covid crisis led many independent truckers to leave the industry, and in 2021, the American Trucking Association released a report finding the nation’s trucker shortage reached a record 80,000.
That report also found 1,000,000 new truckers would be needed over the next decade to maintain current levels. 

The sales price of a used Class 8 Truck (the tractor of a tractor-trailer) has doubled since 2019, according to ACT Research data. Denoyer says that has been a factor in keeping new companies and drivers from entering trucking, and will continue to influence the freight supply and demand balance.  
“U.S. truck prices have become a significant barrier to entry. I think that’s going to continue and that has been a big factor for capacity,” he said.  More