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    UK visitors from dozens of countries will have to pay a new entry fee starting this week

    Travelers visiting or traveling to the U.K. from the U.S. and dozens of other countries will have to pay for an electronic travel authorization before flying.
    The application costs £10 (about $12.50) to apply.
    Babies and children also need to have the authorization to enter.

    Pedestrians shelter from the rain under umbrellas as they pass the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock’s bell, Big Ben, at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in London on Feb. 22, 2024.
    Henry Nicholls | AFP | Getty Images

    If you’re traveling to the U.K. as early as this week, you might need to apply online for a travel authorization before you go.
    Starting Wednesday, the U.K. will require U.S. citizens, Canadian citizens and nationals from more than three dozen other countries to have a so-called electronic travel authorization, or ETA.

    Here’s what travelers need to know:

    What is an electronic travel authorization?

    The ETA is a pre-authorization for travelers from countries where the U.K. doesn’t require visas.
    The U.K. launched the program in 2024 for visiting citizens from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. On Wednesday, it takes effect for a host of additional countries.
    Travelers will still need to clear immigration upon arrival. The U.S. has similar digital authorization requirements for nationals from European Union countries, the U.K., and other countries whose citizens aren’t required to have a visa to enter. Later in 2025, EU countries will require them of U.S. citizens and nationals from other countries with similar criteria.
    You do not need an ETA if you have a visa and are authorized to live, work or study in the U.K.

    How do I get one?

    You can apply online using the U.K.’s ETA app for Android and iPhone. It costs £10 (about $12.50) to apply, and it’s good for two years and for visits of up to six months. The fee is paid by credit card.
    Travelers will have to upload photos of their passport and of themselves to apply.

    Read more CNBC airline news

    How long does it take?

    Applicants could wait about three days for a decision, sent via email.

    What about children?

    Each person eligible for the ETA will need one, including babies and children.

    What if I’m connecting in the U.K.?

    You’ll need an ETA even if you’re traveling to a U.K. airport for a connecting flight to another country. More

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    Ulta Beauty names new CEO, raises outlook for holiday quarter

    Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell is retiring and will be replaced by Kecia Steelman, the company’s chief operating officer.
    Ulta also raised its fourth-quarter guidance, saying it expects modest growth of comparable sales.
    In a news release, the beauty retailer said the leadership changes are effective as of Monday.

    People walk past an Ulta Beauty store in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 8, 2022.
    Carlo Allegri | Reuters

    Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell is retiring and will be replaced by the retailer’s Chief Operating Officer Kecia Steelman, the company announced Monday.
    Ulta said in a news release that the leadership changes take effect on Monday. Steelman will also replace Kimbell on the company’s board of directors.

    Along with announcing the executive shakeup, Ulta raised its fiscal fourth-quarter outlook because of “stronger-than-expected performance during the holiday season.” The company said it now anticipates comparable sales will increase modestly and operating margin will be above the high end of the company’s previous expected range of 11.6% to 12.4% of sales. In early December, Ulta said it expected comparable sales would range between a decline of 1% and flat.
    Shares of the company rose more than 2% in extended trading.
    Ulta Beauty has faced a more challenging landscape, as a wide range of retailers, including Macy’s and Kohl’s, chase a bigger piece of beauty sales and as customers watch their discretionary spending. At an investor conference in the spring, Kimbell warned of a slowdown in the category.
    In recent quarters, Ulta has fought to maintain its spot as a top beauty retailer by carrying new brands, throwing more in-store events and adding more digital tools.

    Kecia Steelman named President and CEO of Ulta Beauty.
    Courtesy: Business Wire

    Steelman will now lead those efforts. The company’s incoming CEO has been with Ulta for more than a decade and became its chief operating officer in 2023.

    In the release, Kimbell described Steelman as “a strategic leader with a proven record of driving operational excellence and creating exceptional guest experiences while fostering a caring and inclusive culture.”
    Kimbell, who has been with the company since 2014, became its CEO in 2021. In a news release, Ulta said he will serve as an advisor to the company through June 28.
    Shares of Ulta closed on Monday at $431.30, about 25% less than its 52-week high.
    Ulta Beauty is expected to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results on March 13.
    Across the business world, there has been a jump in CEO changes. Last year, U.S. public companies had more chief executive changes than any other year since at least 2010, when outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas first started tracking the turnover. Companies with leadership changes included Starbucks, Kohl’s, Nike and Boeing. More

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    Fubo stock skyrockets 250% after streamer strikes a deal to combine with Disney’s Hulu+ Live TV

    Disney will combine its Hulu+ Live TV service with Fubo, merging together two internet TV bundles.
    Both Hulu+ Live TV and Fubo are streaming services that mimic the traditional cable TV bundle, offering linear TV networks.
    The deal doesn’t include the streamer Hulu, known for creating original content like “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
    Fubo stock surged in early trading.

    Disney will combine its Hulu+ Live TV service with Fubo, merging together two internet TV bundles, the companies announced Monday.
    Disney will become majority owner of the resulting company — the publicly traded Fubo company — with a 70% ownership stake. Fubo shareholders will own the remaining 30% of the company. The deal is expected to close in 12 to 18 months.

    Both Hulu+ Live TV and Fubo are streaming services that mimic the traditional cable TV bundle, offering linear TV networks. Together the streaming services have 6.2 million subscribers.
    Both services will still be available separately to consumers after the deal closes. Hulu+ Live TV can be streamed through the Hulu app, as well as part of Disney’s bundle that also includes Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.
    The deal doesn’t include the streamer Hulu, known for creating original content like “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which competes with platforms like Netflix.
    “We are now stewards of an iconic brand with respect to Hulu,” said Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler during a Monday call with investors. He added that Hulu+ Live TV’s place embedded inside the Hulu ecosystem adds value by way of user retention.
    “Having two separate platforms today, obviously, it’s not ideal,” Gandler said during the call. “We believe there are synergies on the backend. … But at the moment we really want to provide consumers with choice.”

    Gandler noted that while Fubo has long been focused on offering sports and news, Hulu+ Live TV is known for its entertainment offerings, too.
    Fubo is expected to become immediately cash flow positive following the deal close, “instantly making Fubo the major player in the streaming space,” Gandler said on Monday’s call.
    Fubo stock, which closed Friday at just $1.44 per share, surged 250% Monday.

    Stock chart icon

    Fubo stock surges after Disney deal.

    Notably under the deal, Fubo and Disney have settled litigation regarding Venu, the proposed sports streaming service from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
    Fubo had brought a lawsuit against Disney, Fox and WBD alleging the service would be anticompetitive, and last year a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu.
    When the Disney-Fubo deal is signed, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will together make a $220 million cash payment to Fubo. Disney will additionally commit a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. If the deal were to fall through, Fubo would receive a $130 million termination fee.
    The combined company will be led by Fubo’s management team including Gandler, while its new board of directors will be majority appointed by Disney.
    Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday a deal to merge the live TV streaming services was imminent.

    Sports focus

    Fubo had 1.6 million subscribers in North America before the combination with Hulu+ Live TV and competes with other similar bundle platforms like Google’s YouTube TV.
    However, Fubo has long focused its bundle on providing sports and news content. It is one of the last to offer a variety of regional sports networks, the channels that host the majority of professional local teams’ games and often beckon high fees from distributors.
    As a result, Fubo has dropped entertainment-focused channels from its bundles including AMC Networks’ channels, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV networks.
    Fubo executives said Monday the breadth of the newly combined company will give it more leverage in carriage discussions with other networks.
    As part of the merger, the companies also announced Monday that Fubo and Disney entered into a new carriage agreement which allows for Fubo to create a fresh sports and broadcasting service that features Disney’s networks. During the investor call, Fubo said it also reached a new agreement with Fox.
    Fubo’s focus on sports was a primary driver behind its lawsuit against Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox’s joint venture sports streaming service, Venu.
    Venu, which had been slated to launch in time for the beginning of the NFL season in September, was to be a complete offering of sports networks and content from the three media companies that had come together to create it. The app would have cost $42.99 a month, showcasing the high cost of sports in the TV bundle and helping to avoid any disturbance of carriage agreements.
    The judge on the case noted that together Disney, Fox and WBD control about 54% of all U.S. sports media rights, and at least 60% of all nationally broadcast U.S. sports rights.
    Fubo had alleged in its lawsuit that Venu was anticompetitive and would upend its business. When the judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu in August, it was a big win for Fubo. The trio of media companies appealed the court ruling.
    With the settlement, Venu can move forward with its launch, although no plans were announced Monday.
    Disney, meanwhile, has multiple irons in the fire when it comes to ESPN streaming options. In addition to its current app, ESPN+, and Venu, ESPN plans to launch a flagship direct-to-consumer streaming app later this year.
    — CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this article.
    Disclosure: Comcast, which owns CNBC parent NBCUniversal, is a co-owner of Hulu. More

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    Sierra Space CEO leaves, as $5 billion company pushes to launch space plane

    Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice left the company at the end of 2024 after 3½ years in the role.
    Chairman Fatih Ozmen will serve as interim CEO, with Eren Ozmen as president.
    The company’s Dream Chaser space plane was supposed to debut as early as 2021, but delays mean the vehicle has yet to launch.

    Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space, talks to employees in front of the company’s Dream Chaser space plane on Oct. 30, 2023 in Louisville, Colorado.
    Helen H. Richardson | Denver Post | Getty Images

    Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice has left the company, CNBC confirmed Monday.
    In a statement, Sierra Space said Vice retired Dec. 31. Chairman Fatih Ozmen will serve as interim CEO, with Eren Ozmen as president.

    “After three and half years in the role, Tom Vice has retired as Sierra Space CEO as of the end of 2024 — we thank him for his leadership and wish him well in his retirement,” a Sierra Space spokesperson said in a statement.
    Spun out of aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, in 2021, Sierra is one of the most valuable private U.S. companies in the burgeoning space sector, most recently valued at more than $5 billion. But Sierra Space has struggled to launch the first mission of its reusable cargo space plane called Dream Chaser, which is key to the company establishing itself as a major player in the industry.

    Read more CNBC space news

    Vice was named CEO of Sierra Space in 2021, a few months after SNC owners Fatih and Eren Ozmen spun out the company — with investors including General Atlantic, Coatue, BlackRock and AE Industrial Partners. Vice was previously the CEO of Aerion Supersonic, a startup that planned to build high-speed business jets and that shut down in April 2021.
    The first Dream Chaser vehicle was supposed to debut by 2021. But even in 2024, the space plane, named Tenacity, was not ready when United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, its ride to space, needed to launch.
    Dream Chaser has won NASA contracts to fly seven cargo missions to and from the International Space Station. Sierra Space said Tenacity is targeting a launch no earlier than May.

    The company has continued to develop its inflatable space station technology, as well as expand into a product line of satellite buses after winning a high-profile $740 million Pentagon contract last year.
    Sierra Space saw layoffs during Vice’s tenure, as well as turnover in a number of senior executive roles. But in 2024, Vice spoke repeatedly of Sierra Space’s plan to go public, outlining a tentative path to IPO as soon as late 2025. More

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    Eli Manning says ‘only one team’ he’d take an ownership stake in: The New York Giants

    Eli Manning told CNBC Sport he has interest in becoming a minority owner of the New York Giants if the Mara family would consider selling a small stake.
    Manning is already part of a minority ownership group in the NWSL team NJ/NY Gotham FC.
    Manning said he agreed with the Giants’ decision to retain head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen for next season.

    Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning would consider becoming a minority owner of his old team if the Mara family is willing to sell him a stake.
    “It’s definitely something of interest,” said Manning, who spoke in a CNBC Sport interview. “There’s probably only one team I’d be interested in pursuing, and it’s the one I played for for 16 years, and it’s local, and makes the most sense, but we just got to figure out if they would ever sell a little bit.”

    The Mara family has owned the Giants since the team’s founding in 1925. The Giants declined to comment on Manning’s interest.
    Many NFL teams have begun considering the sale of small, minority stakes after the league voted to allow private equity investment for up to 10% of each franchise in August. The process has led to several transactions thus far, both to individuals and to investment firms.
    Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and his business partner Tom Wagner acquired a 10% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders in October. The Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles have also sold minority stakes to wealthy individuals in recent months.

    Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants warms up prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 29, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
    Sarah Stier | Getty Images

    Manning is already a minority owner of the National Women’s Soccer League’s NJ/NY Gotham FC. He’s also a partner at the private equity firm Brand Velocity Group.
    The NFL has so far only approved select private equity firms to buy a minority stake. Brand Velocity isn’t one of them.

    Supporting Daboll and Schoen

    Manning also told CNBC Sport he agreed with the Giants’ decision to keep head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen for another season, announced Monday by the team.
    The Giants ended the year 3-14 and will have the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The team released its starting quarterback Daniel Jones earlier this season.
    “You’ve got to create some sort of continuity and keep things the same, build that culture, and that just takes time. You can’t necessarily do it in two years or three years,” Manning said. “They have some playmakers, they have some superstars on the team, and it’s just about getting everybody to buy in and to work together, and finding ways to win some of these tight games. And I think it’s the right move by keeping these guys there. Let them bring in their guys, let them create their style and create their culture.”
    Manning is juggling multiple business ventures as he tries to find a new path after playing football, he said. He will serve as a Verizon FanFest ambassador next month when the telecommunications company transforms stadiums across NFL markets into a one-day party featuring live music, food and celebrity meet-and-greets with former NFL players including Jason Witten, Tiki Barber and Patrick Willis.
    “I think my quest post-football is trying to find that passion and find something similar that I can work towards or am truly committed to,” said Manning. “I kind of feel like I get to start over a little bit, and I’m enjoying that learning process of figuring out what else I’m passionate about.” More

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    Alcohol-free drinks are becoming big business

    Dry January is under way. After the excesses of the festive period, nearly one-third of Americans are expected to give up, or at least cut down on, alcohol this month. Many will save money. Some will lose weight. And a growing number will still continue to drink their favourite tipple—or at least something close to it. More

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    Alcohol-free booze is becoming big business

    Dry January is under way. After the excesses of the festive period, nearly one-third of Americans are expected to give up, or at least cut down on, alcohol this month. Many will save money. Some will lose weight. And a growing number will still continue to drink their favourite tipple—or at least something close to it. More

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    Lucid reports record quarterly vehicle deliveries, meets production target

    Lucid Group reported record quarterly vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter.
    The electric vehicle manufacturer also announced production of 9,029 units and deliveries of 10,241 cars in 2024.
    Last year’s results represented a 71% increase in deliveries and 7% uptick in production compared with 2023.

    Brand new Lucid electric cars sit parked in front of a Lucid Studio showroom in San Francisco on May 24, 2024.
    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

    Lucid Group on Monday reported record quarterly vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter and confirmed production of more than 9,000 vehicles in 2024 — meeting a previously announced target.
    The electric vehicle manufacturer reported production of 9,029 units and deliveries of 10,241 cars in 2024. That included production of 3,386 units and delivery of 3,099 vehicles during the fourth quarter, the company said.

    Last year’s results represented a 71% increase in deliveries and 7% uptick in production for Lucid compared with 2023.
    However, such increases have not transcended to better investments for investors. Lucid’s stock declined by roughly 28% last year, as EV adoption has been slower than expected and the company has burned through billions of dollars in cash as it discounted some models and launches a new SUV.
    The company’s stock rose nearly 2% in trading Monday morning.
    Lucid’s first product was the Air sedan, which it began delivering in late 2021. Since then, the market has grown more competitive, and the company has not scaled as quickly as it previously anticipated.
    Lucid ended the third quarter with $5.16 billion in total liquidity. That excluded a $1.75 billion stock offering and capital raise that surprised many investors in October.
    Lucid, which is largely backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter financial results in February.

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