Business

Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Nokia Corp: “I am hearing nothing but positives of late, for the last four weeks, about Nokia. … I think it’s right to buy.”

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Iron Mountain Inc: “I’ve been behind it because I like that dividend. … I think you’re okay in it.”

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Tattooed Chef Inc: “That’s a very hard call. Doesn’t make money, and I’m not currently recommending stocks that don’t make money.”

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Intrepid Potash Inc: “I am very worried about that industry because I’ve seen the prices of corn and wheat have been going down. And soy.”

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CRISPR Therapeutics Inc: “I’m not going to bet against anyone who wants to be part of CRISPR technology, because it could be great.”

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The CDC’s independent experts endorsed Moderna’s vaccine for kids ages 6 to 17 after examining the shots’ safety and effectiveness during a public meeting.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the recommendation later Thursday, the final step before pharmacies and doctor’s offices can start administering the shots.
There is an elevated risk of heart inflammation after Covid vaccination for boys ages 12 to 17. However, Covid infection carries a higher risk of heart inflammation, according to the CDC.

A young man receives his Covid-19 vaccination at a vaccination clinic. People receive the Moderna vaccine in Milford, Pennsylvania.
Preston Ehrler | LightRocket | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to clear Moderna’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine for kindergartners through high schoolers for public distribution this week after the agency’s panel of independent vaccine experts unanimously voted Thursday to recommend the shots.
The committee endorsed Moderna’s vaccine for kids ages 6 to 17 after examining its safety and effectiveness during a public meeting. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the recommendation later Thursday, the final step before pharmacies and doctor’s offices can start administering the shots.

The CDC endorsed Moderna’s vaccines for infants through preschoolers, ages 6 months to 5 years old, on Saturday. Vaccinations started this week for that age group.
Moderna’s shots for older kids won’t have an immediate impact on the U.S. vaccination campaign, other than providing parents with another option to choose from. Previously, only Pfizer’s vaccine was authorized for kindergartners through high schoolers, though uptake has been lackluster. Two-thirds of kids ages 5 to 11 and 30% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 haven’t been vaccinated against Covid yet.
More than 600 kids in those age groups have died from Covid during the pandemic and more than 45,000 have been hospitalized, according to the CDC.  Nearly 11 million kids ages 5 to 17 have caught Covid during the pandemic.
Kids ages 6 to 11 receive smaller 50 microgram Moderna shots, while adolescents ages 12 to 17 would receive the same dosage as adults at 100 micrograms.
Moderna originally asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to 17 more than a year ago, but the regulator held off after other countries raised concern the company’s shots might be associated with a higher risk of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, than Pfizer’s vaccine.

There are no head-to-head comparisons in the U.S. of heart inflammation in kids who get Pfizer’s or Moderna’s shots because Moderna’s vaccine was authorized only for adults until this month. However, comparisons between Pfizer and Moderna shots in young adults appears to show that the rate of myocarditis is slightly higher in Moderna recipients, though data is not consistent across the various U.S. surveillance systems.
“Some evidence suggests that myocarditis and pericarditis risks may be higher after Moderna than after Pfizer. However, the findings are not consistent in all US monitoring systems,” Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, an official at the CDC vaccine safety unit, told the committee.
The available U.S. data on myocarditis among kids ages 6 to 17 is based on side effects reported from Pfizer’s vaccine because Moderna’s shots hadn’t been authorized for this age group yet. Pfizer and Moderna’s shots use similar messenger RNA technology.
The CDC has identified 635 cases of myocarditis among children ages 5 to 17 after vaccination out of 54 million Pfizer doses administered. The risk of myocarditis after Pfizer vaccination is highest after the second shot among boys ages 12 to 17. Myocarditis is slightly elevated among boys ages 5 to 11 after the second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine, though it is much lower than adolescents.
Boys ages 16 to 17 reported 75 myocarditis cases per 1 million second Pfizer doses administered while boys ages 12 to 15 reported about 46 myocarditis cases, according to CDC data. Boys ages 5 to 11 reported 2.6 myocarditis cases per million second Pfizer doses administered.
People who have developed myocarditis after vaccination are generally hospitalized for a few days as a precaution before being sent home. Most patients made a full recovery 90 days after their diagnosis, according to a CDC survey of health-care providers.
The CDC has found that the risk of myocarditis is higher from Covid infection than vaccination. Myocarditis in children is typically caused by viral infections.
Dr. Sara Oliver, a CDC official, said the risk of myocarditis after Moderna vaccination in children and adolescents is unknown, though data from adults suggests the risk could be higher than Pfizer’s shots. However, Oliver said extending the interval between the first and second dose to eight weeks may lower the risk of myocarditis based on data shared by health officials in Canada.
The most common side effects among kids ages 6 to 17 during Moderna’s clinical trials were pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain and nausea. There were no confirmed cases of myocarditis during the trials.
It’s unclear how effective the shots will be against the omicron variant. The clinical trials were conducted during periods when other Covid strains were dominant. The shots for adolescents ages 12 to 17 were about 90% effective at preventing illness from the original Covid strain and the alpha variant, while the shots for kids ages 6 to 11 were more than 76% effective at preventing illness from the delta variant, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s review of clinical trial data.
However, the Covid vaccines have trouble fighting the omicron variant, which is now dominant, because it has so many mutations. Third shots have significantly increased protection in other age groups. Moderna is studying booster shots for kids that target omicron with data expected later this summer.
“We would expect to be addressing this gap in booster dose recommendations over the summer and into early fall,” said Dr. Doran Fink, a senior official at the FDA’s vaccine division.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:

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Netflix is laying off around 300 employees across the company, CNBC confirmed Thursday.
The cuts come about a month after the streaming company eliminated about 150 positions in the wake of its first subscriber loss in a decade.
Netflix had warned investors in April that it would be pulling back on some of its spending growth over the next two years.

Netflix’s revelation that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter put further pressure on an already beleaguered tech sector, but top tech analyst Mark Mahaney believes the current weakness in the sector presents several opportunities for investors.
Aaronp/bauer-griffin | Gc Images | Getty Images

Netflix is laying off around 300 more employees across the company.
The cuts, which represent about 3% of total employees, come about a month after the streaming company eliminated about 150 positions in the wake of its first subscriber loss in a decade.

“Today we sadly let go of around 300 employees,” Netflix said in a statement Thursday. “While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth. We are so grateful for everything they have done for Netflix and are working hard to support them through this difficult transition.”
Netflix had warned investors in April that it would be pulling back on some of its spending growth over the next two years.

Spencer Neumann, the company’s chief financial officer, said during the company’s earnings call in April that Netflix is trying to be “prudent” about pulling back to reflect the realities of its business. However, it still plans to invest heavily, including around $17 billion on content.
Co-CEO Reed Hastings also said during the call that the company is exploring lower-priced, ad-supported tiers in a bid to bring in new subscribers after years of resisting advertisements on the platform.
Netflix is working to crack down on rampant password sharing as well. In addition to its 222 million paying households, more than 100 million households use its service through account sharing, the company said.
Netflix shares were roughly even in afternoon trading Thursday, but are off more around 70% year to date.

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said President Joe Biden needs to team up with business leaders in order to bring inflation down and help the economy recover.
“There’s another reason we have all of these supply shortages: Our government doesn’t have a productive relationship with big business,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said President Joe Biden needs to team up with business leaders in order to bring inflation down and help the economy recover.
“I’m always pointing out that the major problems come down to supply chain disruptions, a labor shortage, the war in Ukraine and the lockdowns in China. But I think the blame for inflation might go further than that,” the “Mad Money” host said.

“There’s another reason we have all of these supply shortages: Our government doesn’t have a productive relationship with big business. Like it or not, big business has the ability to rein in inflation, but they don’t have any incentive to do so,” he added.
Cramer said he specifically has issues with Biden’s relationship with the oil industry and how he believes it doesn’t bode well for skyrocketing gas prices, pointing to the time the president said “Exxon made more money than God this year” in a jab toward the nation’s top oil producer.
“I get why Biden doesn’t want to buddy up to the oil industry as fossil fuels are very unpopular in the Democratic Party, and for good reason. … But if he wants to get reelected, he’s going to have to suck it up,” Cramer said.
He also said the president should play nice with the semiconductor industry to get more American production going, and that the tech firms and their clients are “failing us too” for not harnessing its services to solve economic issues like the worker shortage.
“Maybe it is as simple as businesses connecting with tech. McDonald’s calling Nvidia. Biden saying: ‘Okay I’ll sit down with the oil guys, I guess I have to.’ Someone in Congress who’s powerful saying we just can’t lose on this CHIPS Act,” Cramer said, referring to the bill aiming to incentivize investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Nvidia.

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“Top Gun: Maverick” soared past the $900 million mark globally Monday and has set its sights on crossing the coveted $1 billion box office threshold.
Since its debut in late May, “Maverick” has kept its pace at the domestic box office, generating strong ticket sales through its fourth week in theaters.
“‘Maverick’ has tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in a way only a rare breed of movies ever achieve,” one box office analyst said.

Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick”
Source: Paramount

“Top Gun: Maverick” continues to break barriers at the box office.
The Paramount and Skydance sequel to the 1986 hit “Top Gun” soared past $900 million in ticket sales globally Monday and has set its sights on crossing the coveted $1 billion box office threshold.

Without much standing in its way, box office analysts expect “Maverick” to achieve that milestone within a week. The blockbuster feature won’t have much competition until July 8, when Disney’s Marvel Studios releases “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
So far, sales for “Maverick” have been split between about $475 million in the U.S. and Canada and about $430 million from international markets.
“Reflecting the film’s universal appeal, a near 50/50 split of domestic versus international revenues is a rare feat for most modern blockbusters,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Since its debut in late May, “Maverick” has kept its torrid pace at the domestic box office, generating strong ticket sales through its fourth week in theaters. The film opened with $126.7 million in sales, the highest opening weekend box office haul for any Tom Cruise film and the actor’s first film to garner more than $100 million during its debut.
In its second weekend, ticket sales declined 29% to $90 million, demonstrating more staying power than most blockbuster features, according to data from Comscore. Typically, big budget films see sales fall between 50% and 70% from launch week to the second week.

That strong performance continued: It brought in $52 million in its third weekend, a 42% drop from the second weekend, and $44 million during its fourth weekend, a 14% drop from the third.
“‘Maverick’ has tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in a way only a rare breed of movies ever achieve,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
Robbins noted that “Maverick” was well reviewed and is packed with action, and that it also generated considerable word of mouth, which brought back the original film’s audience as well as younger moviegoers.
“It’s the epitome of a great summer movie,” he said.
The film has consistently drawn in audiences over the age of 35, a demographic that has been reluctant to return to movie theaters since the height of the pandemic. Younger moviegoers usually drive the bulk of blockbuster ticket sales, but having films that entice older customers to return will be a key part of the industry’s post-pandemic recovery.
“Kudos should be given to Paramount Pictures, who have been a perfect partner for Tom Cruise over the years, and waited for the perfect moment to open the film exclusively in theaters and not consider a streaming release as an option due to the challenges of the pandemic,” said Dergarabedian of Comscore. “‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a textbook example of how you build the perfect billion-dollar box office beast.” 

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Fanatics is in discussions to acquire sports betting company Tipico, sources said.
Michael Rubin, Fanatics’ executive chairman, announced Wednesday he’s selling his minority stake in the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.
A deal between Fanatics and Tipico hasn’t yet been reached, and the two sides are currently at an impasse on price, though talks are ongoing.

Michael Rubin arrives at the 2019 Fanatics Super Bowl Party on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in Atlanta.
Paul R. Giunta | Invision | AP

Fanatics, the sports merchandising company, is in talks to acquire sports betting company Tipico, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A deal hasn’t yet been reached, and the two sides are currently at an impasse on price, though talks are ongoing, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

Tipico has a small U.S. sports gambling business, with licenses in New Jersey and Colorado, but is the leading sports betting provider in Germany, according to its website.
Michael Rubin, Fanatics’ billionaire executive chairman, announced Wednesday he’s selling his 10% share in Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, which owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, clearing the way for Fanatics to enter the gambling arena. National Basketball Association rules prohibit team owners from operating a gambling platform.
Fanatics has completed several acquisitions in recent years as a closely held company. In 2020, it acquired sports merchandise manufacturer WinCraft, and earlier this year it bought trading card company Topps for $500 million. Fanatics has a private valuation of $27 billion.
“As our Fanatics business has grown, so too have the obstacles I have to navigate to ensure our new businesses don’t conflict with my responsibilities as part-owner of the Sixers,” Rubin said in a statement posted on Twitter Wednesday announcing the sale of his 76ers stake. “With the launch of our trading cards and collectibles business earlier this year — which will have individual contracts with thousands of athletes globally — and a soon-to-launch sports betting operation, these new businesses will directly conflict with the ownership rules of sports leagues. Given these realities, I will sadly be selling my stake in the Sixers and shifting from part-owner back to life-long fan.”
Rubin hasn’t been shy about his desire to enter the sports gambling industry.

“We can be the No. 1 player in the world in that business in 10 years,” Rubin told Sports Business Journal earlier this year. “That does seem ambitious for someone who’s not in the business today, but our strategic advantages are that we are one of the best-known digital sports brands and we touch so many fans.”
Fanatics is a CNBC Disruptor 50 company, ranking No. 21 on this year’s list.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
WATCH: Watch CNBC’s full interview with Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin

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McDonald’s is making changes to how it awards franchises in the hopes of attracting more diverse candidates.
Starting in 2023, the fast-food giant will evaluate every potential new operator using the same approach, no longer giving preferential treatment to the children and spouses of current franchisees.
Black franchisees, both current and former, have sued the chain in recent years, alleging racial discrimination.

The logo for McDonald’s is seen on a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, January 27, 2022.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters

McDonald’s is making changes to how it awards franchises in the hopes of attracting more diverse candidates, the latest shakeup in how the burger chain’s management oversees its franchisees.
Starting in 2023, the fast-food giant will evaluate every potential new operator equally. In the past, the spouses and children of current franchisees have been given preferential treatment.

“We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how we continue to attract and retain the industry’s best owner/operators – individuals who represent the diverse communities we serve, bring a growth mindset and focus on executional excellence, while cultivating a positive work environment for restaurant teams,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said in a message to franchisees that was viewed by CNBC.
McDonald’s will also separate the process through which it renews franchisees’ 20-year agreements from the assessment of whether the franchisee can operate additional restaurants. Additionally, Erlinger told U.S. franchisees that the company will incorporate its values more clearly into its standards for franchisees.
McDonald’s declined to comment on the changes to CNBC.
The company recently came under pressure for a plan to roll out a new grading system early next year that rankled some franchisees, who have concerns about potentially alienating workers.
McDonald’s has about 13,000 franchised locations in the United States. More than 1,750 locations were sold last year, in part because some operators chose to exit the franchise, according to Restaurant Business Online.

In December, McDonald’s pledged to recruit more franchisees from diverse backgrounds, committing $250 million over the next five years to help those candidates finance a franchise. It’s part of the company’s broader attempts to embrace diversity at all ranks of the company.
Black franchisees, both current and former, have sued the chain in recent years, alleging racial discrimination. One of the suits was dismissed, while another resulted in a $33.5 million settlement from McDonald’s.
The majority of the company’s shareholders voted in favor of an independent civil rights audit in late May. The proposal was nonbinding, but the company said it has hired a third party to conduct a diversity assessment.

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The Food and Drug Administration rejected Juul’s application to sell its e-cigarettes in the U.S.
Juul must stop selling and distributing its products in the country immediately.
The FDA said it didn’t see clinical information that suggests there is an immediate risk to using Juul products.

Juul Labs signage is seen in the window of a store in San Francisco, June 25, 2019.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is banning the sale of Juul e-cigarettes in the U.S.
Juul intends to seek a stay on the decision and is exploring options, which include appealing the decision or engaging with the FDA, Chief Regulatory Officer Joe Murillo said in a statement.

The ban is part of the FDA’s broader review of the vaping industry following years of pressure from politicians and public health groups to regulate the segment as strictly as other tobacco products after vaping became more common among high schoolers.
Juul had sought approval from the agency for its vaping device and tobacco- and menthol-flavored pods, which are available at 5% and 3% nicotine strengths. The flavors were not subject to a 2020 agency ban on mint- and fruit-flavored vaping products that were popular with teens.
A ban on the sale of those remaining products by Juul would deal a hefty blow to the company. Juul’s international expansion efforts have been hamstrung by regulations and a lack of consumer interest. The U.S. remains its largest market.
The FDA said Juul’s applications gave insufficient or conflicting data about the potential risks of using the company’s products, including whether potentially harmful chemicals could leak out of the Juul pods.
“Without the data needed to determine relevant health risks, the FDA is issuing these marketing denial orders,” Michele Mital, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement.

The FDA said it didn’t see clinical information that suggests there is an immediate risk to using Juul products. Still, as a result of Thursday’s decision, Juul must stop selling and distributing its products in the U.S. effective immediately. The FDA cannot enforce individual consumer possession or use of the company’s e-cigarettes.
“We respectfully disagree with the FDA’s findings and decision and continue to believe we have provided sufficient information and data based on high-quality research to address all issues raised by the agency,” Juul’s Murillo said in his statement.
In FDA decisions over the last year, rival e-cigarette makers British American Tobacco and NJOY won approvals for their e-cigarettes, although the FDA rejected some of the flavored products submitted by the companies. The agency said it approved both companies’ tobacco-flavored products because they proved they could benefit adult smokers and outweighed the risk to underage users.
The FDA has been making strides to cut down nicotine use in traditional tobacco products, too. On Tuesday, the agency said it plans to require tobacco companies to slash the nicotine content in cigarettes to minimally addictive or nonaddictive levels.
In 2019, federal data found that more than one in four high school students had used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, up from 11.7% just two years prior. An outbreak of vaping-related lung disease in 2020 heightened concerns about e-cigarettes.
Last year, usage among high school students fell to 11.3% amid greater regulatory scrutiny and the coronavirus pandemic.
Juul had been the market leader in e-cigarettes since 2018, according to Euromonitor International. As of 2020, the company held 54.7% share of the $9.38 billion U.S. e-vapor market.
E-cigarettes deliver nicotine to users by vaporizing liquid in cartridges or pods. Nicotine is the ingredient that makes tobacco addictive, and it may have other negative health effects. However, e-cigarette manufacturers have argued that their products can deliver nicotine to addicted adult smokers without the health risks that come with burning tobacco.
Marlboro owner Altria bought a 35% stake in Juul for $12.8 billion in late 2018. However, Altria has slashed the value of the investment as Juul and the broader e-cigarette industry became embroiled in controversy. As of March, Altria valued its stake at $1.6 billion, an eighth of its original investment, and Juul itself at under $5 billion.
The FDA decision will likely also hurt Juul’s defense in U.S. courts as it faces lawsuits from a dozen states and Washington over allegations that it marketed its products to minors and played a major role in the vaping epidemic. It has already settled with North Carolina for $40 million and Washington state for $22.5 million.
The FDA gained the power to regulate new tobacco products in 2009. Over the last decade, thousands of e-cigarettes appeared on store shelves without any approval from the agency, which allowed the sale of those products as it phased in standards for the burgeoning industry.
A court decision created a timeline for the FDA’s approval process of e-cigarette company’s premarket tobacco product applications. The agency is reviewing roughly 6.5 million applications from about 500 companies and has already denied about 1 million applications from smaller players like JD Nova Group and Great American Vapes for their flavored vape products.

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