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General Motors’ newest Cadillac Escalade will be the most powerful and expensive version of the full-size SUV ever.
The 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V will start at about $150,000 when it goes on sale this summer with a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine that delivers 682 horsepower and 653 foot-pounds of torque.
Automakers have increasingly added performance variants to their lineups as a way to beef up profit margins before they transition more to electric vehicles.

2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series

DETROIT — General Motors’ newest Cadillac Escalade will be the most powerful and expensive version of the full-size SUV ever when it goes on sale this summer, starting at about $150,000.
The Detroit automaker unveiled the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V on Wednesday with a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine that delivers 682 horsepower and 653 foot-pounds of torque. That’s a significant performance improvement over the 420 horsepower and 460 foot-pounds of torque of the SUV’s current V-8 engine.

“There is nothing like this in the industry,” said David Schiavone, global product manager of the Cadillac Escalade, during a media briefing. “It will be the most exclusive and expensive Escalade ever.”
Schiavone declined to disclose how many Escalade-V models the company expects to produce a year. However, given its performance and $149,990 starting price, production will likely be low but highly profitable. The price is nearly double the Escalade entry-level model, at about $76,300.

2023 Cadillac Escalade-V

Automakers have increasingly added performance variants to their lineups as a way to beef up profit margins before they transition toward electric vehicles, which can offer high performance but lower margins than gas-powered cars.
GM’s new V-Series, previewed earlier this year, resembles current Escalade SUVs but includes new badging and parts to improve the performance of the vehicle. Cadillac says the vehicle can achieve 0-60 mph in about 4.4 seconds, an impressive time for a full-size luxury SUV.
The vehicle features the Escalade’s most expensive interior option, which includes leather seating, power massaging front seats, an AKG Studio Reference 36-speaker sound system, 38 inches of OLED information and control screens and Zebra Wood accents.

Cadillac’s “V” or “V-Series” designation has traditionally been used for low-production performance cars. The Escalade is the first SUV to receive the badging, as GM attempts to squeeze as much profit as possible from current vehicles with internal combustion engines to assist in funding new electric vehicles and technologies.

2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series

Cadillac has said it plans to exclusively offer electric vehicles by the end of this decade, beginning with the recently launched Lyriq crossover. The effort is part of GM’s overall plan to only offer EVs globally by 2035.
Schiavone said the brand is still on track to meet its EV goals, but it will continue to offer gas models until then. He declined to say whether the Escalade-V would be the last major change for the vehicle ahead of expectations that it would become an EV.
“Cadillac is committed to a total EV future,” Schiavone said. “That is already starting, but it doesn’t happen today. You will see both EV and ICE engines for several years until we’re to our full EV future.”

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Southwest Airlines said it will spend more than $2 billion on improved passenger amenities.
Planned improvements include bigger overhead bins and faster Wi-Fi.
Southwest plans to offer new in-seat power so passengers can charge their devices.

OntheRunPhoto | iStock Editorial | Getty Images

Southwest Airlines said it will spend more than $2 billion on improved passenger amenities like bigger overhead bins, faster internet and power outlets “in every seat,” in an effort to woo travelers as bookings rebound.
The airline also plans to double the number of movies it offers travelers and to update its drink options on board to include bloody mary mix, ready-to-drink cocktails, hard seltzer and rose wine.

The changes come as airlines gear up for a recovery in both leisure and business travel after more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
United Airlines, for example, announced last year a host of cabin upgrades like new seatback screens and entertainment systems. It, too, is preparing cabins for larger overhead bins. Delta Air Lines is installing new seats for domestic first class and has said it aims to offer free internet in the future. And Hawaiian Airlines plans to offer complimentary Wi-Fi through SpaceX’s Starlink service as early as next year.
Southwest’s $2 billion investment will span five years and is part of an estimated capital expenditure of $3.5 billion per year on average through 2026, as announced in December. The changes are geared toward all customers, but Southwest has recently increased its efforts to sell to business travelers.
The airline in March announced a new, second-cheapest fare option for travelers willing to pay more for more flexibility. Last week, it told staff it will temporarily offer travelers free Wi-Fi on some flights as it tests new hardware that aims to bring higher speeds to more passengers, CNBC reported.
The carrier also said it recently entered into an agreement with satellite internet provider Viasat for in-flight connectivity as early as this fall, starting with new deliveries of 737 Max planes. Southwest offers internet for $8 a day and doesn’t currently have plans to make the access free beyond the hardware test.
Southwest, which has a fleet of more than 700 Boeing 737s, estimates it will have in-seat power, something it currently doesn’t offer, on about 250 planes by the end of 2023. The power outlets will be available starting early next year on Max planes and feature USB A and USB C power ports.

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Target employees at a store in Virginia filed on Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election.
Other companies, from Starbucks to Amazon, have also faced a push by employees to seek union representation.
The organizing effort has even caught the attention and support of the White House.

A worker delivers an order to a drive up customer at a Target store on August 19, 2020 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Target has joined the growing list of major companies where employees are trying to form a union.
Employees at a Virginia store filed on Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election. The workers are seeking collective bargaining and get representation through the New River Valley General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Workers who filed for the election are at a Target store in Christiansburg, a town on the far west side of the state that’s about 8 miles south of Virginia Tech University. The location has 100 employees, according to the petition filed with the NLRB.
Target said in a statement Wednesday that it has been investing in its workforce, with a starting wage range of between $15 to $24 per hour, health care benefits and a program that covers the cost of some associate and undergraduate degrees.
“At Target, our team members are at the heart of our strategy and success, and we have a deep commitment to listening to our team and creating an environment of mutual trust where every team member’s voice matters,” it said.
The NLRB filing was first reported by The New Republic.
Across the country, companies have seen a spike in union activity this year. Workers at major consumer brands from Starbucks to Apple have filed for union elections. Amazon employees in Staten Island notched a historic victory in early April, when they voted for the company’s first unionized warehouse in the U.S. More than 250 Starbucks locations have filed petitions, and 64 company-owned Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, as of Tuesday.

The organizing effort has even caught the attention and support of President Joe Biden. He met last week with national labor leaders, including an organizer helping the Starbucks union push. The coffee shop chain criticized the meeting and asked for its visit with the White House.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is not unionized and has fought off organizing efforts for decades. Kroger, a grocery chain that competes with Walmart and Target, has long had thousands of employees represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
-CNBC reporter Amelia Lucas contributed to this story.

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Despite fears of outliving savings, most Americans still want to live longer, with nearly 70% hoping to reach age 100, according to a study from Edward Jones and Age Wave.
While many older Americans view their parents’ golden years as a time for “rest and relaxation,” they see their own retirement as a “new chapter in life.”
However, it’s critical to start planning early for finances, purpose, family and health, the report shows.

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Despite fears of outliving savings, most Americans still want to live longer, a study on longevity and retirement shows.
Nearly 70% of Americans want to live to age 100, with 29 years as the “ideal length” for retirement, according to an Edward Jones and Age Wave report that polled 11,000 adults in the U.S. and Canada in January and February.

“We’ve been aware of longevity rising for some time,” said Ken Dychtwald, founder and CEO of Age Wave. “But in the last year, there’s been a lot more talk about it.” 
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While the U.S. life expectancy dropped by 1.5 years, to about age 77, in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists expect it to rise in the coming decades, Dychtwald said. 
“That could very well add another five or 10 or more years to the average life expectancy,” he said. “But the problem is we don’t live those years with abundant health.”  
On average, Americans spend the last 12 or more years grappling with illness, injury or cognitive impairment, with 88% of those 65 and older managing at least one chronic condition, the study shows.

What’s more, the average couple may need an estimated $445,000 to cover yearly medical expenses and long-term care, for which most retirees aren’t prepared, Dychtwald said.  

Three-legged stool 

In a shift from previous generations’ experiences, the so-called three-legged stool of retirement income — Social Security, pensions and savings — has become less common among today’s retirees.
Despite ongoing threats to Social Security and fewer pensions, many Americans still aren’t saving enough, the study shows. Most don’t maximize retirement savings, many take penalized distributions from retirement plans and 22% of eligible employees don’t contribute. 
On average, retirees began saving for their golden years at age 38 but wish they had started at 28, according to the survey. 
When asked about the purpose of retirement funds, “people talk about security for the unexpected and freedom,” Dychtwald said. 

A new chapter in life

While many older Americans view their parents’ golden years as having been a time for “rest and relaxation,” they see their own retirement as a “new chapter in life,” the report uncovered.  
Today’s retirees see their next phase as a time to explore possibilities, with many reinventing themselves, explained Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones. 
“There’s really an interesting dichotomy between the old generation and new generation,” she said.

Early and holistic preparation across the four pillars can have a really big payoff.

Ken Dychtwald
founder and CEO of Age Wave

Moreover, there may not be a clear line dividing their career and retirement years, with many older Americans continuing to work.
Nearly 60% of older Americans expect to be working in some capacity, whether it’s full-time, part-time or cycling between work and leisure, the findings show. 
However, the most successful retirees took steps decades in advance to prepare for what the report describes as “four pillars” of retirement — finances, purpose, family and health.
“Early and holistic preparation across the four pillars can have a really big payoff,” Dychtwald said.

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Marlboro-maker Philip Morris International confirmed Wednesday a $16 billion bid to buy rival Swedish Match as part of its accelerated push into smoke-free tobacco alternatives.
Swedish Match was trading at a 32% premium Wednesday since talks between the two companies were first announced Friday.
It is the latest move Philip Morris International to diversify beyond traditional, tobacco-based revenue streams.

Swedish Match generates most of its profit from Swedish-style smoke-free tobacco snuffs, also known as ‘snus.’
Olivier Morin | Afp | Getty Images

Marlboro-maker Philip Morris International confirmed Wednesday a $16 billion bid to buy rival Swedish Match as part of its accelerated push into smoke-free tobacco alternatives.
Shares of Stockholm-based manufacturer hit a record high in early trade after its board agreed to the 161.2 billion krona cash offer from the U.S.-Swiss tobacco giant.

Swedish Match is now trading at a 32% premium since talks between the two companies were first announced Friday. Following a bumpy ride since Friday, Philip Morris International stock is trading marginally higher.
The deal, which is now subject to shareholder approval, marks the latest phase in Philip Morris International’s ongoing efforts to reduce its reliance on traditional cigarettes amid growing public scrutiny.

A market-leader in smoke-free ‘snus’

107-year-old Swedish Match is primarily known for producing traditional Swedish-style snuffs, branded “General Snus,” a type of smoke-free tobacco pouch which is placed between the upper lip and gum as an alternative to smoking.
While illegal in the EU over health concerns, Swedish Match’s General Snus were granted authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 after they found to present lower risks of “mouth cancer, heart disease [and] lung cancer” than cigarettes.
Still, the FDA noted at the time that such products were not implied safe in general, nor were they FDA approved. “All tobacco products are potentially harmful and addictive,” it added.

Philip Morris International’s bid for Stockholm-based Swedish Match forms part of its wider plans to expand beyond traditional cigarettes.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Meantime, the company has seen rapid growth in recent years of its newer, tobacco-free nicotine pouches, “Zyn,” amid increasing consumer demand for cigarette alternatives.
In first-quarter earnings released Wednesday, Swedish Match reported a significant uptick in sales and profits from Zyn in the U.S., with deliveries up 35%.
The U.S. now accounts for Swedish Match’s largest market after Scandinavia, and its Zyn pouches dominate in a market flooded by rivals including British American Tobacco PLC and Altria Group, from which Philip Morris International spun off in 2008.

Philip Morris weans itself off cigarettes

Philip Morris International is based in the U.S., but does not sell its products there. Rather, it distributes its products internationally, including Marlboro cigarettes, L&M, Lark and Philip Morris.
With the deal, it aims to regain access to a ready-made distribution network in its ex-owner’s home territory.
It is the latest move by Philip Morris International to diversify beyond traditional, tobacco-based revenue streams. In 2021, it agreed to take over asthma drug develop Vectura Group, and is also responsible for creating the IQOS heated-tobacco system.
As of last year, the company’s smoke-free portfolio accounted for about 29% of its net revenue, or $31.4 billion.
Campaign groups have condemned tobacco giants, which have a long history of denying the health risks of smoking, for advocating themselves as part of the transition to a smoke-free world while also continuing to sell and promote cigarettes globally.
Among Swedish Match’s other smokeless tobacco products are America’s Best Chew, a chewing-tobacco product, and Longhorn, a type of moist snuff brand.
Philip Morris International said completing the offer was conditional on regulatory approval and on no other company making an offer.
However, analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note that potential counterbids look unlikely. Japan Tobacco International has little appetite to enter the U.S. market, it noted, while British American Tobacco and Imperial would be reluctant due to anti-trust concerns in the U.S. and Scandinavia.
—CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this article.

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German automotive giant Volkswagen is planning to launch the iconic “Scout” brand as an electric vehicle in the United States.
Volkswagen confirms to CNBC that its supervisory board will vote on the proposal on Wednesday.

This image, from 2019, is of a refurbished Scout. The brand was originally built by International Harvester between 1961 and 1980.
Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Volkswagen is planning to resurrect the iconic “Scout” brand as an electric vehicle in the United States.
In a report late Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal said the German automotive giant was aiming to launch a “new Scout-branded electric sport-utility vehicle” as well as an electric pickup truck, also under the Scout name.

Volkswagen confirmed to CNBC that its supervisory board would vote on the proposals on Wednesday.
The Scout’s history dates back to the 1960s, when International Harvester — today known as Navistar International Corporation — started development.
According to Navistar, the Scout was “marketed as an all-terrain family recreational vehicle” before evolving into a “true SUV.” Production of the Scout ceased in 1980. Today, Navistar is part of the Traton Group, which is itself a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
Reuters, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, said Wednesday that VW would invest roughly 100 million euros ($105.49 million) in the new brand, adding that it would potentially look for “external funding through investors or an IPO to expand its production capabilities.”

Electric ambitions

In July 2021, the Volkswagen Group said half of its sales were expected to be battery-electric vehicles by 2030. By the year 2040, the company said almost 100% of its new vehicles in major markets should be zero-emission.

VW’s electrification plans put it in direct competition with long-established automakers like GM and Ford, as well as relative newcomers such as Tesla.
Recently, Ford CEO Jim Farley said his business planned to “challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker in the world.”
In March 2021, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess dismissed the notion his firm could join forces with Tesla, telling CNBC that the company was looking to go its own way.
Speaking to “Squawk Box Europe,” Diess was asked if he would rule out any future deal with Elon Musk’s electric car maker, in which VW could manufacture its cars, or if the Tesla and VW brands would ever unite.
“No, we haven’t considered [that], we are going our own way,” he replied. “We want to get close and then overtake.” 
—Chloe Taylor contributed to this article. More

Thibaut Mongon, the current leader of J&J’s consumer health business, will become CEO of the standalone company.
J&J announced in November that it would sheer off the consumer health business from its faster-growing medical devices and pharmaceutical portfolios.
In the first quarter of this year, consumer health sales declined 1.5% to $3.59 billion as compared with the same period in 2021, due to supply constraints that mainly impacted its skin health and beauty products.

Signage is displayed outside of Johnson & Johnson headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Aug. 1, 2020.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday announced that the current head and the chief financial officer of its consumer health portfolio will lead the business when it spins off into a separate publicly traded company in 2023.
Thibaut Mongon, the current leader of the consumer health business, will become CEO of the standalone company, and Paul Ruh will remain in his current role of chief financial officer. Mongon has served as J&J’s consumer health leader since 2019, and Ruh has served as CFO since 2017.

Executive Chair Alex Gorsky said J&J conducted an external executive search, but decided that Mongon and Ruh were best equipped to lead the standalone company.
J&J announced in November that it would sheer off the consumer health business from its faster-growing medical devices and pharmaceutical portfolios.
The consumer health business makes common household products and over-the-counter medicines such as Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine, Neutrogena and Aveena skin care, and Johnson’s baby products.
Consumer health sales grew 4.1% to $14.6 billion in 2021, while J&J’s pharmaceutical sales grew 14.3% to $52 billion and medical devices sales grew nearly 18% to $27 billion last year.
In the first quarter of this year, consumer health sales declined 1.5% to $3.59 billion as compared with the same period in 2021, due to supply constraints on ingredients and packaging materials particularly for its skin health and beauty products. However, J&J CFO Joe Wolk said demand was strong for over-the-counter medicine such as Tylenol and Motrin.
The consumer health business faced tens of thousands of lawsuits in recent years that alleged its talc baby powder contained cancer-causing asbestos. J&J created a subsidiary that was placed in bankruptcy to resolve the claims. The company stopped selling the baby powder in the North American market in 2020, but still sells its elsewhere in the world.

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Packed planes and more expensive tickets drove down customer satisfaction with airlines over the past year for the first time in a decade, according to a J.D. Power survey published Wednesday.
Customer satisfaction dropped among travelers across all the ticket classes.
In March, domestic U.S. airfares were 20% higher than 2019, according to Adobe data.

Travelers wait in line at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.
Christopher Occhicone | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Packed planes and more expensive tickets drove down customer satisfaction with airlines for the first time in a decade over the past year, according to a J.D. Power survey published Wednesday.
“Customer satisfaction with North American airlines climbed to unprecedented highs for all of the wrong reasons during the past two years,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, in the report on North American airlines. “Fewer passengers meant more space on airplanes, less waiting in line and more attention from flight attendants. But that business model was simply not sustainable.”

Air travel demand surged over the past year, along with fares, following a prolonged pandemic slump.
In March, domestic U.S. airfares were 20% higher than 2019 as Covid cases dropped and cities lifted pandemic restrictions on activities such as indoor dining and concerts, according to Adobe Analytics. The rise in ticket prices has outpaced bookings, according to Adobe.
But customer satisfaction dropped among travelers across all the ticket classes — coach, premium economy and first or business class — according to the survey, which was based on responses from 7,004 passengers from March 2021 through March 2022. It was the first year-over-year decline since the 2012 survey, Taylor said.
JetBlue Airways topped the rankings of first- and business-class service among North American carriers, while Southwest Airlines came in first for economy and basic economy.
Here’s how the carriers stacked up and their scores out of 1,000:

First/Business Class

JetBlue Airways (878)
Alaska Airlines (876)
Delta Air Lines (862)
Air Canada (832)
United Airlines (822)
American Airlines (814)

Economy/Basic Economy

Southwest Airlines (849)
JetBlue Airways (828)
Delta Air Lines (813)
Allegiant Air (803)
Alaska Airlines (794)
Air Canada (777)
United Airlines (774)
Spirit Airlines (772)
American Airlines (770)
Frontier Airlines (755)
WestJet (751)

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