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Johnson & Johnson said a combination of its lung cancer drugs Rybrevant and Lazcluze kept people alive for at least a year longer than AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso in a clinical trial.
J&J is trying to supplant AstraZeneca’s blockbuster Tagrisso, a once-daily pill that has transformed the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations.
It remains to be seen how many doctors will adopt the treatment.

Niels Wenstedt | Getty Images

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said its lung cancer regimen keeps people alive for at least a year longer than AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso, the go-to drug for a certain type of lung cancer.J&J in a statement said its drugs – Rybrevant and Lazcluze – showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement to survival relative to Tagrisso in a pivotal trial. The company expects the benefit to be at least a year and possibly longer, J&J executives said in an interview. The company plans to present the full results at a medical meeting later this year.
“This is an absolute igniter,” said Biljana Naumovic, president of U.S. Oncology Solid Tumor at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. “People were looking for an overall survival difference.”

J&J is trying to supplant AstraZeneca’s blockbuster Tagrisso, a once-daily pill that has transformed the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations and extended the median survival to about three years. These genetic errors cause cancer cells to proliferate. They’re responsible for between 10% and 15% of lung cancer cases in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association.
J&J executives hailed the result as a game-changer that should change the treatment of this type of lung cancer. But there’s no guarantee doctors and patients will all switch to using Rybrevant and Lazcluze since the regimen comes with more side effects and requires infusions every few weeks, said Dr. Stephen Liu, director of thoracic oncology and head of developmental therapeutics at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“I think the announcement that this leads to people living longer will force a harder look,” Liu said.
He wants to see who benefited the most so he can treat those patients more aggressively while sparing those who are less likely to respond. Rybrevant and Lazcluze can cause people to develop a rash and lead their fingernails to split.
Like Tagrisso, J&J’s regimen blocks the EGFR protein to prevent cancer cells from growing. It also targets MET, a common pathway cancer uses to develop resistance to drugs.
J&J forecasts Rybrevant and Lazcluze’s annual sales could top $5 billion. Tagrisso brought in about $6 billion for AstraZeneca in 2023. More

Online spending grew 8.7% during November and December, according to Adobe Analytics, as consumers took advantage of discounts.
Shoppers have embraced “event-ized buying,” as they hold out for key periods when they know that items they want will be on sale, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights.
The biggest year-over-year spending growth came from groceries, which jumped nearly 13% to $21.5 billion, and cosmetics, which shot up by 12.2% to $7.7 billion, the data said.

Alistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty Images

Online spending rose 8.7% during the holiday season from last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, as deals and the use of AI-powered chatbots helped inspire purchases.
Sales on retailers’ websites and apps totaled $241.4 billion from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, according to Adobe. The company’s analysis includes more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million unique items and 18 different product categories.

More demand, not higher prices, drove higher online spending, according to Adobe. Adobe’s Digital Price Index found e-commerce prices have fallen every month for 27 months. The company’s figures are not adjusted for inflation, but if they were revised, overall consumer spending would be higher.
The e-commerce results are a promising sign for the retail industry, which has yet to report company-specific sales. Walmart, Target, Macy’s and others will start to post their fiscal fourth-quarter results, including their sales over the key shopping season, in late February.
Other early reads on the holiday season have looked strong, too. Retail sales for the holiday season in the U.S., excluding automotive sales, rose 3.8% year over year for the period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online sales across payment types.
Deep discounts motivated holiday shoppers to spend, according to Adobe’s data. For every 1% drop in the typical price, demand for merchandise increased by about 1% compared with the 2023 holiday season, Adobe data found. That led to an additional $2.25 billion in online spending.
Vivek Pandya, lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights, said as prices of groceries and housing remain elevated, consumers are waiting to buy nonessential goods at times of the year when they expect to pay less. He described that pattern as “event-ized buying.”

For example, he said shoppers have opened their wallets during Amazon’s Prime Day event in the summer or during sales days such as President’s Day and Memorial Day.
“There are certain moments and certain opportunities where we see them overindexing their spend, really driving forward, because they see the value,” he said. “And then outside of those periods, we start to see growth kind of draw back down.”
Some of the best online deals during the holiday season were in the electronics category, where discounts peaked at 30.1% off listed price; toys, where price reductions topped out at 28%; TVs, where discounts maxed out at 24.2%; and apparel, where price cuts peaked at 23.2%.
Electronics, apparel, and the furniture and home goods segment were the three top categories for the holiday season, which contributed to about 54% of the total online spending, according to Adobe. Yet the biggest year-over-year spending growth came from groceries, which jumped nearly 13% to $21.5 billion, and cosmetics, which shot up by 12.2% to $7.7 billion.

The AI effect

One of the newer factors nudging spending is AI-powered shopping assistants such as ChatGPT and its competitors.
Traffic to retail sites that came from generative AI-powered chatbots shot up by 1,300% compared with the year-ago holiday season, as more shoppers turned to the technology to look for gift ideas and direct them to cheaper items, according to Adobe. That data included only external chatbots, not those that retailers offer on their own apps or websites.
Pandya said while the technology is young and the base of users still modest, those chatbots are becoming more meaningful drivers of clicks and purchases on retailers’ websites.
“You have a consumer that’s very strategic and thinking a lot about their strategy around where they’re buying, when they’re buying, what’s offering the best deal,” Pandya said, “and that’s where the generative AI sources, the assistants were helping the consumer and kind of co-piloting that journey.”
For many shoppers, smartphones played a central role. Most of the season’s e-commerce purchases — nearly 55% — took place through a smartphone rather than a laptop or other device. That’s up from about 51% in the year-ago holiday season, Adobe found.
The use of buy now, pay later, a credit option that allows shoppers to split their purchase into multiple payments, rose 9.6% year over year and contributed to $18.2 billion in online spending during the holiday period. That marked an all-time high for the holiday season, according to Adobe. Cyber Monday was the biggest day on record for buy now, pay later with $991.2 million in spending. More

Stellantis has redesigned its large Ram heavy-duty trucks after the brand has seen three consecutive years of sales declines.
The new Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups are expected to arrive in U.S. dealers during the first quarter of this year and will start at $47,560.
Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said rollouts of its redesigned trucks have “been super delayed,” which has hurt the automaker.

2025 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty

DETROIT — Stellantis has redesigned its large Ram heavy-duty trucks — and it’s betting those updates will help reverse three consecutive years of sales declines for the brand.
The new Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups and chassis cab trucks feature updated interior and exterior designs, as well as a new 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel engine that produces 430 horsepower and a best-in-class 1,075 foot-pounds of torque, according to the automaker.

The heavy-duty trucks are expected to arrive in U.S. dealers during the first quarter of this year and will sell for roughly $2,300 more than current models, starting at $47,560.
They follow the delayed rollout of their redesigned smaller sibling Ram 1500 pickup, which was released last year.

2025 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty

Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, who returned to the automaker in December after retiring in May, said the rollout of the Ram 1500 is improving.
“It’s been super delayed, let’s be honest. We should have been fully launched up on that [1500] truck this summer. We should have had [the heavy-duty trucks] already,” Kuniskis said during a media event. “It’s getting better every day.”
Pickup trucks are crucial products for American brands such as Ram, which reported a 19% year-over-year decline in sales in 2024. That included a 16% drop in sales for its Ram pickup trucks. That compares with competitors such as Ford and GM’s Chevrolet, which reported level sales in 2024 for their pickups.

2025 Ram 5500 Chassis Cab

“We’ve been getting our ass kicked,” Kuniskis said, noting the 1500 model rollout is largely to blame for the brand’s sales decline.
The diesel engine is an important option for heavy-duty truck customers, many of whom use the vehicles for hauling, towing and other work-related jobs. The other engine option is a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 that delivers 405 horsepower and 429 foot-pounds of torque.
For 2025, the Ram Heavy Duty lineup includes Tradesman, Big Horn/Lone Star, Laramie, Rebel, Power Wagon, Limited Longhorn and Limited models. The trucks are built in Saltillo, Mexico.

2025 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty More

Toyota Motor is exploring the development and production of orbital rockets, Chairman Akio Toyoda said Monday.
The automaker is investing 7 billion Japanese yen ($44.4 million) into Interstellar Technologies, a startup developing orbital launch vehicles.
“We are exploring rockets too, because the future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just earth or just one car company, for that matter,” Toyoda said during a press conference for CES.

After Akio Toyoda, CEO and President of Toyota, announced he was stepping down on Thursday, he shared his advice to his successor and his business philosophy.
Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno | Gamma-rapho | Getty Images

LAS VEGAS — Toyota Motor is exploring the development and production of orbital rockets, Chairman Akio Toyoda said Monday.
The automaker, through its “Woven by Toyota” mobility company, is investing 7 billion Japanese yen ($44.4 million) into Interstellar Technologies Inc., a Japanese private spaceflight company developing launch vehicles for satellites.

Toyoda, former CEO and scion of the automaker, said there shouldn’t only be “one car company” — referring to Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk also leads SpaceX — working on the development of such technologies.
“We are exploring rockets too, because the future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just earth or just one car company, for that matter,” Toyoda said during a press conference for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Read more CNBC space news

Founded in 2013, Interstellar Technologies has performed seven launches of its small suborbital MOMO rockets, which reached space for the first time in 2019. The startup has yet to deploy a satellite in orbit, with plans to develop the larger ZERO and DECA line of rockets for delivering spacecraft.
Toyota said the company expects to leverage its experience with the mass production of vehicles for the production of rockets with Interstellar Technologies. 
In the Japanese launch market, Toyota is taking on Mitsubishi, whose subsidiary Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has developed and launched the H3 series of rockets for JAXA, the country’s space agency. Mitsubishi’s H3 rocket, which debuted several years behind schedule, was intended to be priced competitively with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, which dominate the current global launch market.

Woven City

Toyota on Monday also announced completion of the first phase of Woven City, including housing for residents and inventors whom the automaker is inviting to come to the location.
Woven by Toyota was announced five years ago by Toyoda at CES as a “prototype city of the future,” located on a 175-acre site at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan to test and develop new emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles.
The chairman said the mission of Woven City isn’t necessarily to make money, but to be a test course and experimental proving ground for future technologies. More

Nearly 7,000 U.S. flights were delayed and more than 2,600 were canceled as a winter storm moved eastward.
The winter storm was set to dump about a foot of snow on areas around Washington, D.C.
The worst of the disruptions were centered in and around Washington, D.C., but flights were delayed around as far west as Dallas.

Airplanes on the tarmac during a snow storm at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. 
Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Thousands of flights were disrupted Monday as a winter storm moved eastward, snarling air travel in the eastern U.S.
By 5:45 p.m. ET, more than 6,900 U.S. flights were delayed while more 2,130 were canceled, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

The storm, which was moving from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic, was set to dump as much as a foot of snow in the Washington, D.C., area, though cold weather stretched through the southern U.S., according to federal forecasters.
More than 300 flights, or 80% of the day’s schedule, were canceled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, while about a third of the scheduled flights were canceled at each Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Read more CNBC airline news

Each of the major New York-area airports had about 200 flight delays, FlightAware tallies showed, and there were significant slowdowns at other major airports like Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
United, Southwest, American and other airlines waived change fees and fare differences for travelers affected by the storm.

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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

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

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.

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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