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Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Comcast are teaming up to build a new arena in south Philadelphia.
They will also revitalize Market East, the original proposed location for a new arena.
The deal will give Comcast a minority stake in the NBA’s 76ers and naming rights to the future arena.

Joe Daniel Price | Moment | Getty Images

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment announced on Monday a joint venture with Comcast Spectacor to build a new arena in South Philadelphia for the NBA’s 76ers and the NHL’s Flyers.
The deal represents a reversal from previous plans to build an arena in the Center City district of Philadelphia.

Harris Blitzer and Comcast Spectacor have entered into a binding agreement for a 50-50 stake in the project at South Philadelphia’s Sports Complex, which is slated to open in 2031. It will include the revitalization of Market East in Center City, the original proposed location for an arena. In December, the Philadelphia 76ers received approval to build a $1.3 billion arena downtown after more than two years of contentious negotiations.
The deal announced Monday will give Comcast a minority stake in the 76ers and naming rights to the arena. The Philadelphia-based company will also join HBSE’s bid to bring a WNBA team to the Liberty City.
Comcast Spectacor is already majority owner of the Philadelphia Flyers.
“From the start, we envisioned a project that would be transformative for our city and deliver the type of experience our fans deserve,” said HBSE’s Josh Harris, David Blitzer and David Adelman in a statement. “By coming together with [Comcast CEO Brian Roberts] and Comcast, this partnership ensures Philadelphia will have two developments instead of one, creating more jobs and real, sustainable economic opportunity.”
In committing to both investments, the companies say they will create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity for the region.

“This has the potential to benefit our city for generations to come,” said Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker during a news conference Monday.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of CNBC.

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Moderna lowered its 2025 sales guidance by roughly $1 billion, as it continues to cut costs. 
The biotech company now expects 2025 revenue to come in between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion, most of which will come in the second half of the year.
The announcement comes as Moderna charts a path forward after the rapid decline in demand for its Covid vaccine.

The Moderna Inc. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. 
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Moderna on Monday lowered its 2025 sales guidance by roughly $1 billion due to a few potential headwinds later this year, as the biotech company continues to cut costs and expand its portfolio.
Moderna now expects 2025 revenue to come in between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion, most of which will come in the second half of the year. The majority of those sales will come from Moderna’s Covid shot and newly launched vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, according to a release.

The guidance is down from a prior forecast range of $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion issued in September. At the time, the company said it expects to break even on an operating cash basis in 2028 — pushed back from 2026 — with $6 billion in revenue.
Shares of Moderna plunged 18% in premarket trading Monday.
“As we head into 2025, there are a handful of uncertainties that we are planning for,” Moderna CFO Jamey Mock told CNBC. “As of this time period, we are planning for them to be headwinds. They could be tailwinds, but right now we’re seeing them as headwinds.” 
Mock pointed to four factors that could weigh on sales, including increased competition in the Covid market. He said Moderna’s share of the U.S. retail market for Covid shots fell to 40% at the end of 2024 from 48% in 2023, and the company is preparing for another decline this year. 
He noted Sanofi will co-commercialize Novavax’s Covid vaccine worldwide under a new agreement, which could potentially make that shot more competitive. 

Mock said the second factor is falling vaccination rates, which were down around 7% overall in the U.S. retail market in fall 2024 compared to the same time in 2023. The last two factors are timing around manufacturing contracts with a handful of countries, and uncertainty around what advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will recommend for RSV revaccination. 
But Mock noted that the company expects to reduce 2025 cash cost expenses by $1 billion, with plans for additional 2026 cost reductions of $500 million. 
“We are taking the right amount of cost to preserve our cash,” Mock said. “We’re excited to invest and diversify our portfolio.” 
The announcement comes as Moderna charts a path forward after the rapid decline in demand for its Covid vaccine, its only commercially available product until its RSV shot entered the market last year. It also comes ahead of Moderna’s presentation at the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, one of the largest gatherings of health-care executives in the world and a hotbed for deals activity for the industry. 
Revenue from Moderna’s two shots met its forecast for 2024, coming in at around $3 billion to $3.1 billion. In November, the company said its updated Covid shot benefitted from gaining approval in the U.S. three weeks earlier than the previous iteration of the shot did in 2023. 
Still, those sales represent a steep drop off from the $6.7 billion that Moderna’s Covid shot booked in 2023 and the $18 billion it generated in 2022, as fewer people rolled up their sleeves for updated jabs. 
Moderna plans to beef up its portfolio with 10 new product approvals over the next three years, including a combination shot targeting Covid and the flu and a “next-generation” Covid shot. The company on Monday said it could see three approvals in 2025 alone. 
The company is betting on a pipeline built around its messenger RNA platform, which is the technology used in its Covid vaccine and RSV shot. More

Lululemon raised its fourth quarter earnings and revenue guidance after striking a cautious tone in the lead up to the holiday shopping season.
Abercrombie & Fitch also raised its guidance but only slightly, sending shares lower.
Early reads have shown the holiday shopping season may have been better than expected, but was far from the blowout seen in previous years.

A shopping bag from Abercrombie & Fitch (L), and the logo of Lululemon (R).

ORLANDO, Fla. — Lululemon and Abercrombie & Fitch raised their fourth quarter outlooks on Monday after seeing a strong response from shoppers during the all-important holiday season. 
Lululemon’s new outlook went over well with investors, leading shares to rise about 3% in premarket trading. But Abercrombie shares dropped about 8% as investors wonder if its rapid growth is coming to an end.

Lululemon now expects sales to grow between 11% and 12% to between $3.56 billion and $3.58 billion, up from a previous range of $3.48 billion and $3.51 billion. 
Excluding an additional fiscal week the company will have in the fourth quarter of 2024, Lululemon expects sales growth of between 6% and 7%. 
The company also hiked its profit outlook. Lululemon is now forecasting fourth-quarter earnings per share to be between $5.81 and $5.85, compared to previous guidance of between $5.56 and $5.64. It expects gross margins to grow by 0.3 percentage points after previously forecasting they would decline between 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points. 
“During the holiday season, our guests responded well to our product offering, enabling us to increase our fourth quarter guidance,” finance chief Meghan Frank said in a statement. 
Meanwhile, Abercrombie also expects its holiday quarter to be slightly better than anticipated. The apparel company nudged up its net sales growth outlook to a range of between 7% and 8%, compared to previous guidance of between 5% and 7%. 

Abercrombie now expects full-year sales to grow 15%. It previously expected sales to rise between 14% and 15% for the period.
The outlook is a far cry from the blockbuster numbers that Abercrombie put out last year, when holiday sales jumped by a staggering 21% compared to the year-ago period. 
Investors bullish on Abercrombie would say that it makes sense to see the company’s growth start to slow down as it matures and laps tougher comparisons from the year-ago period, but following about two years of explosive stock growth, some could be turning bearish. 
Still, Abercrombie’s full year-sales guidance is close to what it put out last year, when revenue grew by 16%. 
In a news release, Abercrombie CEO Fran Horowitz signaled that moving forward, the company will be more focused on boosting profits than sales as it looks to “drive long-term shareholder value.” 
“Following an expected two years of double-digit top and bottom-line growth, I am as confident as ever in the power of our brands and operating model as we move forward, supported by the outstanding capabilities we’ve built,” said Horowitz. “In 2025, we will look to continue sustainable, profitable growth through the execution of our playbooks to win and retain customers around the world. Our goal is to leverage our healthy margin structure and balance sheet to grow operating income dollars and earnings per share at rates faster than sales.” 
The retailers released their guidance ahead of the annual ICR conference in Orlando when some of the most prominent U.S. retailers are expected to announce early holiday results and meet with investors and analysts about their performance. The conference brings together Wall Street’s biggest banks, law firms, private equity firms and investors and is known to set the tone for consumer deal making and retailer performance at the start of the year. 
Macy’s, which is expected to present at the conference, also released early results but didn’t have good news to share like some of its competitors. The department store is now expecting sales to be at, or slightly below, its previously issued range of between $7.8 billion to $8.0 billion. Shares fell more than 3% in premarket trading.
Urban Outfitters also released early holiday results and said net sales for the two months ended Dec. 31 grew 10% compared to the year-ago period. Comparable retail segment sales rose 6%, driven by strong online sales.
Urban’s namesake banner saw comparable sales fall 4% as the chain continued to underperform Anthropologie and Free People, where comparable sales grew 10% and 9%, respectively.
Meanwhile, sales soared 55% at Urban’s rental service Nuuly, driven by a 53% increase in average active subscribers.
Shares moved slightly higher in premarket trading.
Overall, the holiday shopping season wasn’t expected to produce the blowout numbers that became common in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Retail Federation said it was expecting sales to grow between 2.5% and 3.5%. When inflation is taken into account, real growth was expected to be minimal.
Still, some early reads have signaled that the holiday season may be a bit better than expected. 
Retail sales for the holiday season in the U.S., excluding automotive sales, rose 3.8% year over year between Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online sales across payment types. More

Nordstrom raised its full-year sales outlook after holiday spending came in better than expected at its website and stores.
Yet the department store operator stuck by its profit outlook.
CEO Erik Nordstrom credited the company’s “efforts to remain competitive in the promotional environment and the strength of our offering.”

Shoppers walk into a Nordstrom department store in Austin, Texas, on March 3, 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Nordstrom on Friday raised its full-year sales outlook, after holiday shopping at its stores and on its website came in stronger than the department store’s cautious expectations.
The company stuck by its profit guidance despite the higher sales guidance.

The Seattle-based retailer said it now expects full-year revenue growth of 1.5% to 2.5%, which includes the effect of having one fewer fiscal week. That compares to its previous outlook of flat to up 1%.
Nordstrom struck a conservative note with its outlook in late November, despite topping Wall Street’s expectations for fiscal third-quarter sales. It had projected full-year revenue to range from flat to up 1%. It said adjusted earnings for the year would range between $1.75 and $2.05 per share. Its revenue includes retail sales and credit card revenue.
On an earnings call at the time, CEO Erik Nordstrom said the company had seen “a noticeable decline in sales trends towards the end of October” and factored that into its forecast.
Yet in a news release on Friday, he chalked up better-than-expected holiday sales to the company’s “efforts to remain competitive in the promotional environment and the strength of our offering.”
Nordstrom said net sales rose 4.9% and comparable sales, a metric that takes out the effect of store openings and closures, increased 5.8% for the nine-week holiday period that ended Jan. 4 compared with the year-ago quarter that ended Dec. 30.

During the holiday period, net sales at the Nordstrom banner increased 3.7% and comparable sales rose 6.5%. At Nordstrom Rack, the company’s off-price banner, net sales were up 7.4% and comparable sales increased 4.3%.
The department store operator’s results provide more insights for investors monitoring the health of U.S. consumers and the performance of retailers during the key shopping season. Retailers, including Walmart, Best Buy, Macy’s and others, will report earnings starting in late February.
So far, early holiday numbers have looked promising. Online spending in the U.S. rose nearly 9% from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 compared to the year-ago period and totaled $241.4 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. 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.
Nordstrom’s update comes as the founding family prepares to take the retailer private. Nordstrom announced in late December a roughly $6.25 billion buyout deal with the family and Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool. The transaction, which was approved by the company’s board of directors, is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
Shares of Nordstrom closed at $24.01, down roughly 4% from its 52-week high. The company is scheduled to report its full fourth-quarter and full-year results on March 4.

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American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest, JetBlue and other carriers waived change fees and fare differences to the Los Angeles area.
The wildfires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures.
A Delta Air Lines executive said sales of Los Angeles flights have declined.

In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, burned homes are seen during the Palisades fire in the Malibu area of Los Angeles county, California, on Jan. 9, 2025.
Josh Edelson | Afp | Getty Images

Airlines have extended travel waivers for Los Angeles airports as wildfires continue to burn in the area.
American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and other carriers that serve the area have waived fees for flight changes for travelers booked to Los Angeles while the city grapples with power outages, water shortages and conservation, as well as the outright damage of more than 10,000 homes and other structures.

On Friday, the area’s airports were operating normally, according to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, but parts of the city were still in the grip of the wildfires. Power outages were reported across Los Angeles County and local residents in the decimated Pacific Palisades area were told to boil or use bottled water. Parts of the county were also still under evacuation orders as firefighters sought to contain the fires.

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American Airlines on Friday said travelers booked to or from Hollywood Burbank Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport and John Wayne Airport, which serves Orange County, can rebook without paying a change fee or fare difference if they can fly as late as Jan. 20.
Southwest said the wildfires could affect service to those airports and that customers can rebook within 14 days of their original travel dates without additional charges. It said customers could also change their trips to other California cities: Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Diego.
Meanwhile, a Delta Air Lines executive on Friday said sales of flights to Los Angeles, one of the carrier’s busiest hubs and a generator of high-value business and leisure travel, have declined.
“We monitor sales on a daily basis by geographic region, and we have seen a decline in sales, not a wholesale reduction or an uptick in cancellations, but a decline in sales during this period,” Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, said on an earnings call, in which the airline also said it had otherwise strong travel demand across its network. “As soon as the period ends, we can probably put a wrapper around how much we thought that cost us. But I don’t think it’s going to be significant to the quarter, hopefully not.”

Hauenstein said, however, that there is often an uptick in demand after natural disasters because of rebuilding.
“Our hearts go out to everybody in Los Angeles affected by this,” he said. “But from a long-term airline perspective, we faced hurricanes, we faced flooding, we faced all that. And usually, the impacts are in the beginning phases, followed by a recovery phase.”

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Airlines canceled more than 3,000 U.S. flights while more than 3,000 more were delayed.
A massive winter storm snarled travel across the Southern U.S.
A Delta flight aborted takeoff and evacuated passengers via slides at Atlanta’s airport, further disrupting operations.

Snow blankets the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as a winter storm moves into the area on Jan. 10, 2025.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights on Friday as a massive winter storm snarled travel across the Southern U.S., while more than 4,000 others were delayed.
Operations were further disrupted after a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-300 halted takeoff because of an engine problem, shortly after 9 a.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest and Delta’s main hub. The 201 passengers and seven crew members aboard were evacuated on emergency slides.

Four passengers reported minor injuries, with one transported and three treated on the scene, according to an airport spokesperson.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s investigating the incident.
“Delta’s flight crew followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff of flight 2668 from Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) after an indication of an engine issue,” Delta said. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience. We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
Some 1,100 flights to and from Atlanta, more than half of the day’s schedule, were canceled, while upward of 400 more were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. The airport had a ground stop in place, which halts flights bound for that airport at their origin so the facility isn’t overwhelmed with planes.

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Two of American Airlines’ hubs of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport were also heavily affected by the storm, with more than 1,200 flights to and from those two airports canceled. Most of DFW’s flights were also canceled on Thursday as the storm dumped snow in the area.
Delta, Southwest, American and other carriers waived change fees and fare differences because of the storms and severe weather. More

Stellantis’ top priority for the U.S. this year is to grow its retail market share after several years of declining sales in its largest, most crucial market.
Stellantis’ U.S. sales, including retail and fleet, have declined every year since 2018.
Antonio Filosa, head of the company’s North American operations, on Friday acknowledged the company has made “many mistakes” in recent years.

Stellantis North America Chief Operating Officer and Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa speaks during the Stellantis press conference at the Automobility LA 2024 car show at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, on Nov. 21, 2024.
Etienne Laurent | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT — Stellantis’ top priority for the U.S. this year is to grow its retail market share after several years of declining sales in its largest, most crucial market.
Antonio Filosa, head of the embattled automaker’s North American operations since October, said Stellantis aims to grow U.S. retail sales and market share this year with the assistance of a revamped U.S.-focused leadership team and by mending bonds with dealers, including offering additional incentives, and releasing new products.

“This is obviously what we need to do,” Filosa said Friday during a media roundtable at the Detroit Auto Show. “U.S. retail market share is our main priority.”
Stellantis’ U.S. sales, including retail and fleet, have declined every year since 2018. That includes sales by Fiat Chrysler, which merged with French automaker PSA Groupe in 2021 to form Stellantis.
The company’s overall U.S. market share fell from 12.6% in 2019 to 9.6% in 2023, according to annual public filings.
Leaders of Stellantis’ U.S. auto brands during separate interviews Friday said they’re facing a a grow or die mentality for 2025. They also expressed optimism about the company’s recent changes and direction.
“We’ve got very aggressive strategies,” Bob Broderdorf, head of Jeep in North America, told CNBC. “If you shopped us six months ago, it’s a very different story right now.”

Stellantis’ sales, as well as bottom line, have been hit hardest by declines of Jeep and its Ram Trucks brands in recent years.

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis unveils the Charger Daytona SRT concept electric muscle car in Pontiac, Michigan, Aug. 17, 2022.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Ram boss Tim Kuniskis, who unretired from the automaker last month, has promised to adjust the brand’s strategy, production and products to assist dealers and sales.
“We had a bad year. There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” Kuniskis said, citing a slow ramp-up of its redesigned Ram 1500 pickups. “I’m very bullish on this year … The real part is balancing between the volume and the margin.”
Ahead of the merger and under former CEO Carlos Tavares, the company focused relentlessly on profits over market share. Sources previously told CNBC that Tavares’ emphasis on cost cutting, a goal of achieving double-digit profit margins under his “Dare Forward 2030” business plan and a reluctance, if not unwillingness, to listen to U.S. executives about the American market led to the company’s current situation and, ultimately, Tavares’ departure last month.
Filosa on Friday acknowledged the company has made “many mistakes” in recent years. He said the company neglected the importance of the North American market, specifically the U.S.
Filosa said Stellantis may make additional changes to its U.S. operations, depending on potential regulations of the incoming Trump administration, which has threatened changes to all-electric vehicle incentives and tariffs on Canada and Mexico — both countries Stellantis relies on for the import of vehicles.
“We are working, obviously, on scenarios,” Filosa said, adding that could mean additional jobs in the U.S. “But yes, we need to await his decisions and after the decision of Mr. Trump and his administration, we will work accordingly,” Filosa added.

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McDonald’s plans to shutter three locations of its spinoff brand, CosMc’s, and open two more restaurants in Texas.
The company said smaller locations work better for the test, which led to the decision.
McDonald’s created CosMc’s as its entry point into the growing “afternoon beverage pick-me-up occasion.”

A sign hangs outside of a CosMc’s restaurant, a concept recently launched by McDonald’s, in Bolingbrook, Illinois, on Dec. 11, 2023.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

McDonald’s will shutter three locations of its drinks-focused spinoff brand, CosMc’s.
To test the concept, the fast-food giant opened its first CosMc’s location more than a year ago in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, followed by six more in Texas. McDonald’s has converted larger namesake restaurants into CosMc’s, in addition to building smaller prototype locations.

The smaller stores work better for the test, the company said Thursday. As a result, McDonald’s will close three of its larger format CosMc’s locations and open two more small Texas restaurants. The company didn’t disclose the locations for either the openings or closures, although CosMc’s website says a store is coming soon to Allen, Texas.
McDonald’s also shared other early learnings from the pilot on Thursday. Savory hash browns are the top-selling food — at any time of day — followed by McPops, the chain’s mini filled doughnuts. Best-selling drinks include the Island Pick Me Up Punch, Churro Cold Brew Frappe and the Sour Energy Burst.
The CosMc’s test will continue for the “foreseeable future,” according to the company.
McDonald’s created CosMc’s as its entry point into the growing “afternoon beverage pick-me-up occasion.”
While CosMc’s menu features some McDonald’s classics, it also offers a host of new items playing off other beverage and snacking trends, like its iced turmeric spiced lattes, tropical spiceade and pretzel bites. Starbucks, Dutch Bros. and bubble tea chain Kung Fu Tea have found success with younger consumers by offering customizable cold drinks.

The name for the new brand comes from CosMc, a McDonaldland mascot that appeared in advertisements in the late 1980s and early 1990s. CosMc is an alien from outer space who craves McDonald’s food.
While it’s unclear just how much McDonald’s plans to grow CosMc’s, it’s still a miniscule part of the burger giant’s overall U.S. footprint. The company has more than 13,500 U.S. restaurants. Still, McDonald’s is hoping to learn more about its CosMc’s customers; last year, it rolled out a loyalty program specific to CosMc’s. More