Business

E-cigarette unit sales rose nearly 47% between January 2020 and December 2022.
The spike in sales comes despite a federal crackdown that placed more restrictions on the flavors and marketing for tobacco products.
The CDC found that most popular brands of disposable e-cigarettes on the market aren’t FDA-approved and are illegal.

A pile of used or discarded vape pens found littering the streets in New York City.
Lindsey Nicholson | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Efforts to restrict e-cigarette flavors favored by teens may have fallen flat as new brands hit the market, according to a new report.
Fruit, candy, spice and dessert-flavored e-cigarettes that have long been popular among underage smokers have proliferated in recent years, according to data analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC Foundation and the Truth Initiative.

Flavored e-cigarettes represented 41.3% of U.S. retail-store e-cigarette unit sales in December 2022, up from 29.2% in January 2020, the organizations found. Overall e-cigarette sales in the U.S. rose about 47% during the period. 
The spike in sales comes despite a federal crackdown that placed more restrictions on the flavors and marketing for tobacco products.
“The dramatic spikes in youth e-cigarette use back in 2017 and 2018, primarily driven by JUUL, showed us how quickly e-cigarette sales and use patterns can change,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Retail sales data are key to providing real-time information on the rapidly changing e-cigarette landscape, which is essential to reducing youth tobacco use.”
Citing the appeal of flavored e-cigarettes to children, the FDA announced in January 2020 that it would prohibit sales of sweet and fruit-flavored e-cigarette pre-filled pods, which led to the demise of big brands such as Juul and Vuse.
Between January 2020 and December 2022, unit shares of pre-filled cartridges decreased from 75.2% to 48.0%.

However, the flavor limitations didn’t affect disposable cigarettes, which at the end of 2019 only represented 15% of e-cigarette unit sales in U.S. retail stores, according to the data. Between January 2022 and December 2022, disposable e-cigarette unit shares increased from 24.7% to 51.8% of total unit sales.
They now represent more than half the U.S. e-cigarette market.
Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm the adolescent brain, which continues to develop through approximately age 25, according to the CDC. Moreover, the agency found that most popular brands of disposable e-cigarettes on the market — Puff Bar, Elf Bar and Breeze Smoke — aren’t FDA-approved and are illegal. The FDA has only authorized disposable e-cigarette brand NJOY Daily, which comes in two tobacco flavors.
Last year, the FDA ordered Elf Bar and Breeze Smoke off the U.S. market, according to the CDC report.
“The tobacco industry is well aware that flavors appeal to and attract kids, and that young people are uniquely vulnerable to nicotine addiction,” said Robin Koval, CEO and president of the Truth Initiative. “While we are encouraged by [the] FDA’s recent actions to curb unlawful marketing of flavored e-cigarettes, we all must work with even greater urgency to protect our nation’s youth from all flavored e-cigarettes, including disposables.” More

Vice Media has declared Fortress Investment Group the winning bidder for the company as it plans to emerge from bankruptcy.
Fortress led a group of lenders that offered a $225 million stalking horse bid for Vice when it entered bankruptcy protection in May. The group later increased its offer to $350 million.
GoDigital submitted a bid for $300 million but Fortress had concerns about the potential acquirer’s funding, according to sources.

A general view of atmosphere at the VICE Kills TX Music Showcase during the 2013 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at Viceland on March 16, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW)
Hutton Supancic | Getty Images

Vice Media has declared Fortress Investment Group the winning bidder for the company as it plans to emerge from bankruptcy.
Fortress led a group of lenders that offered a $225 million stalking horse bid for Vice when it entered bankruptcy protection in May. The group later increased its offer to $350 million, according to court papers filed Thursday.

Vice received multiple bids for the company, but none of them “rose to the level of being deemed a superior bid,” according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC.
Closely held GoDigital submitted one of the bids at a $300 million valuation, according to a person familiar with the matter. Fortress wanted more cash in the offer and had concerns about GoDigital’s funding, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to speak publicly because the bidding details are private.
“Our offer was significantly more than the stalking horse bid by the sellers,” GoDigital said in a statement. “The sellers chose to turn down this opportunity even though it was a bid higher than their own.”
GoDigital chief strategy officer Craig Greiwe added in a statement to CNBC that the company “remains ready to acquire Vice on reasonable terms and had demonstrated the financial ability to do so as part of this process.”
Fortress had been part of a consortium of lenders including Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital that provided financing to Vice in 2019. Vice filed for bankruptcy with a credit bid from the group.

Following failed sale processes before the filing, Fortress and the lenders were prepared to take control of Vice, a person familiar with the matter said. Fortress had become one of the leaders of the pre-bankruptcy sale processes, CNBC previously reported.
A bankruptcy-run auction – which was canceled since no other bids were deemed qualified – was a way of checking the market to see if the company’s assets could get a higher valuation, the person added.
The lender group will likely own the company for the next two-to-three years before trying to offload it once again, the person said. In the meantime, the new ownership will look to further shave off the business, and will entertain offers for individual assets, the person added.
Vice will present the sale to bankruptcy court on Friday and expects the acquisition to close then, the company said in the memo.
The sale closes a chapter for the digital media company, which was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. Vice owns a series of assets including Vice News, Vice Studios, Refinery29 and an ad agency called Virtue.
Spokespeople for Vice and Fortress declined to comment.
WATCH: Roku CEO discusses streaming and digital advertising at Cannes Lions 2023 More

Vaccinating a million adults ages 65 and above with a single RSV shot from Pfizer or GSK may prevent thousands of hospitalizations over two seasons of the virus, according to a CDC analysis. 
The analysis suggests the shots can help reduce the burden of RSV on hospitals in the fall, when the virus, Covid and the flu usually begin to spread at high levels. 
A CDC advisory committee recommended that adults ages 60 and older may receive one dose of Pfizer’s or GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus shot after consulting their doctor. 

Respiratory syncytial virus vial.
Manjurul | Istock | Getty Images

Vaccinating one million adults ages 65 and above with a single RSV shot from Pfizer or GSK may prevent thousands of hospitalizations over two seasons of the virus, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis. 
A CDC medical officer presented the analysis, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, at an advisory committee meeting on Wednesday. The committee recommended that adults ages 60 and older may receive one dose of Pfizer’s or GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus shot after consulting their doctor. 

The analysis found that vaccinating one million adults 65 and older with a single dose of Pfizer’s shot may prevent 2,500 hospitalizations and 25,000 outpatient visits over two seasons of the virus.
RSV season typically lasts from October to March in the Northern Hemisphere.  
The analysis also found that vaccinating one million adults in the same age group with one dose of GSK’s shot may prevent roughly 2,300 hospitalizations and 23,000 outpatient visits. 
The estimated number of prevented outcomes is lower for adults ages 60 to 64, according to the CDC medical officer, Dr. Michael Melgar. He said that’s because there’s “less existing RSV disease” in that group for the vaccine to prevent. 
The analysis further supports the efficacy of each newly approved shot in preventing RSV, a common respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms in most people but more severe infections in seniors and children. 

Each year, RSV hospitalizes 60,000 to 160,000 older adults and kills 6,000 to 10,000, according to CDC data. 
Pfizer and GSK on Wednesday both presented longer-term efficacy data at the meeting, which suggested that their shots generally maintain some protection against RSV after one season of the virus. 
The analysis also suggests that the shots could reduce the burden of RSV on hospitals in the fall, when multiple respiratory viruses usually begin to spread at high levels. 
Last year, cases of RSV – along with Covid and the flu – in children and older adults overwhelmed hospitals across the nation.  More

New vehicles are becoming more troublesome, due in part to new technologies including safety systems, according to the 2023 edition of J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study
The study found industry-wide problems per 100 vehicles rose by 12 to 192, on average.
The firm’s annual initial quality rankings are based on survey responses from new car buyers or lessees of current model-year vehicles who respond during their first 90 days of ownership.

The 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale.
Alfa Romeo

New vehicles are becoming more troublesome, due in part to new technologies including safety systems, according to the 2023 edition of J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study released Thursday.
“The automotive industry is facing a wide range of quality problems, a phenomenon not seen in the 37-year history of the [Initial Quality Study],” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “Today’s new vehicles are more complex — offering new and exciting technology — but not always satisfying owners.”

The 2023 Initial Quality Study found industry-wide problems per 100 vehicles rose by 12 to 192, on average. That follows an increase of 18 problems per 100 vehicles in last year’s study, a rise attributed at the time to the ongoing supply-chain problems that plagued the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study called out growing problems with advanced driver-assistance features such as lane-departure warnings and automatic emergency braking, as well as widespread issues with the wireless charging pads automakers have added for drivers’ smartphones.
But while the survey showed that part of this year’s increase in problems is related to new technologies, it also found automakers are having trouble with things once seen as basics, such as door handles. Some automakers, perhaps inspired by Tesla, have added high-tech door handles to new models, a “percolating problem area,” according to the study, with electric vehicles making up seven of the 10 worst offenders.
Three Stellantis brands — Dodge, Ram and Alfa Romeo — topped this year’s quality rankings, while Volvo and EV makers Tesla and Polestar landed at the bottom of the list, with 257 and 313 problems per 100 vehicles, respectively.
Among U.S. automakers, General Motors had a strong showing, landing all four of its brands — Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac — in the top 10 brands for quality.

Ford Motor didn’t do as well. Both the Ford brand and Lincoln were below average in this year’s tally, with 201 and 208 problems per vehicle, respectively. While Korea’s Hyundai and Kia were both solidly above average, a longtime paragon of quality, Toyota, underperformed with 194 problems per 100 vehicles, slightly worse than average.
The top mass-market brands for initial quality were Dodge, Ram and Buick. Alfa Romeo, Porsche and Cadillac topped the premium brands’ rankings.
EV makers such as Tesla, Polestar, Lucid and Rivian aren’t officially considered part of the study because they don’t give J.D. Power formal permission to access customer data, a legal requirement in 15 states.
J.D. Power was able to calculate its scores for Tesla and Polestar based on the results it collected in other states. Sample sizes for Lucid and Rivian were considered too small to be eligible for rankings and awards, but are included in the overall industry averages, J.D. Power said.
The firm’s annual initial quality rankings are based on survey responses from new car buyers or lessees of current model-year vehicles who respond during their first 90 days of ownership. It’s a widely watched study within the auto industry. This year’s results were based on responses from over 93,000 participants.
The company conducts separate surveys to rank brands by long-term dependability, the appeal of their new vehicles’ features and car buyers’ purchasing experiences across brands.

Top 10 auto brands in the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

Dodge, with 140 average problems per 100 vehicles
Ram, 141
Alfa Romeo, 143
Buick, 162
Chevrolet, 166
GMC, 167
Porsche, 167
Cadillac, 170
Kia, 170
Lexus, 171 More

Home sales inched higher in May from April, according to the National Association of Realtors.
High interest rates, inflated prices and tight supply are weighing on the traditionally busy spring market.
Compared with a year earlier, sales fell more than 20%.

A sign is posted in front of a home for sale on June 09, 2023 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Sales of previously owned homes were essentially flat in May compared with April, according to the National Association of Realtors.
They rose 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted, annualized pace of 4.30 million units. Compared with a year earlier, however, sales were 20.4% lower.

The slow spring sales pace is a combination of still-high prices, elevated mortgage rates and a critical shortage of homes for sale.
There were just 1.08 million homes on the market at the end of May. That’s 6.1% lower than the supply in May of last year. At the current sales pace that represents a three-month supply. Six months is considered a balanced market. Before the Covid pandemic hit, there were nearly twice as many homes on the market.
“Newly constructed homes are selling at a pace reminiscent of pre-pandemic times because of abundant inventory in that sector,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, said in a release. “However, existing-home sales activity is down sizably due to the current supply being roughly half the level of 2019.”
May sales are based on closings – that is, homes that likely went under contract in March and April. Mortgage rates were choppy during that period. The average contract interest rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage started March over 7%, then dropped sharply close to 6% briefly before then heading higher again, spending most of April around 6.5%.
Strong demand has kept a floor under home prices, which would normally drop more given the slow sales pace. The median price of an existing home sold in May was $396,100, which is 3.1% lower than May 2022. Prices rose in the Northeast and Midwest but fell in the South and West.

This is the largest price drop in just over a decade, but it is a median measure, which skews the price toward the type of home that is selling the most.
Right now, lower-priced homes are seeing the most activity. While sales of homes in all price tiers are now lower compared with a year ago, sales of homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 were down 12%. But sales of homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million were down 21%. Other price indexes that measure repeat sales of similar homes are showing prices rising again.
The pull between strong demand and tight supply is keeping the market competitive. Nearly a third of properties sold above list price. Properties remained on the market for 18 days in May, down from 22 days in April but up from 16 days in May 2022. Nearly three-quarters of the homes sold in May were on the market for less than a month.
“With fewer homeowners poised to become sellers in 2023, buyers have a tough road ahead,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “Our revised 2023 outlook expects that there will be some positives, namely, a gradual decline in mortgage rates beginning midyear and a continued softness in home prices that will start to stabilize high housing costs.”
The start of the summer housing season is shaping up much like the spring, with slower sales due to lack of supply. In a separate report from Redfin, a real estate brokerage, pending home sales fell 16% from a year earlier during the four weeks ended June 18. Pending sales are based on signed contracts, not closings.
Despite slower sales, Redfin’s measure of requests for tours and other early stage buying services is up 11% year over year. There are simply more buyers than homes for sale, as new listings are down 24% from a year ago, and the total number of homes for sale is down 8%, the biggest drop in over a year. More

Rules to police investment by American firms in China have acquired a phantom quality: always imminent, always delayed. In recent months the steady beat of debate on the topic has quickened to a drumroll. In March America’s Treasury and Commerce Departments delivered reports on potential rules. The next month Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s security adviser, trailed the policy in a speech. An executive order from Mr Biden is expected to follow. America’s allies are mulling similar restrictions. On June 20th the European Commission announced plans, albeit vague ones, to propose an initiative by the end of the year.Listen to this story. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on More

The three-martini lunch may be over, but the business dinner is here to stay—and it is a prospect that fills some executives with horror. For those who find the multiple rows of cutlery and wine glasses baffling, or who keep forgetting which side-plate is theirs, help is on hand to decode the hidden rules of etiquette. On the hills overlooking Lake Geneva, a company offers executives an extra layer of social polish to boost their confidence—and, perhaps, their career.Listen to this story. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on More

Traditions abound at the annual airshow that rotates between Paris and Farnborough. One is visitors’ observation that a glittering capital city, with the Eiffel Tower visible through the haze at the end of the runway, is preferable to a British town so unremarkable that its main attraction is its biennial airshow. Another is complaints about the heat from those trudging airstrips covered in commercial jets, fighter planes, helicopters and other pieces of high-tech kit.Listen to this story. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on More