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Norfolk Southern said it reached a deal to offer up to seven paid sick days to members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths.
The IBBB is now the ninth of Norfolk Southern’s 12 unions that have negotiated paid sick days.
Norfolk Southern is contending with political and environmental fallout from a last month’s derailment of a train carrying toxic materials in East Palestine, Ohio.

A Norfolk Southern Corp. engine car moves through the Lamberts Point coal transloading facility in Norfolk, Virginia, on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Norfolk Southern said Wednesday it agreed to provide up to seven paid sick days per years for members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths.
The deal provides Norfolk Southern’s mechanical railroaders with four paid sick days per year, in addition to three existing days of paid time off that can now be used as sick days. The IBBB is now the ninth of Norfolk Southern’s 12 unions that have negotiated paid sick days, benefitting about 6,000 workers.

The move comes after months of fighting between unions and railraods – including Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and BNSF – over paid sick leave. President Joe Biden signed a bill at the end of 2022 to avert a nationwide rail strike. The legislation, however, did not include paid sick leave.
Norfolk Southern announced the deal as the company contends with political and environmental fallout from a last month’s derailment of a train carrying toxic materials in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border. Company and government officials have said it’s safe to live in the area following the disaster, although some workers and residents have complained of ailments. Ohio sued the company Tuesday.
The paid sick leave agreement comes two days after Norfolk Southern reached deals with the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Last week, the company announced agreements with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation Workers, Mechanical Department and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The company reached deals with two other unions in February, while two others already had access to paid sick leave benefits.
“We continue to make strides to improve the quality of life of our craft railroaders in partnership with our unions,” said Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw. “Our railroaders help drive the American economy forward, and each of these new agreements helps ensure that they have even more time to manage their personal health and well-being.”

Norfolk Southern did not comment beyond its previously released statements.
In February, Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., demanded railroad carriers offer workers at least seven paid sick days. Sanders urged rail companies to “do the right thing” while mentioning the carriers’ record profits. Sanders’ office said that rail companies spent 184% more on shareholder returns than workers’ wages and benefits.
“At the end of the day, in 2023, it is not acceptable to have workers that do dangerous work not to get one sick day,” Sanders said at the time.
–CNBC’s Lori Ann LaRocco contributed to this report.

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Axiom Space on Wednesday revealed a prototype of the lunar spacesuit that NASA plans to use on its Artemis missions to the moon.
“We’re pleased that humanity’s next steps on the moon are going to be in an Axiom spacesuit,” Axiom president and CEO Michael Suffredini said during an event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The company won an initial contract worth $228.5 million last year to design and build the spacesuits.

Chief Engineer Jim Stein wears the new spacesuit during the Axiom Space Artemis III Lunar Spacesuit event at Space Center Houston in Houston, Texas, on March 15, 2023. “Since a spacesuit worn on the Moon must be white to reflect heat and protect astronauts from extreme high temperatures, a cover layer is currently being used for display purposes only to conceal the suits proprietary design, ” Axion said in a press release.
Mark Felix | AFP | Getty Images

Axiom Space on Wednesday revealed a prototype of the lunar spacesuit that NASA plans to use for its astronauts during Artemis missions, which are set to launch later this decade.
“This is a big deal for us” Axiom President and CEO Michael Suffredini said during an event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“We’re pleased that humanity’s next steps on the moon are going to be in an Axiom spacesuit,” Suffredini added.
The company won an initial contract worth $228.5 million last year to design and build the spacesuits, which are planned for use on the Artemis III mission and onward. NASA’s Artemis program represents a series of missions with escalating goals. The agency successfully completed the first, uncrewed flight in December.

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In addition to Axiom, NASA also awarded a contract to Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon, to build next-generation spacesuits. Under the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services program, NASA expects to provide up to $3.5 billion for spacesuits through 2034.

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Airline stocks’ slide outpaced the broader market.
The move comes after a decline in consumer retail spending and other investor concerns.
Airline executives have been upbeat about travel demand in 2023.

A JetBlue airplane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on March 9, 2023.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Airline stocks slid Wednesday as the market fell broadly amid concerns over stability of some banks and new data that showed a slowdown in consumer spending.
The NYSE Arca Airline index, which includes mostly U.S. carriers, was down about 6% Wednesday afternoon, on track for its biggest one-day percentage decline since last June. It outpaced a drop in the S&P 500.

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Airline executives during a JPMorgan industry conference on Tuesday said they expect strong demand — and profits — in 2023, despite higher costs, with leisure travel continuing to lead the way. Consumer appetite for air travel has surged over the past year and higher fares have boosted airlines’ bottom lines.
But carriers also pointed to near-term problems like higher expenses like fuel and labor. United Airlines on Monday forecast a first-quarter loss from a potential new pilot contract and weaker-than-expected demand early this year, traditionally a slow period for travel.
Some executives said lucrative business travel is shifting because of more hybrid work models that allow customers to mix work trips with leisure in place of more traditional schedules.
“I think business travel has changed,” JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes said at the conference. “Those day trips where you used to get up at 6 a.m., you’re back at 8 p.m. … you’re just not going to do that anymore.”
Hayes said that means shifts in the network.

“We came in with 15 Boston-LaGuardias as we thought that was a great idea. It turns out it wasn’t,” he said. “And that’s now going to be nine or 10 as we get later into the year.”
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said corporate travel has recovered more than 80% of prepandemic levels.
“As I tell many of my CEO friends across the industry and outside of the industry, I know where your employees are. They may not be in the office, but you can find them on my airplanes,” he said at the conference. “And that’s because of the new way of work, the new hybrid, new mobility. And I don’t think that’s changing.”

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Jon Favreau, showrunner of “The Mandalorian,” joins CNBC to talk streaming, storytelling and crafting a new generation of Star Wars.
“The Mandalorian” has inspired Disney and Lucasfilm to invest in more live-action and animated long-form content in the Star Wars universe.

Nearly four years ago, Disney’s streaming service Disney+ launched with a new Star Wars series called “The Mandalorian.” Helmed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, the western-inspired sci-fi show captivated audiences and launched a new era of Star Wars storytelling.
Now in its third season, “The Mandalorian” has inspired Disney and Lucasfilm to invest in more live-action and animated long-form content in the Star Wars universe. This includes “The Bad Batch,” “Kenobi,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Andor.”

And there’s more to come. On Tuesday, Favreau, also known for starring in “Swingers” and “PCU,” as well as directing the first two “Iron Man” movies, sat down with CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla to talk streaming, storytelling and crafting this new generation of Star Wars.
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Kellogg will split into two companies named Kellanova and WK Kellogg Co by the end of the year.
Kellanova, which will include brands like Pringles and Cheez-Its, will retain the “K” stock ticker currently used by the food giant.
Kellogg announced the separation plans in June.

Kellogg brand Cheez-it crackers arranged at a supermarket in Dobbs Ferry, New York, US, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Kellogg Co. said it will split into three independent companies, sparking a rally in the food conglomerates shares.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Kellogg on Wednesday revealed it will name its snacking unit Kellanova as part of its plan to separate into two independent public companies.
Kellanova, which will include brands like Pringles and Cheez-Its, will retain the “K” stock ticker currently used by the food giant. The North American cereal unit will be renamed WK Kellogg Co. The company said that unit’s ticker will be announced in the coming months.

The use of “Kell” recognizes the new company’s connection to Kellogg, while the Latin word “nova,” which means new, is meant to signal its ambition to be a global snacking powerhouse, according to Steve Cahillane, CEO of Kellogg and future CEO of Kellanova.
The Kellogg’s name will remain on brand packaging.
Kellogg said it solicited employee ideas to name the two companies and received more than 4,000 submissions. Roughly a fifth of workers who submitted names suggested a variation of founder W.K. Kellogg’s name for the cereal business.
The spinoff, which was announced in June, is planned for the end of this year. The initial plan also included the sale or separation of its plant-based business, which includes Morningstar Farms. However, Kellogg said in February it has reversed course as consumers’ and investors’ interest in the category waned. Instead, it will be a part of Kellanova.

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Homebuilders are starting to feel better about the market for newly built single-family homes.
It’s the third straight monthly increase in builder sentiment.
Sales expectations in the next six months, however, fell, and the industry is watching recent instability in the banking system.

Construction workers work on a home, as a subdivision of home is built in San Marcos, California, January 31, 2023.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Mortgage rates are high and volatile, homes are still pricey, and inflation is not in check, but, even so, the nation’s homebuilders are starting to feel better about their business.
A monthly gauge of builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose in March, even though analysts expected a drop. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose two points to 44. Anything above 50 is considered positive.

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It’s the third straight monthly increase in builder sentiment. The index stood at 79 in March of last year, when mortgage rates were significantly lower.
“Even as builders continue to deal with stubbornly high construction costs and material supply chain disruptions, they continue to report strong pent-up demand as buyers are waiting for interest rates to drop and turning more to the new home market due to a shortage of existing inventory,” NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a custom homebuilder from Birmingham, Alabama, said in a release. “But given recent instability concerns in the banking system and volatility in interest rates, builders are highly uncertain about the near- and medium-term outlook.”
Of the index’s three components, current sales conditions rose two points to 49, and buyer traffic rose three points to 31. Sales expectations in the next six months, however, fell one point to 47.
“While financial system stress has recently reduced long-term interest rates, which will help housing demand in the coming weeks, the cost and availability of housing inventory remains a critical constraint for prospective home buyers,” said Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist in the release.
The nation’s second-largest homebuilder, Lennar, reported quarterly earnings Tuesday that beat analysts’ expectations. Lennar’s chairman, Stuart Miller, noted in the release, “Homebuyers are considering the possibility that today’s interest rate environment may be the new normal. Accordingly, the housing market continues shifting as growing household and family formation continued to drive demand against a chronic supply shortage.”

And the supply situation may also be another victim of the banking stress. Dietz noted that 40% of builders in the March sentiment survey currently characterize lot availability as “poor.”
“A follow-on effect of the pressure on regional banks, as well as continued Fed tightening, will be further constraints for acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans for builders across the nation. When AD&C loan conditions are tight, lot inventory constricts and adds an additional hurdle to housing affordability,” said Dietz.
Regionally, on a three-month moving average, builder sentiment in the Northeast rose five points to 42. In the Midwest, it moved up one point to 34. In the South it rose five points to 45, and in the West it moved four points higher to 34.

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Total application volume rose 6.5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
Despite rates being higher, mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 7% for the week, but were still 38% lower than the same week one year ago.
Applications to refinance a home loan climbed 5% for the week but were 74% lower than the same week one year ago.

Demand for mortgages increased for the second straight week, despite some volatility in mortgage rates.
Total application volume rose 6.5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 6.71% from 6.79%, with points falling to 0.79 from 0.80 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.
That was the average, but mortgage rates were largely higher for most of the week before dropping sharply Friday on news of the Silicon Valley Bank failure.
Despite rates being higher, mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 7% for the week but were still 38% lower than the same week a year ago. Homebuying basically stalled in early February, after rates rose about a full percentage point, but buyers seem to be coming back now, perhaps because they are concerned rates will go even higher. The question is how long will that last?
“That always happens when rates surge and it only lasts a few weeks,” said John Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, who said he saw an increase in sales of newly built homes in February despite higher rates.
Lennar, the nation’s second-largest homebuilder, posted better-than-expected earnings Tuesday, with the company’s chairman, Stuart Miller, saying in the release: “Homebuyers are considering the possibility that today’s interest rate environment may be the new normal. Accordingly, the housing market continues shifting as growing household and family formation continued to drive demand against a chronic supply shortage.”

Applications to refinance a home loan increased 5% from the prior week but were 74% lower than one year ago.
Mortgage rates dropped further Monday, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily, but bounced higher again Tuesday after the February consumer price index was released, suggesting that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates again next week despite recent banking industry turmoil.

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The New Mexico special prosecutor in the “Rust” manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin and a co-defendant stepped down.
Baldwin’s attorneys sought to disqualify the prosecutor Andrea Reeb her because of her position as a state legislator.
The decision by the Reeb is the second major setback in the case against Baldwin.
She previously dropped a so-called enhancement, which carried a five-year prison sentence, after admitting to Baldwin’s lawyers she had incorrectly applied the law.

Alec Baldwin on Oct 7, 2021 at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Mark Sagliocco | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

The special prosecutor in the “Rust” manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin and a co-defendant stepped down Tuesday after Baldwin’s attorneys argued that New Mexico’s constitution barred her from serving in that role while being a state legislator.
“I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand,” said Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor, in her surprise statement.

Reeb’s decision to recuse herself came after weeks of resistance to that idea by her and First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who appointed her.
And it is the second major setback in the case against Baldwin for the accidental fatal shooting in October 2021 of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust.”
Reeb, who previously served as a district attorney elsewhere in New Mexico, originally charged Baldwin and the original “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in January with a so-called firearm enhancement. That carried a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence if the defendants were convicted.
But Reeb dropped that enhancement after admitting to Baldwin’s lawyers over email that she incorrectly applied a law that took effect only after Hutchins was killed.
“After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to step down as special prosecutor in the ‘Rust’ case,” Reeb said in her statement Tuesday “My priority in this case — and in every case I’ve prosecuted in my 25-year career — has been justice for the victim.”

“However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is served in this case is to step down so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and the facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols led to the death of Halyna Hutchins,” she said.
The First Judicial District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Baldwin’s defense lawyers last month filed a motion asking a judge to remove Reeb from the case.
Those attorneys argued that New Mexico’s constitution explicitly bars people from holding a position in one branch of government while executing the powers of another branch.
Luke Nikas, one of Baldwin’s lawyers, reached by CNBC on Tuesday, did not directly comment on Reeb’s statement.
But Nikas pointed CNBC back to the reasoning from his motion to disqualify Reeb.
In that, he had argued that there was “no question that Representative Reeb is violating both the plain text and the purpose of the New Mexico Constitution’s separation-of-powers provision by serving simultaneously as a legislator and a prosecutor.”
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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