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American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the company is prepared to match Delta’s pay increases.
Airline labor unions are seeking big pay increases after contract talks stalled during Covid.
Delta’s pilots last week ratified a four-year contract with 34% in cumulative raises.

FILE – American Airlines President Robert Isom speaks at a news conference about the company’s new partnership with Alaska Airlines, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, in Seattle. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker will retire next March and be replaced by the airline’s current president, Robert Isom.
Elaine Thompson | AP

American Airlines is prepared to raise pilot pay to match that of Delta’s, including 40% cumulative increases in a potential four-year deal, CEO Robert Isom said in a message to pilots.
Last week, Delta became the first of the biggest U.S. airlines to reach a new contract with its 15,000 pilots. They ratified a four-year deal that grants them 34% cumulative raises and other quality-of-life improvements. The deal sets the stage for other airlines and unions to reach agreements.

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The Covid travel slump paused contract negotiations, and talks were fraught when demand snapped back as pilots sought better compensation and schedules.
“Let me be clear, American is prepared to match Delta’s pay rates and provide American’s pilots with the same profit-sharing formula as Delta’s pilots,” Isom said in the message to pilots, sent Tuesday and seen by CNBC.
An agreement could include 21% pay increases in the first year of the contract, Isom said. Factoring in higher 401(k) contributions by the end of a four-year deal, a captain flying narrow-body planes would make $475,000 at the top of the scale, up $135,000 from current pay, while the most senior captains of wide-body planes would make $590,000 per year, a $170,000 increase from today.
Isom also vowed better scheduling and “more certainty” on when pilots would fly. Pilots across the industry have complained about frequent schedule changes during airlines’ rocky path to rebuilding networks to meet high travel demand. Aviators have also been in short supply.
The Allied Pilots Association, American Airlines pilots’ union, didn’t immediately comment on Isom’s statement.

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Total mortgage application volume rose 7.4% for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 9% week to week but were 76% lower than the same week one year ago.

A “For Sale” sign outside of a home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.
Dustin Chambers | Bloomberg | Getty Images

After dropping to a 28-year low the previous week, mortgage demand recovered slightly, even though interest rates marched higher.
Total mortgage application volume rose 7.4% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

This happened even as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) increased to 6.79% from 6.71%, with points rising to 0.80 from 0.77 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That is the highest level since November 2022 and 270 basis points higher than a year ago.
“Even with higher rates, there was an uptick in applications last week, but this was in comparison to two weeks of declines to very low levels, including a holiday week,” noted Joel Kan, an MBA economist.
Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 9% week to week but were 76% lower than the same week one year ago. At last week’s rate, there were barely 200,000 borrowers who could get monthly savings from a refinance, compared with well over 2 million who could have benefited at the rate one year ago, according to calculations from Black Knight, a mortgage data and analytics firm.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 7% for the week and were 42% lower than the same week one year ago. There is more inventory on the market now compared with a year ago, but new listings are still weak, suggesting that what is for sale isn’t selling very quickly.
The jump in demand could just be the start of the traditionally busy spring market. The share of adjustable-rate mortgage applications, however, rose last week, suggesting more buyers are stretching to afford today’s still pricey housing market. ARMs offer lower interest rates at higher risk.

Mortgage rates have moved even higher, crossing over 7%, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that rate hikes could accelerate again. That spooked investors and sent bond yields higher. Mortgage rates loosely follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury.
“Even though Fed Chair Powell didn’t say anything remarkably new or different, markets read enough into his delivery to change the course of Fed Funds Rate expectations in a meaningful way,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily.

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The German sportswear giant posted a fourth-quarter operating loss of 724 million euros and a net loss from continuing operations of 482 million euros.
Adidas scrapped its highly lucrative partnership with rapper and fashion designer Ye — formerly known as Kanye West, the face of Yeezy — in October after he made a series of antisemitic comments.

“The numbers speak for themselves. We are currently not performing the way we should”, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said in a press release.
Jeremy Moeller / Contributor / Getty Images

Adidas on Wednesday reported a big fourth-quarter loss and slashed its dividend after the costly termination of its partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand in October.
The German sportswear giant posted a fourth-quarter operating loss of 724 million euros ( $763 million ) and a net loss from continuing operations of 482 million euros. The company will recommend a dividend of 70 euro cents per share at its May 11 annual general meeting, down from 3.30 euros per share in 2021.

Currency-neutral revenues declined by 1% in the fourth quarter as a result of the termination of the company’s Yeezy partnership and will decline at a high-single-digit rate across 2023, the company said.
Adidas is projecting a full-year operating loss of 700 million euros in 2023, marking its first annual loss for 31 years. The estimate includes a hit of 500 million euros in potential Yeezy inventory write-off and 200 million euros in “one-off costs.”
Adidas scrapped its highly lucrative partnership with rapper and fashion designer Ye — formerly known as Kanye West, the face of Yeezy — in October, after he made a series of antisemitic comments. The company had previously flagged a severe hit to revenues, if it were unable to shift its huge remaining stock of unsold Yeezy footwear.
The company said underlying operating profit will be “around break-even level,” reflecting the loss of 1.2 billion euros in potential sales from unsold Yeezy stock.

New Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took over from Kasper Rørsted at the turn of the year, said in a statement Wednesday that 2023 will be a “transition year,” as the company looks to reduce inventories and lower discounts in order to return to profitability in 2024.

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful, but we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said.
“Motivated people and a strong adidas culture are the most important factors to build a unique adidas business model again. A business model built to focus on serving our consumer through both wholesale and DTC, that balances global direction with local needs, that is fast and agile, and of course, always invests in sports and culture to keep building credibility and brand heat.”
Over the whole of 2022, currency-neutral revenues were up 1% and grew in all markets except greater China, with double-digit increases observed in North America and Latin America. Operating profit came in at 669 million euros, while net income from continuing operations was 254 million euros.
“Inventory write-offs and one-off costs relating to the termination of its Yeezy partnership in October have cost Adidas dearly, resulting in an operating loss in the fourth quarter and a decline in sales. On top of that, sales in China fell sharply last year amid Beijing’s strict lockdown measures,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.
“Plus Adidas has been dealing with increased supply chain costs post pandemic and the macroeconomic backdrop which has weakened the consumer and prompted heavy discounting to attract customers.”
Adidas shares were down 1.7% during morning trade in Europe, but remain up more than 11% on the year.

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Rivian Automotive plans to raise $1.3 billion in cash via a sale of convertible notes.
The EV maker had $12.1 billion on hand as of the end of 2022.
Earnings reports from Rivian and fellow EV maker Lucid revealed concerns around demand for electric vehicles.

The Rivian name is shown on one of their new electric SUV vehicles in San Diego, U.S., December 16, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Rivian Automotive plans to raise $1.3 billion in cash via a sale of convertible notes, joining a growing list of EV makers scrambling to hoard cash as demand falters.
Shares of Rivian closed down over 14% on Tuesday.

Rivian said late Monday it plans to sell the convertible notes — bonds that can be paid back with cash, stock or a mix of the two — to help fund the development and launch of its upcoming smaller R2 series of vehicles, now expected in 2026. The institutional investors purchasing the notes will have the option to buy additional notes worth up to $200 million, if they choose, above the initial $1.3 billion.
Rivian isn’t in an urgent cash crunch, at least not yet. The EV maker had $12.1 billion on hand as of the end of 2022, it said during its fourth-quarter earnings presentation Feb. 28, enough to fund its operations through 2025. But it recently made a series of moves to conserve cash, laying off 6% of its workforce and pushing the R2 launch out a year.

Rivian also said last week that it expects to produce 50,000 vehicles in 2023, fewer than the roughly 60,000 that Wall Street analysts had expected. That may be a sign that demand for its high-priced pickups and SUVs is falling short of its expectations.
Lucid, another startup making high-priced electric vehicles, also guided investors to lower-than-expected production in 2023 and said that it plans to ramp up its marketing in coming months, suggesting that it too is seeing fewer orders than expected.
Rivian raised nearly $12 billion when it went public in late 2021, helping it amass a cash hoard that still dwarfs that of most other EV startups. The company’s shares have lost over 80% of their value since the debut, though.

Rivian said the convertible notes will qualify as “green bonds,” meaning they meet a set of criteria that tends to attract institutions willing to accept lower returns in exchange for supporting sustainable development.
The notes will mature in March 2029. The interest rate and other terms will be decided when the offering is priced.

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Dominion and Fox released hundreds of pages of evidence gathered in the $1.6 billion lawsuit, including testimony from depositions, text messages, and emails.
Court papers show further communications from Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch questioning whether the TV network hosts “went too far.”
Fox said the evidence it gathered showed Dominion has been “using distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign against Fox News.”

A billboard truck seen outside Fox News HQ. Members of the activist groups Truth Tuesdays and Rise and Resist gathered at the weekly FOX LIES DEMOCRACY DIES event outside the NewsCorp Building in Manhattan, this time with a billboard truck.
Erik Mcgregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images

More revelations from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch’s testimony, as well as evidence gathered from Fox executives and TV hosts in the months following the 2020 election, came to light on Tuesday as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit.
Hundreds of pages of gathered evidence from both sides – including full excerpts of testimony from depositions, text messages and emails – were published on Tuesday, providing glimpses into the back-and-forth at the right-wing TV network in the months following the 2020 election.

“Maybe Sean [Hannity] and Laura [Ingraham] went too far. All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump but what did he tell his viewers?” Murdoch said in an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on Jan. 21, 2021, in an apparent reference to Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. The exchange came 15 days after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
A Delaware judge ordered the documents unsealed. While portions of the depositions and evidence have been released in recent weeks, Tuesday’s filings are the most extensive revelations regarding private communications at Fox Corp. and Fox News.

Dominion has argued in its suit that Fox and its ring-wing cable TV channels and talent falsely claimed that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. 
Fox News on Tuesday said the documents it filed showed “Dominion has been caught red handed using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear FOX News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press. We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.”  
The company points to Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch’s testimony about being “kept awake at night” regarding ratings and competition following the 2020 election. Dominion has said and pointed to text messages between talent regarding fears about audience following Fox’s election night call of Arizona for Joe Biden. Lachlan Murdoch said in general ratings were something that have kept him up at night.

“You know, you get a few gray hairs from being awake at – sports ratings or news ratings or entertainment ratings are probably the worst so,” Lachlan Murdoch said, according to court papers.
A spokesperson for Dominion said Thursday: “The emails, texts, and deposition testimony speak for themselves. We welcome all scrutiny of our evidence because it all leads to the same place — Fox knowingly spread lies causing enormous damage to an American company.”
Trump has repeatedly spread false claims that the 2020 election between him and now-President Joe Biden was rigged. He attempted to pressure a top official in Georgia to “find” votes for him have become the subject of a criminal probe in the state, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. 
In an exchange between host Maria Bartiromo and former top Trump advisor Steve Bannon, Bartiromo said she was “so depressed.”
“I want to see massive fraud exposed Will he be able to turn this around. I told my team we are not allowed to say [president] elect at [all]. Not in scripts or banners on air. Until this moves through the courts,” Bartiromo said in a text message exchange. Bannon replied, “71 million voters will never accept Biden This process is to destroy is presidency before it even starts; IF it even starts.”
Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made false claims about the election. It has alleged Dominion is “cherry picking” quotes from depositions and documents gathered through discovery. 
Fox Corp. has also said in court papers that the past year of discovery has shown the media company played “no role in the creation and publication of the challenged statements – all of which aired on either Fox Business Network or Fox News Channel.” 
Also Tuesday, attorneys for Dominion and Fox met before a Delaware judge to discuss next steps leading into the scheduled trial that is to begin in mid-April. Before then, Dominion and Fox will meet again in Delaware court on March 21 regarding their motions for summary judgement.

‘They endorsed’

The exhibits filed to a Delaware court on Tuesday comes after weeks of court filings that have unveiled parts of the gathered evidence and depositions of Murdoch, other top Fox Corp. brass, as well as top talent.
In the filings, some of which were released last week, Murdoch acknowledged that some of Fox’s top TV anchors parroted false claims in the months following the 2020 presidential election, and that some even endorsed the claims. 
“Some of our commentators were endorsing it,” Murdoch said in his response during the deposition. “They endorsed.” 
Court papers also show Murdoch and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, were close to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott during the time regarding coverage on the network. Depositions and evidence such as text messages show personalities like Tucker Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham expressed disbelief in the claims being made on air. 
The case is being closely watched by First Amendment watchdogs. Libel lawsuits are typically focused on one falsehood, but in this case Dominion cites a long list of examples of Fox’s cable channels and its hosts making false claims even after they were proven to be untrue. Media companies are often broadly protected by the First Amendment. 
The lawsuit has also provided a window into what happens behind the scenes at Fox News, as well as other events tied to the 2020 election fraud claims that were covered on Fox’s networks.
For instance, court filings show that Fox Corp. executives had vetoed Trump’s attempt to appear on the network’s air on the evening of Jan. 6, 2021, after a violent mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in a bid to prevent Congress from confirming Biden’s victory.
That evening, top Fox host Tucker Carlson texted his producer, calling Trump “a demonic force.”
Court papers also show that Murdoch also said it was “wrong” for Carlson to host MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, an ally of Trump who promoted conspiracy theories tied to the election, weeks after Jan. 6.
Carlson, along with top anchors including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, had expressed disbelief in what Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump attorney who had aggressively promoted claims of election fraud, had said at the time, too.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, blasted Fox News host Tucker Carlson for airing Jan. 6 footage on Monday in a way that portrayed it as a peaceful visit to the U.S. Capitol. Schumer also criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for giving Carlson and Fox News exclusive access to 44,000 hours of Capitol security footage.
Meanwhile, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., last week sent a letter to Murdoch and Fox News leadership, calling on them “to stop spreading false election narratives and admit on the air that they were wrong to engage in such negligent behavior.” The letter was released in the days after further revelations in the case. 

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WW International’s stock surged after the company said it agreed to buy Sequence, a telehealth platform that helps treat obesity.
WeightWatchers has struggled over the past year as it attempted to adapt its weight-loss messaging for wellness culture.
The trend of using obesity medications for weight loss has led to a shortage for those who use it to treat conditions like diabetes.

Shares of WW International, also known as WeightWatchers, skyrocketed Tuesday after the company said it planned to buy Sequence, a telehealth platform that provides treatment for obesity.
The stock closed 79% higher on Tuesday. Its market value stood at more than $488 million.

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“It is our responsibility, as the trusted leader in weight management, to support those interested in exploring if medications are right for them,” WW CEO Sima Sistani said in a Monday announcement.
Tuesday’s jump follows a year of sagging performance for the stock. Shares of the company were down 57% over the past year as it struggled to pivot to wellness and move away from weight loss.
Sistani took over as chief executive at the end of February, steering the company back toward weight loss messaging.
The Sequence announcement comes as companies across the weight loss industry look to offer obesity medications as a pathway to customers looking to shed pounds.
The trend has led to a shortage in medications like Ozempic, which are commonly prescribed for Type 2 diabetes.

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Cox Automotive on Tuesday reported wholesale used vehicle prices increased 4.3% in February from January — marking the largest increase between the two months since 2009.
Although the prices were were down 7% from inflated levels a year earlier, they’re trending back toward record levels, according to Cox’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index.

DETROIT — Consumers hoping for a deal this spring on a used car or truck might be out of luck, as wholesale used vehicle prices increased for a third consecutive month in February.
Cox Automotive on Tuesday reported wholesale used vehicle prices increased 4.3% in February from January — marking the largest increase between the two months since 2009.

Although the prices were down 7% from inflated levels a year earlier, they’re trending back toward record levels, according to Cox’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions.
The unseasonably strong increase is bad news for consumers hoping for a deal, as well as for the Biden administration, which has seen pre-owned vehicle prices as a barometer for easing inflation.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday cautioned that interest rates are likely to head higher than central bank policymakers had expected, citing data that inflation has reversed the deceleration it showed in late 2022.

Higher interest rates mean vehicles become less affordable for consumers, who have been dealing with record-high new and used vehicle prices for several years now.
Cox reports the average listed price of a used vehicle was $26,510 in January, the most recent data available, down from record highs last year of more than $28,000. Retail prices for consumers traditionally follow changes in wholesale prices.

Cox estimates that used vehicle retail sales declined 5% from January to February and were down 9% from a year earlier.
Used vehicle prices have been elevated since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as the global health crisis, combined with supply chain issues, caused production of new vehicles to sporadically idle. That led to a low supply of new vehicles and record-high prices amid resilient demand. The costs and scarcity of inventory led consumers to buy used vehicles, increasing those prices as well.

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The National Transportation Safety Board has opened a special probe into Norfolk Southern after a series of train derailments.
The special investigation will examine Norfolk Southern’s organization and safety culture.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is set to testify before a U.S. Senate panel on the rail company’s derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

General view of the site of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste, in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., March 2, 2023. 
Alan Freed | Reuters

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday said it opened a special investigation into Norfolk Southern after recent derailments.
The special probe will look into the company’s organization and safety culture, according to a press release.

“Given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents, the NTSB also urges the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices, with the input of employees and others, and implement necessary changes to improve safety,” the NTSB said in a statement.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the company will fully cooperate with the NTSB.
“Moving forward, we are going to rebuild our safety culture from the ground up. We are going to invest more in safety,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue.”    
The news of the probe comes before Shaw is set to testify Thursday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to address potential threats to public health and the environment resulting from the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment last month.
Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said the panel wants to know about a variety of issues stemming from that derailment.

“What did they do well? What did they do badly? What are they doing to address things that they botched? What are they doing since the incident occurred in order to make people feel cared for, cared about?” Carper told CNBC. “When we walk out of there, I want to make sure that Norfolk Southern is doing what they need to do to make this right. Not just with respect to the folks in the community but also in terms of the movement of these hazardous substances all over our country, even as we speak.”
The NTSB released a preliminary report last month that pointed to an overheated wheel bearing as a factor in the derailment and fire.
On Saturday, another Norfolk Southern train derailed near Springfield, Ohio. Unlike the East Palestine incident, this train wasn’t carrying hazardous materials. No injuries were reported following the derailment.
The NTSB has launched investigations into five incidents involving Norfolk Southern, including the death of a Norfolk Southern conductor Tuesday morning in Cleveland after a dump truck collided with a train at a steel facility. The conductor, who was identified as Louis Shuster, was struck when a dump truck carrying limestone collided with the side of the train’s first car, a Cleveland Police spokesperson said.
–CNBC’s Christina Wilkie contributed to this report from Washington.

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