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In Hong Kong, Brief-Lived Censorship Hints at a Deeper Standoff

The Mr. Law, 27, said he and other activists had set up the site from outside Hong Kong. A New York Times check on the digital route taken by traffic to the site showed that it was hosted by servers in the United States.

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Mr. Law said he had gone back and forth with a representative at Wix since Monday, when the site first disappeared. At the time, the company told him that there was a legal takedown request and that the site was in violation of the company’s terms of service. Later, the company sent Mr. Law the letter from the Hong Kong police, which said the site was a threat to national security.

The site contains a letter, addressed to Hong Kongers who have fled the city, that calls for them to unite in striving for democracy in the city. It also calls for the repeal of the national security law, urges the reform of policing in Hong Kong and criticizes the authoritarian rule of China by the Chinese Communist Party.

“We strive for Hong Kong’s democratic transformation, to realize the freedom, autonomy and democracy that were promised to Hong Kong,” reads a part of the letter. Visitors to the site can sign onto the document, called the “2021 Hong Kong Charter.”

Mr. Law said the website did not encourage violence. “It does not do anything that would be considered illegitimate in liberal countries, but the government can always quote the national security law” to rule that a site is illegal, he said.

“So yes indeed, we will face more similar events in the future,” he added.

In January, Hong Kong’s biggest mobile telecom companies severed access to a local Hong Kong website that listed the personal information of police officers. The move heightened long-held fears that censorship rules as strict as China’s could be ushered into Hong Kong in the coming years.

This week, authorities said they would soon require residents to use their real identity when purchasing cellular services. A similar system in China helped regulators end online anonymity and empowered a force of internet police officers who question and sometimes jail the most outspoken.

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Business

AMC recordsdata to promote 11 million shares, then provides up huge inventory acquire

AMC Entertainment said Thursday it plans to sell more than 11 million shares amid the trading frenzy in its stock.

“In accordance with the terms of the Distribution Agreement, we may, through our sales agents, offer and sell from time to time up to an aggregate of 11,550,000 shares of our Class A common stock,” AMC said in an SEC filing.

Shares of AMC dropped 11% on Thursday and was briefly halted for volatility. AMC shares were up more than 20% in premarket trading before news of the stock sale.

AMC later said it completed its new stock offering announced just this morning, raising $587.4 million in additional capital.

AMC Entertainment is garnering attention from WallStreetBets traders in recent weeks, pushing the stock up nearly 140% this week to an all-time high of $62.55 on Wednesday. AMC is up 512% this quarter and a whopping 2,850% this year. The market value has ballooned to above $31 billion.

“We believe that the recent volatility and our current market prices reflect market and trading dynamics unrelated to our underlying business, or macro or industry fundamentals, and we do not know how long these dynamics will last,” the company said in the filing. “Under the circumstances, we caution you against investing in our Class A common stock, unless you are prepared to incur the risk of losing all or a substantial portion of your investment.”

In a parallel to the epic short squeeze of GameStop in January, short-sellers have increased their bets against AMC shares over the last month, possibly fueling the move higher. About 18% of the AMC shares available for trading were still sold short through Wednesday, according to S3 Partners.

AMC has embraced its new status as a meme stock. On Wednesday, the company launched AMC Investor Connect for its retail investors, providing them with exclusive promotions like a free tub of popcorn and direct communications with CEO Adam Aron, who has been dubbed “Silverback.”

The encouragement of retail traders comes as the company moves to sell millions of shares into the market to raise capital. In typical times, a share sale from a company hurts the stock price in the short term as it dilutes the number of share outstanding.

AMC said it plans to use the money from the stock sale for “general corporate purposes,” which may include paying down existing debt and acquisition of theater assets.

 B. Riley Securities and Citigroup Global Markets are AMC’s sale agents for the stock sale.

Separately, AMC on Tuesday announced a sale of 8.5 million shares to Mudrick Capital at approximately $27.12 per share — worth about $230.5 million. Despite that share sale, the stock continued to go higher as retail investors cheered the capital raise.

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AMC Share Worth, Unemployment and Inventory Market: Dwell Information Updates

Tägliches Geschäftsbriefing

3. Juni 2021Aktualisiert

3. Juni 2021, 10:08 Uhr ET

Der Kurs von AMC Entertainment, der der Schwerkraft trotzt, an der Börse wurde am Donnerstag gestoppt, nachdem die Kinokette angekündigt hatte, weitere 11,55 Millionen Aktien zu verkaufen. Beim Schlusskurs der Aktie am Mittwoch würde dieser Verkauf mehr als 720 Millionen US-Dollar einbringen.

Die Aktie verlor im frühen Handel fast 30 Prozent, nachdem sie im vorbörslichen Handel vor der Ankündigung des Aktienverkaufs um etwa 20 Prozent gestiegen war.

Am Mittwoch verdoppelte sich der Preis von AMC fast auf 62,55 US-Dollar pro Aktie, nachdem das Unternehmen angekündigt hatte, den mehr als drei Millionen Privatanlegern, die Aktien des Unternehmens besitzen, kostenloses Popcorn und andere Vergünstigungen anzubieten.

AMC wurde von Kleinanlegern angenommen, die versuchen, den Preis bestimmter Unternehmen zu erhöhen, die als Meme-Aktien bekannt wurden, weil die Händler ihre Ideen auf Social-Media-Plattformen bewerben. Ihr Interesse an den Unternehmen hat zu einem atemberaubenden Anstieg der Aktienkurse geführt – AMC wurde zu Beginn des Jahres bei knapp über 2 USD pro Aktie gehandelt.

Diese kleinen Aktionäre besitzen jetzt 80 Prozent des Unternehmens, sagte AMC. Andere Meme-Aktien brachen im frühen Handel am Donnerstag ebenfalls ein, darunter GameStop, das um 5 Prozent fiel.

US-Aktien fielen, da Händler vorsichtig an zwei Berichte über den Arbeitsmarkt herangingen. Wöchentliche Daten zu Erstanträgen auf staatliche Arbeitslosenunterstützung zeigten, dass die Anträge von letzter Woche leicht auf etwa 425.000 gestiegen sind.

Am Freitag veröffentlicht das Arbeitsministerium seinen monatlichen Stellenbericht. Im vergangenen Monat zeigte dieser Bericht einen unerwartet geringen Anstieg der Einstellungen im April.

Der S&P 500 verlor im frühen Handel etwa ein halbes Prozent.

Die Anleger beobachten auch die Federal Reserve aufmerksam auf Anzeichen dafür, dass sie ihre geldpolitischen Anreize zurückziehen wird, was dazu beigetragen hat, die Vermögenspreise hoch zu halten. Patrick Harker, der Präsident der Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, sagte am Mittwoch, dass es „möglicherweise an der Zeit ist, zumindest darüber nachzudenken, sein großes Programm zum Ankauf von Staatsanleihen zu reduzieren“.

Am Mittwoch kündigte die Federal Reserve an, ihre relativ kleinen Bestände an Unternehmensanleihen zu verkaufen, die letztes Jahr zur Stabilisierung des Anleihenmarktes in den ersten Monaten der Pandemie gekauft worden waren.

Die meisten europäischen Aktienindizes gaben am Donnerstag nach. Der FTSE 100 in Großbritannien verlor 0,9 Prozent und fiel damit stärker als andere große europäische Indizes. Es gibt Spekulationen, dass sich die für den 21. Juni geplante endgültige Aufhebung der sozialen Distanzierungsbeschränkungen in Großbritannien aufgrund der Ausbreitung der erstmals in Indien entdeckten Coronavirus-Variante verzögern könnte.

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Zu Beginn des Jahres hatte die Kinokette AMC Entertainment eine Marktkapitalisierung von rund 450 Millionen US-Dollar, etwa ein Zehntel ihres präpandemischen Höchststands. Seitdem wurde es von der Meme-Aktien-Manie mitgerissen, bei der sich Gruppen von Einzelhändlern zusammenschließen, um ihre Aktien zu kaufen und zu halten, was sie zu neuen Höhen führt.

Als es Theater wiedereröffnet und versucht, die Leute zurückzulocken, ist es plötzlich mehr als das Achtfache seiner besten Tage vor dem Ausbruch wert. Dies ist eine bemerkenswerte Trendwende, die auf einem erneuten Investorenwahn beruht, der von den fundamentalen Finanzaussichten des Unternehmens unabhängig ist, berichtet der DealBook-Newsletter.

Marktkapitalisierung von AMC Entertainment

Um den jüngsten Lauf der Aktie zu relativieren: Anfang 2021 war sie ungefähr so ​​viel wert wie Franklin Covey, der Hersteller von Franklin-Tagesplanern. Auf seinem Höhepunkt während des Meme-Aktienanstiegs im Januar (der sich auf den Videospiel-Einzelhändler GameStop konzentrierte) stieg AMC auf eine Marktkapitalisierung von rund 4,5 Milliarden US-Dollar oder ungefähr so ​​​​wie H&R Block, der Steueranbieter. Das war damals ein großer Schritt, verblasst aber im Vergleich zur vergangenen Woche.

Nach ein paar heißen Handelstagen ist AMC jetzt mehr als 30 Milliarden Dollar wert, oder ungefähr so ​​viel wie Delta Air Lines.

WeiterlesenAnerkennung…Jeff Kowalsky / Agence France-Presse – Getty Images

Die Produktion wurde am Mittwoch in neun JBS-Rindfleischfabriken in den USA wieder aufgenommen, nachdem sie durch einen Ransomware-Angriff abgeschaltet worden waren. Laut FBI handelt es sich bei dem Täter um eine in Russland ansässige kriminelle Gruppe, die für ihre Cyberangriffe auf prominente amerikanische Unternehmen bekannt ist.

Tausende Arbeiter in den Rind-, Schweine- und Geflügelfabriken von JBS in Australien, Kanada und den Vereinigten Staaten waren betroffen, als die Schichten am Montag und Dienstag geändert oder abgesagt wurden.

Hier die neuesten Nachrichten:

  • JBS, ein brasilianisches Unternehmen, auf das etwa ein Fünftel der Rinder- und Schweineschlachtungen in den USA entfällt, erwartet laut einer auf der Website des Unternehmens veröffentlichten Erklärung, dass der Betrieb seiner Tochtergesellschaften JBS USA und Pilgrim bis Donnerstag fast voll ausgelastet sein wird.

  • „JBS USA und Pilgrim’s machen weiterhin bedeutende Fortschritte bei der Wiederherstellung unserer IT-Systeme und der Rückkehr zum normalen Geschäftsbetrieb“, sagte Andre Nogueira, der CEO von JBS USA, in der Erklärung.

  • In Australien wurde der Betrieb langsamer wieder aufgenommen. Den Arbeitern in einem Schlachthof in Tasmanien wurde mitgeteilt, dass sie am Freitag wieder zur Arbeit gehen, sagte Andrew Foden, der tasmanische Sekretär der Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union. „Im Moment sind in Tasmanien alle ohne Bezahlung abgesetzt, aber ich glaube, sie kommen ab morgen alle von der Arbeit“, sagte er.

  • In der vergangenen Woche wurden Dutzende von Organisationen von Ransomware-Angriffen getroffen, darunter die City University of New York; die Massachusetts Steamship Authority, die Fähren nach Martha’s Vineyard und Nantucket betreibt; und die Birmingham Barons, ein Baseballteam der unteren Liga.

Yan Zhuang trug zur Berichterstattung bei.

WeiterlesenUnternehmen sind zu einem volleren Betrieb zurückgekehrt, insbesondere in stark betroffenen Branchen wie Freizeit und Gastgewerbe.Anerkennung…Saul Martinez für die New York Times

  • Die Erstanträge auf staatliche Arbeitslosenunterstützung haben sich letzte Woche kaum verändert, berichtete das Arbeitsministerium am Donnerstag.

  • Die wöchentliche Zahl lag bei rund 425.000, ein Plus von 6.000 gegenüber der Vorwoche. Neue Anträge auf Pandemie-Arbeitslosenhilfe, ein vom Bund finanziertes Programm für arbeitslose Freiberufler, Gig-Arbeiter und andere, die normalerweise keinen Anspruch auf staatliche Leistungen haben, beliefen sich auf 76.000, ein Rückgang von 17.000 gegenüber der Vorwoche. Die Zahlen sind nicht saisonbereinigt. (Auf saisonbereinigter Basis beliefen sich die staatlichen Ansprüche auf insgesamt 385.000, ein Rückgang um 20.000.)

  • Im historischen Vergleich sind die neuen staatlichen Forderungen nach wie vor hoch, aber weniger als die Hälfte des noch Anfang Februar verzeichneten Niveaus. Die Anträge auf Sozialleistungen, die eine Art Proxy für Entlassungen darstellen, sind zurückgegangen, da Unternehmen zu einem volleren Betrieb zurückkehren, insbesondere in stark betroffenen Branchen wie Freizeit und Gastgewerbe.

  • Einen umfassenderen Überblick über den Arbeitsmarkt wird die Regierung am Freitag geben, wenn der monatliche Stellenbericht für Mai veröffentlicht wird. Von Bloomberg befragte Ökonomen schätzen, dass die Arbeitgeber im Monat etwa 655.000 Stellen geschaffen haben, wie die mittlere Prognose zeigt.

Lebensmittelarbeiter sagen, dass der Maskengebrauch nach den Leitlinien der CDC für geimpfte Amerikaner erheblich zurückgegangen ist.Anerkennung…Carlos Bernate für die New York Times

Die von der New York Times interviewten Einzelhandels-, Gastgewerbe- und Fast-Food-Mitarbeiter im ganzen Land äußerten sich alarmiert darüber, dass ihre Arbeitgeber neue Richtlinien der Zentren für die Kontrolle und Prävention von Krankheiten verwendet hatten, um Masken für geimpfte Kunden optional zu machen.

Einige gaben an, geimpft worden zu sein, befürchteten jedoch, dass sie dennoch krank werden oder Familienmitglieder infizieren könnten, die nicht geimpft wurden oder nicht geimpft werden konnten. Andere sagten, sie müssten noch geimpft werden, berichtet Noam Scheiber für The Times.

Matt Kennon, ein Zimmerservice-Server im Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., sagte, bevor die CDC ihre Empfehlungen lockerte, lautete die Richtlinie des Resorts, dass alle Gäste in den öffentlichen Bereichen Masken tragen müssen, es sei denn, sie essen, trinken oder drinking Rauchen, und dass es strikt durchgesetzt wurde.

„Es gab mehrere Sicherheitskontrollen rund um den Ort, an denen uns jemand von der Sicherheit sagen ließ: ‚Bitte setzen Sie eine Maske auf’“, sagte Mr. Kennon, ein Vertrauensmann seiner Gewerkschaft UNITE HERE. “Es gab Stationen mit Einwegmasken, die die Gäste tragen konnten, falls sie keine hatten.”

Herr Kennon sagte, die Richtlinie sei auch nach der Aufhebung eines landesweiten Maskenmandats durch den Gouverneur Anfang März in Kraft geblieben, habe sich jedoch nach der Ankündigung der CDC geändert. Geimpfte Gäste dürfen ohne Masken herumlaufen, aber es gibt keine Möglichkeit, den Impfstatus zu überprüfen, und weniger als die Hälfte der Gäste trägt sie laut Herrn Kennon.

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  • Die Täter eines Ransomware-Angriffs, der diese Woche einige Operationen des weltgrößten Fleischverarbeiters lahmlegte, waren eine in Russland ansässige kriminelle Gruppe, die für ihre Cyberangriffe auf prominente amerikanische Unternehmen bekannt ist, teilte das FBI am Mittwoch mit. Die Gruppe, bekannt als REvil, ist eine der produktivsten der rund 40 Ransomware-Organisationen, die Cybersicherheitsexperten verfolgen. Die Produktion wurde am Mittwoch in neun JBS-Rindfleischfabriken in den Vereinigten Staaten wieder aufgenommen. Tausende Arbeiter in den Rind-, Schweine- und Geflügelfabriken von JBS in Australien, Kanada und den Vereinigten Staaten waren betroffen, als die Schichten am Montag und Dienstag geändert oder abgesagt wurden.

  • Aktivistische Investoren sicherten sich am Mittwoch einen dritten Sitz im Exxon-Vorstand, als der Ölgigant aktualisierte Ergebnisse einer Aktionärsabstimmung bekannt gab. Das neueste Mitglied, Alexander A. Karsner, verfügt über eine starke Umweltbilanz und wird voraussichtlich eine Herausforderung für die Geschäftsleitung darstellen. Die Unzufriedenheit der Anleger mit Exxon hatte sich aufgebaut, weil das Unternehmen in eine Reihe von Projekten, Akquisitionen und Strategien investiert hat, die sich nicht ausgezahlt haben, darunter kanadische Ölsand- und Erdgasfelder. Kritiker glauben auch, dass sich das Unternehmen nur langsam an eine sich ändernde Energiebranche angepasst und zu wenig getan hat, um die CO2-Emissionen zu reduzieren.

Letzten Monat versammelten sich Menschen zur Unterstützung der Palästinenser auf dem Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn.Anerkennung…Stephanie Keith für die New York Times

Laut Interviews mit mehr als einem halben Dutzend derzeitiger und ehemaliger Mitarbeiter ist die Unzufriedenheit bei Facebook über den jüngsten Umgang mit internationalen Angelegenheiten gestiegen.

Seit Wochen beschweren sich Mitarbeiter über die Entscheidungen des Unternehmens, Posten prominenter palästinensischer Aktivisten abzubauen, und kritische Nachrichten über den Umgang der indischen Regierung mit der Pandemie, berichten Sheera Frenkel und Mike Isaac für die New York Times.

Die Arbeiter haben Top-Manager bei Treffen über die Situation gegrillt und in einem Fall eine Gruppe gebildet, um intern palästinensische Inhalte zu melden, von denen sie glauben, dass Facebook sie fälschlicherweise entfernt hat. Laut einer Person, die den Brief gesehen hatte, unterzeichneten in dieser Woche mehr als 200 Mitarbeiter einen offenen Brief, in dem eine externe Prüfung der Behandlung arabischer und muslimischer Beiträge durch Facebook gefordert wurde.

Die Aktionen sind ein weiteres Zeichen für interne Unruhen bei Facebook, da die Kritik der Mitarbeiter über nationale Probleme hinausgeht. In den letzten Jahren haben Arbeiter Mark Zuckerberg, den Vorstandsvorsitzenden von Facebook, wegen seines Umgangs mit aufrührerischen Posts des ehemaligen Präsidenten Donald J. Trump weitgehend herausgefordert. Aber seit Trump im Januar sein Amt niedergelegt hat, hat sich die Aufmerksamkeit auf die globalen Richtlinien von Facebook verlagert und was Mitarbeiter sagten, war die Zustimmung des Unternehmens gegenüber den Regierungen, damit es in diesen Ländern weiterhin profitieren kann.

“Die Leute bei Facebook haben das Gefühl, dass dies ein systematischer Ansatz ist, der starke Regierungsführer den Prinzipien vorzieht, das Richtige und Richtige zu tun”, sagte Ashraf Zeitoon, ehemaliger Leiter der Politik von Facebook für die Region Naher Osten und Nordafrika , der 2017 gegangen ist.

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United will purchase 15 ultrafast airplanes from start-up Growth Supersonic

United Airlines plans to transform the friendly sky into ultra-fast sky with supersonic jets.

The airline announced Thursday that it is buying 15 aircraft from Boom Supersonic with the option to buy 35 more at some point.

Boom’s first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, has not yet been built or certified. It aims to launch passenger service in 2029 with an aircraft that could fly at Mach 1.7 and cut some flight times in half. This means that a flight from New York to London, which normally takes seven hours, would only take 3½ hours.

A rendering of a United Supersonic Jet

Source: United Airlines

“Boom’s vision for the future of commercial aviation, combined with the world’s strongest network in the industry, will give business and leisure travelers access to a great flying experience,” said Scott Kirby, United CEO, in a press release announcing the deal.

Although the terms of sale were not disclosed, the companies anticipate that the transaction will bring immediate benefits.

Since its inception in 2014, Denver-based Boom Supersonic has raised $ 270 million in capital and grown to 150 employees. For founder and CEO Blake Scholl, winning a firm contract with an old airline confirms his vision of bringing back supersonic flights.

The supersonic Concorde flew commercial flights from 1976 to October 2003.

“The world’s first purchase agreement for carbon-free supersonic aircraft is an important step towards our mission to create a more accessible world,” said Scholl in a statement.

For United, ordering boom supersonic jets fits in with the strategy Kirby has outlined since he took office a year ago.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

Kirby is aggressively trying to develop opportunities for the airline. Earlier this year, United acquired a stake in eVTOL start-up Archer Aviation and worked with Mesa Airlines to order 200 short-haul electric aircraft. It did so after United announced a multi-million dollar investment in a carbon capture startup and pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Part of what made buying supersonic jets attractive to United is Boom’s plan to power the planes with engines that run on sustainable aviation fuel.

A rendering of a United Supersonic Jet

Source: United Airlines

However, it remains to be seen whether Boom’s plan to bring back supersonic airliners will get underway.

The company plans to make its maiden flight with a demonstrator jet called the XB-1 later this year. If things go as planned, Boom will start producing the overture in 2023 and make its maiden flight in 2026. The ultimate hurdle will be certification from regulatory agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration.

In this case, United expects to target long-haul international flights between major cities around the world such as San Francisco to Tokyo and New York to Paris.

Mike Leskinen, United’s vice president of corporate development, said the overture could dramatically change some of the airline’s busiest international routes. “If we can cut the time it takes to fly from the US east coast to certain cities in Europe and do it with lower emissions, we think it will be very attractive,” he said.

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United Airways Desires to Carry Again Supersonic Air Journey

The era of supersonic commercial flights came to an end when the Concorde completed its last trip between New York and London in 2003, but the allure of ultrafast air travel never quite died out.

President Biden mused about supersonic flights when discussing his infrastructure plan in April. And on Thursday, United Airlines said it was ordering 15 jets that can travel faster than the speed of sound from Boom Supersonic, a start-up in Denver. The airline said it had an option to increase its order by up to 35 planes.

Boom, which has raised $270 million from venture capital firms and other investors, said it planned to introduce aircraft in 2025 and start flight tests in 2026. It expects the plane, which it calls the Overture, to carry passengers before the end of the decade.

But the start-up’s plans have already slipped at least once, and it will have to overcome many obstacles, including securing approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and regulators in other countries. Even established manufacturers have stumbled when introducing new or redesigned planes. Boeing’s 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years after two crashes.

The deal is United’s latest attempt to position itself as a risk taker shaking up an industry that is just getting back on its feet after a devastating pandemic. The airline announced a $20 million investment in an electric air taxi start-up, Archer, in February, and it is working on a “steady drumbeat” of more such bets, said Michael Leskinen, who heads corporate development at United.

“We are really confident in the future,” Mr. Leskinen said. “Aerospace takes a long time to innovate. And so if you don’t start setting these opportunities out now, you will have missed them.”

United and Boom would not disclose financial details, including the cost of each plane, but Mr. Leskinen said the economics should be about the same as a new Boeing 787, a wide-body plane that airlines typically use on international routes. United has committed to buying the planes if Boom manages to produce them, secure regulatory approvals and hit other targets, like meeting its sustainability requirements.

Boom also plans to make planes for Japan Airlines, an investor in the company.

What is not clear is whether Boom has solved the problems that forced British Airways and Air France to stop using the Concorde on trans-Atlantic flights — high costs, safety concerns and flagging demand.

“There was no airline interest,” Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and consultant, said about why supersonic flights languished. “And a big part of the lack of airline interest was there were no engines that were commercially available that would allow a supersonic jet to be economically viable.”

Two decades later, some start-up companies, including Boom and Spike Aerospace, are pushing ahead with new designs and plans.

Today in Business

Updated 

June 2, 2021, 4:35 p.m. ET

Boom, which is working with Rolls-Royce, the British jet engine maker, said its plane would be more efficient than the Concorde; United estimates it will be 75 percent more efficient. Boom’s planes will not be as noisy as the Concorde because their engines will create a sonic boom only when flying over water “when there’s no one to hear it,” said Boom’s chief executive, Blake Scholl, who previously worked at Amazon and Groupon.

In recent years, many people have also grown increasingly concerned about air travel’s contribution to climate change. Supersonic jets are expected to use more fuel than regular jets per passenger per mile, according to experts.

Mr. Scholl said the engines on Boom’s planes would rely entirely on sustainable aviation fuel, which can be made from waste, plants and other organic matter. Experts say such fuel could reduce emissions, but its supply is limited, it is expensive and its use does not eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

United said it was too early to know how much it would charge for the flights, which it would run out of its hubs in Newark and San Francisco to start. But another big question mark about the plane is how many people will be willing to spend the thousands of dollars that each ticket on a supersonic flight is likely to cost.

United has long focused on business travelers, including by adding flights to Israel, China and other destinations popular with executives and by offering more business class seats on its planes. Mr. Leskinen called the idea of supersonic travel a “really powerful tool for business.”

“You can have a business meeting and still be home to have dinner with your family,” he said.

But corporate and international travel is expected to rebound slowly from the pandemic, and some experts say it might not recover fully for years because companies have realized that they can be effective without as many in-person meetings.

“The key to the success of supersonic transportation is the overlooked, underappreciated corporate travel manager, who is probably relegated to one of the worst offices in his or her company — and his primary task is to minimize corporate spending on business travel,” said Mr. Harteveldt.

If flights save a third of the travel time but also cost a third more, travel managers may end up saying, “I don’t know if we can justify that,” he said.

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Investing in AMC, meme shares can really feel like a recreation. The best way to not lose

Mario Tama | Getty Images

AMC Entertainment stock continued its wild ride on Wednesday, with the price per share rising more than 100% and suspending trading multiple times.

AMC is one of several so-called meme stocks that, along with names like GameStop and BlackBerry, have seen strong interest from retail investors this year.

Financial advisors often warn against getting involved in such frenzies. But in a recent survey, 34% of consultants admitted their clients bought GameStop, while 20% of them bought the stock themselves, according to the Journal of Financial Planning and the Financial Planning Association.

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How a SPAC high could lead to riskier deals
Ally Bank eliminates overdraft fees for customers
How to Find the Best Amazon Prime Day Deals

For retail investors, the challenge can be to place bets alongside professional investors such as short sellers, whose activity can also trigger large movements.

“Often you hear the narrative that they are only retailers, but that is not the case,” wrote JJ Kinahan, chief marketing strategist at TD Ameritrade, in a recent market update.

“The high volume suggests that there are a lot of big companies out there,” he said.

For example, the distressed investment firm Mudrick Capital bought and sold 8.5 million AMC shares on Tuesday.

Understandably, investors can get so caught up in profits that they forget to remember the potential to lose.

If you want to try your hand at meme stock names, it’s important to remember that you are really playing a game like musical chairs and behaving accordingly, according to Dan Egan, vice president of behavioral finance and investing at Betterment.

“Half of the game is figuring out how to sell before it crashes,” said Egan.

Be ready to lose money

When you pay for a ticket to a sporting event, you part with an amount of money but can still watch the game.

Investors in meme stocks should start with the same approach, Egan said.

When investing in a stock like AMC you should have some level of composure because it’s fun, and if you’re losing money that’s fine, Egan said.

Plan an exit strategy

Before or while investing in a stock, it is also beneficial to identify when you would sell it in advance.

And be sure you keep that promise, said Egan.

“What often happens to people emotionally is they hit that price point, but then they ask, ‘Wait, what if it goes higher?'” Egan said.

Anyone considering trading these should be aware of how volatile they can be.

JJ Kinahan

Chief Marketing Strategist at TD Ameritrade

To avoid this, it is beneficial to set up a way for the transaction to be carried out automatically so that your emotions are not disturbed in the moment.

“Anyone considering trading these should be aware of how volatile they can be and be prepared to be disciplined about the levels they want to get in and out of,” Kinahan said of stocks like AMC or GameStop.

Avoid a team mentality

It can be exciting to be part of an investment where your activity adds to price movement and you can empathize with fellow investors on message boards.

“The community aspect, the social aspect of it, is a really tough drug that you can try to get off of,” Egan said.

Additionally, this can prevent you from selling the stock, which would mean that you are no longer part of a team or movement.

It’s important to remember that you still need to put yourself first.

“Movement leaders won’t tell you until they sell,” Egan said.

Balance again along the way

Because of the wild swings trending stocks experience, your initial allotment could go from 5% to 20% of your portfolio while you’re not careful.

Try to rebalance if your position reaches sizes you wouldn’t have invested in, Egan said.

It’s also important to remember that stocks that have performed well will continue to fall and have more potential to lose, he said.

One way to keep making the headlines without as much risk is to put your money in investments like diversified exchange-traded funds instead, Egan said.

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Exxon Board to Get a Third Activist Pushing Cleaner Power

Activist investors who dealt a stunning defeat to Exxon Mobil last week secured a third seat on the company’s board on Wednesday when the oil giant announced updated results of a shareholder vote.

While the first two new dissident board members were oil company veterans, the newest member, Alexander A. Karsner, has strong environmental credentials and is expected to pose more of a challenge to senior management. Mr. Karsner’s election sharpened the investor rebuke of the company’s management, which has produced lackluster returns for about a decade.

Investor discontent with Exxon had been building because the company has invested in a number of projects, acquisitions and strategies that have not paid off, including Canadian oil sands and natural gas fields. Critics also believe that the company has been very slow to adapt to a changing energy industry and done too little to reduce carbon emissions even as many European oil companies began investing in wind turbines, solar farms and hydrogen.

The investors challenging Exxon were led by a small hedge fund called Engine No. 1. Last week the activists secured enough votes to put two people on the oil producer’s board, the first time candidates picked by the company’s management have lost an election, according to analysts. Engine No. 1 has sought to push Exxon to move toward cleaner energy and away from oil and gas.

Exxon said last week that it needed more time to determine who had won the last two of the 12 seats on its board. Engine No. 1 had put up four candidates. Exxon said that one of two remaining candidates did not secure enough votes but that Mr. Karsner was still in contention.

On Wednesday, the company said its latest results were preliminary and would be certified before being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Having a third director on the board will give the activists greater say in big corporate decisions and Exxon’s strategy, though they will still be up against nine people picked by the company’s management, who will presumably be more likely to back executives on crucial questions.

“We are grateful for shareholders’ careful consideration of our nominees,” Engine No. 1 said in a statement, “and are excited that these three individuals will be working with the full board to help better Exxon Mobil for the long-term benefit of all shareholders.”

Mr. Karsner is a senior strategist at X, a division of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and has been an executive at various energy, technology and investment businesses. Companies he has worked at have built solar plants in Morocco. Between 2006 and 2008, Mr. Karsner was an assistant secretary of energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy during the Bush administration.

In that role, he supervised the Energy Department’s applied science programs and helped negotiate the United States’ re-entry into the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, which eventually led to the 2015 Paris climate agreement. He has been a member of the board of Conservation International, an environmental group that works to protect forests that absorb climate-warming carbon.

Today in Business

Updated 

June 2, 2021, 4:35 p.m. ET

Exxon Mobil announced the election results in a bland statement that thanked shareholders for “their ongoing support for our company.”

“We look forward to working with all of our directors to build on the progress we’ve made to grow long-term shareholder value and succeed in a lower-carbon future,” the company said.

Darren W. Woods, Exxon’s chairman and chief executive, was re-elected to the board. His answer to the challenge posed by climate change has been to build a business that captures carbon dioxide from industrial plants and buries it deep underground. Exxon recently proposed a $100 billion carbon capture project for plants along the Houston Ship Channel that could be a model for the world. But in order to be viable, the project will most likely require a carbon tax or another mechanism to put a price on carbon emissions. Lawmakers in Washington have been reluctant to embrace a carbon price.

The new activist-backed directors may support Exxon’s carbon-capture efforts, but probably will push for other clean energy initiatives, as well. Executives at Engine No. 1 have said the new directors need to get on the board and study company businesses before pushing for fundamental changes. The directors have declined requests for interviews.

The three directors nominated by Exxon’s management who were not elected are Samuel Palmisano, a former chief executive of IBM; Steven Kandarian, a former Met Life chief executive; and Wan Zulkiflee, chairman of Malaysia Airlines and the former chief executive of Petronas, Malaysia’s state-owned oil company.

The activist-backed directors who were declared winners last week are Gregory Goff, a former chief executive of the refiner Andeavor who had a long career at Conoco Phillips, and Kaisa Hietala, an environmental scientist who was a senior executive at Neste, a Finnish refiner. Both have experience in biofuels.

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Tesla faces strain as EV competitors heats up, ex-Ford CEO says

Elon Musk brought electric vehicles into the mainstream with Tesla. Now the EV company is grappling with the consequences of its own innovation, former Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields told CNBC on Wednesday.

“One of the many things he did is he pushed the industry toward taking EV seriously,” Fields said of Musk, the chief executive of Tesla. “He has real competition now, and that’s why you’re seeing some of their share in some of the major markets under a lot of pressure.”

Tesla shares fell for the third-straight session against the backdrop of multiple challenging headlines for the car manufacturer. One, in particular, is that the San Carlos, California-based company lost some of its grip on the electric vehicle market in April.

Fields was critical of Tesla’s reliance on selling carbon credits to supplement its profits, suggesting it’s a harbinger of more challenges.

“When you look at their year-to-date earnings and their earnings last year, they made a heck of a lot more in selling CO2 credits than they did their total company profit and net profit,” Fields said. “As those credits dry up, there’s going to be a lot of pressure to make money and better margins on their vehicles.”

According to Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy, Tesla’s global market share was 11% in April, down from 29% in March. He noted share losses in the China, Europe and U.S. markets.

Fields attributed the shift in EV market share to traditional auto giants, such as General Motors and Ford, making headway in the space as new products are announced and come online.

He highlighted that Volkswagen is now leading in EVs in Europe and the Ford Mach E is taking share in the U.S. Ford, which Fields led between 2014 and 2017, in May revealed its electric F-150 to much fanfare.

After soaring in 2020, Tesla shares have dropped more than 14% so far in 2021. The stock, which trades more like a tech stock, closed 3% lower Wednesday at $605.12 a share.

Shares of traditional car companies, taking the form of cyclical stocks, are up double digits this year and have outgained the market through Wednesday.

Ford shares have put up some of the biggest gains, rallying almost 69% this year to $14.91 at the close Wednesday.

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F.D.A. Approves New Drug to Deal with Vaginal Yeast Infections

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a new drug to treat a vaginal yeast infection, which is particularly common in pregnant women who take birth control pills or take antibiotics.

The drug Brexafemme (Ibrexafungerp) manufactured by SCYNEXIS is a one-day oral treatment and the first in a new class of triterpenoid antifungal drugs. The company said the new drug will kill candida – the yeast that can cause infection.

The standard oral drug diflucan (fluconazole) inhibits the growth of yeast, but does not kill it.

But the treatment would most likely not initially be prescribed for common vaginal yeast infections. Dr. David Angulo, the company’s chief medical officer, estimated the drug’s list price at $ 350-450 for the four-tablet treatment. In comparison, GoodRx lists the average retail price of fluconazole at $ 29.81.

He said Brexafemme is approved as a first-line treatment but could also be prescribed to patients whose infections don’t go away easily.

“There is nothing new that can be offered to patients who cannot tolerate it, do not respond well or develop resistance,” said Dr. Angulo.

Dr. Sumathi Nambiar, director of the FDA’s anti-infectives division, said, “This approval of a new antifungal drug provides an additional treatment option for patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis or vaginal or vulvar yeast infections, and represents another step forward in the FDA’s overall effort to be safe and effective To ensure antifungal drugs are available to patients. “

Dr. Denise Jamieson, Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine, said she wasn’t sure the new drug was needed.

“I don’t see any tremendous resistance,” she said. “I can’t really tell if this will be a great addition or not. It is always helpful to have another option and then you have to consider things like costs and tolerances. “

According to Dr. Angulo, in a clinical study used in support of the application, showed 50 percent effectiveness – that is, a complete elimination of all signs and symptoms – 10 days after treatment and 60 percent 25 days after treatment. The other study showed 64 percent effectiveness on day 10 and 73 percent on day 25.

Dr. Michael Carome, director of the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, was not impressed with the FDA’s approval of Brexafemme.

“This drug is not necessary and few women should need it,” said Dr. Carome. “Fluconazole is very cheap and generally very effective. The cost of this is simply outrageous.

The FDA requires SCYNEXIS to conduct several post-marketing studies, including one to assess the risks to pregnant women, the developing fetus, and newborns; and another to study how much of the product passes into the breast milk of breastfeeding women.

The drug will hit the market later this year.

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Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit fails second drug take a look at

The second test of blood from Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit confirmed the presence of the banned steroid betamethasone, a lawyer for the horse’s owner told CNBC on Wednesday.

The second positive test sharply increases the chance that Medina Spirit’s victory on May 1 will be overturned by Kentucky racing officials and that Mandaloun, which ran second that day, will be declared the winner.

Hours after disclosure of the test, the company that operates Churchill Downs Racetrack — the site of the Kentucky Derby — said it had immediately suspended Baffert for two years.

Clark Brewster, the attorney for Medina Spirit’s owner, Amr Zedan, said officials are allowing another lab to analyze a third sample from the 3-year-old colt.

That test, Brewster said, could determine whether there are chemicals that would support the claim by trainer Bob Baffert that the betamethasone may have come from an antifungal ointment applied to the horse, and not an injection.

If the third test gives that result, Brewster could use it to argue against Medina Spirit being disqualified from the Derby, which is the first jewel in thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.

The attorney suggested he also might challenge the accuracy and protocol of the first official test, and the second analysis of blood, known as a split sample.

“I have not seen the paperwork to conclude that even the primary or split tests were properly admitted,” Brewster said.

The second failed test was first reported Wednesday by The New York Times.

Brewster said that if a horse fails a first drug test, a trainer normally has the option of “sending the B sample” for analysis at a selected lab for a second, confirmatory test.

For Medina Spirit’s B sample, Brewster said, the horse’s team “requested both the blood and urine to be sent to” such a lab.

Trainer Bob Baffert of Medina Spirit, raises the trophy after winning the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby with Medina Spirit, his seventh career Kentucky Derby win, at Churchill Downs on May 01, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Andy Lyons | Getty Images

The attorney said that if both substances were tested, it could detect the presence of chemical components that would indicate whether betamethasone came from ointment.

“But they [racing officials] refused to send” the urine, Brewster said. “They only sent the blood.”

The lawyer said that on Monday or Tuesday, Medina Spirit’s team was informed the lab “found betamethasone” in the split sample.

Brewster said the lab did not release the level of that steroid found in the blood, “but they said it’s there.”

“They estimated it was 25 picograms,” he said.

Baffert at a May 9 news conference first revealed that Medina Spirit had tested positive for the steroid, saying the first sample was found to have 21 picograms of betamethasone.

While that drug can be legally used as a therapeutic in Kentucky on a horse, any trace of it on race day is grounds for disqualification if a second test confirms it was in the blood on that day.

A picogram is a trillionth of a gram, a point Brewster made several times during a phone interview Wednesday.

The lawyer said testing labs in recent years have become able to detect minute levels of pharmaceutical substances, some of which can enter a horse’s or human’s system by incidental contact, as opposed to intentional administration.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will have the final say over whether to void Medina Spirit’s Derby win.

“Hopefully they will make a reasonable judgment,” Brewster said.

“I think there will be unanimity on the subject that this is an infinitesimal amount that could not have affected the race,” the lawyer said.

Baffert, who so far this year has seen five of his horses fail drug tests, was suspended indefinitely from Churchill Downs Racetrack, where the Derby is held, as a result of Medina Spirit’s first positive test.

Medina Spirit was later allowed to race May 15 in the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, the second leg of the Triple Crown, under an agreement that it and another Baffert-trained horse, Concert Tour, submit to “rigorous testing and monitoring,” the Maryland Jockey Club said.

Medina Spirit finished third in the Preakness.

Medina Spirit will not run in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday on Long Island, New York, because Baffert was temporarily suspended last month from entering horses in that race, the third jewel of the Triple Crown, or other major New York tracks as a result of the positive drug test from the Derby.

Baffert has trained two Triple Crown winners. He has trained seven Kentucky Derby winners, counting Medina Spirit.

Baffert’s lawyer W. Craig Robertson III on Wednesday later issued a formal statement on the most recent drug test.

“In response to the inquiries, this will acknowledge that the Medina Spirit split sample confirmed the finding of betamethasone at 25 picograms,” Robertson said.

“There is other testing that is being conducted, including DNA testing,” Robertson said.

“We expect this additional testing to confirm that the presence of the betamethasone was from the topical ointment, Otomax, and not an injection,” Robertson said.

“At the end of the day, we anticipate this case to be about the treatment of Medina Spirit’s skin rash with Otomax. We will have nothing further to say until the additional testing is complete.”

Kristin Voskuhl, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said in a statement that the commission “does not provide comment or updates on the status of ongoing investigations.”

“The KHRC values fairness and transparency, and will provide information to the media and public at the close of an investigation,” Voskuhl said.

Marty Irby, executive director of the advocacy group Animal Wellness Action, in a statement, said, “The news of Medina Spirit’s second test confirmed positive is no shock.”

“Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission must stand firmly together in agreement to take the 2021 Derby title away from Bob Baffert and the horse,” Irby said.

“And we call on Churchill Downs to show no mercy and permanently ban Bob Baffert and his horses from the Kentucky Derby and all of Churchill Downs’ tracks. It’s time to end the cheating and medication abuse in the fastest two minutes in sports and an example must be made.”

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC and NBC Sports, which broadcast the Triple Crown races.