CNBC.com’s Pippa Stevens brings you the most important business news headlines of the day. On today’s show, Leslie Josephs breaks out the recent wave of air travel, and why stocks of budget airlines like Spirit are doing better than bigger companies like Delta and United. Additionally, Dick’s Sporting Goods is targeting Lululemon as it enters the trendy and lucrative men’s athleisure market.
Air travel soars as vaccinations boost vacation bookings, stocks soar
Travelers are returning to the skies, fueling optimism among airline CEOs that the battered industry has finally turned a corner in the coronavirus pandemic. Airline shares rose to more than their highest level in a year on Monday.
The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 1.34 million people on Sunday, 86,000 more than on the same day a year ago, shortly after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic.
That’s still 45% below its 2019 level, a sign that the industry has a long way to go before recovering to pre-pandemic levels. But TSA impressions have been over 1 million every day since Thursday, the highest volumes in a year.
‘The damage is done’: Europe’s caution over the AstraZeneca vaccine could have far-reaching consequences
LONDON – The decision by many European countries to suspend the use of the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus could have far-reaching consequences, according to analysts, as vaccine uptake and broader immunization program are already lagging behind in the region.
Sweden and Latvia became the last countries to stop using the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday over concerns about blood clots. This move follows Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Ireland, and other European countries, who have temporarily discontinued the use of the vaccine as a precaution, while checking for a link between the injection and an increased risk of blood clots. .
The World Health Organization, drug regulators, and the vaccine manufacturer themselves have attempted to downplay the ongoing safety concerns, saying that there is currently no evidence of a link between the injection and an increased risk of developing blood clots, which are common in the general population. population.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is launching its own mens athleisure line, similar to Lululemon
Dick’s Sporting Goods enters a hotly contested market for men’s athletic apparel with the launch of its own brand VRST.
VRST will debut on Dick’s website and a standalone VRST.com Tuesday, and will be rolled out in more than 400 Dick’s stores in the coming weeks, the company said. Items in the line, including everything from joggers and shorts to T-shirts, quarter-zip and hooded sweatshirts, sell anywhere from $ 30 to $ 120, putting it on the higher end of the market when it comes to price.
Following the success Dick’s has had with its Calia athleisure line for women, the company said it saw an empty space in its stores to have a more luxurious and lifestyle-driven line for men. The line will not compete directly with the sweat-wicking performance gear sold by Under Armor and Nike. Instead, it is more like Lululemon.