The US military is raising the stakes – and expanding the field – in the high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts.

The Space Force plans to purchase more rocket launches from companies in the coming years than previously expected, giving more companies a chance to secure billions in potential contracts.

“This is a huge deal,” Doug Pentecost, deputy program executive officer at the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command, told reporters during a briefing this week.

Earlier this year, the Space Force began the process of purchasing five years’ worth of launches, under a lucrative program known as National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase III.

The United States sees increasing momentum to improve its military capabilities in space, spurring the need to nearly triple the number of third-stage launches it has purchased in second-stage in 2020.

“It just amazes me,” said Pentecost. “We only estimated 36 missions for Phase 2. For Phase 3, we estimate 90 missions.”

In February, the Space Force outlined a “mutual fund” strategy to purchase launches from the companies. NSSL divided Stage 3 into two groups. Track 1 is the new approach, with lower requirements and a more flexible bidding process that allows companies to compete as rockets debut over the coming years. Path 2 represents the current approach, in which the Space Force plans to select a select number of companies for missions that meet the most demanding requirements.

Pentecost said the Space Force hosted an industry day in February to review details of the program and 22 companies attended. Since then, Space Force has made a number of tweaks to Phase 3. It has added more missions, introduced a price cap, expanded Path 2, and established an annual schedule of missions.

The government weighs bids according to a company’s “gross estimated price” to launch. This is broken down into “launch service,” which means the cost of building and launching a missile, and “launch service support,” which covers special requirements the military might have for a launch. The maximum launch service subsidy amount is $100 million per year, per company.

“We’ve implemented some cost constraints so we don’t get inflated. We don’t want to [a situation where] Everyone gets a mission—you get a mission, you get a mission, you get a mission—because there’s no real competition after that,” Pentecostals said.

“We believe all of our partners in the industry want to be the first man, so we think that will provide competitive pricing to keep our costs down,” he added.

While track 1 is expected to attract the most bids and award 30 missions, track 2 is the big show.

With Lane 2, the Space Force awards the most valuable contracts to launch national security satellites at the highest stakes.

“These are billion dollars [satellite] “The payload going into unique orbits,” said Pentecost.

Not only has Lynn 2 seen an increase in the number of missions available for grabs — it’s currently estimated at 58 launches, up from 39 in February — but Space Force also made the decision to expand the slots available for final prizes to three companies, rather than limiting them to two.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Boeing And Lockheed MartinThey were supposed to be the main contenders for Lane 2, but now there’s an open door for another company like Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

Space Force will allocate 60% and 40% of the 51 missions to the two largest bidders, respectively, and the remaining seven launches will go to the third-place bidder.

Regardless of where a company ranks, it must demonstrate that it can meet all of Track 2’s requirements, which include having launch sites on both the East Coast and West Coast, and the ability to reach nine high-accuracy “reference” orbits, many of which are much farther from Earth than the LEO requirements of Track 1.

Asked by CNBC how many companies are developing missiles that can meet these requirements by the launch deadline, a Space Force spokesperson declined to specify, saying the Army is “tracking several” that are “expanding their launch capabilities into most of these orbits.”

“Hopefully, not only will ULA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin compete for that, there are others who have interest in the past.” Chad Mellon, chief of procurement and integration at Space Systems Command, said during the briefing.

Space Force presents an annual festival for the month of October. 1 Deadline for assignment of tasks to companies that have won a contract.

Pentecost clarified that the first missions will end in October 2025, but the aforementioned contracts do not guarantee assignments, which protects the Space Force from delays that companies may experience in developing and flying missiles.

“You could have won the contract already, and you had this great plan about how you were going to fly [fiscal year] 2027. But since you haven’t flown yet, and I have a satellite that needs to fly in a couple of years, we’re not going to give you that task—we’re going to pass it on to the other person,” Pentecostal said.

Space Force aims to finish its solicitation for bidders by September and then submit all proposals by December, with contracts awarded in October 2024.

The main driver for this push, Space Force officials said, is “capacity assurance,” since there are “a lot of other companies” trying to buy satellite launches and the Space Force needs to close their orders.

“We wanted to make sure that we basically hedged against the scarcity of launches that could happen because if there is absolutely too much demand and everyone is [buying]”The prices can be very high,” Mellon said.

But despite that fear, Pentecost said that 2026 “looks like the sweet spot” when a number of the companies’ rockets will be developed and ready to fly. And the companies that stay on the right track will have the upper hand in the third phase of the NSSL.

“If you fly before then, or if your schedule shows you will fly before then, you will have significant strengths, which will put you in a better position to win the best provider or second best in this competition,” said Pentecost.

AMC Entertainment It dropped plans to charge customers variable prices for cinema seats.

The company announced its “Sightline” pricing strategy in February and tested it at select locations in three US markets. The program costs moviegoers more to get the best theater seats, or “preferred line of sight” seats.

The program also lowered prices for seats deemed less attractive to patrons, such as those in the front row of theaters.

The change comes as the movie theater industry struggles during its slow summer blockbuster season. And theaters are counting on this week’s releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer to bring much-needed foot traffic to theaters.

Shares of AMC Entertainment fell less than 1% on Thursday. The stock is up more than 5% this year, lagging behind the broader market.

Preferred Sightline seats included select locations in the middle of the auditorium that were preferred by some moviegoers, while Value Sightline seats were those usually located in the front row.

The chain said the program will end at participating locations in the coming weeks.

The decision comes after the pilot program showed moviegoers had little or no interest in sitting in the front row, despite lower prices. The company said it also found that most moviegoers continued to choose the seats they preferred, even at higher prices.

The company added that the focus is ensuring that AMC’s ticket prices remain competitive. Other theater chains like the Regal don’t charge higher prices for better seats.

The movie theater chain said it will now focus on testing front-row seats with more comfortable seats at select locations in the US later this year.

CNBC has reached out to AMC for additional comment.

Flight disruptions piled up at airports across the country ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, but airline investors have largely ignored it.

More than 63,000 flights operated by US airlines, or 30% of their schedules, have been delayed between June 24 through July 2. More than 9,000 flights have been cancelled, or 4.2%. Both percentages are above the averages for turbulence so far this year, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

On Tuesday, disruptions eased with nearly 2,500 US flights delayed, half the number that were delayed on Monday, though thunderstorms continued to disrupt flights at major airports such as Newark and Denver.

The recent delays have been mostly driven by a series of rolling storms along with other issues such as a shortage of air traffic controllers in the crowded airspace around New York and other areas, which has derailed the travel plans of thousands of customers. An end to what was mostly a quiet spring for travellers.

But very high travel demand continues to keep airline stocks higher, With many reaching multi-year highs.

The Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 2.9 million people on Sunday, a record for a single day. It is the clearest sign yet of the continued demand for air travel, as passengers book flights or collect rewards points and make up for lost time after the Covid pandemic halted flights.

American Airlines And Delta Airlines It recently raised its earnings forecast thanks to strong bookings. Lower fuel prices than a year ago continue to be a tailwind for the industry, too.

The airlines publish second-quarter results and will provide full forecasts for the summer starting in mid-July, reports that are likely to include the financial impact of the late-June and early-July disruptions.

The gains in stocks of major US airlines this year have far outpaced the broader market.

United Airlines Both Delta are up 46% so far this year through Monday, while American Airlines is up 42%. For comparison, the Standard & Poor’s 500 It gained 16% over the same period. Delta and United recently touched their highest levels since June 2021.

Southwest Airlineswhose collapse at the end of 2022 led to a first-quarter loss, it’s up 10% this year.

Even during the past week, as travel chaos hit operations, several airline stocks topped the S&P 500. United Airlines was an exception. Its stock fell 1.7% as the carrier struggled to stabilize its business while storms continued to pass through its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.

From June 24 to July 2, United had the highest number of delays for US airlines, accounting for 42% of its major airlines’ schedule, according to FlightAware.

At the beginning of last week, the FAA lowered the departure rate in Newark, CEO Scott Kirby said, leading to a backlog of delays. When planes can’t leave, arriving flights have nowhere to park, so turbulence can easily build up.

“Airlines, including United, are simply not designed to have their largest hub and capacity severely limited for four consecutive days and still operate successfully,” Kirby said in a note to employees this weekend.

He said the airline would have to reduce its schedule in Newark, especially during spring and summer thunderstorms to avoid crowds unless there was more capacity at the airport.

Thunderstorms are difficult for airlines because they can appear with little warning and are more difficult to predict than other types of weather such as hurricanes or winter storms.

More often than not, airlines will delay flights waiting for thunderstorms to clear and airspace to open, but crews can hit federally mandated workday limits, adding to the disruptions.

David Neilman, Founder and Former CEO, Inc JetBlue Airways And the chief executive of Breeze Airways, said there’s not much an airline can do when there are such steep cuts in airline access fares.

He said airlines could cancel preemptively just for the weather to improve.

An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Wednesday that adults 60 and older, after consultation with their physicians, receive a single dose of RSV vaccines from Pfizer And GSK.

The panel said older people should use “joint clinical decision making,” which involves working with their healthcare provider to determine how much they can benefit from a shot.

Outgoing CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will decide whether to finalize the recommendation.

The committee’s decision brings one step closer to making punches against respiratory syncytial virus available to the public this fall, when the disease usually begins to spread at higher levels.

The recommendation also comes weeks after the Food and Drug Administration approved both vaccines, making them the world’s first authorized shots against respiratory syncytial virus.

The virus is a common respiratory infection that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms, but causes more severe cases in the elderly and children. Each year, RSV kills between 6,000 and 10,000 older adults and a few hundred children under 5 years old, according to the CDC.

Pfizer and GSK on Wednesday submitted new clinical trial data to the panel, which provided the first glimpse of the picks’ durability after one season of RSV. The season usually lasts from October to March in the northern hemisphere.

A single dose of Pfizer’s shot was 78.6% effective in preventing lower respiratory tract infections with three or more symptoms during the middle of the second RSV season, according to new clinical trial results presented Wednesday. This is down from over 85% at the end of the first season in seniors.

Pfizer said efficacy dropped to 48.9% in the “mid-season 2” for less severe forms of the disease in that age group, down from about 66%.

The company said Wednesday that a single dose of the GSK shot was 78.8% effective against severe RSV disease after two seasons, compared to 94% after one season. Severe illness refers to conditions that prevent normal daily activities.

For less severe RSV disease, efficacy decreased to 67.2% during two seasons from 82% after one season.

doctor. Michael Melgar, the CDC medical officer who evaluated the data on both shots, noted during a public meeting that both Pfizer and GSK still lacked efficacy data for subgroups of the elderly population at high risk for RSV infection.

Melgar said adults age 75 and older with an underlying medical condition are underrepresented in Phase 3 clinical trials from both companies. He said that elderly people with weakened immune systems were excluded from the trials altogether.

Both companies said studies on this population are ongoing.

It’s still not clear how much the footage will cost. GSK said it would price its vaccine between $200 and $295. Pfizer said it will price it between $180 and $270.

The companies refused to guarantee pricing.

The picks will help the US battle the RSV season coming into the fall after an unusually intense RSV season last year.

Hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed by cases of the virus in children and the elderly, in large part because the public has stopped practicing Covid-sanitary measures that have helped keep the spread of RSV down.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada could disrupt flights in the eastern United States again Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said, after hundreds were grounded the previous day due to reduced visibility.

“It is likely that the FAA will need to take steps to safely manage the flow of traffic into New York City, [Washington] D.C., Philadelphia, and Charlotte [North Carolina] “Due to poor visibility from the smoke from the forest fires,” the agency said.

The Federal Aviation Administration briefly halted incoming traffic at Philadelphia International Airport earlier Thursday.

Hundreds of flights to and from New York’s LaGuardia Airport and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed Wednesday due to heavy smoke. The FAA briefly halted traffic completely in LaGuardia during the day.

By late Thursday morning, more than 1,300 flights to, from and within the United States had been delayed, according to FlightAware flight tracker.

Approximately 68 LaGuardia departures, or 12% of the schedule, were delayed Thursday as of 11:30 a.m., according to FlightAware. Fifty-six flights departed from Newark, or 8% of the departure schedule, and a similar number of arrivals at the New Jersey airport were delayed.

This story is evolving. . Please check back for updates

The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the temporary import of an unapproved chemotherapy drug from China in an effort to ease an acute shortage of cancer drugs in the United States, according to an update posted on the agency’s website on Friday.

A document showed that Qilu Pharmaceutical, which manufactures and markets cisplatin injections in China, obtained the Food and Drug Administration’s permission to export the drug to the US market weeks ago.

A letter dated May 24 from Qilu’s deputy general manager notified healthcare professionals of the approval.

Qilu is coordinating with Toronto-based Apotex to distribute 50-milligram vials of cisplatin in the United States

Health care providers can start ordering the drug Tuesday through wholesalers.

Cisplatin is a generic drug that has been available for decades in the United States and is distributed by several approved manufacturers. These manufacturers could not keep up with demand. The Qilu version of cisplatin is not approved in the United States

Headquartered in Jinan, Shandong Province, Qilu says it is one of the top 10 pharmaceutical manufacturers in China.

The FDA told CNBC this week that the agency is considering importing unapproved chemotherapy drugs, but did not disclose at the time the names of any manufacturers that might supply the drug.

A spokesperson for the US Food and Drug Administration said the agency evaluates the quality of imports of unapproved drugs to ensure they are safe for American patients.

Doctors say some cancer patients could die if a national shortage of drugs like cisplatin is not resolved soon. There are shortages of at least 13 other cancer medications across the United States

Cancer drug shortages have forced some hospitals to ration drugs by reducing dosage to expand supply and prioritize patients with the best chance of recovery.

Cisplatin is widely used to treat cancers of the testicle, lung, bladder, cervix, and ovary, among other conditions. Up to 20% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin and other platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The World Health Organization says medicine is an essential part of basic healthcare.

A national shortage of cisplatin began in February after a pharmaceutical company based in India temporarily halted production for the US market.

Intas Pharmaceuticals decided to pause production after last year the US Food and Drug Administration found a “chain of failures” in its quality control unit.

An Intas spokesperson told CNBC this week that the company is working with the Food and Drug Administration to bring the production back to the United States, but no date has been set yet.

A federal judge ordered Friday American Airlines And JetBlue Airways To end their partnership in the Northeast, the Department of Justice won after it filed a lawsuit to back out of the alliance, arguing that it was anti-competitive.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2021, alleged that the airline alliance was effectively a merger that would harm consumers by increasing fares. The trial began a year later in Boston and concluded in December.

Both airlines expressed disappointment at the decision and said they were considering next steps.

“It makes the two partner airlines, each with a vested interest in the success of their joint and individual efforts, rather than active, long-armed competitors who regularly challenge each other in the competitive market,” said US District Judge Leo Sorokin. rolling.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines and New York-based JetBlue Airways have argued that they need a so-called Northeast Alliance to better compete with other major carriers such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines at the region’s crowded airports.

“Whatever benefits to American and JetBlue from becoming more powerful—in the Northeast generally or in their shared rivalry with Delta—those arise from an explicit agreement not to compete with each other,” Sorokin wrote. “Such an agreement is just the kind of ‘unreasonable restraint on trade’ that the Sherman Act is designed to prevent.”

He ordered the airlines to terminate the partnership 30 days after the ruling. Carriers are likely to challenge the decision. A JetBlue spokeswoman said the company is studying the decision and evaluating next steps.

“We are disappointed with the decision,” the spokesperson said. “We made it clear during the trial that the Northeast Alliance was a huge win for customers. With NEA, JetBlue was able to grow exponentially in restricted Northeast airports, bringing airline fares and great service down more ways than would otherwise have been possible.” Unlike that “.

“The court’s legal analysis is clearly incorrect and unprecedented for a joint venture such as the Northeast Alliance,” an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement. “There was no evidence on record of any consumer harm from the partnership, and no legal basis for inferring harm simply from the fact of the collaboration.”

Undoing the partnership will be difficult, especially during the height of the summer travel season, when airlines have already sold out.

JetBlue and American are not allowed to coordinate fares under the partnership, which was approved in the waning days of the Trump administration in 2021 and has since expanded.

JetBlue previously warned in the securities filing a judgment against NEA that “could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

“In addition, we incur costs associated with carrying out NEA’s operational and marketing elements, which will not be recoverable if we are required to dispose of all or a portion of NEA,” the company said.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The department separately in March filed an antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue’s proposed acquisition of the low-cost carrier Spirit Airlinesarguing that the deal would lead to an increase in prices, “harming cost-conscious publications even more acutely”.

The combination faces a major hurdle to gaining approval from the Biden administration, which has vowed to take a hard line against what it views as anti-competitive deals.

China is letting go of pandemic lockdowns, and American companies are loving it Procter & GambleAnd Starbucks And MGM Resorts International He says the country’s recovery is boosting their overall sales as consumers in their home markets watch their wallets.

With its large population and bloating middle class, China is a desirable market for many multinational companies that have seen their business grow in the United States. But the no-Covid policy, which imposed severe restrictions to stop the spread of the virus, has hurt the country’s economy — and the revenues of many American companies that sell their goods or services there.

After backtracking on policy in December, China’s economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter. US companies have reported a return to demand in China, boosting their sales at a time when many US consumers are cutting back on their spending.

However, the recovery has not been as quick or dramatic as many investors had hoped. Most companies are still waiting to surpass pre-epidemic sales in China. The travel retail sector is taking longer to bounce back. And apples Sales fell in the China region that includes the mainland, Hong Kong and the neighboring self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Morgan Stanley analyst Kelly Kim wrote in a research note that the consumer team in China expects the recovery to come in three phases: spring break in February through April, summer “revenge spending” in May through July, and a stable recovery starting in August. .

US-based restaurants were among the companies that saw demand return in China. But sales haven’t returned to 2019 levels yet.

Starbucks reported that its same-store sales in China rose 3% in the most recent quarter, reversing a decline. Some Wall Street analysts were still expecting same-store sales for the company’s second-largest market to shrink.

A year ago, the coffee giant shelved its outlook for the year, citing lockdowns in China as one of the reasons for the decision. In that quarter, Starbucks store sales in China fell 23%.

Yum ChinaAnd yum brands The master franchisor in China, also said same-store sales grew 8% in the first quarter. China is Kentucky Fried Chicken’s largest market and Pizza Hut’s second largest.

“We benefited from increased mobility and experienced 40% surplus growth in transit and in tourists. However, same-store sales in these locations in the first quarter remained 20% to 30% below 2019 levels,” Yum CEO says. China Joey Wat to analysts on the company’s phone call.

It also appears that Chinese consumers are traveling again as restrictions are lifted, visiting theme parks and casinos. A host of US companies were helped by an increase in spending on travel and leisure at the start of the year.

Disney It promoted “improving financial results” at its resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

“It’s been really gratifying to see the recovery from the pandemic shutdowns that we’ve seen,” Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, told analysts Wednesday on the company’s conference call.

Macau, the world’s largest gambling hub, has seen a resurgence of tourists after testing requirements for inbound travelers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan were scrapped. Tourism peaks during the Lunar New Year holiday in late January.

MGM Resorts International operates MGM Cotai and MGM Macau locations in the region. Earlier this month, the casino giant reported a quick return to profitability as traffic at Chinese casinos reached pre-pandemic levels. In the first quarter, its China properties generated adjusted earnings of $169 million, or 88% of the division’s adjusted earnings four years ago.

Airbnb She said the Asia Pacific division last quarter saw its largest year-over-year growth in nights and experiences booked. The company shut down its domestic business in China in 2022, closing all property listings on the mainland to focus on helping Chinese consumers find housing abroad instead.

“We are encouraged by China’s recent lifting of travel restrictions although we expect the recovery to be gradual due to challenges with limited flight capabilities,” the company wrote in its quarterly letter to shareholders.

While many US-based companies are benefiting from China’s recovery, companies are still waiting to see the same recovery in travel retail.

SK-II, a luxury skincare brand owned by Procter & Gamble, has seen its sales rebound in China, with the notable exception of the travel retail segment. Overall, Procter & Gamble’s organic sales were up 2% in China. With consumer traffic picking up, the consumer packaged goods giant expects an even bigger rebound in revenue.

Scott Rowe, Chief Financial Officer, Inc textureCouch’s father, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, said Thursday that the company has begun to see an uptick in domestic Chinese travel, including in Hong Kong and Macau. However, he added that global Chinese tourism is below pre-pandemic levels – and said the prospect of more travel could present opportunities in the future.

At its largest unit in China, Tapestry expects a mid-single-digit gain in revenue for the fiscal year, including an expected increase of about 50% in the next quarter. The company’s sales momentum in China is helping offset weakness in the United States, as North American consumers have become more cautious.

Although many companies are struggling with travel retail in China, at least one company is already seeing its sales bounce back at duty free and tourist destinations.

cosmetic giant cutie It said it has seen consumer traffic return to retailers, and noted more flights to the tropical island and Hainan shopping district, where it has dozens of stores. The French-American company owns Covergirl, Kylie Jenner’s beauty lines, and a wide range of perfume and cosmetic brands. Coty’s travel retail sales increased more than 30% in the quarter.

Inventory abundance affected Coty’s sales in China in its most recent quarter, but April sales were still higher than both the year-ago period and the two years prior.

Piper Sandler analyst Corinne Wolfmeyer called the company one of her favorite beauty stocks in a note to clients following Coty’s quarterly earnings report. It cited its performance in part in China.

“We remain cautiously optimistic about China in terms of the near-term cosmetics market, but for COTY specifically, we view the company’s strategic investments in the region and key product launches as a driver of outperforming market,” she wrote.

CNBC channel Melissa Rybko And Stephen Sykes Contribute to this story.

Tired of high gas prices and tempted by federal tax breaks, Dave Walters decided he wanted an all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 for his next car.

The Orange County, Calif., resident initially considered purchasing a used model, until he learned that he could lease the car and take advantage of a major loophole under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Buying a used Ioniq, which is produced in South Korea and Indonesia, won’t net him $7,500 in a federal tax credit. I’ll rent the car.

“I ran the numbers – what would it be without leasing credit, leasing credit – and that kind of got me on top and that was the main thing that got me in that direction,” he said. “It was less than a few hundred dollars a month.”

Walters is exactly the type of consumer Hyundai Motor And other automakers have begun targeting EV leases to take advantage of an IRA loophole that allows vehicles produced outside North America to qualify for the credits. It’s something lawmakers like the US senator do. Joe Manchin, DW.V. , ban rules.

Under an IRA, leasing is classified as business and are thus exempt from regulations requiring vehicle and battery components to be manufactured in North America. Most electric vehicles for sale today will not qualify for the full tax credit due to where the vehicles or components are manufactured.

But leasing can save drivers thousands, as long as the companies that take out the credits pass the savings on to consumers.

“I’m not surprised manufacturers say they’re going to offer more leasing,” said Charlie Chesebrough, chief economist for Cox Automotive. “Using IRAs on electric vehicles and allowing them to qualify for $7,500 is really a game-changer, and that has a huge impact on our monthly payments.”

For a $50,000 lease and a 36-month lease, Chesbrough estimates that the full $7,500 tax credit is equivalent to $222 in monthly savings for the consumer.

Automotive research firm Edmunds reported that about 37% of electric vehicles purchased in April were leased, up from 25% during the first quarter and 13% last year.

“It kind of creates a loophole for automakers to target wealthier customers who are more likely to be able to afford and actually get approved to buy an electric car,” said Jessica Caldwell, CEO of Insights in Edmonds. “It also allows them to level the playing field against competitors who get the full tax credit on the purchase.”

The percentage of Hyundai Ioniq 5 rentals has increased from about 2% to start this year to more than 30% in April, according to Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker. Starting this month, the company is offering a $499-per-month lease deal for the car—less than the industry average lease payment of $577, according to Edmunds.

“We want to continue to pay rent and highlight it as much as we can so that we can continue to benefit from the tax credit and consumers can benefit from the tax credit,” Parker told CNBC. “Now, this is how the cards were dealt.”

Kia and Ford also say they will look to increase leasing on their electric vehicles to lower prices and boost sales.

Watson said Kia expects electric car rentals to increase from less than 15% now to 40% in the coming months. Like Hyundai, Kia is offering a $499 leasing deal for its EV6 with a down payment of $4,999.

“Over the next several years, Kia is going to have to lean heavily on leasing in order to be able to pass that $7,500 of credit on to customers. And that’s what we intend to do,” said Eric Watson, Kia’s vice president of sales operations. America.

Before the IRA passed, Hyundai and Kia, which are owned by the same South Korean parent company, were second in the United States in electric vehicle sales behind Tesla. But their sales have since fallen short of those of general motors and Ford, both of which have vehicles that qualify in whole or in part for federal tax credits.

Hyundai and other automakers that become ineligible for credits under the IRA have opposed the regulations, seeking a longer respite for the new rules or broad exemptions based on US EV plans.

“It gives us a lifeline,” Watson said of the $7,500 tax credit-eligible rental. “I wouldn’t call it leveling the playing field.”

A Ford spokesperson said the company’s credit arm is working on a strategy to lease electric vehicles like the Mustang Mach-E, which are produced in Mexico and currently qualify for half of the federal tax credits if purchased. The company’s Ford F-150 Lightning electric car is eligible for the full $7,500.

“We’re going to lease electric cars, and you’ll hear more about that from us soon,” John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, said last month.

A General Motors spokesperson said the company is not changing its leasing strategy for electric vehicles, as all of its vehicles qualify for the full tax credits. Only about 3% of GM vehicles are leased, he said.

While lease terms are usually only a few years, automakers have described electric vehicles as attracting new customers to their brands.

“The earlier you get these customers within your brand, especially with new technology, I think the better you have to retain them,” said Caldwell of Edmunds.

And temporary leasing may be an attractive option for many consumers like Walters, who traded in a 2009 Nissan Murano, as electric vehicles remain an emerging industry with changing technologies and a plethora of new inputs.

“I wanted to kind of dive my toe into it and see if I really liked it. It’s only been six weeks but it’s been really good so far,” Walters said. “I really enjoy driving it and really enjoy not having to pay for gas.”

Marijuana is a multi-billion dollar industry, and across the US, legal markets are emerging like weeds as more states seek the tax revenue and jobs that the cash crop brings.

Medical and recreational marijuana sales are expected to reach $33.6 billion by the end of the year, a trend largely driven by opening up new markets for adult use, according to MJBiz Factbook analysis.

In Michigan alone, medical and recreational sales together brought in about $325 million in tax revenue last year, according to the state’s cannabis regulatory agency.

In Delaware, legal cannabis became a reality last month, when the state passed dual bills aimed at allowing possession by adults 21 and older, and creating a regulatory framework for the adult use market to take shape in the coming months. It became the 22nd state to legalize recreational marijuana, trailing Missouri and Maryland, which did so earlier this year.

said Olivia Naugle, senior policy analyst at Marijuana Policy Project.

“From organizing lobby days, rallies, and town halls, testifying at key committees, conducting media outreach, voter guides, and so much more, years of effective advocacy and teamwork helped us get to this moment,” Nogli said.

Similar legalization efforts are underway and driving momentum in a handful of other states as the marijuana industry grows. Some states are even moving forward with proposals or ballot measures to legalize weed, putting it within easy reach of having recreational markets.

These are the states that stand a chance of legalizing adult use of marijuana in the coming years.

For the first time in a decade, Minnesota Democrats control both houses of the state legislature and the governor’s office, a trifecta that the state is about to legalize marijuana.

The final bill aims to Ending weed bans and creating a regulated market will reach the government office. Tim Walz will be signed into law in the coming weeks. The Minnesota House and Senate have passed separate versions of the legislation, and lawmakers from both parties are now working to iron out key parts of a final bill, including tax rates and deletion. Previous criminal charges or convictions related to marijuana.

“Legalization will also create hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs, eliminate the illegal market, and allow law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes,” Tarasek said.

Medical marijuana is already legal in Minnesota, and the majority of the state’s population supports its recreational use.

Walz has expressed support for the bill, and Taracek expects to sign it into law before the current legislative session adjourns on May 22.

Florida is about 50,000 signatures away from putting a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot That would allow the recreational use of marijuana.

Advocates for the Florida legislation have collected 841,130 valid signatures statewide out of the 891,589 required for the amendment, according to the Florida Department of Elections website. The state updates the petition count at the end of each month.

Once the measure, which is narrowly focused on allowing recreational use in the state, is on the ballot, it has a good chance of success. A poll conducted by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Laboratory found that 70% of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” support the amendment.

This procedure does not establish a framework for what a legal market will look like.

Florida legalized the sale of medical marijuana in 2016 and it has become a multi-billion dollar business. Legal sales were $1.04 billion from January 2022 through July 2022, according to data from research firm Hedset.

“Florida currently has one of the strongest medical cannabis programs in America, and if this market is expanded to allow adult use for personal consumption, we believe the market will be even stronger,” said Lauren Niehaus, executive director of government relations for Trulieve.

The company, which operates more than 180 medical dispensaries in the state, has donated $30 million to Smart & Safe Florida, the committee sponsoring the amendment.

“Trulieve predicts that, at maturity, Florida could become a $6 billion cannabis market,” Niehaus said.

Ohio may vote on legalizing recreational marijuana in November.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has a proposal that seeks to create a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. After the state legislature elected not to accept the proposal, the group had until July 5 to secure 124,000 signatures from registered voters to get the proposal on the ballot.

“We are confident that the state of Ohio will legalize marijuana for all adults in 2023,” said Thomas Haren, a spokesman for the group. “This is an issue that transcends political boundaries. It is popular with Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.”

About half of Ohio voters support legalizing adult use, according to an Emerson College poll. The poll found that voters who favor legalization are Democrats with 66.2%, followed by independents with 50% and Republicans with 36.3%.

Haren said the proposal also plans to build on Ohio’s medical marijuana program and issue additional adult-use licenses to new companies.

It is estimated that under the proposed framework, Ohio would generate $350 million to $400 million in new form tax revenue. Researchers from Ohio State University estimate that tax revenue will range from $276 million to $374 million in the fifth year from an operational adult-use marijuana market.

Pennsylvania is increasingly surrounded by states with well-established recreational markets, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.

If the country, the nation’s fifth most populous, legalizes weed, profits can stay within its borders.

There are three separate proposals from lawmakers who hope to regulate marijuana, but also benefit from it. The Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives announced proposals in January and February, while the Republican-held Senate announced proposals in December. Each seeks, to varying degrees, to tax the crop for the welfare of the communities and includes initiatives aimed at achieving social justice.

However, marijuana attorney Brian Vicente said Pennsylvania is far behind the pack in trying to legalize marijuana.

“Pennsylvania is just a more difficult hill to climb,” said Vicente, who had been watching what was happening in the Commonwealth. “We haven’t had the same momentum in the legislature there, but the governor is supporting it, so it’s likely to continue this year.”

Only 1 in 4 Pennsylvania adults oppose legalization, with 56% supporting changing the existing law, according to a Muhlenberg College poll. The state has had medical marijuana since 2018.