ECONOMICS
Nobel economics laureate joins BC faculty
Paul M. Romer, a Nobel prize-winning economist, is joining Boston College, where he will launch a new center exploring the role of knowledge in economic growth at its Carroll School of Management. “In the pursuit of progress, the market can be the vehicle, but the values of science, scholarship, and enlightenment must be the compass,” Romer, who will start at the Chestnut Hill school in the fall after 13 years at New York University, said in a statement. “We’ve got plenty of disruption. What’s missing is direction.” Romer, 68, won the Nobel for economics in 2018 “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.” He shared the award with William Nordhaus of Yale. Romer, a Denver native and son of a former Colorado governor, studied at the University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. At BC, he will hold the Seidner University Professorship, which was established by BC alumnus and trustee Marc Seidner, a managing director of the investment firm Pimco, and his family. ― LARRY EDELMAN
AVIATION
At Boston lunch, JetBlue CEO defends Spirit acquisition
JetBlue Airways chief executive Robin Hayes forcefully defended his company’s plans to acquire Spirit Airlines on Wednesday in a Q-and-A session with Boston Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck at the Boston College Chief Executives Club. The US Department of Justice in March filed a lawsuit to block JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of its low-cost rival, saying the deal would lead to increased fares and reduced choices for consumers. (The Massachusetts attorney general’s office joined the suit as a co-plaintiff.) A trial is scheduled for the fall. On Wednesday, Hayes reminded the Boston crowd that four airlines ― American, Delta, Southwest, and United ― control roughly 80 percent of the US market. The Spirit acquisition, Hayes said, would help JetBlue expand in places where it does not currently fly and make it a stronger competitor to the four big airlines. He also said that the federal government has never blocked an airline merger until now, and that the Justice Department is showing “buyer’s remorse” after allowing other deals to go through, and is taking it out on JetBlue. Hayes said he is confident JetBlue will prevail. “There’s such bifurcation in the industry,” Hayes said. “We feel good about this case. … We have such an opportunity to bring that JetBlue experience to more customers.” ― JON CHESTO
AVIATION
Major airlines are staffing back up after post-COVID labor turbulence
Airlines expecting a hectic summer travel season are planning to hire thousands of new workers this year, lifting a job market that has been hit by layoffs in technology and turmoil in the banking industry. United Airlines said Wednesday that it hired 7,000 new workers in the first four months of this year and plans to hit 15,000 new hires by year-end, matching the number it hired last year. By 2026, United projects adding 50,000 workers to a workforce that was about 93,000 at the start of this year. Airlines have been in a hiring frenzy since being caught understaffed when air travel bounced back from the depths of the pandemic more quickly than anticipated. Shortages of pilots and flight attendants contributed to a jump in the rates of canceled and delayed flights last year. Since bottoming out in November 2020, airline-industry jobs have jumped by more than 117,000 — an increase of 32 percent — to more than 480,00 as of this February, the latest figures available from the Transportation Department. That is a 5 percent increase over the pre-pandemic peak. Delta Air Lines hasn’t disclosed its 2023 hiring plans, but CEO Ed Bastian has said the airline has hired nearly 20,000 workers since the start of 2021. Southwest Airlines planned to hire 7,000 workers this year, but executives said last week they will reduce that number because the airline hasn’t received as many new Boeing jets as it expected. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS
PERSONAL HEALTH
Weight loss brand Jenny Craig going out of business, report says
Jenny Craig, the weight loss and nutrition business backed by H.I.G. Capital, will shut down after four decades of operation after failing to secure additional financing, NBC reported. The company told employees in an e-mail late Tuesday that corporate and salaried field employees’ last day will be Friday, while hourly center employees’ last working day was May 2, according to the report. Employees will receive a final paycheck, including full compensation through their last working day as well as unused paid time off. The decision comes after efforts by Jenny Craig to find a buyer as it struggles to contend with increased competition from the prevalence of weight loss drugs. Bloomberg News previously reported that the company was mulling filing for bankruptcy if it was unable to secure a buyer. Jenny Craig has nearly 500 company-owned and franchised locations across the United States and Canada, and roughly 600 centers worldwide. It employs more than 1,000 people, according to NBC. Jenny Craig did not respond to Bloomberg News for comment. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS
ENERGY
Demand for power in Texas this summer could shatter record
Texans are expected to consume a record amount of electricity this summer, though the state’s grid operator says the system has enough generating capacity to meet peak demand for the season. Power usage on the state’s main grid is forecast to top 82.7 gigawatts during normal summer weather to surpass last July’s high of 80 gigawatts, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Wednesday in its summer assessment. One gigawatt is enough to power about 200,000 Texas homes. Electricity use in Texas has been rising thanks to a growing economy, an influx of people moving to the state and a surge in energy-intensive Bitcoin mining. Texas has been working to make its grid more robust during extreme weather since a deadly winter storm in 2021 crippled the system. The network was further tested last summer when intense heat triggered soaring consumption that shattered records 11 times within a matter of weeks. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter makes second interest payment on Musk’s debt
Twitter Inc. made its second interest payment on the $12.5 billion in debt that Elon Musk used to take the social media giant private last year. The company, which is now part of Musk’s newly formed shell firm X Corp., paid a group of seven banks, led by Morgan Stanley, which became stuck with the debt after they were unable to sell it to outside investors, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing a private transaction. A representative for Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Twitter, which no longer has a team handling media queries, didn’t specifically respond to an e-mailed request for comment. The coupon was expected to cost Twitter roughly $300 million, according to Bloomberg calculations and market participants not involved in the Twitter deal. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS