3. United plans to temporarily cut flights departing Newark airport
United Airlines will announce Thursday a temporarily reduction of about 50 daily domestic departures from its Newark, New Jersey, airport hub, starting July 1, to address congestion and as concerns mount over cancellations. The summer cuts represent 12% of United’s 425 daily flights at Newark, one of the three major airports near New York City. The airline told Reuters the changes won’t result in the carrier exiting any markets. Meanwhile, American Airlines plans to drop service to four U.S. cities in September, including Dubuque, Iowa, which will lose scheduled commercial air service altogether.
4. Big Oil summoned to the White House for an emergency gas prices meeting
Major U.S. oil refiners will meet with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other Biden administration officials Thursday about how to lower record-high gas prices squeezing American consumers. The emergency meeting comes one day after President Joe Biden called for a federal gas tax holiday that seemed dead on arrival on Capitol Hill. The gathering also follows weeks of Biden bashing Big Oil for reaping huge profits from a fuel supply crunch exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
5. Russia’s currency jumps to 7-year highs, just months after collapsing
Russia’s ruble rose to its strongest levels since May 2015, with 53.4 rubles buying $1 on Thursday, an increase of roughly 2% from the previous session. That’s a world away from the Russian currency’s plunge to 139 to the dollar in early March, when the U.S. and European Union started rolling out unprecedented sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin pointed to the ruble’s stunning surge recently as “proof” that Western sanctions aren’t working.
— CNBC’s Peter Schacknow, Tanaya Macheel, Sarah Min, Pippa Stevens, Jeff Cox, Sam Meredith and Natasha Turak as well as Reuters contributed to this report.
— Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every stock move. Follow the broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.