High-end fitness chain Equinox is launching one of the most expensive gym memberships in the world — a $40,000-per-year program aimed at improving overall health and longevity.

Equinox is teaming up with lab-test startup Function Health to launch “Optimize by Equinox,” a personalized health program that includes everything from personal training and nutrition plans to sleep coaching and massage therapy. The program, announced Monday, is part of the fast-growing market for longevity and wellness, where the fields of medicine, biotech, fitness and nutrition are merging in the quest to slow the effects of aging.

“It’s really a paradigm shift in how we’re able to live with vitality and avoid suffering,” said Jonathan Swerdlin, co-founder of Function Health. “It deals with what’s above the surface, your abs and glutes, which you can see in the mirror that are great. But it also deals with what’s below the surface and what you can’t see in the mirror. And that’s revolutionary.”

The Optimize program starts with a battery of tests. Function Health will test members for 100 biomarkers — everything from heart, liver and kidney health to metabolic and immune systems to cancer markers and nutrients. Equinox will then run its own battery of fitness tests, including VO2 max, strength and movement range. The tests are repeated twice a year.

An Equinox “concierge” pulls all the tests and data together and helps the member design a personalized plan to improve their overall health and fitness. Each member will have a core team that includes a fitness trainer, a nutrition coach and sleep coach as well as a massage therapist.

The Optimize membership includes three, 60-minute training sessions per week with a top-level trainer. It also includes two half-hour sessions a month with a nutrition coach, two half-hour sessions a month with a sleep coach and one massage therapy session per month. In all, the program amounts to 16 hours a month of coaching and training, according to Equinox.

“It’s the same as Formula One or an athlete, where you are given a team of top experts in all these different verticals, to design a program based on all the data that we collected,” said Julia Klim, vice president of strategic partnerships and business development at Equinox.

The move will mark a major test of Equinox’s continued efforts to expand beyond fitness into the broader health and wellness business, which has become a booming market among the affluent.

The company recently closed a new $1.8 billion funding round that refinances $1.2 billion in existing debt. It said its performance last month made for its second-best April in company history.

Equinox is planning to open new clubs in Philadelphia and the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles later this year, bringing its total locations in the pipeline to 27. The company currently operates 107 locations globally, according to its website.

Klim said Equinox has always focused on “the four pillars” of longevity: movement, regeneration, nutrition and community.

“I sometimes joke that we’ve always been in the longevity business and the science is catching up,” she said.

The new program will cost $3,000 a month for a minimum of six months. The fee doesn’t include an Equinox gym membership, which brings the total to about $40,000 or more for the year.

“It’s a human-first, highly luxury service meets data meets coaching program,” Klim said.

The Optimize program will initially be available starting at the end of May in New York City and Highland Park, Texas, and will eventually roll out to other states, according to Equinox. Members will be able to train at Equinox’s elite “E Clubs,” which are more like private gyms with higher membership fees.

Swerdlin said Function Health’s mission is to help people live “100 healthy years.” The company’s own program costs $499 for the tests of 100 biomarkers. Yet demand is so strong that it has a waitlist of more than 200,000 people. He said Function wanted to partner with Equinox “because they’re the leader in the category.” He said Function’s data is most useful when it can be applied, which is where Equinox, with its personalized fitness and health programs, comes in.

“Living 100 healthy years doesn’t happen inside of a doctor’s office,” Swerdlin said. “It happens in your daily decisions. And it also happens with the way in which you exercise, and Equinox really helps close the loop on that.”

The dream of home ownership has gotten even further away for renters, with higher housing costs and elevated interest rates standing in the way of the American housing dream, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Monday.

The share of renters as of February who possess hopes of “residential mobility,” or the belief from renters that they one day will be able to afford a home, fell to a record low 13.4% in the central bank’s annual housing survey for 2024.

That’s down from 15% in 2023 and well off the 20.8% series high back in 2014.

Pessimism about future prospects comes amid a confluence of factors conspiring against the likelihood of renters being able to transition to home ownership.

For one, some 74.2% of renters viewed obtaining a mortgage as somewhat or very difficult, which the New York Fed said has “deteriorated substantially” from the 66.5% level in 2023 and 63.1% in 2022.

Moreover, mortgage rates have remained high by historical standards. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now carries an average 7.22% borrowing rate, the highest since late-November 2023, according to Freddie Mac.

Housing affordability has improved little, with the median price in February at $388,700, the highest since November, according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR’s housing affordability index was at 103 in February, down slightly from January but still at elevated levels with average monthly housing payments at $2,040.

Survey respondents expect housing prices to increase 5.1% over the next year, nearly double the 2.6% expected rate in February 2023 and above the pre-pandemic mean of 4.2%.

Despite prospects for the Fed to cut interest rates before the end of 2024, respondents think mortgage rates are only going to go higher. The outlook for a year from now is that borrowing costs will be 8.7%, and 9.7% in three years, both survey records.

There’s not a lot of good news on the renting front, either. Respondents expect rental costs to increase by 9.7% over the next year, up 1.5 percentage points from last year’s survey and the second-highest in series history.

The results come a week after the Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold benchmark interest rates steady while indicating that there has been “a lack of further progress” in its efforts to bring the annual inflation rate back down to 2%.

Futures market pricing is indicating that the Fed will begin lowering rates in September, with a another cut likely to come in December.

The youngest generation of American workers is prepared to move away from states that pass abortion bans and to turn down job offers in states where bans are already in place, a new survey from CNBC/Generation Lab finds.

The “Youth & Money in the USA” survey of 1,033 people between the ages of 18 and 34 found that almost two-thirds of respondents, 62%, would “probably not” or “definitely not” live in a state that banned abortion.

And 45% of those surveyed said that if they were to be offered a job in a state where abortion is illegal, they would either “definitely reject” or “probably reject” the offer. Another 35% said they would “probably accept” the job. And only 20% of respondents said they would definitely take the job.

“These numbers on abortion have gigantic implications for just about every large company in America,” said Cyrus Beschloss, the CEO of The Generation Lab. “Companies must know they’ll be freezing out or at least scaring a large part of the young talent they’re trying to hire when they’re based in one of these states.”

The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade set off a cascade of legal challenges and legislative efforts at the state level. In the past two years, more than 20 states have either banned or restricted access to the procedure.

Yet findings like these suggest that state abortion bans could have a profound effect on how and where the next generation of American workers will live. And by extension, on the companies that will hire them.

The CNBC/Generation Lab survey was conducted between April 26 and May 2, and has a margin of error +/- 3.1%.

The survey also found that respondents had a negative opinion of an economy many would consider robust.

Despite historically low jobless rates, only 6% of those polled consider the current job market to be “great.” Another 38% said it is “satisfactory,” while 44% felt “pretty bad” was most accurate, and 11% opted for “extremely bad.”  

The latest employment report released by the U.S. government last Friday showed job growth slowed more in April than economists had been expecting. But the overall unemployment rate is under 4% for the twenty-seventh straight month, indicating the overall job market is still strong. That same report showed annual wage growth at 3.9% for the twelve months through April, the first time since June 2021 it has fallen below 4%.

The CNBC/Generation Lab poll also found that Americans between 18 and 34 years old feel trapped in the grip of high inflation. After the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at its most recent meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell said “inflation is still too high.”

Even so, the path to bringing it down is “uncertain,” Powell said at a press conference in Washington.

The survey showed that 54% of respondents feel inflation impacts them the most in “the cost of food.” Rent inflation came in second, with 22% saying that’s where they most feel higher prices, followed by discretionary spending, health-care costs and utility bills.

High prices also showed up as a major concern when it comes to housing, with 68% of those surveyed saying they find housing is available, but “not affordable.” An additional 21% said housing is “too hard to find.” 

Mortgage rates remain elevated, in the 7.5% range. Those higher rates make it difficult for current homeowners to trade up, and the resulting lack of turnover leaves many potential first-time buyers out in the cold.

“A lot of young people are trying to buy a home, but there are serious challenges right now,” said Delano Saporu, CEO of New Street Advisors Group, a wealth management firm focused on younger investors. Saporu described his clients as largely middle income with a steady job and salary.

“Rates are putting extra pressure on client budgets and limiting their potential to buy now,” he said. “Many are waiting and hoping future Fed cuts will bring mortgage rates down.”

Both Saporu and the poll found that enthusiasm for investing has waned after last year’s market run. Asked by CNBC/Generation Lab pollsters how they invest their money, 42% of respondents said they are “not investing or saving right now.” Another 18% said they keep all of their money in cash. 

“The excitement over buying stocks has deflated,” said Saporu. “People are less optimistic about investing as the market has stopped running up so far and so fast.”

Only 17% of young people in the survey said they are currently investing in stocks.

“Over the last few years clients may have heard about some random crypto coin or stock and wanted in, I’m seeing a lot less of that now,” said Saporu.

Two key social issues are prominent rallying cries for a large majority of respondents in this poll. The first is TikTok. President Joe Biden recently signed a bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress that could force the popular app’s Chinese owner to sell the company or face a U.S. ban.

Offered two options of how the government should proceed with TikTok, a large majority — 70% — of survey respondents said it should “allow TikTok to keep operating as usual.” The other 30% said they would prefer the U.S. ban TikTok.

A second social issue is the growing debate over a four-day workweek. In a recent exclusive interview on CNBC, the owner of the New York Mets and head of the hedge fund Point 72, Steve Cohen, said he believed a four-day workweek was a realistic possibility. 

Among young people surveyed, a whopping 81% said they believed it would make their workplace more productive, while only 19% said productivity would suffer.

The coming November presidential election appears to be reshaping some traditional youth voting patterns, at least for now.

If the election were held today, CNBC and Generation Lab’s survey found that younger voters split almost evenly between Biden and former President Donald Trump, with just 1 percentage point separating the two — 36% to 35% — in favor of Biden.

But in a three-candidate race, a whopping 29% of respondents said they would vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Yet it’s unclear at this point in the presidential race exactly who Kennedy’s candidacy threatens most, Biden or Trump. Recent polling suggests that Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic from a Democratic dynasty, may in fact be pulling more support away from Trump than he does from Biden.

What’s more, 40% of respondents believe Trump would be more effective in handling the economy, compared with 34% for Biden and 25% for Kennedy.

Generation Lab’s Beschloss called those numbers “jarring” for Democrats.

Yet this year, the downward drag of inflation and economic pessimism could be overwhelmed by a massive wave of reproductive rights voters, who tend to break sharply for Democrats at the ballot box.

Several states are also expected to have initiatives on the ballot in November that would enshrine abortion rights into their constitutions. Battleground Arizona and Republican-friendly Florida are two places wheere these initiatives could energize Democratic voters.

A number of private equity firms have been considering a buyout of Peloton as the connected fitness company looks to refinance its debt and get back to growth after 13 straight quarters of losses, CNBC has learned. 

In recent months, the pandemic darling has had talks with at least one firm as it considers going private, people familiar with the matter said. The firm’s current level of interest in acquiring Peloton is unclear. A number of other private equity firms have been circling Peloton as an acquisition target, but it’s unclear if they have held formal discussions.

Firms have zeroed in on how to cut Peloton’s operating expenses to make a buyout more attractive. Last week, Peloton announced a broad restructuring plan that’s expected to reduce its annual run-rate expenses by more than $200 million by the end of fiscal 2025. 

Shares of Peloton soared more than 17% in premarket trading after CNBC’s report was published.

There is no guarantee a deal will be made, and Peloton could remain a public company. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private. 

A Peloton spokesperson declined to comment on CNBC’s reporting. 

“We do not comment on speculation or rumors,” the spokesperson said. 

Peloton has become a takeover target after seeing its market capitalization plummet from a high of $49.3 billion in January 2021 to about $1.3 billion as of Monday.

Peloton has a consistent and profitable subscription business with millions of loyal users, but the business has been hamstrung by the equipment that originally made it a household name. The company’s bikes and treadmills are costly to make and have been the subject of numerous, high-profile recalls that have turned members away from the brand and cost Peloton millions. 

Plus, as many consumers from all income groups pull back on big-ticket purchases, demand for at-home exercise equipment that can cost thousands of dollars is limited. 

Over the last two years, Peloton has been on a downward trajectory as it struggles to grow sales, generate free cash flow and chart a path to profitability. Demand for its hardware has fallen and its costs have been too high for a company of its size. 

Last week, Peloton announced CEO Barry McCarthy would be stepping down as it issued a disastrous earnings report that missed Wall Street’s expectations. On the same day, it announced plans to cut its staff by 15%, or by about 400 employees, explaining “it simply had no other way to bring its spending in line with its revenue.”

The savings Peloton will generate from the restructuring will come primarily from the layoffs, along with cuts to marketing, research and development, IT and software. The cuts will make it easier for Peloton to generate sustained free cash flow, which executives said can be obtained even without sales growth, and will make it more attractive to the private equity firms that have been interested in it. 

Debt has also weighed on Peloton. Its debt totaled about $1.7 billion as of March 31. The company owes $692.1 million on its term loan, which could mature as early as November 2025, and $991.4 million on its 0% convertible senior notes, which are due in February 2026, according to a review of Peloton’s most recent quarterly securities filing. 

Last week, the company said it’s working closely with its lenders at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a “refinancing strategy.”

“Overall, our refinancing goals are to deleverage and extend maturities at a reasonable blended cost of capital,” the company said. “We are encouraged by the support and inbound interest from our existing lenders and investors and we look forward to sharing more about this topic.”

One source close to the company said Peloton isn’t expected to have any issues refinancing its debt.

One of Boeing’s biggest customers issued a call to action to its new management team, expressing frustration with the safety crisis facing the American planemaker and the consequent delays in order deliveries.

“We’re not happy really with what’s going on, we always really wanted to see this aircraft entering the fleet when it had been promised — and there is a delay, it’s not only to us,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Dubai’s flagship Emirates airline, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Tuesday at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

With 245 passenger planes and five 778 freighters on order, Emirates is Boeing’s largest customer in terms of widebody jets. But aircraft deliveries by the manufacturer dropped in the first quarter of 2024 to the lowest number since mid-2021 as the company deals with increased scrutiny after a door plug blew out from one of its 737 Max 9 planes midair in January.

The company delivered 83 planes in the three months to March 31 — most of them narrowbody 737s — compared to 157 in the prior quarter and 130 planes in the year-earlier period.

Al Maktoum, who sits at the helm of the world’s largest long-haul airline and helped launch it in 1985, echoed the sentiments of many other airline CEOs when it comes to expectations of Boeing.

“I think they have to put a lot of pressure in order to make sure that they deliver to the customer whatever they promised,” he said.

Asked if he had a message for the planemaker, Al Maktoum said: “I always say, you know, get your act together and just do it. And I think they can do it.”

CNBC has contacted Boeing for comment.

The chairman did not indicate that Emirates would cancel the Boeing orders or move them to its French rival, Airbus.

“No, no — I won’t be able to say exactly what we are planning,” he replied when asked about the likelihood of such a move. “But I think you see that we are refurbishing a big number of aircraft within the existing fleet … And there will be no shortage within Dubai capacity.”

He cited the airline’s extension of part of its existing fleet, including the mammoth double-decker Airbus A380s, as helping provide sufficient passenger capacity.

The recently-appointed new management team at Boeing is now tasked with navigating the company’s worst crisis since 2018-2019, during which time two of its new 737 Max jets crashed within a period of six months, killing 346 people.

Following the Alaska Airlines door blowout in January, the Federal Aviation Administration’s six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems “found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements,” according to an FAA release published March 4.

“The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control,” it said. The regulatory agency said it informed Boeing’s leadership that it “must address the audit’s findings as part of its comprehensive corrective action plan to fix systemic quality-control issues,” and address its “safety culture.”

In a previous statement cited by CNBC, a Boeing spokesperson said in response to the FAA findings that the company continues “to implement immediate changes and develop a comprehensive action plan to strengthen safety and quality.” 

The company’s website says it continues to support the U.S. NTSB and FAA investigations of the Jan. 5 accident.”

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.