AstraZeneca increases bets on China as COVID vaccine sales fade

 AstraZeneca plans to spend about $450 million building a factory in China making inhalers to treat "smoker's lung", doubling down on the world's No.2 pharmaceuticals market as the drugmaker predicts only "minimal" sales of its COVID vaccine this year.

China is home to about 100 million patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the third leading cause of deaths in the country, the Anglo-Swedish company said.

Smoking and air pollution are the main causes of the illness, sometimes also called emphysema or chronic bronchitis, according to the World Health Organization.

"It's incredibly common in China as people smoke ... but it's not very well diagnosed or treated," said AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot on a call with media following the release of first-quarter results.

In addition to the site in Qingdao, in the eastern province of Shandong, AstraZeneca is also setting up a research and development centre in Guangzhou with an academic centre to boost diagnosis and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases.

The news comes after Beijing lifted COVID restrictions late last year, reviving demand for healthcare as patients sought treatment and medicines after prolonged lockdowns.

The company has forecast revenue from China, which accounted for 13% of total sales in 2022, will grow by a low single-digit percentage this year.

French rival Sanofi said on Thursday sales in China decreased 14% to 755 million euros ($833 million), reflecting a COVID-driven slow start to the year.

For AstraZeneca, the investment also reinforces its focus on core areas of cancer, rare and respiratory diseases, after its foray into developing and making the COVID vaccine with Oxford.

The vaccine became its second best-selling product in 2021, but the business has quickly fizzled as it struggled to compete with the dominant shots made by rivals Pfizer and Moderna.

First-quarter sales of its COVID vaccine and therapy plunged to just $155 million from $1.5 billion over the same period last year.

RECOVERING

Soriot just returned from a more than two-week trip to China, where he saw signs the world's second-largest economy was recovering.

"The economy is restarting. Demand in our industry has been recovering rapidly actually and we see growth across all our products," he said.

AstraZeneca recently signed three licensing deals with Chinese companies, he said, a sign that China was increasing access to foreign companies.

"We definitely could make acquisitions," he said, adding that he didn't see geopolitical tensions between China and Western countries as a challenge for the industry.

He said the government was very clear last month, at both the China Development Forum and the Boao Forum, that it is open for collaboration with companies in the country and abroad.

He didn't elaborate, but the Chinese government typically prefers foreign companies to do joint ventures with local firms.

https://news.yahoo.com/astrazeneca-increases-bets-china-covid-114432173.html

Ex-Fugees rapper found guilty of helping China influence US

 Rapper Pras Michel from ‘90s group The Fugees was convicted of criminal charges on Wednesday, linked to campaigns meant to influence the U.S. government, including one on behalf of China.

His lawyer told reporters outside the Washington courthouse that he was “extremely disappointed”, after the jury found Michel guilty of 10 felony counts.

They include conspiracy, acting as an agent of a foreign government, witness tampering and falsifying campaign finance records.

It followed a trial that was filled with political intrigue and featured high-profile testimonies from Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Michel was accused of taking millions of dollars from Malaysian businessman Jho Low, in exchange for plotting to influence the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Low remains at large. He faces separate federal charges in New York for allegedly embezzling billions from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

During the trial, prosecutors said the Grammy-award-winning rapper became desperate for cash in 2012 and found a solution through Low.

They said Michel funnelled about $2 million from the Malaysian financier into Obama's re-election campaign that year, masking the money’s foreign source.

They also accused Michel of trying to push the Trump-era Justice Department to scrap civil and criminal probes into Low over the 1MDB scandal.

And said he tried to lobby the government on behalf of China to send Chinese billionaire and dissident Guo Wengui back there.

On Wednesday, Michel’s lawyer said, disappointment aside, he remained “enormously confident” that the rapper would “ultimately prevail”.

The prosecution and defense have until July to handle a number of post-trial motions, including a request for the judge to acquit Michel despite the jury’s verdict.

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-fugees-rapper-found-guilty-070144108.html

Powell Makes Unexpected Admissions During Prank Call With Fake Zelensky

 Fed Chairman Jerome Powell made several bizarre, if not shocking, admissions during a prank call with two Russians posing as Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, where they discussed topics ranging from inflation, to the Russian central bank, to joking about having a 'printing press' in the basement and possibly setting up a federal reserve bank in Kiev.

More interesting was Powell's admission, thinking he was speaking with Zelensky, during the call (which reportedly took place in January) that the Fed would hike rates two more times - a topic on which he has been far more circumspect even when giving testimony before Congress.

"The market is already pricing in two more quarter percentage point rate hikes. We'll look around after we make those two and we'll say should we do any more, and then the question will be how long do we keep rates at this level - and I think we'll keep them there for quite some time," said Powell, roughly two minutes into the clip below.

In retrospect, this is precisely what happened, with the Fed hiking twice in 2023, prompting some to wonder if we are now in the "and done" phase once we get through the May rate hike...

... and if indeed Powell is led by the market - as he hinted during the call - does that mean that the Fed will soon be forced to reverse its tune and find reasons to cut aggressively, as markets are now expecting.

Powell also said that the US economy will grow 'at a subdued level,' and that a recession is "almost as likely as very slow growth," and that it was because the Fed 'raised rates quite a bit,' which he defended as necessary to tame inflation.

"What we need is a period of slower growth so that the economy can cool off, so the labor market can cool off, so that wages can cool off. That's how inflation comes down. That's the only way we know to bring inflation down. And it can be painful, but we don't know of any painless way for inflation to come down."

“Chair Powell participated in a conversation in January with someone who misrepresented himself as the Ukrainian president,” a Fed spokesperson said Thursday. “It was a friendly conversation and took place in a context of our standing in support of the Ukrainian people in this challenging time. No sensitive or confidential information was discussed.”

As Bloomberg notes, the pranksters - Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who go by the nicknames Vovan and Lexus - have for years succeeded in tricking foreign politicians into talking to them despite their sometimes-crude impersonations.

The duo are supporters of President Vladimir Putin. Back in 2018, the UK said it believed the Kremlin was behind a hoax call to then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. The pranksters often post the videos with the intention to embarrass Western policymakers.

Earlier this year, the two shared a conversation with European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, also impersonating Zelenskiy.

The pranksters have also tricked Polish President Andrzej Duda into thinking he was speaking to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as well as former German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who appeared to be suspicious during the call.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/two-more-hikes-powell-makes-stunning-admissions-during-prank-call-fake-zelensky

'US to expand family-reunification program as part of new lawful pathways'

 The United States will expand a family-reunification parole program currently available to Cubans and Haitians to include additional nationalities, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as part of a suite of measures aimed at curbing record border crossings.

The program will be expanded to nationals of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in an effort to create new lawful pathways for migrants, the officials said during a briefing with reporters. Reuters first reported the plans.

The expansion of family reunification was part of a series of actions rolled out by President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday to address a possible increase in illegal immigration when COVID-19 border restrictions in place since 2020 are expected to end on May 11.

Biden, a Democrat seeking re-election in 2024, has struggled politically with record numbers of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Republicans have said Biden should have retained restrictive policies put in place by former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Biden administration will establish refugee processing centers in Guatemala and Colombia, the U.S. officials said, which could help increase the currently small number of refugee admissions from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the United States is also discussing increased refugee processing in Ecuador and Costa Rica.

The existing family-reunification parole programs open to Cubans and Haitians allow U.S. citizens or permanent residents to apply to bring family members with approved immigrant visas to the United States while they wait to have a residency visa issued.

The family reunification program is distinct from a program that Biden launched in January that allows up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela with U.S. sponsors to enter the country by air.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-set-expand-family-reunification-132859237.html

J&J to retain all talc-related liabilities from litigation in US, Canada

 Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it has agreed to retain all talc-related liabilities arising from litigation in the United States and Canada and will "indemnify" newly formed consumer health unit Kenvue for all costs.

The statement comes after the Financial Times reported earlier in the day that Kenvue had been named in claims that its talcum powder can cause cancer.

Kenvue had been named in at least seven talc lawsuits filed since the start of April, according to the newspaper, which cited regulatory filings and people familiar with the matter.

"As unequivocally and unambiguously stated, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to retain all the talc-related liabilities -and indemnify Kenvue for any and all costs - arising from litigation in the United States and Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and misleading," Erik Haas, vice president of litigation, Johnson & Johnson, said in a statement.

The news comes as Johnson & Johnson (J&J) seeks a valuation of up to $42.95 billion for Kenvue in its initial public offering.

Earlier this month, J&J agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that talc in its iconic Baby Powder and other products caused cancer, dwarfing the company's original offer of $2 billion.

J&J has claimed that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer.

One of the new cases naming Kenvue was filed on behalf of Justin and Kathryn Bergeron, a husband and wife who live in Louisiana, FT said. Their lawsuit claims Justin Bergeron contracted mesothelioma, a cancer associated with asbestos exposure, as a result of using J&J talc, FT reported.

Lawyers working for talc claimants said it could be the first of many claims filed against Kenvue and other J&J divisions not previously named in lawsuits, the paper added.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/j-js-consumer-unit-named-052043484.html

Zura: Licenses Autoimmune Therapy, $80M Private Placement

 

• Licensing a potential first-in-class, anti-IL-17 and anti-BAFF dual antagonist

• In connection with the transaction, Zura Bio announces pricing of $80 million private placement financing

Zura Bio Limited (Nasdaq: "ZURA") ("Zura" or "Zura Bio"), a multi-asset clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel medicines for immune and inflammatory disorders, today announced the license from Eli Lilly and Company ("Lilly") of tibulizumab, a potential first-in-class, anti-IL-17 and anti-BAFF dual antagonist. Following the closing, the compound will be known as ZB-106.

ZB-106 currently has clinical data from two Phase 1b studies completed in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren’s Syndrome. The safety profile to date appears to be acceptable, with no new findings relative to known IL-17 and BAFF inhibitors. Chronic toxicology studies have been completed with no adverse drug-related findings.

Zura plans to initiate a Phase 2 study for ZB-106 in Systemic Sclerosis in 2024 to be followed by a study in Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zura-bio-announces-80-million-113900802.html

'ChatGPT meets Robinhood? New investing app features AI-powered portfolio mentor'

 Applying artificial intelligence to the world of finance is all the rage, and a new investing platform just took it to another level.

Magnifi is one of the first investing platforms that uses ChatGPT and computer programs to provide personalized, data-driven investment advice. Not only does It answer investor questions in human-like conversations, it also monitors individual portfolios, guiding users through market-moving events like rate hikes and earnings reports. And there's a bonus — it performs like a brokerage where you can directly trade stocks and ETFs.

"It's a copilot for the self-directed investor," Vinay Nair, founder of Magnifi, said in an interview. "Today brokerages have democratized access to trading, to markets, but they lack intelligence and they lack personalization for the user. Magnifi is trying to democratize intelligence in a personalized way."

As AI continues to make breakthroughs, Wall Street gets increasingly curious how the technology could disrupt the asset management business. A recent preliminary study showed that ChatGPT, the hottest AI tool in the world, could have the potential to improve investment decision making.

To see how Magnifi performs and how it competes with professional advisers, I asked it a few different questions.

First, I posed the question "what stocks would Warren Buffett buy?" It came back with an explanation of his value investing principle along with the "Oracle of Omaha's" biggest holdings, Bank of America, Apple and Coca-Cola

Then the system was able to compare these three stocks in terms of return and volatility over the past year.

Secondly, I wanted to see how Magnifi would help me navigate the earnings season. I asked it what would happen to a hypothetical Amazon holding when the e-commerce retailer reports earnings.

The robot showed me the earnings estimates from Wall Street analysts as well as Amazon's track record in the last few quarters.

Finally, I asked how rate hikes are affecting my imaginary portfolio, with iShares 20 Plus Year Treasury Bond ETF as one of my holdings. It told me that rising rates can have a negative impact on bond funds such as TLT, with examples of historical performance in similar environments.

Nair said many investors tend to ask questions as generic as "how do I get started?" But the more users engage, the more inputs the system can collect and the more personalized answers it can provide, the founder said.

The platform charges a $14 flat fee per month, and Nair said his company doesn't make money from trading, or payment for order flows.

"It's a very customer aligned model, which gives us no incentives to get them to trade too much, directly or indirectly," Nair said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/27/chatgpt-meets-robinhood-new-app-features-ai-powered-portfolio-mentor-.html