After the mixed Manufacturing survey picture (ISM puked, PMI spiked), who knows what we'll get from the Services surveys today.
S&P Global's Services PMI fell from 52.5 in January to 52.3 (final) in February, but we note that is up from the 51.3 preliminary print in early Feb.
ISM's Services survey also fell from 53.4 in January to 52.6 in Feb, below the 53.0 expectations.
A far-left militant/environmental group, known as "Vulkangruppe" (Volcano Group), has claimed responsibility for an attack on Germany's electricity infrastructure on Tuesday, paralyzing vehicle production at Tesla's European Gigafactory near Berlin.
Police in the state of Brandenburg said someone set fire to a nearby high-voltage tower, causing a blaze that cut off electricity to the Gigafactory and more than 60,000 people in the surrounding area.
A Tesla spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the attack on the grid caused a power outage at the factory, resulting in a production halt. The spokesperson added that the site was evacuated.
"We sabotaged Tesla today. Because Tesla in GrĂ¼nau eats up earth, resources, people, labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killing machines and monster trucks per week. Our gift for March 8th is to shut down Tesla. Because the complete destruction of the Gigafactory and with it the sawing off of “technofascists” like Elend Musk are a step on the path to liberation from patriarchy," the eco-terrorist wrote in a 2,500-word attack on Tesla.
On X, CEO Elon Musk responded to the incident by saying:
"These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals. Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm."
Tesla shares in New York were down about 2.5% in the early morning cash session.
Meanwhile, there are environmental protesters near the Gigafactory...
Why are eco-terrorists attacking Tesla when it's claimed by these groups that electric vehicles will save the planet from imminent climate doom? Or is it this eco-terrorist group is being weaponized by dark money to go after Musk for his 'free-speech' platform X that goes against the censorship-industrial complex in the West?
The United States continues to restrict China's capabilities in obtaining and manufacturing advanced semiconductor technologies, presenting significant challenges for Chinese firms and American semiconductor manufacturers that export chips to the world's second-largest economy.
A new Bloomberg report states Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is the latest company caught in the crossfire of a broadening trade war between the superpowers. Sources said US government officials have told AMD that its artificial intelligence chips for the Chinese market are too advanced to sell without a license from the Commerce Department. This presents a major hurdle for the chipmaker trying to navigate Washington's crackdown on exports of advanced technologies.
According to the report, AMD designed the chip for lower performance to comply with US export restrictions. However, Bloomberg declined to authorize the chip's sale in China, deeming it still too advanced. The report added that the chip must obtain a license from the department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
There is no word from the sources on whether AMD will apply for the license. But what's evident is that news is impacting the company's shares on Tuesday morning.
Shares of AMD are lower in premarket trading in New York, down nearly 2% around 0815 ET. Notice the daily bearish candle that printed on Monday.
The US has been racing to limit Chinese access to advanced semiconductors since the Biden administration placed export controls in 2022 and strengthened them in late 2023. Nvidia's A800 and H800 chips were recently barred from the Chinese market.
In June, Nvidia's chief financial officer, Colette Kress, warned that export curbs on its chips to China would risk a "permanent loss" for US semiconductor firms in one of the world's largest markets.
Meanwhile, China is countering the trade restrictions by ramping up domestic investments in advanced chip-making companies to reduce reliance on US firms.
Trade restrictions will undermine US semiconductor firms' competitiveness in overseas markets. But don't tell the market that.
And the trade war continues to rage on.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-govt-reportedly-blocks-amd-selling-ai-chip-china
A major outage appears to have rocked Meta's social media platforms on Tuesday morning across the US.
Folks report that both Instagram and Facebook display "failure to load" error pages
According to the outage tracking website Downdetector, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger began experiencing disruptions around 1000 ET.
Facebook outages are being reported in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and other major metro areas in the US.
The status and outages of Meta business products are listed below:
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/facebook-instagram-hit-outage-across-us
Positive interim results from APG777 Phase 1 healthy volunteer clinical trial exceeded objectives with approximately 75-day half-life which supports the potential for higher exposures leading to potential for improved clinical responses in induction than currently available biologic therapies and the potential for maintenance dosing of every 3- or 6-months
APG777 Phase 1 interim data support advancement of a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in 1H 2024 ahead of schedule
Phase 1 healthy volunteer clinical trial set to start ahead of schedule for APG808, a subcutaneous extended half-life antibody targeting IL-4Rα, following receipt of regulatory clearance in February
Total cash of $395.5 million at year end 2023 with expected cash runway into 4Q 2026
Radical climate change warriors in the White House have made it their mission to destroy the fossil fuel industry (and with that goes the economy) but also brainwash as many youth into believing there's an imminent climate emergency. However, a new poll shows young people are unwilling to make even the slightest financial sacrifice, not even the cost of one avocado and toast sandwich per month, for 'green' causes, and perhaps this underscores that the youth are merely serial virtue signallers.
The Daily Mail obtained a copy of a new survey commissioned by CRC Research for the 85 Fund. It reveals that fewer than half of the respondents aged 18-34 will spend $10 monthly to combat climate.
Less than half (45%) of the youngest crop of voters aged 18-34 would be willing to spend $10 or less per month to combat climate change, according to a recent survey by CRC Research for 85 Fund obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
And one out of five (20%) in the same age bracket responded that they would not pay anything at all, according to the poll results.
DailyMail said respondents aged 25-34 were very similar to the 18-34 age group, an indication the Biden administration's propaganda campaign to push climate anxiety amongst the youngest generations is failing. If the administration continues pushing such a radical agenda - they risk falling out of touch with average working-class folks.
The CRC also showed how young people are vocal about climate change but fail to spend their own money fixing it. This could be due to an era of failed Bidenomics as the inflation monster crushes households.
"Despite claims they are leading the charge on climate change, it turns out young people are actually just sheep in wolves clothing. They demand 'climate action,' but demand someone else pay for it," said Steve Milloy, a lawyer who served under the Trump administration.
Milloy continued: "They disguise their rank hypocrisy by posturing as 'climate activists.' Their refusal to put their money where their mouths are just underscores how unserious they are as citizens and voters."
On the heels of a setback in pharma’s legal attempts to block Medicare’s new medicine price negotiation powers, the US government has said all drugmakers whose products are up for discussion have engaged with the process by filing counteroffers.
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said the milestone showed that the federal government is “committed to constructive dialogue” with the industry through “good-faith, upfront negotiations.”
10 drugs have been selected for the first round of negotiations, which are expected to continue over the next several months and come to a conclusion on 1st August. If an agreement is reached, the new prices will be published on 1st September and come into effect at the start of 2026.
The full list of medicines – which are all deemed by HHS to have a “high budget impact “ on Medicare – appears below:
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer’s Eliquis (apixaban)
Becerra said that the negotiation process introduced as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a “cornerstone” of the government’s efforts to “lower costs for families and keep money in the pockets of millions of Americans instead of big pharma.”
HHS’ announcement came shortly after a US federal judge rejected a challenge from AstraZeneca over the legality of Medicare’s pricing negotiation powers, saying the company had not identified anything protected by constitutional rights that the programme would jeopardise.
That result came after a federal judge in Texas threw out a lawsuit brought by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) trade organisation and another in Ohio denied a preliminary injunction that had been sought by the US Chamber of Commerce.
HHS has also published a fact sheet claiming that the IRA would lead to significant reductions in drug costs for people living in rural areas accessing care through Medicare Part D, a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit.
The report claims that people living in rural communities with limited income who are enrolled in the Extra Help programme, around 300,000 people at last count, will save about an average of $300 annually thanks to the legislation.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/pharmas-medicare-counteroffers-are-all-says-hhs
