Saudi Arabia Puts Wall Street on Notice to Set Up Shop in Riyadh

 

• Wealth fund adds fine print asking about regional headquarters
• Many financial firms ‘looking carefully’ at rules, lawyer says

Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund is starting to add some new fine print to the documents it sends to bankers hoping to do business with the $925 billion investor. It wants to know whether their firms have obtained a regional headquarters license in the kingdom.

The move shows the government is doubling down on efforts to get international financial firms to boost their local presence. Those that don’t display sufficient commitment to the country could soon find it harder to win big business.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-01/saudi-arabia-puts-wall-street-on-notice-to-set-up-shop-in-riyadh

US lawmakers ask FBI for briefing on GenScript Biotech's links to China

 The U.S. House of Representatives committee on China has asked the FBI and the intelligence community for a briefing on GenScript Biotechnology Co and three subsidiaries to determine if the Chinese Communist Party has influence over their operations.

In a letter dated May 30 to the FBI and the U.S. office of the director of national intelligence, committee chair John Moolenaar and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi said GenScript's work with U.S. companies and the government raises concerns about the intellectual property of U.S. firms and could help improve China's biotech capabilities.

The three subsidiaries cited in the letter are Bestzyme, Legend Biotech and ProBio.

Drugmaker Legend partnered with Johnson & Johnson in 2017 to develop cancer cell therapy Carvykti. They sold $500 million of the drug last year and expect sales to eventually top $5 billion a year.

GenScript, Legend and J&J did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did the other subsidiaries. GenScript is a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing service provider with over 200,000 customers in over 100 countries and sales, manufacturing, and research and development presence in China, the U.S., Europe and the Asia Pacific, according to its website.

The lawmakers' interest in GenScript comes two weeks after another committee in the House approved a bill that would restrict business with China's WuXi AppTec, WuXi Biologics BGI, MGI and Complete Genomics, and other possible biotech companies of concern.

The bill must still get through the full House and Senate before President Joe Biden could sign it into law. But, if passed, it would push U.S. pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to lessen their reliance on Chinese research and manufacturing.

"GenScript's role as a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization, including services such as the production of custom gene synthesis for companies and U.S. government entities, raises concerns about potential risks to the intellectual property of U.S. firms and GenScript's broader role in advancing the PRC's (China) biotech capabilities," the letter said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-lawmakers-ask-fbi-briefing-190113233.html

'Less waste? UK's Tesco lasering avocados with product information in test to ditch stickers'

 Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket group, is using lasers to etch product information on some of its avocados to avoid using barcoded stickers, in a trial it says will reduce plastic waste.

The high-powered lasers remove a minute section of the top layer of avocado skin, leaving a tattoo that shows information for customers and cashiers, such as the size or variety of the fruit.

All UK supermarkets are seeking to reduce plastic usage to meet their environmental commitments. Tesco is targeting net zero carbon emissions by 2050 across its operations together with those generated by the products it sells and its supply chains.

Tesco said the avocado initiative was being made jointly with Britain's main supplier - Lincolnshire, central England-based Westfalia Fruit.

Tesco avocado buyer Lisa Gilbey said the move avoids the need for a barcode sticker that can easily be forgotten and left on when recycling household food waste.

The trial is taking place in around 270 Tesco stores in southeast England and if customer feedback is positive will be rolled out across all its shops.

A full roll-out would save nearly a million plastic stickers a year on its loose, extra large avocados.

Tesco is also trialling replacing the plastic tray packaging for two of its most popular avocado lines and moving to a cardboard container that is easier to recycle.

If rolled out that would save over 20 million pieces of plastic tray packaging a year from the twin pack avocado alone.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/tesco-lasering-avocados-product-information-132443331.html

FDA approves Moderna's RSV vaccine with lower-than-expected efficacy in its label

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, the company announced on Friday, giving it a shot at much-needed new revenue from a second product.

Moderna's vaccine was approved for the prevention of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease in adults aged 60 or older, but with a label indicating the shot was 79% effective at preventing at least two symptoms of RSV, such as cough and fever.

Moderna had filed for FDA approval in July on data from a late-stage trial that showed its vaccine was 84% effective at preventing those symptoms, and its shares were down more than 6% in afternoon trading.

Jeffries analyst Michael Yee said in a note that the lower efficacy label was still in line with GSK's RSV shot Arexvy, the current market leader.

Moderna had also previously said its vaccine could be used to treat RSV-associated acute respiratory disease as well as lower respiratory tract disease.

RSV, which produces symptoms similar to a cold but can be fatal for young children and older adults, causes about 14,000 deaths annually in adults aged 65 and older.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has been banking on new vaccines to make up for vastly lower demand and sales for its Spikevax COVID-19 shot, its only marketed product.

Moderna's RSV shot is the first messenger RNA-based (mRNA) vaccine not for COVID-19 to be approved in the United States. It will be sold under the brand name mRESVIA

The company has said mRNA vaccines, which teach the body to make specific proteins that the immune system can recognize and attack, have the potential to treat multiple diseases and be more effective than conventional shots.

“The FDA approval of our second product, mRESVIA, builds on the strength and versatility of our mRNA platform,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.

Analysts on average forecast sales for Moderna's RSV vaccine of $340 million in 2024, growing to $830.5 million next year, according to LSEG data.

A panel of advisers at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will vote next month on recommendations for the vaccine's use and intended population.

Moderna says it expects the shot to be available to eligible patients in the U.S. by the autumn vaccination season.

A positive CDC decision from the agency will allow Moderna to compete later this year against GSK and Pfizer, which has badly lagged its British rival since both launched their RSV shots last year.

GSK's Arexvy is currently approved in the U.S. for adults aged 60 and over. British drugmaker has applied to extend the approved age group to include adults aged 50-59.

Pfizer's Abrysvo is approved for adults aged 60 and older, as well as women at 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy in order to protect their infants at birth.

The company's shares fell last February, after data showed faster declines in the efficacy of its RSV vaccine when compared to the GSK and Pfizer shots.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-fda-approves-modernas-rsv-150605330.html

US says it could act against China firms, banks over Russian war support

 The United States and other nations could take steps against Chinese firms and financial institutions over Beijing's backing for the Russian war against Ukraine, a top U.S. official said on Friday.

The Biden administration has stepped up warnings about China's backing for Moscow and issued an executive order in December that threatened punitive measures against financial institutions helping Russia skirt Western sanctions.

"I think where we are primarily focused are on Chinese companies that have been involved in a systematic way in supporting Russia," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters near the Virginia town of Washington when asked if the Chinese leadership and banks could be targeted.

"We've also looked closely at financial institutions."

The State Department's second-ranked official spoke at the start of a meeting with the vice foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea, Masataka Okano and Kim Hyong Kyun. The three allies have stepped up cooperation in the face of shared concerns about China, North Korea and Russian's war in Ukraine.

Earlier this week Campbell said there was an urgent need for European and NATO countries to send a collective message of concern to China.

"There will be steps that are taken, not just by the United States, but other countries, signaling our profound displeasure about what China is seeking to do in its relationship with Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine," he said on Friday.

Campbell met China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Thursday and raised U.S. concerns about Beijing's support to Russia's defense industrial base undermining European security, the State Department said.

Campbell said his talks with his South Korea and Japanese counterparts would prepare the way for a trilateral leaders' summit later this year. He said the date wasn't yet set, but the meeting was of the "highest priority."

In a joint statement from Friday's meeting, the allies reaffirmed their commitment to use their "collective capacity to strengthen security and maintain peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific."

They pledged to continue working closely to boost economic security, including through Minerals Security Partnership projects, which are aimed at lessening reliance on China and Russia for critical resources needed in high-tech applications.

The allies also committed to work "ever more closely to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, recovery, and efforts to hold Russia accountable for its actions," the statement said.

Campbell welcomed "renewed diplomacy" between China, Japan and South Korea, after leaders from the three countries met on Monday for the first time in four years. The two U.S. allies had offered a "very deep and sincere debrief" on their three-way meeting with China, he said.

He also commended Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr for a speech he gave at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore, where the Asian leader alluded to "illegal, coercive and aggressive" actions by China in the disputed South China Sea.

Campbell praised the speech as strong and purposeful, but would not directly answer a reporter's question on whether any incident involving China's Coast Guard that resulted in a Philippines service member being killed would trigger Washington's mutual defense treaty with Manila, calling it "hypothetical."

Encounters between the Philippines and China in Asia's most contested waters have grown more tense and frequent in the past year as Beijing presses its claims to shoals in waters that Manila says are well within its exclusive economic zone.

"We fundamentally believe that the United States and the Philippines are moving towards a closer set of relations in which we will be able to deepen our security partnership," Campbell said.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-says-could-act-against-184131336.html

US shifts focus to China risks; Zelenskiy arrives at Asia defence meeting

 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to refocus attention on China's threat in the Asia-Pacific on Saturday, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America's security commitments in the region.

Just hours after Austin spoke at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy arrived in Singapore, where he will address delegates at the security forum on Sunday.

In a statement on the social media platform X, he said that he had come to gather support from the Asia-Pacific region for a peace summit planned for June 15-16 in Switzerland. He said he planned to hold several meetings, including with Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, Austin, and Singaporean investors.

Austin met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the conference on Friday in a bid to cool friction over issues ranging from Taiwan to China's military activity in the South China Sea.

There has been increasing concern that Washington's focus on helping Ukraine counter Russia's invasion and support for Israel's war in Gaza, while trying to ensure that the conflict does not spread, has taken away attention from the Indo-Pacific.

"Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theatre of operations," Austin said in his speech, which appeared aimed at underlining the administration's legacy in the region as President Joe Biden's first term in office nears its end.

Biden is running for re-election in November against former President Donald Trump.

"Let me be clear: The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure," Austin said. "That’s why the United States has long maintained our presence in this region."

Austin underscored the importance of alliances in the region.

"And ... peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and not coercion or conflict. And certainly not through so-called punishment," Austin said, taking a shot at China.

In response, Chinese Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng said the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy was intended "to create division, provoke confrontation and undermine stability".

"It only serves the selfish geopolitical interests of the U.S. and runs counter to the trend of history and the shared aspirations of regional countries for peace, development and win-win cooperation," said Jing, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission.

Some U.S. officials say Beijing has become more emboldened in recent years, recently launching what it described as "punishment" drills around Taiwan, sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks after Lai Ching-te was inaugurated as Taiwan's president.

GAZA PROPOSAL

Indonesia's president-elect, Prabowo Subianto, told the meeting that his nation was willing to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza to maintain a ceasefire, if needed.

He said U.S. President Joe Biden's three-phase proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza was a step in the right direction.

"When needed and when requested by the U.N., we are prepared to contribute significant peacekeeping forces to maintain and monitor this prospective ceasefire as well as providing protection and security to all parties and to all sides," Prabowo said.

Prabowo, currently defence minister, takes over the presidency of the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation in October.

The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since Russia's February, 2022 invasion, and the U.S. Congress appropriated $61 billion more last month. It has also continued to arm Israel, and the same bill provides $26 billion to in additional support for that country.

In another session, South Korean defence minister Shin Won-sik declined to say whether his country would change its laws, which prohibit arms exports to nations in conflicts, to more directly provide aid to Ukraine.

In the last year, South Korea has transferred artillery ammunition to the United States and signed historically large arms deals with Poland; both of those countries provide security assistance to Ukraine.

About $8 billion in U.S. funding is set aside for countering China in the Indo-Pacific as part of the supplemental funding bill passed by lawmakers.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr on Friday denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea, a disputed ocean territory that China has been flooding with coastguard ships in recent months.

The Philippines, a sprawling archipelago with strong historical ties to the United States and close geographical proximity to China, is at the centre of an intensifying power struggle between Washington and Beijing.

Austin said the harassment faced by the Philippines was dangerous and reiterated that the United States' mutual defence treaty with Manila was iron clad. He said the aim was for tensions between Beijing and Manila not to spiral out of control.

"America will continue to play a vital role in the Indo-Pacific, together with our friends across the region that we share and care so much about," Austin said.

Jing, the Chinese general, said these alliances contributed to instability in the region.

"It is natural for neighbours to bicker sometimes, but we need to resolve disagreements through dialogue and consultation rather than inviting wolves into our house and playing with fire," he said.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/u-defense-chief-refocuses-attention-010959551.html

Why you can't relate: Meta seeks to revitalize Facebook's image to Gen Z with new product

 Meta (META) is looking to revitalize its Facebook app for users other than your weird Uncle Greg with a fresh push to grab Gen Z’s attention. Facebook head Tom Alison is pitching the social network as a place for young adult users between the ages of 18 and 29 to connect, shop, and keep up with the latest trends.

"In order to stay relevant, we have to build for the next generation of social media consumers ... Gen Z," Alison said during a creator-centric event in New York City on Friday. "Our product roadmap is driven by the needs of young adults."

The 20-year-old social network that turned Meta into a tech powerhouse isn't as popular among teens as its sister app Instagram. According to Piper Sandler’s latest Taking Stock with Teens survey, just 32% of teens use Facebook each month compared to 80% who use Instagram and 72% who access TikTok.

But according to Alison, Facebook is a match for users in their late teens and 20s who are navigating various life changes.

“As we were doing a lot of research we saw, for example, when somebody's moving to their first apartment, they're already going to [Facebook] Marketplace. And then they're … often joining a group in their new college to meet new people,” Alison said.

“And we realized, well, a lot of this kind of stuff is already happening on Facebook. We just need to do a really good job bringing it together.”

Part of that process has included enticing creators to join the platform by improving both its video efforts via its short-form video platform Reels and its search function.

The strategy seems to be working so far. According to Alison, Facebook has been growing in the US for several quarters and year-over-year with young adults. What’s more, people spend 60% of their time on Facebook watching videos.

Facebook took a rare hit after user numbers declined in Q2 2022 from 2.936 billion monthly active users to 2.934 billion, eliciting predictions that the platform was on a downward trajectory. Since then, however, the social network has grown each quarter from Q3 2022 through Q4 2023. The company didn't report monthly active Facebook users in its latest quarterly report.

Alison says his team was initially concerned that the updates to the platform could alienate the older users the social network has become associated with.

The group, however, has largely taken to the feature improvements, as have the Millennials who first joined the social network when it launched in 2014.

“I do think Facebook has had a unique staying power, because we've always been willing to change,” Alison said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-seeks-to-revitalize-facebooks-image-among-gen-z-with-new-product-push-113537118.html