'House Dem wants Gov. Hochul to pardon Trump ‘for the good of the country’'

 A Democratic congressman has publicly called on Gov. Hochul to pardon former President Donald Trump after he was found guilty this week of falsifying business records — for the sake of the nation.

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said a Trump conviction only helps his campaign.

“Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim. @GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country,” Phillips declared in a X post Friday.

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Insiders say a pardon from Gov. Hochul is “unlikely.”Getty Images for Robin Hood

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Rep. Dean Phillips said Trump’s conviction will help his campaign.Aristide Economopoulos

“You think pardoning is stupid? Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are entirely different.) It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost,” Phillips warned.

Phillips, a three term gadfly, earned national attention this year after launching a primary challenge against President Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

A businessman before entering government, Phillips dropped at least $5 million of his own cash on the long-shot effort, which he abandoned in March.

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Former President Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records on Thursday.The Washington Post via Getty Images

He endorsed Biden after garnering no meaningful support in the primaries.

A person close to Hochul said a pardon was “unlikely.” 

“I cannot image a world where she would consider doing this, this makes no sense,” said the insider.

https://nypost.com/2024/06/01/us-news/house-dem-wants-pardon-for-trump-for-the-good-of-the-country/

Soaring US Trade Deficit Smacks the Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast

 Two Atlanta Fed GDPNow measures took a 0.8 percentage point dive on May 31. Let’s go over why.

Please consider the May 31, 2024 GDPnow Forecast for second quarter GDP.

The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2024 is 2.7 percent on May 31, down from 3.5 percent on May 24. After recent releases from the US Census Bureau and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, a decrease in the nowcast of second-quarter real personal consumption expenditures growth from 3.4 percent to 2.6 percent was partly offset by an increase in the nowcast of second-quarter real gross private domestic investment growth from 5.1 percent to 6.3 percent, while the nowcast of the contribution of the change in real net exports to second-quarter real GDP growth decreased from -0.06 percentage points to -0.60 percentage points.

The important number in the above chart is the Real Final Sales forecast.

The difference between the base forecast and RFS is inventory adjustment that nets to zero over time.

RFS is the bottom lines estimate of the economy.

“This Rates to Smack GDPNow”

Sommers made a reference the trade deficit which increased by 7.7 percent in April. I looked up the numbers. The trade data wasn’t “fairly awful” it was downright awful.

Advance Indicators

I took one look at the numbers and stated “This Rates to Smack GDPNow”.

My statement may seem obvious, but it’s not. The report itself is irrelevant. What matters is what the report does vs what the model predicted it would.

Sometimes bad data causes the GDPnow forecast to rise. I made my call based on a spot assessment that that the model would not have expected such an awful number.

Weakening Data All Over the Place

Data is weakening left and right. I believe we are headed for recession this year, but we are not there yet.

For discussion, please see Philadelphia Fed GDPplus Revised Significantly Lower, But No Recession Yet

https://mishtalk.com/economics/soaring-us-trade-deficit-smacks-the-atlanta-fed-gdpnow-forecast/

Netanyahu Quickly Slams Door On Biden's Major Gaza Ceasefire Plan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the door shut on President Biden's new appeal urging both Israel and Hamas to accept the new ceasefire plan set before both sides. As we detailed earlier, Biden's Friday afternoon speech was mostly about pressuring Israel to end the war. The message was clear at a moment the Democratic president faces dissent and pushback from his base headed into a tight November election: "I urge Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes," he emphasized.

But coming a mere hours later, Netanyahu has made it clear there will be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas is completely eradicated. He went so far as to say the current deal being pushed hard by the White House is a "non-starter".

"Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: The destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said.

"Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter," he added.

Remarking on the significance, Times of Israel observed that "His comments, in a rare statement published on the Sabbath and only in English, came after United States President Joe Biden announced Friday that Israel had proposed a three-phase deal for a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for Hamas releasing hostages, told the terror group to accept it and urged the Israeli government to stand behind it."

Much of Biden's speech had appeared geared toward convincing Netanyahu and the Israeli public to not drift into the more hardline positions of hawkish officials like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Biden had even claimed Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out an Oct.7-style terror attack again.

He had said in the major televised address: "I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some are even in the government coalition. They’ve made it clear they want to occupy Gaza, they want to keep fighting for years, the hostages are not a priority for them."

Well... this grand White House 'pressure' initiative didn't even last a full 24-hours...

This has also been a message of the ongoing anti-Netanyahu protests in Tel Aviv led by the hostage victims' families. But Netanyahu's office had made it clear right away that Israel's military policy would not be dictated from Washington (despite the billions in annual US defense aid given). Israel media has detailed: 

A US official later said the Israeli proposal was a highly detailed three-to-four-page document. It was apparently approved by the war cabinet — compromising Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and minister Benny Gantz — but presumably not yet presented to the wider security cabinet, of which far-fight ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are members, and on whose support Netanyahu depends for his coalition’s majority.

Immediately after the speech,  Netanyahu — whom Biden avoided naming — released an initial statement saying that “The Israeli government is united in the desire to return our hostages as soon as possible and is working to achieve this goal.”

Netanyahu's "non-starter" comment is a slap in the face to the White House, which has made largely empty threats about reigning in Israeli policy in Gaza. 

Biden now finds himself between a rock and a hard place in an election year and his Gaza policies are deeply unpopular among many Democrats. The intractable conflict and his handling of it has threatened to sink his chances going up against Trump as both campaigns kick into high gear. Israel's military has in the last days expanded its Rafah ground operations, and has now moved into most parts of the southern city.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/netanyahu-quickly-slams-door-bidens-major-gaza-ceasefire-plan-non-starter

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