Musk: Feds Have "Magic Money Computers" That Issue Payments "Out Of Thin Air"

 Elon Musk says that DOGE has discovered the US government has "magic money computers" that make payments "out of thin air."

Sitting down with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for his podcast that was recorded at the White House, Cruz said: "One of the things you told me about is what you called, 'Magic Money Computers.' So tell us about it, 'cause I never heard of that 'til you brought it up."

Musk: "Okay, so, you may think like the government computers all talk to each other, they synchronize, they add up what funds are going somewhere. And, that they're coherent ... And that the numbers that you're presented as a Senator are actually the real numbers."

Cruz: "One would think!"

Musk: "One would think - they're not ... I mean they're not totally wrong, but they're probably off by five percent or 10 percent in some cases. So, I call it 'Magic Money Computer': any computer that can make money out of thin air. That's magic money."

Cruz: "So how does that work?" Cruz asked.

Musk: "It just issues payments."

Cruz: "And you said there's something like 11 of these computers at Treasury that are sending out trillions in payments?"

Musk replied that they're mostly at the Department of Treasury, and others are at the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Department of Defense.

Musk: "We've found now 14 'Magic Money Computers. They just send money out of nothing."

Watch:

DOGE's $1 Trillion Target

Musk also told Cruz that DOGE will save taxpayers $1 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2026...

"If you look at DOGE now, you look at the government and what you're finding, what percentage have you guys even gotten to and how much of it is 'mars' where you haven't even gotten there yet because there's so much you're finding out here," asked co-host Ben Ferguson. "You seem like a timeline guy - when you say 'I want to get in there and get numbers and things' - how far are we from the endgame, where you've seen it all - you know, to process it all, and fix it. Are we years away? Months away?"

Musk: "Not years. I'm reasonably confident that we'll be able to get a trillion dollars of waste and fraud out, meaning that it will have, we'll have a net savings of FY26 of a trillion dollars, provided we're allowed to continue and our progress is not impeded."

Watch:

Of course, then there's the big leagues...

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/musk-feds-have-magic-money-computers-issue-payments-out-thin-air

KKR-Warburg Pincus group submit non-binding bid for Gerresheimer, sources say

 A consortium including KKR and Warburg Pincus has submitted a non-binding bid for Gerresheimer AG, which makes pens used to inject weight loss drugs like Wegovy, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The group has submitted a bid at close to 90 euros a share, one of the people said, which would value the company at nearly 3.1 billion euros ($3.37 billion), according to LSEG data, against 2.65 billion euros as of Friday's close.

A takeover is not guaranteed, with a second person adding that any deal is still likely to take several more weeks. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is private.

Spokespeople for KKR and Warburg Pincus declined to comment. Gerresheimer did not respond to requests for comment.

Its shares rose as much as 5.5% after Reuters reported on the bid Monday.

Last month the German medical packaging maker said it was in early-stage discussions with private equity investors over a potential sale of the company.

Gerresheimer said at that time that the interest was informal and on a non-binding basis.

"Such discussions are still in a very preliminary stage. It is not foreseeable at this point in time whether a public takeover offer will actually be made," the company said in a February statement.

The bid interest follows activist investor Ricky Chad Sandler taking a 5.43% stake in Gerresheimer in October 2024.

Last month, Gerresheimer halved its revenue guidance for 2025 on subdued demand in its cosmetics and food and beverage segments.

The company now expects organic revenue growth in the range of 3% to 5% in 2025, down from the previous range of 7% to 10%. It confirmed the guidance for adjusted core profit margin of around 22%.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-kkr-warburg-pincus-group-131211540.html

Opko, Entera share ownership of first oral GLP-1/glucagon agonist set to enter clinic

 Opko Health and Entera Bio have formalized their partnership as the biotechs prepare to take the first orally administered dual agonist glucagonlike-peptide 1 (GLP-1)/glucagon peptide into the clinic.

The once-daily pill combines Opko’s long-acting GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist peptide, dubbed OPK-88006, with Entera’s N-Tab oral delivery tech. The companies’ current timetable would involve seeking permission from the FDA “later this year” to enter human trials, according to a March 17 release.

The agreement will see Miami-based Opko and Israel-based Entera holding 60% and 40% ownership, respectively, in the program, and sharing the development costs by the same ratio.

Opko will also buy 3.6 million shares of Entera at $2.17 a pop, slightly above the $1.88 price at which the shares closed after Friday’s trading. Entera will use the proceeds to help fund its side of the development costs through to the phase 1 trial.

Beyond that first human study, Entera will then have the option to continue to fund its side of the development in order to retain its part of the program’s ownership. If the biotech decides at this point to opt out, it will still keep a 15% ownership interest, with Opko accounting for the remaining 85% while taking on the full development and funding burden.

The two blockbuster obesity drugs already on the market are Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 agonist Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s dual GLP-1/GIP agonist Zepbound. However, there are not yet any approved therapies that follow Opko’s modality of simultaneously activating the GLP-1 and glucagon receptors.

Big Pharmas have tended to evaluate dual GLP-1/glucagon co-agonists as potential treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). AstraZeneca has its own candidate, dubbed AZD9550, in phase 1 development for the liver condition, while Merck & Co.’s efinopegdutide beat Wegovy in the related condition of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a phase 2 trial.

Opko said taking their drug into the clinic this year would mark the first time an orally administered GLP-1/glucagon agonist would enter human trials. The hope is that the med can be used as a once-daily table treatment for patients with obesity as well as metabolic and fibrotic disorders.

Opko and Entera have already been collaborating on the obesity drug as well as on an oral GLP-2 peptide tablet they hope will offer an injection-free alternative for patients suffering from rare malabsorption conditions such as short bowel syndrome.

“We are pleased to continue working with Entera on this promising program to develop the first oral GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist in addition to our subcutaneous injectable dual agonist GLP-1/glucagon program,” Onko’s CEO Phillip Frost, M.D., said in the release. “Our goal with this franchise is to provide additional options for patients with obesity, metabolic and fibrotic diseases.” 

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/opko-entera-share-ownership-1st-oral-glp-1glucagon-agonist-set-enter-clinic

'US reports first outbreak of deadly H7N9 bird flu since 2017'

 The United States reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another bird flu strain that has infected humans and caused egg prices to hit record highs.

The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged flocks around the world, disrupting supply and fueling higher food prices. Its spread to mammals, including dairy cows in the United States, has raised concerns among governments about a risk of a new pandemic.

The strain that has caused most damage to poultry in recent years and the death of one person in the United States is the H5N1.

The H7N9 bird flu virus has proved to have a high death rate for humans worldwide killing 616 people, or 39%, of the 1,568 people infected worldwide since it was first detected in 2013 in China, the World Health Organization said.

The WHO has said that both forms of the bird flu virus do not appear to transmit easily from person to person.

The latest outbreak of H7N9 in the United States, detected on a farm of 47,654 commercial broiler breeder chickens in Noxubee, Mississippi, was confirmed on March 13, the Paris-based World Animal Health Organisation said in a report on Monday, citing U.S. authorities.

The Mississippi departments of agriculture and health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. response to bird flu was disrupted in the early weeks of the Trump administration, when federal agencies canceled congressional briefings and meetings with state animal health officials, according to Reuters reporting.

Some of that coordination has since resumed and the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will spend $1 billion to tackle the spread of the virus.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/deadly-bird-flu-strain-outbreak-165915741.html

Alphabet Nears $30 Billion Deal to Acquire Wiz

 Google-parent Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $30 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, in what could be the tech giant's largest deal ever.

A deal could come together soon, granted the talks don't hit last-minute snags, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Wiz had called off a $23-billion deal with Alphabet last year to focus on its initial public offering.

The startup provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions powered by artificial intelligence that help companies identify and remove critical risks on cloud platforms.

https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-03-17/alphabet-back-in-deal-to-buy-cybersecurity-startup-wiz-for-30-billion-wsj-reports

Amazon defeats shareholder lawsuit over third-party sellers, capacity expansion

 A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Amazon.com of defrauding shareholders about its treatment of third-party sellers and plans to expand capacity, culminating in a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case against the online retail giant.

Monday's dismissal by U.S. District Judge John Chun in Seattle was with prejudice, meaning the proposed class action cannot be brought again.

Lawyers for the shareholders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shareholders accused Amazon of concealing an algorithm that ensured its private-label products would cost less than outside merchandise, raising prices for consumers generally.

They also said Amazon concealed the overexpansion of its infrastructure and fulfillment network, causing its stock price to tumble in April 2022 when it incurred $2 billion of costs for excess capacity and posted its first quarterly loss since 2015.

But the judge found no "compelling and particularized facts" to suggest executives knew and covered up Amazon's alleged favoring its own products over those of outside sellers, or believed its expansion was too aggressive.

Chun also found insufficient allegations that Amazon officials including former Chief Executive Jeff Bezos and his successor Andy Jassy intended to defraud them by "making Amazon seem as successful as possible," in order to boost their pay and sell stock at inflated prices.

"The more plausible inference" from the complaint, Chun wrote, "is that Amazon and the individual defendants employed sharp business practices and were single-mindedly focused on increasing corporate profits."

The FTC sued Amazon in September 2023, accusing it of using monopoly power to keep other sellers from lowering prices, causing consumers to pay more and "degrading" the shopping experience.

Eighteen U.S. states and Puerto Rico have joined the FTC lawsuit. A nonjury trial before Chun is scheduled for October 2026, court records show.

The shareholder lawsuit covered owners of Amazon shares from February 1, 2019, to April 28, 2022.

The case is Joyce v Amazon.com Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 22-00617.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/amazon-defeats-shareholder-lawsuit-over-third-party-sellers-capacity-expansion/ar-AA1B6Kja

Venezuela's PDVSA to produce, refine and export crude previously handled by Chevron, document says

  Venezuela's state-run PDVSA has put together three operational scenarios as part of plan to continue producing and exporting heavy oil at the largest joint venture with Chevron in the country once a license to the U.S. major expires next month, according to a company document seen by Reuters on Monday.

The Venezuelan firm plans to produce between 105,000 and 138,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Hamaca heavy crude, with a portion of the output sent to domestic refineries and another exported to other markets than the U.S., the document says.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/venezuelas-pdvsa-produce-refine-export-205738609.html