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Eli Lilly to build $3.5 billion Pennsylvania plant in US manufacturing push

Eli Lilly announced on Friday that it will build a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, its fourth new site in an effort to expand U.S. production and bolster medical supply chains.

The $3.5 billion plant will make Lilly's injectable weight-loss medications, including retatrutide, the company said in a statement. That next-generation obesity drug has outperformed Lilly's blockbuster drug Zepbound.

Drugmakers are rushing to expand U.S. production as President Donald Trump has threatened to impose import tariffs on pharmaceutical products.

Companies including Lilly, Pfizer, and Merck have pledged billions in domestic investment to avoid penalties. Lilly said last year that it would invest over $27 billion in four new U.S. manufacturing sites, and has said it will expand production at others.

"All these sites, including this one, will be really state of the art manufacturing to last many decades to come," said Lilly CEO David Ricks at a Friday press conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Lilly, the world's most valuable drugmaker by market value, has been racing against Danish rival Novo Nordisk to meet surging demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. The company plans to launch its much-anticipated weight-loss pill in several countries at a $150-a-month cash price as it works towards U.S. approval in the coming months.

"We're finding these medicines are quite popular, but we still have work to do to expand access, to improve affordability," Ricks said on Friday.

Construction at the Lehigh Valley site is expected to begin in 2026 and the plant will be operational in 2031, the company said.

The site was selected from more than 300 applications and was chosen in part for its proximity to universities and its existing infrastructure, the company said.

The investment is the largest by a life sciences company in Pennsylvania history and will create at least 850 new jobs, said Governor Josh Shapiro in a statement.

Shapiro said at the Friday press conference that state officials are working to ensure permitting moves quickly for the new plant.

Pennsylvania is committing $100 million to the project, Shapiro said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/eli-lilly-to-build-3-5-billion-pennsylvania-plant-in-us-manufacturing-push/ar-AA1VlBZL

BYD opens down after co's vehicle sales fall by 30%

Hong Kong shares of BYD Co Ltd fell 5.1% early on Monday after the vehicle maker posted its fifth straight month of decline in monthly sales.

The stock fell to HK$92.75, the lowest since December 24.

BYD's vehicle sales dropped by 30.1% in January year-on-year as the Chinese electric vehicle maker navigates external uncertainties and tough competition at home.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/byd-hong-kong-shares-sink-to-5-week-low-on-weak-january-sales-ce7e5bddda8ef520

'Big investors brace for inflation comeback as rate-cut bets look risky'

Some of the world’s largest asset managers are repositioning portfolios to guard against a renewed burst of inflation, even as broader markets remain confident that price pressures are contained, Bloomberg News reported Sunday.

BlackRock (BLK) has increased short positions in long-dated U.S. Treasuries and U.K. gilts, betting yields could rise if expected rate cuts are delayed. Bridgewater Associates is leaning toward equities over bonds, while Pacific Investment Management Co. is favoring inflation-linked Treasuries as a hedge.

Market signals back up their caution. U.S. inflation breakevens have jumped to multi-month highs, and inflation swaps are pointing to stronger price pressures ahead. Many investors worry that a resilient U.S. economy, higher commodity prices, heavy government borrowing and surging AI investment could reignite inflation, especially if Kevin Warsh pushes the Federal Reserve toward faster or deeper rate cuts.

Some strategists argue an inflationary boom is still underpriced, a scenario that could keep the Fed sidelined early in the year and force markets to price in rate hikes later. That outlook would complicate the start of Warsh’s tenure if confirmed, given his reputation as an inflation hawk and political pressure for lower rates.

Elsewhere, views diverge. Investors in the euro area largely expect inflation to stay near the European Central Bank’s 2% target. In the United Kingdom, stronger data have cooled expectations for rapid easing by the Bank of England. In Australia, traders are even betting the central bank could resume rate hikes.

In the United States, opinions are split. Some managers see inflation steadily easing toward target, while others warn it could climb above 4% by year-end amid tariffs, geopolitical risks and strong demand for energy and metals.

Against that uncertainty, inflation-protected bonds are regaining appeal as insurance. While they carry risks if energy prices fall sharply, firms like Pimco argue that breakevens remain low relative to recent inflation, making TIPS a relatively cheap hedge if price pressures accelerate again.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/big-investors-brace-for-inflation-comeback-as-rate-cut-bets-look-risky/ar-AA1VrQO3

FDA opens fast-track program to speed U.S. drug plant construction

U.S. Food and Drug Administration started taking applications for its PreCheck pilot, a new effort to accelerate the construction and review of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the United States.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4545112-fda-opens-fast-track-program-to-speed-u-s-drug-plant-construction

How China Uses a ‘National Team’ to Influence Trading

China’s stock market has long been more volatile than Beijing would like, a problem that has taken on greater urgency as the government tries to shift growth away from property and debt and toward technology and innovation. Equities are increasingly expected to help fund companies, support household balance sheets and reinforce confidence at a time of intensifying economic pressure and strategic rivalry with the US.

That helps explain why authorities, amid a strong January rally that stirred fears of speculative excess, leaned on a state-backed “national team” to influence trading — a reminder of how closely share prices are intertwined with China’s broader economic and political objectives.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-02/how-china-uses-its-national-team-to-influence-the-stock-market

US Natural Gas Prices Plummet as Forecasts Show Warmer Weather

US natural gas futures plummeted, erasing Friday’s surge, as near-term weather forecasts showed milder conditions.

The front-month contract fell as much as 17% to $3.620 per million British thermal units in early Asian trading. The contract had added 11% on Friday ahead of record-breaking cold weather.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-02/us-natural-gas-prices-plummet-as-forecasts-show-warmer-weather

Mamdani’s Gracie Mansion noticeably trash-free as UES neighbors drown in 8-foot piles of garbage

Eight-foot piles of rat-infested trash are choking the streets around Gracie Mansion — which has gotten kid-glove shoveling treatment as Mayor Zohran Mamdani crows he can’t “imagine how it could get better’’ in the city.

While Hizzoner’s Upper East Side neighbors are forced to trudge through garbage-plagued roads, roaming rodents and mounds of snow tainted with dog pee a full week after Winter Storm Fern, the sidewalks outside the lefty mayor’s digs on East 88th Street are squeaky clean.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw yesterday — a whole army of Sanitation workers plowing and shoveling every bit of snow off of that side of the street,” local Nick Rivers griped to The Post on Sunday as he walked his black Lab along a littered sidewalk near the mayor’s residence.

“Clean as a whistle for the mayor,” Rivers said. “Look at this side.”

“This side” is marred by massive piles of garbage as high as 6 feet that have been building for days and attracting rats — even as Mamdani pats himself on the back, claiming he’s keeping things on track, including while New Yorkers are dying in the cold.

Other neighborhood streets are home to even higher piles of debris — some as tall as 8 feet.

“I’m new to the job,” the mayor said Friday. “I know the burdens will get heavier, but right now I struggle to imagine how it could be better.”

He should cross the street and ask his neighbors.

“Don’t get me started. I think his wife must have complained about the pee in the snow,” West 88th Street resident Attel said. “I don’t even look when I come out of the building.”

https://nypost.com/2026/02/01/us-news/mayor-mamdanis-gracie-mansion-noticeably-trash-free-as-ues-neighbors-drown-in-8-foot-piles-of-garbage/