Wall Street Breakfast: Boosters Are Coming

Boosters are coming - The Biden administration is set to announce as early as this week its policy regarding the need for COVID-19 booster shots for most Americans, according to the NYT. The plan is to offer a third jab, eight months after a second shot, which could happen as early as mid-to-late September. Boosters would initially be made available to nursing home residents and health care workers followed by older people who were at the front of the line when vaccinations started late last year. Another jab: With the new policy, the administration intends to let the recipients of Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE, BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA) vaccines know that they need further protection given rising coronavirus case counts across the nation. The officials expect that those who received the single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) will also need an additional dose, but they are awaiting the results from a clinical study for the vaccine, which is anticipated later this month. The new policy is subject to the FDA authorization of additional COVID-19 shots for fully vaccinated individuals. Pfizer has already submitted early-stage data to the FDA to support the evaluation for a booster of its COVID-19 vaccine. According to the drugmaker's findings, a third dose elicited significantly higher neutralizing antibodies against the initial SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to the levels observed after the two-dose primary series, as well as against the Beta variant and the highly infectious Delta variant. Moderna has said it plans to ask regulators next month to authorize its related booster shots. Outlook: The FDA last week already approved the use of booster COVID-19 vaccines for people with compromised immune systems, who are likely to have weaker protection from the two-dose regimens. Meanwhile, the number of people dying with COVID-19 in American hospitals is hitting previous highs in some hotspot areas like Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon and Mississippi. Many states are also looking to reinstate public health restrictions as the Delta variant strains hospital systems across the U.S. (56 comments)

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Top News Boosters are coming Shutterstock The Biden administration is set to announce as early as this week its policy regarding the need for COVID-19 booster shots for most Americans, according to the NYT. The plan is to offer a third jab, eight months after a second shot, which could happen as early as mid-to-late September. Boosters would initially be made available to nursing home residents and health care workers followed by older people who were at the front of the line when vaccinations started late last year. Another jab: With the new policy, the administration intends to let the recipients of Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE, BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA) vaccines know that they need further protection given rising coronavirus case counts across the nation. The officials expect that those who received the single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) will also need an additional dose, but they are awaiting the results from a clinical study for the vaccine, which is anticipated later this month. The new policy is subject to the FDA authorization of additional COVID-19 shots for fully vaccinated individuals.  Pfizer has already submitted early-stage data to the FDA to support the evaluation for a booster of its COVID-19 vaccine. According to the drugmaker's findings, a third dose elicited significantly higher neutralizing antibodies against the initial SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to the levels observed after the two-dose primary series, as well as against the Beta variant and the highly infectious Delta variant. Moderna has said it plans to ask regulators next month to authorize its related booster shots. Outlook: The FDA last week already approved the use of booster COVID-19 vaccines for people with compromised immune systems, who are likely to have weaker protection from the two-dose regimens. Meanwhile, the number of people dying with COVID-19 in American hospitals is hitting previous highs in some hotspot areas like Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon and Mississippi. Many states are also looking to reinstate public health restrictions as the Delta variant strains hospital systems across the U.S. (56 comments)       Stocks Big day for retail Time for some profit taking? Stock futures slipped 0.5% overnight after the S&P 500 notched a fresh milestone during its fifth consecutive positive session. The benchmark index has now doubled from a closing low hit on March 23, 2020, when many were dumping stocks due to pandemic uncertainty. The 100% surge marks the fastest bull market doubling since World War II, though investors have since rotated between different sectors they estimate will benefit most from the economic recovery. Quote: "Usually it takes many years to double, so this is another way of showing just how incredible this bull market has been," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial. However, a possible end to the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program could dent some sentiment as Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren announced expectations for the central bank to begin tapering this fall. He argued that the pace of reduction should be relatively brisk, outlining there was "no reason to drag it out," while asset purchases would come to a complete end in mid-2022. Rosengren's timeline fits a growing consensus among Fed officials, though the FOMC had not formally discussed a timetable for the proposed tapering process. Retail on watch: Retail sales data will be released by the Census Bureau at 8:30 a.m. ET, with forecasts for a July slowdown as the Delta variant spread nationwide. Economists see a sales decline of 0.3% last month, after June's surprise 0.6% increase, though some at Bank of America see an even stronger deterioration of 2.3%. Several big retailers are also set to report earnings this morning, including Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD).       Sponsored By Fidelity Make Your Money Work Harder With $0 Commission Trades At Fidelity, free means free. When you trade online U.S. Stocks and ETFs, it's commission-free. And there is no minimum to open an account. Because nothing should stand between you and your money. Open an account today. Tech Regulatory assault Another day, another crackdown. China's market regulator is at it again, issuing fresh draft rules at stopping unfair competition on the internet. They cover a wide range of prohibitions, including the way firms can use data and stamping out fake product reviews. The State Administration for Market Regulation could also hire third-party institutions to audit data if an operator falls foul of the guidelines. Bigger picture: Public opinion on the new rules will be sought until Sept. 15 as the regulator continues a far-reaching onslaught against the country's technology sector. Beijing has already targeted the internet platform economy, for-profit tutoring, music licensing, financial payments and could soon take aim at online gaming. Chinese internet giants like Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) sold off on the latest developments, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down 2%. Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler issued his most direct warning yet about investing in Chinese companies, reiterating a call for more disclosures of risks. "When American investors think we're investing in a Chinese company, it's much more likely that we're actually investing in a company in the Cayman Islands," he said in a video message. "In certain sectors like technology and the internet, the government of China actually doesn't allow ownership and investment from people outside of China. To get around this, China-based operating companies establish contracts with shell companies in other countries." Go deeper: Gensler is asking SEC staff to take "a pause, for now" in approving IPOs of shell companies that Chinese firms use to list shares in the U.S. He also wants investors to have more information about how those firms are structured and what money is flowing between the Cayman Islands and China. "That means disclosing the political and regulatory risk that the government of China could, as they've done a number of times recently, significantly change the rules in the middle of the game." (37 comments)

     

Trending

Autopilot under investigation

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares dropped 4.3% on Monday, and fell another 2% premarket, after U.S. auto safety regulators opened a formal safety probe into the carmaker's driver assistance system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pointed to 11 crashes since 2018 in which Teslas on Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control were responsible for at least 17 injuries and even one death. The investigation covers 765,000 vehicles, including Models Y, X, S and 3 built between 2014 and 2021.

"Most incidents took place after dark and the crash scenes encountered included scene control measures such as first responder vehicle lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, and road cones," according to the report. "The involved subject vehicles were all confirmed to have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes."

What is Autopilot? The limited self-driving feature enables vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within a lane. "Current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous," per Tesla's website. The EV maker is separately developing full self-driving capabilities, which is now available to some users in a beta version.

Mark your calendar: The investigation by the NHTSA comes just days before the highly anticipated "Tesla AI Day." Elon Musk is expected to emphasize the progress of the company's artificial intelligence systems, with an eye on recruiting more experts in the field. He'll also likely pitch the case that investors should think of Tesla as a AI robotics player with new revenue stream potential. (212 comments)

     

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan -0.4%. Hong Kong -1.7%. China -2%. India +0.3%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -0.3%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.5%. S&P -0.5%. Nasdaq -0.4%. Crude -0.3% at $67.10. Gold +0.3% at $1795.80. Bitcoin -0.7% at $46756.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -3 bps to 1.25%

Today's Economic Calendar

8:30 Retail Sales
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:15 Industrial Production
10:00 Business Inventories
10:00 NAHB Housing Market Index
1:30 PM Jerome Powell Speech
3:45 PM Fed's Kashkari Speech

Companies reporting earnings today »

What else is happening...

The Big Short icon Michael Burry is betting against Cathie Wood's ARKK.

OPEC+ sees no need to release more oil into the market - Reuters.

T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) probing alleged data breach affecting 100M people.

13F: Appaloosa, Third Point, Melvin, Berkshire and Greenlight Capital.

Next ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) asset sale: 'Black Rock' HQ for $760M.

New York to impose vaccine mandates for all health care workers.

6,000 lawsuits over 3M (MMM) surgical warming device revived by court.

Natural gas price rebounds on strong global demand, weather outlook.

U.S. government to appeal court ruling blocking pause on oil and gas leasing.

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