Author: FX

Chee Siong Teh Major pharmaceutical companies ended the week in green even as Medicare unveiled the first ten drugs targeted for the initial round of pricing negotiations on Tuesday, a move that could weaken their long-held bargaining power in the federal health insurance program. Blockbuster therapies from Bristol Myers (NYSE:BMY), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Eli Lilly (LLY), AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Bayer (OTCPK:BAYZF), AstraZeneca (AZN), Novartis (NVS), Merck (MRK), Amgen (AMGN), and Novo Nordisk (NVO) were part of the list. However, VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH), which represents many of the targeted drugmakers, remained flat with a slight gain for the…

onurdongel/E+ via Getty Images Magellan Midstream Partners’ (NYSE:MMP) Chief Executive Aaron Milford is urging unitholders to vote in favor of the company’s $18.8 billion cash and stock sale to Oneok Inc. (NYSE:OKE) as a crucial vote approaches later this month. “We really have to make sure we’re communicating with all retail holders, and they understand it’s imperative that they vote and to vote for the transaction because the benefits are just so obvious to us,” Milford told Seeking Alpha in an interview on Friday. Milford’s campaign to convince holders started back in May when Oneok (OKE), a pipeline company that…

SEC delays BTC ETF decision, Grayscale triumphs over SEC and BitBoy gets the boot: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 27 – Sept. 2 Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments recently scored a big win in its battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In an ongoing effort to convert its Grayscale Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the U.S. appeals court judge accepted Grayscale’s argument that the SECs rejection of its recent ETF application was unfair. The SEC had alleged that the GBTC didnt have enough safe practices and fraud protection in place. Subscribe The most engaging reads in…

UPCOMING EVENTS:Monday: US and Canada Holiday.Tuesday: China Caixin Services PMI, RBA Policy Decision.Wednesday: Eurozone Retail Sales, US ISM Services PMI, BoC Policy Decision.Thursday: China Imports/Exports data, Switzerland Unemployment Rate, US Jobless Claims.Friday: Japan Wage data, Canada Jobs Report.TuesdayThe RBA is expected to keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.10% as the economic data heading into the meeting surprised to the downside. In fact, the jobs report showed a jump in the unemployment rate (although still within the 1-year range), the wages and the inflation data missed expectations, and the PMIs remain in contraction. RBAWednesdayThe US ISM Services PMI is expected…

© Reuters. A view shows a billboard promoting military service under the contract in Russian Armed Forces and containing information about payments, on a road in the Leningrad Region, Russia July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/file photo (Reuters) – Some 280,000 people have signed up so far this year for professional service with Russia’s military, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, said on Sunday. Visiting Russia’s Far East, Medvedev said he was meeting local officials to work on efforts to beef up the armed forces. “According to the Ministry of Defence, since Jan. 1, about…

In one of the weirder moments of my writing career, Carl “The Moon” Runefelt contacted me out of the blue seeking an “update to old information” in a May 2022 article. The article had touched on his involvement with the crypto payment platform Kasta, but Runefelt felt a pressing need a year later to get the copy changed to highlight the fact he was “not the co-founder of Kasta, only [an] investor.” An unusual request after so long — especially considering he had already made extensive comments after reading a prepublication draft of the original article. He’d argued at one…

Mon: US & Canadian Labour Day; German Trade (Jul), Swiss GDP (Q2), EZ Sentix (Sep)Tue: RBA Policy Announcement; Final Composite & Services PMIs (Aug), EZ Producer Prices (Jul), US Factory Orders (Jul)Wed: BoC Policy Announcement; German Industrial Orders (Jul), EZ & UK Construction PMIs (Aug), US ISM Services PMI (Aug), Canadian Trade Balance (JulThu: Chinese Trade Balance (Aug), Swiss Unemployment (Aug), German Industrial Output (Jul), EZ Final Employment & Revised GDP (Q2), US IJC (w/e 28th Aug)Fri: Japanese Revised GDP (Q2), German Final CPI (Aug), Canadian Labour Market Report (Aug)NOTE: Previews are listed in day orderRBA Announcement (Tue): The RBA…

Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Arm Holdings (ARM), the British chip design unit owned by SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY), is expected to seek $47 to $51 a share from investors in its upcoming initial public offering. The price range would value Arm (ARM) at $50 billion to $54 billion, according to a Reuters report on Saturday, which cited people familiar with the matter. Softbank could still decide to increase the range before the IPO, depending on demand. The valuation that Softbank is asking for Arm (ARM) would be below the $64 billion valuation at which Softbank purchased the 25% portion of…

By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – At least seven worshippers were killed in an attack on a mosque by a gang of armed men in Nigeria’s northwest Kaduna state, police said on Saturday. The attack, in the remote Saya village of the Ikara local government area of the state, occurred late on Friday as worshippers gathered for prayer, Kaduna police spokesman Mansur Haruna said by phone. Two others injured during the attack were taken to hospital for treatment, Haruna said. A resident of the village, Haruna Ismail, told Reuters by phone: “Five people were shot inside the mosque while…

marekuliasz/iStock via Getty Images Sales of diabetes and weight loss drugs are booming, propelling Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) to become the top performing large pharma or biotech companies in August. For the month, Lilly (LLY) gained ~22.3% while Novo (NVO) returned ~14.8%. In August, both companies released quarterly earnings. Lilly (LLY) beat on both lines and boosted its full-year guidance, while Novo (NVO) did the same and raised its 2023 sales outlook on increasing demand for its weight loss and diabetes meds. Year to date, the companies have also done well, with Lilly (LLY) and Novo (NVO)…