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Tag: Consumer Goods

  • FDA panel backs plan for annual COVID-19 booster, as new omicron subvariant continues to dominate in new cases

    FDA panel backs plan for annual COVID-19 booster, as new omicron subvariant continues to dominate in new cases

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    A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously Thursday for Americans to get a once-a-year booster against COVID-19, with the strain to be decided midyear for a fall campaign, the Associated Press reported. 

    “This is a consequential meeting to determine if we’ve reached the point in the pandemic that allows for simplifying the use of current COVID-19 vaccines,” said the FDA’s Dr. David Kaslow.

    The panel agreed that people should get the same vaccine formula whether they’re receiving their initial vaccinations or a booster. Today, Americans get one formula based on the original coronavirus strain that emerged in 2020 for their first two or three doses, and their latest booster is a combination shot made by Pfizer
    PFE,
    -0.33%
    or Moderna
    MRNA,
    -0.90%
    that adds protection against omicron.

    The FDA would have to decide how to phase in that change.

    COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives, and booster doses remain the best protection against severe disease and death. But Americans are tired of getting vaccinated. While more than 80% of the U.S. population has had at least one COVID-19 shot, only 16% of those eligible for the latest boosters — so-called bivalent doses updated to better match more recent virus strains — have gotten one.

    Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered an update Friday on the strains that are dominant in the U.S., showing that XBB.1.5, the omicron sublineage that first emerged in small numbers in October, has extended its lead over other variants.

    XBB.1.5 accounted for 61.3% of cases in the week through Jan. 28, the data shows, up from 49.1% a week ago. The prior dominant variants, BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, together accounted for 31.1% of new cases.

    In the CDC’s Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, XBB.1.5 accounted for 91.1% of new cases, up from 86.8% the previous week.

    The World Health Organization said this week that it now has data on XBB.1.5 from 54 countries, showing it has a growth advantage over other circulating strains but still appears no more severe.

    In its weekly epidemiological update, the agency said it has raised the confidence level of its risk assessment for XBB.1.5 to “moderate” from “low,” using these additional reports. The highest number of XBB.1.5 cases are showing up in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Austria.

    The news comes as the seven-day average of new cases stood at 46,300 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 24% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 24%, at 34,833. The average number of deaths was 549, down 3% from two weeks ago. 

    Cases are currently climbing in eight states — Illinois, Tennessee, Minnesota, Alaska, South Dakota, Vermont, Kentucky and Kansas — as well as in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C.

    Coronavirus update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China’s claim that COVID cases and deaths have peaked and are falling fast is failing to take on board that testing is not keeping up with infections, the Guardian reported. China ended its zero-COVID policy in December and promptly saw a wave of cases spread across the nation. Its health authorities said this week that the worst is behind it, but experts are wary that it is underreporting numbers, as it has since the start of the pandemic. Now the pullback in testing is a factor, according to the Guardian. Daily tests had dropped to 280,000 by Monday, down from 150 million on Dec. 9, and 7.54 million on Jan. 1. Some provinces had enacted systems for collecting the results of residents or allowing residents to self-report, but the figures were “affected by the willingness of residents to test.”

    What’s seen as the world’s largest annual human migration is under way again in China for the Lunar New Year, after the country lifted pandemic restrictions. WSJ’s Yoko Kubota reports on how it’s expected to boost the economy–and the risk of new Covid-19 outbreaks. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma Press

    • South Korea says it will continue to restrict the entry of short-term travelers from China through the end of February over concerns that the spread of COVID may worsen following the Lunar New Year holidays, the AP reported. South Korea in early January stopped issuing most short-term visas at its consulates in China, citing concerns about the virus surge in the country.

    • Spain is set to end the mandatory use of face masks on public transport nearly three years after the start of the pandemic, the AP reported separately. Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said Thursday she would recommend that the government remove the health regulation when the cabinet meets on Feb. 7. Face masks will remain obligatory inside hospitals, health clinics, dentist offices and pharmacies.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 669.9 million Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.82 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 102.3 million cases and 1,107,559 fatalities.

    The CDC’s tracker shows that 229.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 51.4 million Americans, equal to 15.5% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • Consumers spending falls at the end of 2022 and that’s not good news for the U.S. economy

    Consumers spending falls at the end of 2022 and that’s not good news for the U.S. economy

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    The numbers: Consumer spending fell 0.2% at the end of 2022, indicating the U.S. economy entered the new year with fading growth prospects and rising odds of recession.

    Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.1% decline.

    Incomes rose 0.2% last month, the government said Friday, a bit faster than the rate of inflation.

    Key details: Americans spent less on gasoline in December after prices at the pump fell again. They also bought fewer new cars and trucks.

    While they purchased fewer goods last month, consumers spent more for services. Yet most of the money went to housing, medical care and transportation — necessities that Americans would prefer to spend less on.

    The U.S. savings rate rate, meanwhile, rose to 3.4% from 2.9% in the prior month. Savings had fallen late last year to the second lowest level on record going back to 1959.

    Households have dipped into their savings to support their spending habits because of high inflation. The so-called PCE price index is up 5% in the past year. And the better known consumer price index has risen 6.5% in the same span.

    Although inflation is slowing, prices are still rising faster than worker pay.

    Big picture:  Consumer spending, the main engine of the economy, sputtered toward the end of the year. Outlays also declined in November.

    High inflation ate into Americans’ budgets and rising interest rates made it more expensive to buy a car, home or other big-ticket items.

    Spending is unlikely to accelerate rapidly anytime soon, leaving the economy with weaker growth propects in 2023.

    The saving grace is a still-strong labor market that’s kept most Americans working — and earning a paycheck.

    Looking ahead: “A number of indicators are flashing red lights that a recession may be upon us,” said chief economist Bill Adams of Comerica. But “more data is needed to suss out whether the economy has definitively reached a turning point.”

    Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +0.08%
    and S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.25%
    were set to open lower in Friday trades.

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  • Intel stock drops nearly 10% after earnings miss, execs predict quarterly loss as data-center market shrinks

    Intel stock drops nearly 10% after earnings miss, execs predict quarterly loss as data-center market shrinks

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    Intel Corp. shares dropped more than 9% in the extended session Thursday after the chip maker reported a big miss for the fourth quarter, forecast a loss for the first quarter, said the data-center market was contracting and that inventory digestion will gnaw at margins.

    Intel
    INTC,
    +1.31%
    executives forecast an adjusted loss of 15 cents a share on revenue of about $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion and adjusted gross margins of about 39% for the current quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated adjusted first-quarter earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $13.93 billion.

    Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger told analysts on a conference call he would not provide a 2023 forecast. Gelsinger restricted the outlook to the current quarter, citing macro uncertainties, a digestion of PC inventory that was “difficult” to forecast and a contracting data-center market. In the fourth quarter, AI group sales dropped 33% to $4.3 billion, while the Street expected revenue of $4.08 billion.

    “We expect Q1 server consumption [total addressable market] to decline both sequentially and year-over-year at an accelerated rate, with first-half 2023 server consumption TAM down year-on-year before returning to growth in the second half,” Gelsinger said.

    Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told analysts that the company will institute an accounting change in the first quarter, where Intel will extend the useful life of their machinery to eight years from a current five years. Gelsinger said that Intel was going to “squeeze” its effective capacity.

    While Zinsner would not give a full-year outlook, he did say that continued inventory digestion should be weighted to the first half of the year.

    Pressed on how Intel could get back to the 51% to 53% margins range he promised a year ago, Zinsner said a “significant inventory burn” on PC inventory would hit gross margins by 400 basis points in the first quarter. Gross margins for the fourth quarter dropped to 43.8% from 55.8% a year ago, and from 45.9% in the third quarter.

    Intel reported a fourth-quarter loss of $664 million, or 16 cents a share, versus net income of $4.62 billion, or $1.13 a share, in the year-ago period. After adjusting for restructuring charges and other items, Intel reported earnings of 10 cents a share, compared with $1.13 a share from a year ago.

    Revenue declined to $14.04 billion from $20.52 billion in the year-ago quarter, for a 10th straight quarter of year-over-year declines.

    Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimated earnings of 21 cents a share on revenue of $14.49 billion, based on Intel’s forecast of 20 cents a share on about $14 billion to $15 billion.

    Intel shares fell 9% in after-hours trading, after closing the regular session up 1.3% at $30.09. Other chip stocks also declined, including top rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
    AMD,
    +0.33%    ,
    which saw shares drop more than 3% in after-hours trading, and Nvidia Corp.
    NVDA,
    +2.48%    ,
    which declined 2%.

    Breaking down divisions: Client-computing sales fell 36% to $6.6 billion from a year ago; “network and edge” sales slipped 1% to $2.1 billion; and foundry services revenue rose 30% to $319 million.

    Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected revenue from client computing to come in at $7.36 billion; “network and edge” revenue of $2.23 billion; and foundry services revenue of $199.1 million.

    Over the past 12 months, Intel stock has fallen 43%. Over the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 
    DJIA,
    +0.61%
     — which counts Intel as a component — has slipped 1%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index 
    SOX,
    +1.63%
     has dropped 13%, the S&P 500 index 
    SPX,
    +1.10%
     has declined 7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index 
    COMP,
    +6.59%
     has dropped 15%.

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  • Intel stock drops after missing on earnings, predicting quarterly loss to start the new year

    Intel stock drops after missing on earnings, predicting quarterly loss to start the new year

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    Intel Corp. shares dropped in the extended session Thursday after the chip maker reported a big miss for the fourth quarter and forecast a loss for the first quarter.

    Intel
    INTC,
    +1.31%
    shares fell 6% in after-hours trading, after closing the regular session up 1.3% at $30.09.

    For the first quarter, Intel forecast an adjusted loss of 15 cents a share on revenue of about $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion and adjusted gross margins of about 39%. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated adjusted first-quarter earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $13.93 billion.

    “In 2023, we will continue to navigate the short-term challenges while striving to meet our long-term commitments, including delivering leadership products anchored on open and secure platforms, powered by at-scale manufacturing and supercharged by our incredible team,” said Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s chief executive, in a statement.

    Intel reported a fourth-quarter loss of $664 million, or 16 cents a share, versus net income of $4.62 billion, or $1.13 a share, in the year-ago period. After adjusting for restructuring charges and other items, Intel reported earnings of 10 cents a share, compared with $1.09 a share from a year ago.

    Revenue declined to $14.04 billion from $20.52 billion in the year-ago quarter, for a 10th straight quarter of year-over-year declines. Gross margins dropped to 43.8% from 55.8% a year ago, and 45.9% in the third quarter.

    Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimated earnings of 21 cents a share on revenue of $14.49 billion, based on Intel’s forecast of 20 cents a share on about $14 billion to $15 billion.

    Over the past 12 months, Intel stock has fallen 43%. Over the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 
    DJIA,
    +0.61%
     — which counts Intel as a component — has slipped 1%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index 
    SOX,
    +1.63%
     has dropped 13%, the S&P 500 index 
    SPX,
    +1.10%
     has declined 7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index 
    COMP,
    +1.76%
     has dropped 15%.

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  • U.S. stocks climb as GDP report shows economy taking Fed’s rate hikes in stride

    U.S. stocks climb as GDP report shows economy taking Fed’s rate hikes in stride

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    U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as optimism over Tesla’s earnings results and a stronger-than-expected GDP report left investors in a better mood following Wednesday’s intraday selloff.

    How are stocks trading
    • The S&P 500
      SPX,
      +0.40%
      rose by 34 points, or 0.8%, to 4,049.

    • Dow Jones Industrial Average
      DJIA,
      +0.05%
      gained 145 points, or 0.4%, to 33,889.

    • Nasdaq Composite
      COMP,
      +0.89%
      advanced 174 points, or 1.5%, to 11,487.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Wednesday’s session up 10 points after falling roughly 400 points at the lows earlier in the session. The S&P 500 finished little-changed after erasing its early losses, while the Nasdaq ended lower.

    What’s driving markets

    Stocks opened higher after a flurry of economic data including a fourth quarter GDP report that came in stronger than expected, but the focus was on the latest batch of earnings, which helped to revive investors’ optimism following disappointing guidance from Microsoft Corp.
    MSFT,
    +1.35%
    earlier in the week.

    The economy grew at a robust 2.9% annual pace to close out 2022, according to the first estimate of fourth quarter GDP, released Thursday morning — the latest sign that the U.S. economy is holding up well despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate hikes.

    “Thursday’s GDP report suggests that the economy is relatively strong even in the face of aggressive measures by the Federal Reserve to calm inflation,” said Carol Schleif, chief investment officer, BMO Family Office, in emailed commentary.

    Stocks rose after the data were released as investors found solace in the latest signs that a soft landing for the U.S. economy — a scenario where growth slows, but a recession is avoided — remains possible, or even likely.

    “This is a bit of a relief rally,” said Christopher Zook, chairman and chief investment officer of CAZ Investments.

    However, corporate earnings and guidance are still the primary concern for investors, along with expectations about when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, Zook said.

    The labor market also showed signs of strength despite more reports of layoffs in the tech, finance and media spaces, as the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level since April. Investors also digested durable goods orders for December. New home sales for December will be published at 10 a.m. ET.

    Investors also celebrated a surge in Tesla Inc.
    TSLA,
    +9.64%
    shares premarket after the firm released well-received results that showed record quarterly profits.

    Disappointing guidance from technology behemoth Microsoft had clobbered stocks on Wednesday as traders worried it signaled not just difficulties for the sector but also broadly worsening economic conditions.

    However, before the end of Wednesday’s session, Microsoft shares had recovered most of their 4.5% loss and the S&P 500 finished the session almost exactly where it began, according to data from FactSet.

    As for the Federal Reserve, the central bank is expected to slow the pace of interest rate hikes when it next week raises its policy rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

    Companies announcing results on Thursday include: McDonald’s
    MCD,
    -0.28%    ,
    Intel
    INTC,
    -0.34%    ,
    Comcast
    CMCSA,
    +0.86%    ,
    Visa
    V,
    +0.15%    ,
    Dow
    DOW,
    -1.16%    ,
    Whirl pool
    WHR,
    -0.91%    ,
    Western Digital
    WDC,
    +3.72%
    and Northrop Grumman
    NOC,
    -0.90%    .

    Companies in focus

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  • Why Shopify’s New Pricing Plan Is Driving the Stock Higher

    Why Shopify’s New Pricing Plan Is Driving the Stock Higher

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    Shopify


    stock got a lift after the e-commerce company announced changes to its pricing—a move one analyst said positions it for better growth.

    “The price we charge for access to the best tools in commerce has remained largely unchanged for the last 12 years,” wrote Kaz Nejatian,


    Shopify


    ‘s chief operating officer, in a blog post announcing the changes.

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  • 6 cheap stocks that famed value-fund manager Bill Nygren says can help you beat the market

    6 cheap stocks that famed value-fund manager Bill Nygren says can help you beat the market

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    These are tricky times in the stock market, so it pays to look to the best stock-fund managers for guidance on how to behave now. Veteran value investor Bill Nygren belongs in this camp, because the Oakmark Fund OAKMX he co-manages consistently and substantially outperforms its peers. 

    That isn’t easy, considering how many fund managers fail to do so. Nygren’s fund beats its Morningstar large-cap value index and category by more than four percentage points annualized over the past three years. It also outperforms at five and…

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  • Earnings Watch: Microsoft, Tesla and Intel are about to face the doubters

    Earnings Watch: Microsoft, Tesla and Intel are about to face the doubters

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    After one of the worst years in Wall Street’s history, investors have some serious questions for companies. As holiday returns roll in — and with them, forecasts for the months or year ahead — many have the chance to answer those questions, or avoid them.

    In the busiest week of the holiday-earnings season so far, three big names will take the stage on back-to-back-to-back afternoons. Here is what to expect:

    Microsoft Corp.

    Microsoft
    MSFT,
    +3.57%
    shed $737 billion in market value last year, the third-most of any S&P 500 company, then announced plans to lay off some 10,000 workers this month. Previously a Wall Street darling thanks to the phenomenal growth of its Azure cloud-computing offering, Microsoft now faces a cutback in enterprise spending on cloud and other products, as companies seek to cut their bills after spending wantonly during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    First Take: Big Tech layoffs are not as big as they appear at first glance

    When the company announced layoffs, Chief Executive Satya Nadella admitted customers were cutting, saying “as we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less.” Analysts believe Azure may be holding up better than rivals, however, and will expect to hear about it when Microsoft results hit Tuesday afternoon.

    “Our Azure checks were mixed, but generally better than public cloud sentiment that has turned highly negative over the past few months,” Mizuho analysts wrote. “More specifically, we have heard of increasing levels of optimization, but it is being partially offset by many organizations prioritizing digital transformation.”

    From October: The cloud boom has hit its stormiest moment yet, and it is costing investors billions

    As cloud growth slows down, expect Microsoft to point to the next big buzzword in tech: Artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, the chatbot product developed by OpenAI, which Microsoft has invested heavily in and expects to incorporate into its products. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria this month wrote that Microsoft’s investments in OpenAI would help it build out more AI technology, including in its search engine Bing.

    Tesla Inc.

    Tesla
    TSLA,
    +4.91%
    stock suffered a much larger percentage decline than Microsoft in 2022,as the electric-vehicle maker’s shares closed out their worst year on record with their worst quarter and month ever. After the year ended, Tesla began slashing prices in China and the U.S. in hopes of qualifying for more consumer tax incentives and reinvigorating demand, which could lead to questions about previously fat margins.

    In-depth: Tesla investors await clues on demand, board actions and weigh downside risks in 2023

    For Tesla, which reports fourth-quarter results Wednesday, the results will offer more context on production of the Cybertruck — currently set to start in the middle of the year — demand in China, competition and the impact of price cuts. Auto-information website Edmunds on Thursday said that Tesla’s decision to slash prices by as much as 20% in the U.S. and Europe led to a jump in interest in the vehicles.

    While those cuts seem likely to hurt profit, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner called it “a bold offensive move, which secures Tesla’s volume growth, puts its traditional and EV competitors in great difficulty, and showcases Tesla’s considerable pricing power and cost superiority.” And a survey from Wedbush analysts found that “76% of EV Chinese consumers are considering buying a Tesla in 2023.” But Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Bernstein, said Tesla needed more low-cost electric-vehicle offerings, which might not ship until 2025.

    Tesla earnings preview: Price cuts in focus as stock hovers around 2-year low

    With Tesla’s stock in the gutter, some analysts have raised the possibility of a share buyback to spur investor interest, and Chief Executive Elon Musk said such a plan was being discussed in the previous earnings call. Musk is not in great favor with many investors right now, however, following some heavy selling of Tesla shares in the wake of his purchase last year of Twitter, which some on Wall Street have said has distracted him from the needs of the auto maker. Musk’s tweets have landed him in trouble elsewhere: Opening arguments began last week for a trial centered on allegations that Musk put investors at risk when he tweeted in 2018 that he was “considering” taking Tesla private and had secured the money to do so.

    ‘He broke the stock’: Why a prominent Tesla investor wants Elon Musk to put him on the board

    Intel Corp.

    Intel’s
    INTC,
    +2.81%
    questions were not fresh in 2022, as the chip maker for years has seen rivals like Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
    AMD,
    +3.49%
    and Nvidia Corp.
    NVDA,
    +6.41%
    challenge it in ways that would have been unthinkable in previous generations. Shares still dove more than 43% last year, as declining sales led to plans for $3 billion in cost cuts.

    There’s little hope for a big rebound when Intel reports Thursday afternoon. Personal-computer sales have experienced their biggest year-over-year declines ever recorded, and Intel’s long-delayed new data-center offering that is meant to answer AMD’s challenge only began selling this year.

    Opinion: The PC boom and bust is already ‘one for the record books,’ and it isn’t over

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, though, has a chance to lay out his vision for a long-term Intel rebound, as he attempts to make Intel a chip-manufacturing powerhouse again after years of struggles. He was forced to trim his annual outlook multiple times last year, so it will be important for him to provide attainable numbers this time, but without reducing hopes in the path forward.

    This week in earnings

    Expectations remain low for fourth-quarter earnings season overall, with consumers squeezed by higher prices and interest rates, and hopes fading for any relief from the holiday shopping season. But even with a low bar, the fourth-quarter results from companies so far have been worse than the historical norm, with FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters writing Friday that “the fourth-quarter earnings season for the S&P 500 is not off to a strong start.”

    So far, 11% of S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter results, with roughly one-third reporting earnings better than estimates, Butters reported. That’s lower than the 10-year average of 73%.

    Still, Wall Street generally expects strong profit margins for companies in the S&P 500, as earlier price increases — which help businesses offset their own costs and test the limits of consumer demand — mix with more recent cost cuts.

    For the week ahead, 93 companies in the S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    +1.89%    ,
    and 12 of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +1.00%
    components, are set to report quarterly results.

    Mark your calendars! Here is MarketWatch’s full earnings calendar for the week

    Among the highlights: General Electric Co.
    GE,
    +1.07%
    reports Tuesday for the first time since splitting off its GE HealthCare Technologies
    GEHC,
    +4.43%
    business. 3M Co.
    MMM,
    +1.87%
    — which makes Post-it Notes, duct tape, air filters, adhesives and coatings — also reports Tuesday, after the company in October said the costs of raw materials, a big driver of inflation, were showing signs of easing.

    And as demand for goods eases amid worries about a downturn, a number of railroad operators that ship those goods report during the week. Union Pacific Corp.
    UNP,
    +1.54%    ,
    whose lines ship across the Western half of the U.S., reports on Tuesday, while CSX Corp.
    CSX,
    +1.46%    ,
    which covers much of the East, reports Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corp.
    NSC,
    +1.51%
    also reports Wednesday.

    Telecom giants Verizon Communications Inc.
    VZ,
    -0.15%    ,
    AT&T Inc.
    T,
    +1.53%
    and Comcast Corp.
    CMCSA,
    +3.22%
    report Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Results there will offer a clearer sense of the state of demand for Apple Inc.’s
    AAPL,
    +1.92%
    iPhones, as premium models suffer from production snags, and for broadband, which saw heightened demand when more people were staying home due to the pandemic.

    The call to put on your calendar

    Southwest, post-meltdown: Southwest Airlines Co.
    LUV,
    +1.67%    ,
    which reports on Thursday, will offer executives with plenty to answer for, after bad weather and an overloaded, aging scheduling system caused thousands of flight cancellations over the holidays.

    For more: Southwest Airlines turns to repairing its reputation after holiday meltdown

    The implosion has raised questions about the air carrier’s investments in its own technology — after restarting dividend payments shortly before the disruptions — and airlines’ ability to handle the post-lockdown travel rebound. The breakdown has underscored the airline industry’s bigger issues with understaffing, after 2020’s wave of departures, as carriers try to reload flight schedules to meet pent-up travel demand.

    Scott Kirby, chief executive at United Airlines Holdings Inc.
    UAL,
    +2.25%    ,
    said during his company’s earnings call last week that he felt the industry’s goals to expand their flight coverage this year and beyond were “simply unachievable.” And he said that airlines that tried to follow prepandemic patterns were destined to face trouble. He said manufacturers were suffering from delays in building jets, engines and other parts, and that airlines had outgrown their technology infrastructure.

    For more: United Airlines swings to profit despite ‘worst’ winter storm’

    “All of us, airlines and the FAA, lost experienced employees and most didn’t invest in the future,” he said. “That means the system simply can’t handle the volume today, much less the anticipated growth.”

    American Airlines Group Inc.
    AAL,
    +0.37%    ,
    Alaska Air Group Inc.
    ALK,
    +0.85%
    and JetBlue Airways Corp.
    JBLU,
    +0.94%
    are also expected to report results Thursday morning, along with Southwest.

    The numbers to watch

    Visa, Mastercard and consumer spending: The return of travel and entertainment, along with rising prices, have helped prop up consumer spending. But as Visa Inc.
    V,
    +1.77%    ,
    Mastercard Inc.
    MA,
    +2.27%    ,
    American Express Co.
    AXP,
    +3.23%
    and Capital One Financial Corp.
    COF,
    +6.40%
    prepare to report, their finance-industry counterparts are getting nervous — and taking more steps to pad themselves against the fallout from consumers struggling to pay their bills.

    Credit-card issuer Capital One reports results on Tuesday, while card payments-network providers Visa and Mastercard report on Thursday, with Amex on Friday morning. They’ll report after shares of Discover Financial Services
    DFS,
    +4.16%
    got hit last week after the company, which also offers credit cards and loans, set aside more money to cover souring credit, and reported a bump in its net charge-off rate — a measure of debt a company thinks is unlikely to be recovered.

    Larger banks, like JPMorgan Chase & Co.
    JPM,
    +0.24%    ,
    have also set aside more money to guard against credit losses.

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  • Earnings Watch: Microsoft, Tesla and Intel are about to face the doubters

    Earnings Watch: Microsoft, Tesla and Intel are about to face the doubters

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    After one of the worst years in Wall Street’s history, investors have some serious questions for companies. As holiday returns roll in — and with them, forecasts for the months or year ahead — many have the chance to answer those questions, or avoid them.

    In the busiest week of the holiday-earnings season so far, three big names will take the stage on back-to-back-to-back afternoons. Here is what to expect:

    Microsoft Corp.

    Microsoft
    MSFT,
    +3.57%
    shed $737 billion in market value last year, the third-most of any S&P 500 company, then announced plans to lay off some 10,000 workers this month. Previously a Wall Street darling thanks to the phenomenal growth of its Azure cloud-computing offering, Microsoft now faces a cutback in enterprise spending on cloud and other products, as companies seek to cut their bills after spending wantonly during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    First Take: Big Tech layoffs are not as big as they appear at first glance

    When the company announced layoffs, Chief Executive Satya Nadella admitted customers were cutting, saying “as we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less.” Analysts believe Azure may be holding up better than rivals, however, and will expect to hear about it when Microsoft results hit Tuesday afternoon.

    “Our Azure checks were mixed, but generally better than public cloud sentiment that has turned highly negative over the past few months,” Mizuho analysts wrote. “More specifically, we have heard of increasing levels of optimization, but it is being partially offset by many organizations prioritizing digital transformation.”

    From October: The cloud boom has hit its stormiest moment yet, and it is costing investors billions

    As cloud growth slows down, expect Microsoft to point to the next big buzzword in tech: Artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, the chatbot product developed by OpenAI, which Microsoft has invested heavily in and expects to incorporate into its products. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria this month wrote that Microsoft’s investments in OpenAI would help it build out more AI technology, including in its search engine Bing.

    Tesla Inc.

    Tesla
    TSLA,
    +4.91%
    stock suffered a much larger percentage decline than Microsoft in 2022,as the electric-vehicle maker’s shares closed out their worst year on record with their worst quarter and month ever. After the year ended, Tesla began slashing prices in China and the U.S. in hopes of qualifying for more consumer tax incentives and reinvigorating demand, which could lead to questions about previously fat margins.

    In-depth: Tesla investors await clues on demand, board actions and weigh downside risks in 2023

    For Tesla, which reports fourth-quarter results Wednesday, the results will offer more context on production of the Cybertruck — currently set to start in the middle of the year — demand in China, competition and the impact of price cuts. Auto-information website Edmunds on Thursday said that Tesla’s decision to slash prices by as much as 20% in the U.S. and Europe led to a jump in interest in the vehicles.

    While those cuts seem likely to hurt profit, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner called it “a bold offensive move, which secures Tesla’s volume growth, puts its traditional and EV competitors in great difficulty, and showcases Tesla’s considerable pricing power and cost superiority.” And a survey from Wedbush analysts found that “76% of EV Chinese consumers are considering buying a Tesla in 2023.” But Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Bernstein, said Tesla needed more low-cost electric-vehicle offerings, which might not ship until 2025.

    Tesla earnings preview: Price cuts in focus as stock hovers around 2-year low

    With Tesla’s stock in the gutter, some analysts have raised the possibility of a share buyback to spur investor interest, and Chief Executive Elon Musk said such a plan was being discussed in the previous earnings call. Musk is not in great favor with many investors right now, however, following some heavy selling of Tesla shares in the wake of his purchase last year of Twitter, which some on Wall Street have said has distracted him from the needs of the auto maker. Musk’s tweets have landed him in trouble elsewhere: Opening arguments began last week for a trial centered on allegations that Musk put investors at risk when he tweeted in 2018 that he was “considering” taking Tesla private and had secured the money to do so.

    ‘He broke the stock’: Why a prominent Tesla investor wants Elon Musk to put him on the board

    Intel Corp.

    Intel’s
    INTC,
    +2.81%
    questions were not fresh in 2022, as the chip maker for years has seen rivals like Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
    AMD,
    +3.49%
    and Nvidia Corp.
    NVDA,
    +6.41%
    challenge it in ways that would have been unthinkable in previous generations. Shares still dove more than 43% last year, as declining sales led to plans for $3 billion in cost cuts.

    There’s little hope for a big rebound when Intel reports Thursday afternoon. Personal-computer sales have experienced their biggest year-over-year declines ever recorded, and Intel’s long-delayed new data-center offering that is meant to answer AMD’s challenge only began selling this year.

    Opinion: The PC boom and bust is already ‘one for the record books,’ and it isn’t over

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, though, has a chance to lay out his vision for a long-term Intel rebound, as he attempts to make Intel a chip-manufacturing powerhouse again after years of struggles. He was forced to trim his annual outlook multiple times last year, so it will be important for him to provide attainable numbers this time, but without reducing hopes in the path forward.

    This week in earnings

    Expectations remain low for fourth-quarter earnings season overall, with consumers squeezed by higher prices and interest rates, and hopes fading for any relief from the holiday shopping season. But even with a low bar, the fourth-quarter results from companies so far have been worse than the historical norm, with FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters writing Friday that “the fourth-quarter earnings season for the S&P 500 is not off to a strong start.”

    So far, 11% of S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter results, with roughly one-third reporting earnings better than estimates, Butters reported. That’s lower than the 10-year average of 73%.

    Still, Wall Street generally expects strong profit margins for companies in the S&P 500, as earlier price increases — which help businesses offset their own costs and test the limits of consumer demand — mix with more recent cost cuts.

    For the week ahead, 93 companies in the S&P 500 index
    SPX,
    +1.89%    ,
    and 12 of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +1.00%
    components, are set to report quarterly results.

    Mark your calendars! Here is MarketWatch’s full earnings calendar for the week

    Among the highlights: General Electric Co.
    GE,
    +1.07%
    reports Tuesday for the first time since splitting off its GE HealthCare Technologies
    GEHC,
    +4.43%
    business. 3M Co.
    MMM,
    +1.87%
    — which makes Post-it Notes, duct tape, air filters, adhesives and coatings — also reports Tuesday, after the company in October said the costs of raw materials, a big driver of inflation, were showing signs of easing.

    And as demand for goods eases amid worries about a downturn, a number of railroad operators that ship those goods report during the week. Union Pacific Corp.
    UNP,
    +1.54%    ,
    whose lines ship across the Western half of the U.S., reports on Tuesday, while CSX Corp.
    CSX,
    +1.46%    ,
    which covers much of the East, reports Wednesday. Norfolk Southern Corp.
    NSC,
    +1.51%
    also reports Wednesday.

    Telecom giants Verizon Communications Inc.
    VZ,
    -0.15%    ,
    AT&T Inc.
    T,
    +1.53%
    and Comcast Corp.
    CMCSA,
    +3.22%
    report Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Results there will offer a clearer sense of the state of demand for Apple Inc.’s
    AAPL,
    +1.92%
    iPhones, as premium models suffer from production snags, and for broadband, which saw heightened demand when more people were staying home due to the pandemic.

    The call to put on your calendar

    Southwest, post-meltdown: Southwest Airlines Co.
    LUV,
    +1.67%    ,
    which reports on Thursday, will offer executives with plenty to answer for, after bad weather and an overloaded, aging scheduling system caused thousands of flight cancellations over the holidays.

    For more: Southwest Airlines turns to repairing its reputation after holiday meltdown

    The implosion has raised questions about the air carrier’s investments in its own technology — after restarting dividend payments shortly before the disruptions — and airlines’ ability to handle the post-lockdown travel rebound. The breakdown has underscored the airline industry’s bigger issues with understaffing, after 2020’s wave of departures, as carriers try to reload flight schedules to meet pent-up travel demand.

    Scott Kirby, chief executive at United Airlines Holdings Inc.
    UAL,
    +2.25%    ,
    said during his company’s earnings call last week that he felt the industry’s goals to expand their flight coverage this year and beyond were “simply unachievable.” And he said that airlines that tried to follow prepandemic patterns were destined to face trouble. He said manufacturers were suffering from delays in building jets, engines and other parts, and that airlines had outgrown their technology infrastructure.

    For more: United Airlines swings to profit despite ‘worst’ winter storm’

    “All of us, airlines and the FAA, lost experienced employees and most didn’t invest in the future,” he said. “That means the system simply can’t handle the volume today, much less the anticipated growth.”

    American Airlines Group Inc.
    AAL,
    +0.37%    ,
    Alaska Air Group Inc.
    ALK,
    +0.85%
    and JetBlue Airways Corp.
    JBLU,
    +0.94%
    are also expected to report results Thursday morning, along with Southwest.

    The numbers to watch

    Visa, Mastercard and consumer spending: The return of travel and entertainment, along with rising prices, have helped prop up consumer spending. But as Visa Inc.
    V,
    +1.77%    ,
    Mastercard Inc.
    MA,
    +2.27%    ,
    American Express Co.
    AXP,
    +3.23%
    and Capital One Financial Corp.
    COF,
    +6.40%
    prepare to report, their finance-industry counterparts are getting nervous — and taking more steps to pad themselves against the fallout from consumers struggling to pay their bills.

    Credit-card issuer Capital One reports results on Tuesday, while card payments-network providers Visa and Mastercard report on Thursday, with Amex on Friday morning. They’ll report after shares of Discover Financial Services
    DFS,
    +4.16%
    got hit last week after the company, which also offers credit cards and loans, set aside more money to cover souring credit, and reported a bump in its net charge-off rate — a measure of debt a company thinks is unlikely to be recovered.

    Larger banks, like JPMorgan Chase & Co.
    JPM,
    +0.24%    ,
    have also set aside more money to guard against credit losses.

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  • More than 55,000 global tech workers laid off in the first few weeks of 2023, says layoff tracking site

    More than 55,000 global tech workers laid off in the first few weeks of 2023, says layoff tracking site

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    More than 55,000 global technology sector employees have been laid off in the first few weeks of 2023, according to data compiled by the Layoffs.fyi website.

    The website’s tally of global tech layoffs has almost doubled from just over 25,000 on Tuesday.

    The data suggest 2023 is on pace to surpass 2022 for global tech redundancies, with 154 tech companies laying off 55,324 employees in the first few weeks of the year. Last year, 1,024 tech companies laid off 154,336 employees, according to Layoffs.fyi.

    Related: More than 25,000 global tech workers laid off in the first weeks of 2023, says layoff tracking site

    Layoffs.fyi was set up by San Francisco-based startup founder Roger Lee to track layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lee is the co-founder of Human Interest, a digital 401(k) provider for small businesses and Comprehensive, an employee compensation platform.

    Major U.S. tech companies are firmly in the layoffs spotlight. This week Google parent Alphabet Inc.
    GOOGL,
    +4.69%

    GOOG,
    +4.80%
    confirmed plans to lay off about 12,000 workers globally and Intel Corp.
    INTC,
    +1.62%
    said it is slashing hundreds of jobs in Silicon Valley.

    Microsoft Corp.
    MSFT,
    +3.19%
    confirmed plans to cut about 10,000 positions. The software maker’s layoffs did not come completely out of the blue. Earlier reports from Sky News and Bloomberg indicated that Microsoft was preparing to make cuts.

    See Now: Google joins Intel, Microsoft Amazon, Salesforce and other major companies laying off thousands of people

    In a blog post, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that while the company is eliminating roles in some areas, the company will continue to hire in key strategic areas. The CEO did not specify which areas will see hiring but did describe advances in artificial intelligence as “the next major wave of computing.”

    Earlier this month Coinbase Global Inc.
    COIN,
    +8.56%
     announced 950 job cuts in an attempt to cut costs.

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  • China slams Western media for criticism of zero-COVID, as U.S. cases continue to decline

    China slams Western media for criticism of zero-COVID, as U.S. cases continue to decline

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    China has accused “some Western media” of bias and political manipulation in covering China’s abrupt dropping of COVID restrictions, which has led to a wave of new cases of the virus, the Associated Press reported. 

    An editorial in the Communist Party publication the People’s Daily outlined what it called China’s “optimization and control measures” and blasted reports by media outlets they didn’t identify as “completely biased hype, smear and political manipulation with ulterior motives.”

    The news comes as the country braces for the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Jan. 21, and typically sees people traveling all over the country to visit family.

    Experts are concerned that this year’s holiday will become a spreader event, although the editorial stressed that may localities have “passed the peak of the epidemic, and production and life are speeding up to return to normal.”

    China has rejected all criticism, foreign and domestic, of its zero-COVID policy and pushed back against World Health Organization calls for more information about the state of its outbreak. Unconfirmed estimates now put the number of new cases at tens of thousands a day, with up to 85% of the population in some provinces having become infected.

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases stood at 54,015 on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 14% from two weeks ago and well below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 16% at 39,473. The average for deaths was 482, up 6% from two weeks ago. The death rate appears to be steadying after climbing as much as 73% as recently as Tuesday.

    The Times trackers posited that the spike in deaths had more to do with data anomalies in recent reporting, which tends to become distorted around holiday periods when hospitals and healthcare centers are more thinly staffed.

    See also: Americans are facing years of ‘tripledemic’ winters that may put patients with other ailments at risk, Jha says

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • A hoped-for boom in Chinese tourism in Asia over next week’s Lunar New Year holidays looks set to be more of a blip as most travelers are opting to stay inside China if they go anywhere, the AP reported. From the beaches of Bali to Hokkaido’s powdery ski slopes, the hordes of Chinese often seen in pre-COVID days will still be missing, tour operators say. It’s a bitter disappointment for many businesses that had been hoping lean pandemic times were over, although operators are expecting a return by late February, or early March.

    Countries around the world are welcoming back Chinese tourists, once the largest source of tourism revenue globally. But even as China reopens its borders, the travel industry isn’t expecting things to bounce back to what they were just yet. Here’s why. Photo illustration: Adam Adada

    • Hong Kong will no longer require people infected with COVID to quarantine from Jan. 30, removing one of the last major coronavirus restrictions in place in the Asian financial hub, Reuters reported. The scrapping of the isolation requirements is part of a decision to downgrade COVID-19’s status to an endemic disease from a severe respiratory disease and follows a similar move by China on Jan.8.

    • Moderna
    MRNA,
    -2.09%
     chief executive Stephane Bancel said his company was in active discussions to supply COVID vaccines to China, Reuters reported separately. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, he said the talks with Beijing also covered the topic of factories and other products including cancer treatments. “What I really want to understand is how do we help the Chinese government as to what are the needs they have from a healthcare standpoint,” he said.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 668 million on Thursday, while the death toll rose above 6.73 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.9 million cases and 1,102,286 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.4 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 49.6 million Americans, equal to 15.9% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • P&G Earnings Hit By Higher Costs. ‘Strength in Innovation’ May Help Demand.

    P&G Earnings Hit By Higher Costs. ‘Strength in Innovation’ May Help Demand.

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    Procter & Gamble


    stock recovered from an early loss, edging higher after the consumer goods company posted second-quarter earnings that matched analysts’ expectations. Gross margins declined largely due to higher costs.

    Net sales came in at $20.8 billion, while diluted earnings were $1.59 per share, Procter & Gamble said Thursday. Analysts had anticipated $20.7 billion of sales and a per-share profit of $1.59, according to FactSet.

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  • WHO calls on China to release more information on its COVID case surge to learn more about which variants are circulating

    WHO calls on China to release more information on its COVID case surge to learn more about which variants are circulating

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    The World Health Organization has called on China to release more information about its current wave of COVID infections after China said nearly 60,000 people have succumbed to the virus since early December, the Associated Press reported. 

    The announcement of fatality numbers on Saturday came after weeks of complaints that China was not keeping experts abreast of what was happening.

    The announcement “allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation,” said a WHO statement. Director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus talked by phone with Health Minister Ma Xiaowei, it said.

    “WHO requested that this type of detailed information continued to be shared with us and the public,” the agency said.

    The National Health Commission said only deaths in hospitals were counted, which means anyone who died at home is not part of the tally. It gave no indication of when or whether it might release updated numbers. China has seen a wave of cases ever since the government ended stringent restrictions on movement in December.

    The WHO is now analyzing the data, which covers early December to Jan. 12. So far, the epidemiology is similar to what has been seen in other countries, “a rapid and intense wave of disease caused by known sub-variants of omicron with higher clinical impact on older people and those with underlying conditions,” said the statement.

     The agency is hoping to get more information on the exact variants that are circulating. China has reported that two omicron sublineages, dubbed BA.5.2 and BF.7 are spreading but the WHO needs more sequences to be shared with open databases to get fully up to date.

    See also: China reports first population drop in decades as birthrates plunge

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China on Sunday as the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Some travelers expressed relief to be reunited with their families. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases stood at 59,121 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s flat from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    See also: Americans are facing years of ‘tripledemic’ winters that may put patients with other ailments at risk, Jha says

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 8% at 45,052. The average for deaths stood at 562, up 78% from two weeks ago to continue the recent trend.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its real-time surveillance system has met the statistical criteria to prompt additional investigation into whether there is a risk of ischemic stroke in people ages 65 and older who received the Pfizer/BioNTech
    PFE,
    -3.70%

    BNTX,
    -1.28%
    bivalent COVID vaccine. “Rapid-response investigation of the signal in the VSD (vaccine safety datalink) raised a question of whether people 65 and older who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent were more likely to have an ischemic stroke in the 21 days following vaccination compared with days 22-42 following vaccination,” the agency said in a statement. No such signal has been identified with the Moderna
    MRNA,
    -0.68%
    bivalent vaccine, it added.

    • Italian tennis player Camila Giorgi has denied allegations that she obtained a false COVID-19 vaccine certificate to allow her to travel, the AP reported. A doctor is under investigation in Italy for supplying false certificates and fake vaccines and Giorgi’s name was revealed in a long list of people implicated by an Italian newspaper. Giorgi is currently competing in the Australian Open.

    Getting the flu can increase the risk of getting a second infection, including strep throat. WSJ’S Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind that, plus what it means for the rest of the winter and how we can protect ourselves from the tripledemic. Illustration: David Fang

    • The New York State Department of Health is “exploring its options” after a state Supreme Court judge struck down a statewide mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the AP reported separately. Judge Gerard Neri wrote in a ruling released Friday that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and the health department overstepped their authority by mandating a vaccine that’s not included in state public health law, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported. The mandate is “null, void, and of no effect,” the judge said. He sided with Medical Professionals for Informed Consent, a group of medical workers impacted by the vaccination mandate.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 667.3 million on Tuesday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.7 million cases and 1,099,885 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.4 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 49.6 million Americans, equal to 15.9% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • New York Empire State factory gauge drops sharply in January signaling deep contraction in activity

    New York Empire State factory gauge drops sharply in January signaling deep contraction in activity

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    The numbers: The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, tumbled 21.7 points to negative 32.9 in January, the regional Fed bank said Tuesday. 

    This is the lowest level since the worst of the pandemic in May 2020 and among the lowest levels in the survey’s history, the regional Fed bank said.

    Economists had expected a reading of negative 7, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal.

    Any reading below zero indicates contraction.

    Key details: The new orders index fell 27.5 points to negative 31.1 in January. Shipments fell 27.7 points to negative 22.4.

    The indexes for prices paid and prices received moved lower.

    The employment gauges were also weak.

    Firms expect little improvement in coming months, with the futures index at 8.

    Big picture: The Federal Reserve’s steady increase in interest rates is having a slowing impact on capital spending as firms are scaling back investment, economists said. Demand for goods is also slowing after two strong years on the weak global economy. Added to the mix is the strong dollar which makes U.S. exports more expensive.

    The market pays attention to the Empire State index because it is seen as a early read on the national ISM manufacturing index to be released early next month.

    The ISM factory index contracted in December for the second straight month, falling to 48.4% from 49% in the prior month.

    Looking ahead: “Manufacturing conditions in the U.S. are deteriorating and the worst is likely ahead,” said Gurleen Chadha, economist at Oxford Economics.

    Market reaction: U.S. stocks
    DJIA,
    -1.14%

    SPX,
    -0.20%
    opened lower on Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
    TMUBMUSD10Y,
    3.489%
    retreated to 3.51% after reaching 3.57% in early morning trading.

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  • Tanking Biotech Stocks Will Mean a Big Year for Deals. Who Could Benefit.

    Tanking Biotech Stocks Will Mean a Big Year for Deals. Who Could Benefit.

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    Nearly two years after biotechnology stocks began to tumble, executives at small and midsize companies in the space are finally accepting that share prices aren’t bouncing back anytime soon.

    With reality setting in, it’s a buyer’s market for companies looking for acquisitions and partnerships, according to many of the pharmaceutical and medical technology executives who gathered at this year’s


    J.P. Morgan


    healthcare investor conference, which wrapped up in San Francisco on Thursday.

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  • New COVID subvariant is now dominant across the U.S., accounting for 43% of all new cases in latest week, CDC says

    New COVID subvariant is now dominant across the U.S., accounting for 43% of all new cases in latest week, CDC says

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    The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that has been dominant in the Northeast for several weeks is now officially dominant across the U.S., according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early Friday.

    XBB.1.5 accounted for 43% of all COVID cases in the week through Jan. 14, pulling ahead of BQ.1.1, which accounted for 28.8% of new cases, and BQ.1, which accounted for 15.9%, the data showed.

    Last week, BQ.1.1 was still dominant nationwide, accounting for 33.5% of new cases versus XBB.1.5’s 30.4%.

    In the New York region, which includes New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, XBB.1.5 now accounts for 82.7% of new cases, up from 72.7% a week ago.

    On Thursday, the World Health Organization acknowledged that XBB.1.5, which was first detected in tiny numbers in the U.S. in October, has become the most transmissible variant yet thanks to a growth advantage, and said that it appears to have a greater ability to evade immunity than earlier variants.

    However, the immune-escape data is based on preliminary lab-based studies and not on research in humans. And with the only data to review coming from the U.S., the agency said there’s no information yet on clinical severity.

    XBB.1.5 is similar to its immediate predecessor XBB.1 but has an additional mutation to its spike protein that may be behind its growth advantage. For now, it does not appear to have any mutation that might lead to more severe disease or death, WHO officials have said. The agency is monitoring it along with five other omicron variants.

    On Friday, the WHO updated guidelines on face masks, treatments and patient care in the age of COVID, a reminder that the pandemic is not yet over, even if people are mostly behaving as if it is. Given current global trends, the agency is recommending that people wear face masks when in public settings that are enclosed or poorly ventilated. People who have been exposed to the virus should also wear masks.

    “Similar to previous recommendations, WHO advises that there are other instances when a mask may be suggested, based on a risk assessment,” the agency said in a statement. “Factors to consider include the local epidemiological trends or rising hospitalization levels, levels of vaccination coverage and immunity in the community, and the setting people find themselves in.”

    The WHO reduced its recommended isolation period for COVID patients and said they can end isolation early if they test negative on a rapid test. Patients with symptoms should isolate for 10 days from the start of symptom onset, but the agency has dropped its advice for an additional three days.

    For asymptomatic patients who test positive, the WHO now recommends five days of isolation, compared with 10 days previously.

    The WHO extended a strong recommendation for the use of Pfizer’s
    PFE,
    +0.29%
    antiviral Paxlovid for patients with mild to moderate symptoms who are at risk of hospitalization.

    The data comes as the seven-day average of new U.S. cases stood at 60,610 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s up 4% from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve. The daily average for hospitalizations was up 10% to 45,842. The average for deaths was 564, up 61% from two weeks ago. 

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The peak of China’s COVID-19 wave is expected to last two to three months and to soon extend over the country’s vast rural areas, where medical resources are relatively scarce, Reuters reported Friday, citing a Chinese epidemiologist. Infections are expected to surge in those areas as hundreds of millions of people travel to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Jan. 21. “Our priority focus has been on the large cities. It is time to focus on rural areas,” said Zeng Guang, the former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a report published in local media outlet Caixin on Thursday.

    • Private services offering Chinese travelers access to mRNA vaccines are attracting droves of mainlanders to Hong Kong and Macau, the Guardian reported on Friday, as people seek a booster shot that their government has refused to approve. The government only allowed its citizens to get homegrown vaccines developed by Sinopac and Sinopharm
    8156,
    +6.45%
    throughout the pandemic, but many people are now seeking the greater protection offered by the mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna
    MRNA,
    +2.10%
    and by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech
    BNTX,
    -2.92%    .

    Tens of thousands of people have resumed travels in and out of China after the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    • Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly plans to return to work at the Statehouse Friday after learning that a COVID-19 test earlier in the week gave her a false positive result, her office said, the Associated Press reported. Kelly has been working in self-isolation at the governor’s residence since the false positive Tuesday. Her office announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19, and she postponed the annual State of the State address from Wednesday to Jan. 24.

    See also: Sick house: Florida man gets 8 ½ years for using COVID relief to buy lavish 12-acre estate, fleet of luxury cars

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 666.3 million on Friday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.6 million cases and 1,099,629 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.4 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 49.6 million Americans, equal to 15.9% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • Tesla is a ‘soft landing’ stock, says Goldman Sachs. Here are its picks for a gentle economic landing and stocks for a recession.

    Tesla is a ‘soft landing’ stock, says Goldman Sachs. Here are its picks for a gentle economic landing and stocks for a recession.

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    Pour one out for the beleaguered economists, who for once got an important indicator, the consumer price index, right on the nose, after CPI fell 0.1% in December, while core prices rose 0.3%.

    “The 2021 surge in durable goods demand normalized, and the resulting collapse in durable goods price inflation was stunningly fast,” says Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management.

    “The commodity wave of inflation is fading, and that leaves the profit margin expansion in focus,” he adds. What a good time for earnings season to be upon us, and what do you know, it is, kicking off with the banking sector on Friday before broadening out next week.

    Strategists at Goldman Sachs have a new note out, saying that the market is pricing in a soft landing even though the trend of earnings revisions points to a hard landing.

    They’re not that optimistic — even in the soft-landing scenario, the team led by David Kostin say the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.40%
    will end the year right around current levels, at 4,000. But they identify 46 stocks that could benefit — profitable, cyclical companies that are trading at price-to-earnings valuations below their 10-year median, among other factors.

    One name jumps out: Tesla
    TSLA,
    -0.94%    ,
    which trades at 22 times forward earnings versus the 10-year median of 117 times. But the other 45 names are less flashy, ranging from Capital One
    COF,
    +1.81%
    and Carlyle Group
    CG,
    +0.54%    ,
    to a host of industrials including 3M
    MMM,
    +0.12%    ,
    Parker-Hannifan
    PH,
    +0.73%
    and Otis Worldwide
    OTIS,
    +0.42%    .
    As a whole, these typically $10 billion companies are trading at 12 times earnings, versus 17 times usually.

    In the hard landing scenario, S&P 500 profit margins would shrink by 125 basis points, to 10.9% — about in line with the median peak-to-trough decline during the eight recessions since 1970, which has been 132 basis points. Consensus expectations are for a 26 basis-point margin decline.

    The Goldman team also have a 36 stock screen for a hard landing — profitable companies in defensive industries with a positive dividend yield. They’re typically food, beverage and tobacco companies as well as software and services companies — including Costco Wholesale
    COST,
    +0.58%    ,
    Kroger
    KR,
    -0.99%    ,
    Altria
    MO,
    +0.48%    ,
    Tyson Foods
    TSN,
    +0.23%    ,
    Microsoft
    MSFT,
    +0.30%    ,
    MasterCard
    MA,
    -1.13%
    and Visa
    V,
    -0.25%    .
    As a whole, these $37 billion companies are trading at 22 times earnings vs. a historical 24 times.

    The market

    After a 2.3% advance for the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.40%
    over the last three sessions, U.S. stock futures
    ES00,
    +0.39%

    NQ00,
    +0.58%
    declined on Friday.

    The yield on the Japanese 10-year bond
    TMBMKJP-10Y,
    0.511%
    exceeded 0.5%, the Bank of Japan’s yield cap, ahead of next week’s rate decision , prompting a second day of aggressive bond purchases from the central bank.

    For more market updates plus actionable trade ideas for stocks, options and crypto, subscribe to MarketDiem by Investor’s Business Daily.

    The buzz

    Fourth-quarter earnings were rolling out from Bank of America
    BAC,
    +2.20%    ,
    JPMorgan Chase
    JPM,
    +2.52%    ,
    Citigroup
    C,
    +1.69%
    and Wells Fargo
    WFC,
    +3.25%    ,
    and outside of banks, Delta Air Lines
    DAL,
    -3.54%    ,
    BlackRock
    BLK,
    +0.00%
    and UnitedHealth
    UNH,
    -1.23%    .

    JPMorgan shares slumped after forecast-beating earnings, though investment bank revenue came in light of estimates. Delta shares also declined after topping earnings estimates.

    Tesla
    TSLA,
    -0.94%
    cut prices of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere by up to 20%. The electric vehicle maker stock dropped 6%.

    Virgin Galactic
    SPCE,
    +12.34%
    surged after saying it’s on track to launch space-tourism flights in the second quarter.

    Apple
    AAPL,
    +1.01%
    says CEO Tim Cook requested, and received, a pay cut after investor criticism.

    The University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index is due at 10 a.m. Eastern, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker are due to speak.

    Tyler Winklevoss said charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission brought about Gemini Trust for allegedly offering unregistered securities were “super lame” as it seeks to unfreeze $900 million in investor assets.

    Best of the web

    There’s a bull market in swearing on corporate earnings calls.

    The West is now preparing to send tanks to Ukraine in what could be another escalation of its conflict with Russia, which on Friday claimed victory in the eastern town of Soledar.

    A look back at photos of Lisa Marie Presley, who died at age 54.

    Top tickers

    Here were the most active stock-market tickers as of 6 a.m. Eastern.

    Ticker

    		 Security name
    BBBY,
    -30.15%         		Bed Bath & Beyond
    TSLA,
    -0.94%         		Tesla
    GME,
    -0.68%         		GameStop
    AMC,
    +0.80%         		AMC Entertainment
    MULN,
    -8.59%         		Mullen Automotive
    NIO,
    -0.08%         		Nio
    APE,
    -2.56%         		AMC Entertainment preferreds
    AAPL,
    +1.01%         		Apple
    SPCE,
    +12.34%         		Virgin Galactic
    AMZN,
    +2.99%         		Amazon.com
    Random reads

    Like a scene out of “Stranger Things” — there’s uproar after new restrictions on the Hasbro
    HAS,
    +0.21%
    game Dungeons & Dragons.

    Starting next month, Starbucks
    SBUX,
    +1.30%
    rewards will be less generous for most items, though iced coffee will be easier to get.

    Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up here to get it delivered once to your email box. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

    Listen to the Best New Ideas in Money podcast with MarketWatch reporter Charles Passy and economist Stephanie Kelton.

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  • Inflation is easing, but the prices of these groceries are expected to soar in 2023 — including one whose price rose nearly 60% in December

    Inflation is easing, but the prices of these groceries are expected to soar in 2023 — including one whose price rose nearly 60% in December

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    General inflation is easing, but the prices of some food items are not going down anytime soon. And the reasons are largely out of the Federal Reserve’s control.

    The consumer price index cooled in December, falling to an annualized 6.5% from the 7.1% annual rate recorded in November, according to government data. Still, the annualized inflation rate in food was 10.4% in December, significantly higher than the overall inflation rate even as it represented a slower rate of increase than November, when food prices were 12% higher than in November 2021.

    Inflation running at nearly 40-year highs over the past year has put a squeeze on American wallets. Through a series of jumbo rate hikes, the Federal Reserve has sought to tamp down inflation. Its target interest rate was lifted from a negligible level to a range of 4.25% to 4.50% by the end of 2022.

    But a few factors impacting food prices are not going away. War is still ongoing in Ukraine, which affected the prices of fertilizers and animal feeds; the avian flu continues to impact the egg supply; and extreme weather conditions are adding complexities to food production. 

    The following is a look at how a few popular food items are affected.

    Eggs

    The price of eggs surged 59.9% on the year in December, up from 49% in November, according to the most government data. That means a carton of Grade A large eggs on average more than doubled in cost with prices reaching $4.25 in December 2022, compared to $1.79 a year earlier. In some parts of the country, consumers could pay up to $8 for a carton of organic eggs. 

    Avian flu, which has forced millions of chickens to be culled and caused a shortage of eggs, is the main reason behind the price increase. In a change from previous breakouts that faded as summer ended, this time the avian flu lingered into winter. 

    The holiday season is usually the peak for consumer egg demand, which means that we could see egg prices tick down a little in the new year, experts said. 

    But it will not be a significant drop given the ongoing flu and high cost of feed. If input costs continue to increase and the bird flu continues to kill large quantities of hens, the costs will most likely be passed on to consumers, said Curt Covington, senior director of partner relations at AgAmerica Lending, a financial services company providing agriculture loans. 

    Experts, including the biggest egg producer in the country, Cal-Maine, said the avian flu will be hitting egg supplies for the long term. “More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered over the past year to control the virus have been egg-laying chickens, including some farms with more than a million birds apiece in major egg-producing states like Iowa,” the Associated Press reported this week.

    Read more: Cal-Maine says avian flu could continue to hit egg supplies after this year

    “I suspect it will take much additional effort to ‘stamp-out’ HPAI this time around and we may very well be dealing with the reality that this will be a year-round issue,” said Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein at CoBank, a national cooperative bank serving industries across rural America, in an email to MarketWatch. 

    The weekly supplies of eggs on hand has also reached a historic low, he told MarketWatch. For the week ended Dec. 19, cases on hand reported by the USDA totaled 1.176 million. That’s a 20% drop year-over-year, and the lowest level for the same week since 2014, he said. 

    Also see: Why egg prices are sizzling — up 38% on last year

    Butter

    Butter prices rose by 31.4% on the year in December, up from 27% in November, making the average price for a pound of butter $4.81 nationally. It was $3.47 a year earlier. 

    Extreme heat and smaller cow herds are the main reasons behind that, experts told MarketWatch. Cows eat less and produce less milk in the heat, and the cost of maintaining milk production skyrocketed last year, making farmers unwilling to expand their herds. 

    Going forward into 2023, the price of butter could soften, but year-over-year price increases could still stay high, said Tanner Ehmke, lead economist of dairy and specialty crops at CoBank. 

    Cows are approaching their prime milk-producing season, which usually runs from March through May, although customer demand usually peaks during the recently completed holiday season, he said.

    But the increase of supply will not be much, Ehmke said, because costs are staying at record highs for farmers to maintain and expand their herds. Drought in the Western part of the country and the war in Ukraine continue to impact the supply and costs of feed. 

    “It’s [going to be] a very modest increase,” said Ehmke. 

    About 58% of the U.S. is at least “abnormally dry,” according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. It’s likely this year will see more drought-inducing La Niña weather conditions, according to National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.

    “If so, the third dry year in a row would signal the worst drought since at least 2011- 2013,” said Rob Fox, director of CoBank’s knowledge-exchange division in a 2023 preview released in December. “But this time it is more concentrated in the Western states, and it would be even more devastating to their already precarious water supplies and desiccated pastures,” he added.

    At the same time, butter production is competing with the growing production of and appetite for cheese in the U.S., Ehmke told MarketWatch last September. U.S. cheese consumption per capita is growing around 1% to 2% each year, according to the USDA. U.S. cheese exports also increased, particularly to countries like South Korea and Japan.

    Read more: Butter prices hit an all-time high — partly because extreme heat is taking a toll on dairy cows

    Vegetable oil and margarine

    Margarine, which is largely made of vegetable oil, is also seeing a huge price increase. The price of margarine, the substitute for butter in the old days, rose by 43.8 % in December, down slightly from 47.4% in November compared to a year before. 

    While soybeans, corn and sunflower oil are among the food items that have been hugely impacted by the war in Ukraine, another dynamic is at play here, analysts suggested: A large quantity of vegetable oil is being used for the production of renewable diesel.

    In 2021/2022, 38.4% of soybean-oil supplies were used for biofuel production — biofuel is a broader category than renewable diesel — up from 35.6% the year before, according to USDA data updated in October 2022. 

    Transitioning to a green economy laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act will require more soybean supply. The expected growth in soybean oil-based renewable diesel will require considerably more soybean bushels for domestic production, wrote Kenneth Scott Zuckerberg, CoBank’s lead economist for grain and farm supply, in a report in September. 

    At the moment, global grain and oilseed supplies are tight, and the combined global stocks of corn, wheat and soybeans are forecast to decline for the fifth straight year in 2023, according to the CoBank report.

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  • China takes first steps to punish countries that imposed testing mandates for Chinese travelers

    China takes first steps to punish countries that imposed testing mandates for Chinese travelers

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    China on Tuesday suspended visas for South Koreans to enter the country for tourism or business in apparent retaliation for South Korea’s COVID-19 testing requirements for Chinese travelers, the Associated Press reported.

    No other details were given, although China has threatened to retaliate against countries that require travelers from China to show a negative result for a test taken within the previous 48 hours.

    That has not stopped about a dozen countries from following the U.S. in requiring Chinese travelers produce a test after China lifted most of its strict COVID-related restrictions for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The end of those restrictions has resulted in a surge of new cases.

    The World Health Organization and several nations have accused China of withholding data on its outbreak. The testing requirements are aimed at identifying potential virus variants carried by travelers.

    Separately on Tuesday, the head of the WHO for Europe said the surge of cases in China is not likely to have a big impact on Europe, although he cautioned against complacency.

    Hans Kluge told reporters it was “not unreasonable for countries to take precautionary measures to protect their populations” but called for such measures “to be rooted in science, to be proportionate and nondiscriminatory,” as AFP reported.

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China after the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new cases stood at 67,012 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s up 2% from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was up 18% to 47,503. The average for deaths was 467, up 10% from two weeks ago. 

    Cases are currently rising in 21 states, along with Guam, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They are led by Florida, where cases are up 90% from two weeks ago. On a per-capita basis, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island are seeing the highest rates. New York has 37 cases per 100,000 people, New Jersey 35 and Rhode Island 31.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Thailand sent three cabinet ministers to welcome Chinese tourists with flowers and gifts as they arrived Monday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after China relaxed travel restrictions, the AP reported. The high-profile event reflected the importance Thailand places on wooing Chinese travelers to help restore its pandemic-battered tourism industry. Before COVID, Chinese visitors accounted for about one-third of all arrivals.

    • Moderna Inc.
    MRNA,
    +3.10%
    is considering pricing its COVID vaccine at $110 to $130 per dose, the Wall Street Journal reported. That’s the same price range as mooted by Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -1.59%
    and German partner BioNTech SE
    BNTX,
    +3.30%
    once their vaccine moves to the commercial market. For now, vaccines are being purchased and distributed by the U.S. government.

    Getting the flu can increase the risk of getting a second infection, such as strep throat. The Wall Street Journal’s Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind that, plus what it means for the rest of the winter and how we can protect ourselves from the tripledemic. Illustration: David Fang

    • India has detected the presence of all the COVID omicron subvariants in the community after testing more than 300 samples since late December, the health ministry said in a statement, Reuters reported. “No mortality or rise in transmission were reported in the areas where these variants were detected,” the ministry said.

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  • Moderna, CureVac and Ocugen offer updates on COVID vaccines, while China cracks down on critics of government’s pandemic response

    Moderna, CureVac and Ocugen offer updates on COVID vaccines, while China cracks down on critics of government’s pandemic response

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    A flurry of announcements relating to COVID vaccines dominated headlines on the pandemic on Monday, with Moderna telling investors it expects to generate some $5 billion in sales in 2023.

    That’s down from $18.4 billion in sales in 2022. The company plans to boost spending on research and development to $4.5 billion this year, up from $3.3 billion in 2022.

    Moderna
    MRNA,
    +1.79%
    provided the update in advance of the company’s presentation at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

    Separately, CureVac
    CVAC,
    +24.46%
     said preliminary data from its early stage trial for its COVID and seasonal flu shots had positive results to advance to the next stage of clinical testing.

    CureVac is developing the shots with GlaxoSmithKline
    GSK,
    -0.79%
     
    GSK,
    -0.75%    .
     CureVac said the shot was well tolerated, and that neutralizing antibodies were beginning at the lowest tested dose for younger adults. The seasonal flu shot was also well tolerated with an increase in antibodies compared to those from a flu vaccine comparator in younger adults, CureVac said.

    Ocugen announced positive results in a trial of its COVID vaccine Covaxin, which uses the same vero cell manufacturing platform that has been used in the production of polio vaccines for decades. The Phase 2/3 trial involved 491 U.S. adult participants who received two doses of Covaxin or placebo 28 days apart.

    “Covaxin, an inactivated virus vaccine adjuvanted with TLR7/8 agonist, has been demonstrated in clinical trials to generate a broader immune response against the whole virus covering important antigens such as S-protein, RBD, and N-protein; whereas currently approved vaccines in the U.S. target only S-protein antigen,” the company said in a statement.

    Chief Executive Dr. Shankar Musnuri said the company is hoping the vaccine will offer an option for those who are still hesitant to take an mRNA vaccine, which uses newer technology.

    U.S. cases were lower on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker. The seven-day average of new cases stood at 67,246, down 1% from two weeks ago.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was up 18% at 47,500., the highest level since last March. The average for deaths was 509, up 19% from two weeks ago.

    Hospitalizations are becoming concerning, according to the Times trackers, with the Northeast seeing the highest per capita rates, along with the Southeast.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China has suspended or closed the social-media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government’s COVID response, as the country rolls back harsh anti-virus restrictions and gears up for the coming Lunar New Year holiday, the Associated Press reported. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts. The ruling Communist Party had largely relied on the medical community to justify its tough lockdowns, quarantine measures and mass testing, almost all of which it abruptly abandoned last month, leading to a surge in new cases that have stretched medical resources to their limits. The party allows no direct criticism and imposes strict limits on free speech.

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China on Sunday as the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Some travelers expressed relief to be reunited with their families. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    • Pfizer’s
    PFE,
    -4.77%
    antiviral Paxlovid has not been included in the Chinese government’s national reimbursement list that would have allowed patients to get it at a cheaper price throughout the country, saying it was too expensive, the AP reported separately. Although it is supposed to be prescribed by medical professionals, that hasn’t stopped people from scrambling to purchase it on their own through any means at their disposal—including buying generic Indian versions of the drug through the internet, according to local media reports.

    • The union representing a group of nurses at a New York City hospital reached a tentative contract agreement with its management, but close to 9,000 nurses at several other major hospitals were still preparing to go on strike, the AP reported. The New York State Nurses Association and BronxCare Health System said Saturday that a tentative agreement had been reached; the union said it included pay raises every year of its three-year term as well as staffing increases. Another hospital, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, got to a tentative agreement with nurses on Friday evening.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 664.3 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.2 million cases and 1,096,523 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.3 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 48.2 million Americans, equal to 15.4% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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