The oil giant plans to slash around 15% of its workforce in response coronavirus crisis.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2MBc6OW

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.'s chairman and founder Zeng Yuqun disclosed that his company, which already manufactures batteries for Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY) is ready to make electric car batteries which will last as long as 16 years and 1.24 million miles.Million Mile Battery Is A Key Advance Batteries that last longer are important for electric vehicle makers such as Tesla and Volkswagen, as they can help them attract customers. These types of batteries could also be reused in a second vehicle increasing the attractiveness of EVs. Tesla is also working on this type of battery while cooperating with CATL.Waiting For Orders Talking to Bloomberg at the company headquarters at Ningde, China, Zeng disclosed, "If someone places an order, we are ready to produce." He said that the costs of such long-lasting batteries would be 10% higher than those currently in use. CATL is the world's largest maker of batteries. The company has a two-year battery supplier agreement with Tesla effective between July 2020 and June 2022.EV Demand To Pick Up Pace The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is affecting sales, but EV demand is expected to pick up pace in early 2021, according to Zeng. He expects pent-up demand to be unleashed next year. CATL's batteries are used in Model 3 cars made by Tesla at its Shanghai Gigafactory. Other customers include Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (OTC: BMWYY) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM)Musk Is A Fun Guy Zeng told Bloomberg he often shares text messages with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who he described as a "fun guy.""He's talking about cost all day long, and I'm making sure we have the solutions," said the chairman. Zeng also revealed that he had helped Musk in securing ventilators for COVID-19 patients. Musk had delivered 1000 such machines, obtained from China, to Los Angeles in March.May Build A Plant In The United States CATL is building a factory in Germany that would make more than 70% of batteries required by BMW. The Chinese battery maker is also working with Volkswagen's Audi and Porsche units. Zeng said although there are no specific plans for the U.S., he does not rule out building a plant in the country. He said, "Our team has made achievements in competing with our global rivals in overseas markets."See more from Benzinga * Scientists Funded By Chan Zuckerberg Foundation Want Facebook To Clamp Down On Misinformation And Incendiary Speech * British Drug Maker AstraZeneca Approached Gilead With The Deal That Can Become The Biggest On The Record * Starship Is Top Priority, Elon Musk Tells To SpaceX Employees(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3cHBHjJ

(Bloomberg) — Oil climbed in London following a sixth weekly increase after OPEC and its allies agreed to extend production curbs, although skepticism the cartel would be able to ensure full compliance tempered the gains.Brent futures rose 1.2% after swinging between gains and losses earlier. OPEC+ will prolong its historic curbs for an extra month and while the group cajoled Iraq, Nigeria and others to fulfill their promises to reduce production, concerns remain about the laggards sticking to their pledge. Libya, which is exempt to the cuts due to its civil war, is also returning supply to the market just as demand rebounds following the easing of lockdowns.“The issue of compliance is a major fault line in OPEC+ now,” said Vandana Hari, founder of energy consultancy Vanda Insights in Singapore. “Crude had mostly priced in the one-month extension of deeper cuts by Friday.”Oil has doubled since April as OPEC+ cuts trimmed a global glut and demand staged a rebound after the easing of restrictions in some countries, particularly China. Still, a sustained recovery may be hampered by deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing, a second wave of infections, or returning U.S. shale supply following a gain in crude prices.The extension is a victory for Saudi Arabia and Russia, which were deadlocked in a price war just two months ago. OPEC+ agreed to cut output by 9.6 million barrels a day in July, 100,000 barrels a day less than this month as Mexico will end its constraints. Any member that doesn’t implement 100% of its curbs in May and June will make extra cuts from July to September to compensate.See also: Saudi Arabia and Russia Unite to Tackle OPEC’s Pinocchio Problem“The only potential Achilles heel, in what seemingly is an expected extension of current deep cuts through July, is the caveat of sub-compliant members requirement to compensate for lack of compliance,” Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy, said in a note. “Countries such as Iraq and Nigeria will struggle, we believe, to compensate fully, which puts increased pressure on the coherence of the alliance.”Following the extension to supply cuts, Saudi Arabia made some of the biggest increases to the price of its crude, with the steepest hitting July exports to Asia. The month-on-month boost to its flagship Arab Light to Asia, which accounts for more than half of Saudi oil sales, is the largest in at least 20 years. Overall, the gains erased almost all of the discounts the kingdom made during its brief price war with Russia.Meanwhile, Libya’s biggest oilfield is gradually resuming production after a five-month shutdown due to civil war. Output will start at an initial 30,000 barrels a day at Sharara and it will take three months to return to full capacity, according to National Oil Corp. It was pumping about 300,000 barrels a day before the shutdown.See also: China’s Oil Demand Recovery Is Complete With Record Import HaulIn the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, offshore drillers idled about a third of oil production, amounting to about 636,000 barrels of daily output, due to Tropical Storm Cristobal, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The storm has crossed the coast.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/30pFvn4

(Bloomberg) — A merger of drugmakers AstraZeneca Plc and Gilead Sciences Inc. is unlikely, according to analysts, after Bloomberg News reported that the U.K. company made a preliminary approach to its U.S. peer last month.Political opposition from both Britain and America could derail any attempt at a deal, especially given the backdrop of the Covid-19 outbreak, Citi said. The timing is also questionable, as while Gilead is in the middle of a turnaround, AstraZeneca is well positioned and has a strong pipeline, analysts said.Yet there is potential for synergies, and Gilead could compliment AstraZeneca’s portfolio in the areas of virology and inflammatory treatment, according to RBC.AstraZeneca shares fell as much as 3% in London, underperforming the Stoxx 600 Health Care Index. Gilead rose 4.6% in premarket trading.Jefferies, Peter Welford (hold rated on AstraZeneca)A deal is unlikely given the limited strategic rationale for AstraZeneca at this time, and while Gilead is in the middle of a turnaroundAstraZeneca has a decent pipeline, and an “operating leverage thesis” that is fueled by top-line growthStruggle to see either company’s motivation to continue talksCiti, Andrew Baum (buy rated on AstraZeneca)U.S. government would likely try to block any acquisition of a major U.S. biopharma company that is involved in pandemic therapeutic developmentEven greater political opposition seen from the U.K. governmentBarclays, Carter Gould (underweight rated on Gilead)Such a merger would be surprising, as Gilead’s new strategy has only started to take shape in the last six monthsRecent “mega-mergers” have been conducted by companies facing notable patent cliffs, which is not an issue for AstraZenecaRBC, Brian Abrahams (outperform rated on Gilead)A merger could potentially result in some synergiesGilead’s assets could add to AstraZeneca’s product portfolio, particularly in virology and inflammatory areasIntron Health Research, Naresh Chouhan (hold rated on AstraZeneca)While an acquisition of Gilead appears unlikely, it would be highly EPS accretive even at $115/share, but it would destroy considerable value and lead to AstraZeneca de-ratingBelieve $1.5 billion of synergies are easily possible and AstraZeneca can afford the deal, but don’t see it being in investors’ interestsGoldman Sachs, Terence Flynn (sell rated on Gilead)No view on likelihood of a potential deal, but the news is likely to intensify debate around large-scale M&A in the biopharma sectorContinue to see a limited path to upside for Gilead on fundamentalsBryan Garnier, Eric Le Berrigaud (buy rated on AstraZeneca)The most worrying aspect of the report is that it suggests that AstraZeneca doesn’t have everything it needs to deliver the “brilliant future almost everyone is now painting for the group”SVB Leerink, Geoffrey C. Porges (outperform rated on Gilead)Gilead is unlikely to be responsive to AstraZeneca’s outreachAdding more revenue through a lower multiple acquisition could offer value for AstraZeneca shareholders, and for the target’s shareholdersOther targets in biopharma, such as perhaps Biogen Inc., Amgen Inc. or Alexion Pharmaceuticals, may be equally suitable and could prove more amenable to overtures than Gilead(Adds commentary from Leerink, updates shares)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3dKqwrZ

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) has announced positive Phase 3 results from the ILLUMINATE-A study of lumasiran for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1).PH1 is an ultra-rare orphan disease caused by excessive oxalate production, and elevated urinary oxalate levels are associated with progression to end-stage kidney disease and other systemic complications.The clinical data was presented at a virtual session of the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA).Lumasiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic, achieved the primary endpoint with a 53.5% mean reduction in urinary oxalate relative to placebo (p=1.7×10-14) and showed a 65.4% mean reduction in urinary oxalate relative to baseline.All tested study secondary endpoints were met, including the proportion of patients achieving near-normalization (84%) or normalization (52%) of urinary oxalate, compared with 0% in the placebo group.Lumasiran also showed an encouraging safety and tolerability profile, with no serious or severe adverse events (AEs) and with mild injection site reactions as the most common drug-related AE.Based on these results, Alnylam has now filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has granted a Priority Review for the NDA with a December 3, 2020 action date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA).In addition, the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for lumasiran has received Accelerated Assessment from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).The study “represents the sixth positive Phase 3 study for an investigational RNAi therapeutic, and we believe it further highlights the transformational potential of this modality as a whole new class of medicines” said Akshay Vaishnaw, President of R&D at Alnylam.“Overall, we think the data is solid, consistent with prior Phase I/II, and we anticipate rapid approval by the December 3rd PDUFA date” RBC Capital analyst Luca Issi told investors following the data release.However the analyst reiterated his Hold rating on the stock with a $150 price target, arguing that ALNY’s trailblazing phase 1 may actually end up providing a clearer path for rival Dicerna Pharma (DRNA)- which has a Strong Buy Street consensus.“We think DRNA is better positioned for PH given: 1) better dosing (fixed vs. weight-based dosing); 2) potential for broader label (can tackle all PH subtypes vs. only PH1); and 3) DRNA may capitalize on ALNY’s heavy lifting on building disease awareness” Issi explained. He has a buy rating on Dicerna with a $35 price target (73% upside potential).Analysts currently hold a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus on Alnylam with a $157 average price target (23% upside potential). The stock is currently trading up 11% year-to-date. (See ALNY stock analysis on TipRanks)Related News: AbbVie’s Rinvoq Beats Bristol-Myers’ Orencia In New Rheumatoid Arthritis Data Teva Wins Court Ruling Against Opiant, Emergent Bio On Narcan Nasal Spray 5 Promising Covid-19 Vaccines Picked For Trump’s Operation Warp Speed More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Tesla Sales Triple For China Model 3 Vehicle In May * Canada’s Bombardier Cuts 2,500 Jobs As Pandemic Stalls Travel Demand * Stitch Fix Earnings: Top Analyst Cautiously Optimistic Into Today’s Print * Oxford Biomedica Clinches Manufacturing Deal For AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 Vaccine

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2BLIv39

One thing we could say about the analysts on Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (CVE:XLY) – they aren't optimistic, having just…

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2MCkhKE

As New York city reopens Monday, California and some other states see coronavirus cases rise; a new poll reveals partisan divides over the pandemic; Brazil, a global hotspot for the virus, stops reporting coronavirus numbers. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday has the latest. Photo: Richard Vogel/AP

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/37d7Dvq

The largest protests following the killing of George Floyd remained mostly peaceful this weekend; Minneapolis city council members agreed to begin the disbanding of the police department; in Seattle, a man drove a car into a crowd and shot a protester. Photo: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2Adi5H2

Shareholders in Biomerica, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRA) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major…

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2MGDxGR

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Monday, June 8, 2020.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/30li26A