(Bloomberg) — Wealthy countries have already locked up more than a billion doses of coronavirus vaccines, raising worries that the rest of the world will be at the back of the queue in the global effort to defeat the pathogen.Moves by the U.S. and U.K. to secure supplies from Sanofi and partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and another pact between Japan and Pfizer Inc., are the latest in a string of agreements. The European Union has also been aggressive in obtaining shots, well before anyone knows whether they will work.Although international groups and a number of nations are promising to make vaccines affordable and accessible to all, doses will likely struggle to keep up with demand in a world of roughly 7.8 billion people. The possibility wealthier countries will monopolize supply, a scenario that played out in the 2009 swine flu pandemic, has fueled concerns among poor nations and health advocates.The U.S., Britain, European Union and Japan have so far secured about 1.3 billion doses of potential Covid immunizations, according to London-based analytics firm Airfinity. Options to snap up more supplies or pending deals would add about 1.5 billion doses to that total, its figures show.“Even if you have an optimistic assessment of the scientific progress, there’s still not enough vaccines for the world,” according to Rasmus Bech Hansen, Airfinity’s chief executive officer. What’s also important to consider is that most of the vaccines may require two doses, he said.A few front-runners, such as the University of Oxford and partner AstraZeneca Plc and a Pfizer-BioNTech SE collaboration, are already in final-stage studies, fueling hopes that a weapon to fight Covid will be available soon. But developers must still clear a number of hurdles: proving their shots are effective, gaining approval and ramping up manufacturing. Worldwide supply may not reach 1 billion doses until the first quarter of 2022, Airfinity forecasts.Investing in production capacity all over the world is seen as one of the keys to solving the dilemma, and pharma companies are starting to outline plans to deploy shots widely. Sanofi and Glaxo intend to provide a significant portion of worldwide capacity in 2021 and 2022 to a global initiative that’s focused on accelerating development and production and distributing shots equitably.The World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are working together to bring about equitable and broad access. They outlined an $18 billion plan in June to roll out shots and secure 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.The initiative, known as Covax, aims to give governments an opportunity to hedge the risk of backing unsuccessful candidates and give other nations with limited finances access to shots that would be otherwise unaffordable. If governments put their own interests first, it could result in a worse outcome for everyone, allowing the virus to continue to spread, some officials warn.Tangle of DealsCountries would need to strike a series of different agreements with vaccine makers to raise their chances of getting supplies, as some shots won’t succeed, a situation that could lead to bidding battles and inefficiencies, Seth Berkley, Gavi’s CEO, said in an interview.“The thing we worry about most is getting a tangle of deals,” he said. “Our hope is with a portfolio of vaccines we can get countries to come together.”Some 78 nations have expressed interest in joining Covax, he said. In addition, more than 90 low- and middle-income countries and economies will be able to access Covid vaccines through a Gavi-led program, the group said Friday. There’s still concern the rest of the world might fall behind.“That is exactly what we’re trying to avoid,” Berkley said.Biggest InvestmentAstraZeneca in June became the first manufacturer to sign up to Gavi’s program, committing 300 million doses, and Pfizer and BioNTech signaled interest in potentially supplying Covax. Brazil, the nation with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases, also reached an agreement to secure doses of the Oxford vaccine with AstraZeneca.The Trump administration agreed to provide as much as $2.1 billion to partners Sanofi and Glaxo, the biggest U.S. investment yet for Operation Warp Speed, the nation’s vaccine development and procurement program. The funding will support clinical trials and manufacturing while allowing the U.S. to secure 100 million doses, if it’s successful. The country has an option to receive an additional 500 million doses longer term.The European Union is closing in on a deal for as many as 300 million doses of the Sanofi-Glaxo shot and is in advanced discussions with several other companies, according to a statement Friday.“The European Commission is also committed to ensuring that everyone who needs a vaccine gets it, anywhere in the world and not only at home,” it said.In China, home to some of the fastest-moving programs, President Xi Jinping pledged to turn any vaccine developed by the country into a global public good.The U.S. has invested in a number of other projects. Pfizer and BioNTech last week reached a $1.95 billion deal to supply their vaccine to the government, should regulators clear it. Novavax Inc. announced a $1.6 billion deal, while the U.S. earlier pledged as much as $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca to spur development and production.U.S. investment to speed up trials, scale up manufacturing and boost vaccine development is “great news for the world,” assuming vaccines are shared, Berkley said.“It helps drive the science forward,” he said. “On that I’m very positive. My concern is that we need global supply.”(Updates to add Brazil doses in 14th paragraph, China position in 18th)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/2DaPDaf

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is out with a new proposal to eliminate cash bail that could put the $2 billion private bail bond industry out of business. Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus joins Akiko Fujita to discuss.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2D9KoYh

On Friday, Deutsche Bank analysts led by Lloyd Walmsley raised their price target on shares of Amazon from $3,333 to $4,000, just one day after the e-commerce giant reported a blowout second quarter, which would the value it at $2 trillion. The firm said “it’s tough to see anything this quarter that was not positive”, although it did cite key risks to its call including higher competition and regulation. The Final Round panel discusses the bullish call.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/33cUm5P

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock is on a high once again, doubling in value after falling to $196.40 a pop in mid-March. Panic induced selling hit the tech sector hard after the novel coronavirus struck, but several stocks have bounced back. NVDA stock is no different.Source: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com Its recent quarterly results reinforce the fact that the chipmaker is a tour de force in its industry. Date centers and AI services remain the lynchpins of future growth, and the company also has other segments like its automotive business that can become significant contributors in the future.Looking ahead, Nvidia forecasts second-quarter revenue of $3.58 billion to $3.72 billion. Analysts are expecting $3.25 billion.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Data Center Growth Pushes NVDA Stock HigherIn the 2021 first quarter, Nvidia's data center business unit recorded year-on-year revenue growth of 80%, with sales topping $1 billion for the first time. Along with the company's gaming business, data centers contributed the most to overall revenue, which was up 39% from the year-ago period.The growth in data centers far outpaced the 27% year-over-year growth in the gaming business unit. That goes to show the evolution of the business from a graphics-chip maker for code games and consoles, to a more diversified tech giant.It must be a bittersweet moment for management when they see these results. Gaming is what brought Nvidia to the dance. But data centers will have a larger part to play in its future. With more people sheltered in their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, the segment will only grow. * 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy for Beginners to Income InvestingThat's why the company paid $6.9 billion to acquire Mellanox, a high-performance computing chip maker. The acquisition, although draining on cash reserves, will serve as a catalyst for the data center business. CEO Has Skin in the GameJensen Huang is the founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia. The executive still has a 3.8% stake in the company. That may not seem like a lot. But Huang is a visionary businessman who oversaw the company's rise from a nascent startup to a Silicon Valley giant. The fact he remains invested in the company should come as a sigh of relief.Warren Buffett is a legend in the investing world. When quizzed about how he picks stocks, there is one thing he often states: management is key to growth and profitability.Buffet eschews the mantra of picking cheap shares in the market in the hopes of striking gold. Instead, he goes for companies with strong, efficient management that successfully drive results for several years.Hence, NVDA stock would be right up his alley. Potential in the Automotive SegmentNvidia's automotive segment was not as successful as its other counterparts, falling 7% year-over-year due to Covid-19.However, the segment does offer some excellent long-term potential. The firm's focus is on semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles that will use AI-enabled products.NVIDIA DRIVE AGX is a full end-to-end solution for fully autonomous vehicles, providing hardware, software, and sample applications. Granted, it will not be a significant moneymaker in the forthcoming quarters, but it's a segment that could become a significant tailwind in the future. Is NVDA Stock Appropriately Valued?One thing is for sure, NVDA stock is not cheap by any means. Trading at 77.94x trailing price to earnings, shares of the semiconductor firm are highly-priced. That's why you didn't see a massive surge in share price even though the quarterly results were excellent.In its peer group, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) are the only two companies that have a P/E ratio higher than NVDA.You know the market is bullish when Intel and Nvidia both have valuations of more than $200 billion. Analysts' estimates are for Nvidia to touch revenues of $14.64 billion this fiscal year, while Intel will reach $75.12 billion.However, considering the high rate of revenue growth the company is experiencing, I believe the premium valuation is justified. I prefer pouring capital into a company that is led well and has a strong vision for growth because that will ultimately draw returns and profitability.Nvidia's data center segment and AI solutions will drive growth rates higher. Gaming will remain a substantial contributor to overall revenues, and share prices will continue to skyrocket. Simply put, you can't go wrong investing in NVDA stock.Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com and numerous other financial sites. He has several years of experience in analyzing the stock market and was a former data journalist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His passion is to help the average investor make more informed decisions regarding their portfolio. Faizan Farooque does not directly own the securities mentioned above. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Why Nvidia Shares Will Top $500 appeared first on InvestorPlace.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/30lH0CI

Bitcoin and Ethereum crashed by 12% and 20% respectively in about 6 minutes as more than $1 billion of positions were liquidated. Bitcoin’s price went from $11,930 to $10,550. By press time, the price has now recovered to about $11,400. Ethereum crashed from $408 to $326. By press time, the price has now recovered to […]The post Bitcoin and Ethereum crash by more than 12% in 6 minutes as more than $1B of positions gets liquidated appeared first on The Block.

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

(Bloomberg) — Wealthy countries have already locked up more than a billion doses of coronavirus vaccines, raising worries that the rest of the world will be at the back of the queue in the global effort to defeat the pathogen.Moves by the U.S. and U.K. to secure supplies from Sanofi and partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and another pact between Japan and Pfizer Inc., are the latest in a string of agreements. The European Union has also been aggressive in obtaining shots, well before anyone knows whether they will work.Although international groups and a number of nations are promising to make vaccines affordable and accessible to all, doses will likely struggle to keep up with demand in a world of roughly 7.8 billion people. The possibility wealthier countries will monopolize supply, a scenario that played out in the 2009 swine flu pandemic, has fueled concerns among poor nations and health advocates.The U.S., Britain, European Union and Japan have so far secured about 1.3 billion doses of potential Covid immunizations, according to London-based analytics firm Airfinity. Options to snap up additional supplies or pending deals would add more than 1.5 billion doses to that total, its figures show.“Even if you have an optimistic assessment of the scientific progress, there’s still not enough vaccines for the world,” according to Rasmus Bech Hansen, Airfinity’s chief executive officer. What’s also important to consider is that most of the vaccines may require two doses, he said.A few front-runners, such as the University of Oxford and partner AstraZeneca Plc and a Pfizer-BioNTech SE collaboration, are already in final-stage studies, fueling hopes that a weapon to fight Covid will be available soon. But developers must still clear a number of hurdles: proving their shots are effective, gaining approval and ramping up manufacturing. Worldwide supply may not reach 1 billion doses until the first quarter of 2022, Airfinity forecasts.Investing in production capacity all over the world is seen as one of the keys to solving the dilemma, and pharma companies are starting to outline plans to deploy shots widely. Sanofi and Glaxo intend to provide a significant portion of worldwide capacity in 2021 and 2022 to a global initiative that’s focused on accelerating development and production and distributing shots equitably.The World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are working together to bring about equitable and broad access. They outlined an $18 billion plan in June to roll out shots and secure 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.The initiative, known as Covax, aims to give governments an opportunity to hedge the risk of backing unsuccessful candidates and give other nations with limited finances access to shots that would be otherwise unaffordable.Tangle of DealsCountries would need to strike a series of different agreements with vaccine makers to raise their chances of getting supplies, as some shots won’t succeed, a situation that could lead to bidding battles and inefficiencies, Seth Berkley, Gavi’s CEO, said in an interview.“The thing we worry about most is getting a tangle of deals,” he said. “Our hope is with a portfolio of vaccines we can get countries to come together.”Some 78 nations have expressed interest in joining Covax, he said. In addition, more than 90 low- and middle-income countries and economies will be able to access Covid vaccines through a Gavi-led program, the group said Friday. There’s still concern the rest of the world might fall behind.“That is exactly what we’re trying to avoid,” Berkley said.Biggest InvestmentAstraZeneca in June became the first manufacturer to sign up to Gavi’s program, committing 300 million doses, and Pfizer and BioNTech signaled interest in potentially supplying Covax.The Trump administration agreed to provide as much as $2.1 billion to partners Sanofi and Glaxo, the biggest U.S. investment yet for Operation Warp Speed, the nation’s vaccine development and procurement program. The funding will support clinical trials and manufacturing while allowing the U.S. to secure 100 million doses, if it’s successful. The country has an option to receive an additional 500 million doses longer term.The European Union is closing in on a deal for as many as 300 million doses of the Sanofi-Glaxo shot and is in advanced discussions with several other companies, according to a statement Friday.“The European Commission is also committed to ensuring that everyone who needs a vaccine gets it, anywhere in the world and not only at home,” it said.The U.S. has invested in a number of other projects. Pfizer and BioNTech last week reached a $1.95 billion deal to supply their vaccine to the government, should regulators clear it. Novavax Inc. earlier this month announced a $1.6 billion deal, while the U.S. earlier pledged as much as $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca to spur development and production.U.S. investment to speed up trials, scale up manufacturing and boost vaccine development is “great news for the world,” assuming vaccines are shared, Berkley said.“It helps drive the science forward,” he said. “On that I’m very positive. My concern is that we need global supply.”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/2DaPDaf

Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates joins ‘Influencers with Andy Serwer’ to discuss the U.S. federal government’s pandemic response and how it can improve.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/39HjSkQ

Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre breaks down the big losses for Exxon and Chevron last quarter.

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

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/319AKwT

Eastman Kodak Co on Monday granted its executive chairman options for 1.75 million shares as the result of what a person familiar with the arrangement described as an “understanding” with its board that had previously neither been listed in his employment contract nor made public. One day later, the administration of President Donald Trump announced a $765 million financing deal with Eastman Kodak, and in the days that followed the stock soared, making those additional options now held by executive chairman Jim Continenza worth tens of millions. The decision to grant Continenza options was never formalized or made into a binding agreement, which is why it was not disclosed previously, according to the person familiar with the arrangement.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2BV7Tny