UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) on Thursday disclosed that it has the capacity to produce 1 billion doses of its coronavirus vaccine should it prove to be successful. The stock rose 3.5% to $55.65 in pre-market U.S. trading.The drugmaker said it has signed first agreements for at least 400 million doses and has secured total manufacturing capacity for one billion doses of the potential vaccine, which it is developing with Oxford University. Start of deliveries are planned for September 2020, the company said in a statement.AstraZeneca is also working on entering into additional agreements supported by several parallel supply chains, which is aimed at expanding capacity further over the next months to ensure the delivery of a globally accessible vaccine, the company said.All of this though will be dependent on getting data results from the vaccine candidate’s Phase I/II clinical trial, which the drugmaker expects shortly and if positive, would lead to late-stage trials in a number of countries.“AstraZeneca recognises that the vaccine may not work but is committed to progressing the clinical program with speed and scaling up manufacturing at risk,” the company said in the statement.Moreover, AstraZeneca announced that it has received more than $1 billion from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting in the fall. The development programme includes a Phase III clinical trial with 30,000 participants and a paediatric trial.The drugmaker informed investors that Thursday’s announcement is not expected to have any significant impact on its financial guidance for 2020.“Expenses to progress the vaccine are anticipated to be offset by funding by governments,” the company said.Shares in AstraZeneca have ballooned 42% in the past two months as the drugmaker joined the list of companies engaged in the development of a coronavirus vaccine.TipRanks data shows that Wall Street analysts have a bullish outlook on the stock boasting only Buy ratings. Following the recent share rally, the $57.50 average price target puts the upside potential at 6.9% in the coming 12 months. (See AstraZeneca stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Gilead and Galapagos Score Positive Topline Results For Ulcerative Colitis Trial Moderna Spikes 21% Amid “Positive” Early-Stage Covid-19 Vaccine Data AstraZeneca-Merck Lynparza Prostate Cancer Treatment Gets FDA Approval More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Akorn Plummets 27% In Pre-Market On Bankruptcy Filing * Google, Apple Roll Out Coronavirus Contact Tracing Technology * Visa Makes Analytical Play With GoodData Investment * Expedia Q1 Gross Bookings Plunge 39%, And Worse To Come

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Shares in Boston Scientific (BSX) pulled back 2% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company announced concurrent offerings of $750 million of shares of its common stock and $750 million of shares of its Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock.The medical device manufacturer also expects to grant the underwriters separate 30-day options to purchase up to an additional $112.5 million of common stock and up to an additional $112.5 million of preferred stock.According to the statement, Boston Scientific will use part of the proceeds from to repay in full the remaining $750 million outstanding under its $1.25 billion term loan credit facility maturing on April 2021 and to pay the related fees, expenses and premiums.The remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, says BSX, which may include refinancing or repayment of other outstanding indebtedness and funding potential future acquisitions and investments.The closing of each offering is not contingent upon the closing of the other offering.J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offerings.On May 15, Boston announced the pricing of a public offering of $1.7 billion senior notes with $500 million in aggregate 1.9% notes due 2025 and $1.2 billion in aggregate 2.65% notes due 2030.BSX has plunged 18% year-to-date, but analysts are retaining an optimistic outlook on the stock’s potential. The Street has a Strong Buy consensus on Boston Scientific, with an average analyst price target of $43 (16% upside potential). (See BSX stock analysis on TipRanks)“Despite short-term delays and disruption to current launches and the product pipeline, we continue to like BSX’s innovation and growth profile” explains BTIG’s Marie Thibault. She reiterated her Buy with a $44 PT, but ‘meaningfully’ reduced her revenue forecast for 2020 as global revenue is expected to decline 45-50% y/y in April.Related News: Bluebird Prices New Shares At $55, Seeks To Raise $500 Million Gilead and Galapagos Score Positive Topline Results For Ulcerative Colitis Trial AstraZeneca-Merck Lynparza Prostate Cancer Treatment Gets FDA ApprovalPopular in the Community More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Akorn Plummets 27% In Pre-Market On Bankruptcy Filing * AstraZeneca Can Make Up To 1B Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Signs First Supply Pacts * Google, Apple Roll Out Coronavirus Contact Tracing Technology * Visa Makes Analytical Play With GoodData Investment

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If you are near retirement and recently unemployed, you have a lot of company. Roughly 600,000 Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 left the workforce in April, according to the New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis … Continue reading ->The post Why Retiring Early Is a Bad Idea Now appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

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Jerry Bill is worried the novel coronavirus could hurt business at the Des Moines auto dealership he runs, but not because of a shortage of buyers for the big Ram pickups on his lot. “Our biggest issue will be if we don’t get more inventory,” said Bill, general sales manager of Stew Hansen Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, which sells around 2,700 new vehicles a year in Urbandale, a suburb of Iowa’s capital Des Moines. After a drop in sales in April when consumers stayed home, Bill expects pickup truck sales to end May similar to where they were a year earlier.

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(Bloomberg) — Beijing is accelerating its bid for global leadership in key technologies, planning to pump more than a trillion dollars into the economy through the rollout of everything from wireless networks to artificial intelligence.In the masterplan backed by President Xi Jinping himself, China will invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over six years to 2025, calling on urban governments and private tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. to lay fifth generation wireless networks, install cameras and sensors, and develop AI software that will underpin autonomous driving to automated factories and mass surveillance.The new infrastructure initiative is expected to drive mainly local giants from Alibaba and Huawei to SenseTime Group Ltd. at the expense of U.S. companies. As tech nationalism mounts, the investment drive will reduce China’s dependence on foreign technology, echoing objectives set forth previously in the Made in China 2025 program. Such initiatives have already drawn fierce criticism from the Trump administration, resulting in moves to block the rise of Chinese tech companies such as Huawei.“Nothing like this has happened before, this is China’s gambit to win the global tech race,” said Digital China Holdings Chief Operating Officer Maria Kwok, as she sat in a Hong Kong office surrounded by facial recognition cameras and sensors. “Starting this year, we are really beginning to see the money flow through.”The tech investment push is part of a fiscal package waiting to be signed off by China’s legislature, which convenes this week. The government is expected to announce infrastructure funding of as much as $563 billion this year, against the backdrop of the country’s worst economic performance since the Mao era.The nation’s biggest purveyors of cloud computing and data analysis Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. will be linchpins of the upcoming endeavor. China has already entrusted Huawei to galvanize 5G. Tech leaders including Pony Ma and Jack Ma are espousing the program.Maria Kwok’s company is a government-backed systems integration provider, among many that are jumping at the chance. In the southern city of Guangzhou, Digital China is bringing half a million units of project housing online, including a complex three quarters the size of Central Park. To find a home, a user just has to log on to an app, scan their face and verify their identity. Leases can be signed digitally via smartphone and the renting authority is automatically flagged if a tenant’s payment is late.China is no stranger to far-reaching plans with massive price tags that appear to achieve little. There’s no guarantee this program will deliver the economic rejuvenation its proponents promise. Unlike previous efforts to resuscitate the economy with “dumb” bridges and highways, this newly laid digital infrastructure will help national champions develop cutting-edge technologies.What BloombergNEF SaysChina’s new stimulus plan will likely lead to a consolidation of industrial internet providers, and could lead to the emergence of some larger companies able to compete with global leaders such as GE and Siemens. One bet is on industrial internet-of-things platforms as China aims to cultivate three world leading companies in this area by 2025.Nannan Kou, head of researchClick here for researchChina isn’t alone in pumping money into the tech sector as a way to get out of the post-virus economic slump. Earlier this month, South Korea said AI and wireless communications would be at the core of it its “New Deal” to create jobs and boost growth.According to the government-backed China Center for Information Industry Development, the 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) that China is estimated to spend from now until 2025 encompasses areas typically considered leading edge such as AI and IoT as well as items such as ultra-high voltage lines and high-speed rail. More than 20 of mainland China’s 31 provinces and regions have announced projects totaling over 1 trillion yuan with active participation from private capital, a state-backed newspaper reported Wednesday.Separate estimates by Morgan Stanley put new infrastructure at around $180 billion each year for the next 11 years — or $1.98 trillion in total. Those calculations also include power and rail lines. That annual figure would be almost double the past three-year average, the investment bank said in a March report that listed key stock beneficiaries including companies such as China Tower Corp., Alibaba, GDS Holdings, Quanta Computer Inc. and Advantech Co.Beijing’s half-formed vision is already stirring a plethora of stocks, a big reason why five of China’s 10 best-performing stocks this year are tech plays like networking gear maker Dawning Information Industry Co. and Apple supplier GoerTek Inc. The bare outlines of the masterplan were enough to drive pundits toward everything from satellite operators to broadband providers.It’s unlikely that U.S companies will benefit much from the tech-led stimulus and in some cases they stand to lose existing business. Earlier this year when the country’s largest telecom carrier China Mobile awarded contracts for 37 billion yuan in 5G base stations, the lion’s share went to Huawei and other Chinese companies. Sweden’s Ericsson got only a little over 10% of the business in the first four months. In one of its projects, Digital China will help the northeastern city of Changchun swap out American cloud computing staples IBM, Oracle and EMC with home-grown technology.It’s in data centers that a considerable chunk of the new infrastructure development will take place. Over 20 provinces have launched policies to support enterprises utilizing cloud computing services, according to a March note from UBS Group AG. Tony Yu, chief executive officer of Chinese server maker H3C, that his company was seeing a significant increase in demand for data center services from some of the country’s top internet companies. “Rapid growth in up-and-coming sectors will bring a new force to China’s economy after the pandemic passes,” he told Bloomberg News.From there, more investment should flow. Bain Capital-backed data center operator Chindata Group estimated that for every one dollar spent on data centers another $5 to $10 in investment in related sectors would take place, including in networking, power grid and advanced equipment manufacturing. “A whole host of supply-chain companies will benefit,” the company said in a statement.There’s concern about whether this long-term strategy provides much in the way of stimulus now, and where the money will come from. “It’s impossible to prop up China’s economy with new infrastructure alone,” said Zhu Tian, professor of economics at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. “If you are worried about the government’s added debt levels and their debt servicing abilities right now, of course you wouldn’t do it. But it’s a necessary thing to do at a time of crisis.”Digital China is confident that follow-up projects from its housing initiative in Guangzhou could generate 30 million yuan in revenue for the company. It’s also hoping to replicate those efforts with local governments in the northeastern province of Jilin, where it has 3.3 billion yuan worth of projects approved. These include building a so-called city brain that will for the first time connect databases including traffic, schools and civil matters such as marriage registry. “The concept of smart cities has been touted for years but now we are finally seeing the investment,” said Kwok.(Updates with more details on projects from around China in tenth paragraph)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.

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Top news and what to watch in the markets on Thursday, May 21, 2020.

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AstraZeneca has agreed deals to deliver at least 400 million doses of the vaccine, providing it works.

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Intel (INTC) has announced that it is acquiring Rivet Networks, a leader in software and cloud-based technologies for networking connectivity. This includes the popular “Killer” line of gaming networking cards.Intel and Rivet Networks have now partnered to build the Killer AX1650 Wi-Fi solution, which Intel says will deliver immersive entertainment and gaming experiences along with powerful Wi-Fi 6 technology.According to Intel, Rivet Networks’ capabilities, including its software, are complementary to Intel’s wireless products and capabilities.“Rivet Networks’ products deliver speed, intelligence and control for gamers and performance users. Its products maximize Wi-Fi bandwidth utilization and optimize the wireless network connection on your platform” stated Chris Walker, corporate VP of Intel’s Mobile Client Platforms Group.Post-acquisition, Rivet’s team will join INTC’s Wireless Solutions Group while the company’s key products, including its Killer brand, will integrate into Intel’s broader PC Wi-Fi portfolio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.Shares in Intel are currently trading up 5% year-to-date, and according to the Street a pullback could be on the cards. The stock shows a Moderate Buy analyst consensus, with the majority of analysts sidelined, while the $62 average price target indicates 1% downside from current levels. (See Intel stock analysis on TipRanks).“We see INTC weathering COVID better than most, but associated uncertainties keep us sidelined” writes Oppenheimer’s Rick Schafer. “We see DC/Cloud and 5G infrastructure as relative “safe haven,” but fear near-term WFH [work-from-home- “pull-in” benefit to PC could reverse in 2H” he added.Related News: Spotify Surges 8.4%, Joe Rogan Brings More Than Experience Says Top Analyst Microsoft Buys Metaswitch For Cloud-Based Telecoms Move, 5G Expansion Apple is Said to Snap Up Startup NextVR For Virtual Reality Content; Top Analyst Sees Buying Opportunity More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Google Cloud Wins Cyber Security Contract With U.S. Defense Department * Aurora Cannabis Jumps 30% in After-Market On All-Stock $40 Million Purchase of Reliva * Boston Scientific Sinks on $1.5B Capital Raise Announcement * Gilead and Galapagos Score Positive Topline Results For Ulcerative Colitis Trial

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High-tech stalwart Cisco Systems (CSCO) was one of the first major companies to report results for the fiscal quarter that ended in April. The results posted Wednesday afternoon are more reflective of the impact of Covid-19 than those in other recent earnings calls which only reflected results through March. And the results were grim: Cisco’s revenue for its fiscal third quarter fell 8% year-over-year to about $12 billion, its worst decline in six years. And yet, its per-share adjusted earnings of 79 cents on revenue of $11.98B easily beat analysts’ bleak target of 71 cents. The service and security segments managed modest revenue growth in the quarter. And of course, usage of WebEx videoconferencing, one of Zoom’s (ZM) primary competitors, grew strongly. Cisco’s shares rose 2% following the results.Cisco entered the pandemic from a position of relative weakness. The company has been citing a “broad based slowdown” affecting results for the last couple of quarters, and the pandemic has worsened conditions considerably for corporate tech. Market research firm Gartner revised its global IT spending forecast for the full year, projecting negative 8% growth, against a pre-Coronavirus forecast that called for a 3.4% rise.Cisco said it’s expecting 72 cents to 74 cents in adjusted earnings per share and a 8.5% to 11.5% decline in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter. In contrast to Cisco, most companies have declined to issue new guidance, with the exception of businesses that have benefited from the pandemic or subscription-based software companies that already have booked their annual revenue. Analysts are moderately bullish on Cisco, with 12 Buys and 10 Hold recommendations within the last 3 months. The average analyst price target for Cisco is $47, representing upside of 4.5%. (See Cisco stock analysis on TipRanks).  Related News: Microsoft Buys Softomotive to Boost Its Robotic Automation Offerings Roku Under Unvestigation By ITC for Universal Electronics Patent Infringement  IQIYI Sinks 4% As Online Ad-Revenue Falls Sharply More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Google Cloud Wins Cyber Security Contract With U.S. Defense Department * Aurora Cannabis Jumps 30% in After-Market On All-Stock $40 Million Purchase of Reliva * Boston Scientific Sinks on $1.5B Capital Raise Announcement * Gilead and Galapagos Score Positive Topline Results For Ulcerative Colitis Trial

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