| Good morning. Who knows what today will bring, but the main theme from yesterday's news? Light at the end of the tunnel. | | | |  | NASDAQ | 11,897.97 | + 0.02% | | | | S&P | 3,603.28 | + 2.67% | | | | DJIA | 29,583.33 | + 4.45% | |  | GOLD | 1,865.00 | - 4.44% | | | | 10-YR | 0.957% | + 14.20 bps | | | | OIL | 40.40 | + 8.78% | | | *As of market close | - Markets: Stocks boomed after Pfizer's early-morning vaccine announcement. The S&P and Dow closed short of a record high.
- Energy: Oil had its best day in six months for the same reason. Remember, at one point in the spring oil prices went negative because no one wanted to take possession of the stuff.
| |  Francis Scialabba | Yesterday morning, Pfizer said its Covid-19 vaccine was over 90% effective in late-stage clinical trials. The news exceeded the expectations of health officials like Dr. Fauci, signaled a new hope for controlling the pandemic, and finally gave us grounds for 7am Monday mimosas. - The mRNA vaccine, developed with Germany's BioNTech, targets spike proteins, which the coronavirus uses to latch onto human cells.
The trial: Over a three-week period, researchers administered two vaccine doses to 43,538 volunteers; around half received the vaccine, the other half placebos. The results: Across all participants, Pfizer logged 94 total Covid-19 cases, with a 90% effectiveness rate for the vaccinated group. There were some side effects, but it doesn't look worse than a flu shot. Still, time for the disclaimers part of this program: - Results haven't been peer-reviewed, and the study is ongoing. Pfizer will wrap it up after reaching 164 positive cases.
- We don't know if the vaccine prevents asymptomatic transmission or severe Covid cases that cause hospitalization.
Next steps The FDA needs follow-up data to make sure Pfizer's vaccine isn't making participants grow tails. The company hopes to have that ready as early as next week and could seek "emergency use" approval from the FDA after. If it gets it, Pfizer says it can produce 50 million doses by the end of 2020 and 1.3 billion in 2021. However, each patient requires two doses, so cut those numbers in half for how many people may actually receive it. - The U.S. would need 375 million doses to cover 75% of its adult population. The government already secured 100 million for $2 billion.
Approval isn't the only roadblock. Pfizer's product is harder to move around than an octopus ice sculpture. The vaccine must remain at -94°F, which limits where it can be transported. Moderna's vaccine, widely viewed as the next-most-promising candidate, can sit out at a relatively balmy -4°F. Big picture: Besides potentially turning economic forecasts upside down and putting the prospect of a first date back on your 2021 schedule, Pfizer's announcement shows a vaccine could be more effective than the 50% bar set by the FDA. More effective = more people willing to go get it. And an effective vaccine can't come fast enough. Yesterday, the U.S. passed 10 million Covid-19 cases as President-elect Joe Biden urged Americans to practice social distancing and wear masks. | |  Know Your Meme | Pfizer's promising vaccine news sent shockwaves through financial markets, turning pandemic darlings into nightmares and forgotten clunkers into emergent stars. Biggest gainers No stocks reacted better to the news than the beaten-down travel, entertainment, and real estate industries. - Cruise operator Carnival Corp rose 39%, AMC Theaters jumped 51%, and SL Green, the largest office owner in Manhattan, closed up 37%.
- The airline exchange-traded fund, JETS, soared 16%.
Medical implant makers and dental stocks also had a great day, as investors predicted that patients needing non-essential medical procedures would soon return to the operating table. Some didn't take it as well... Peloton (-20%), Zoom (-17%), Etsy (-17%), and Clorox (-11%)—all companies that benefited from the sweeping social changes brought on by the pandemic—came crashing down. Zoom out: While Pfizer's vaccine appears to speed up timelines, there's still a ways to go before we control the pandemic and any of these violent intraday swings solidify into long-term trends. | |  Toby Howell | Supreme, a brand that has gotten more mileage out of a simple red and white color scheme than Santa himself, was acquired by VF Corp yesterday for $2.1 billion. What that $2.1 billion is getting: Supreme is not your typical multi-billion dollar brand with a scant brick-and-mortar footprint and limited distribution. It's built a cult following by expertly hyping its merch drops, mainly through its social media channels. - Supreme, which does 60% of its sales online, will play a key role in what VF CEO Steve Rendle calls a "hyper-digital business model transformation."
Is it a good match? VF Corp, which also owns Vans, The North Face, and Timberland, is confident that its existing expertise in the athletic-activewear and streetwear space will keep the Supreme brand "cool," but others in the retail industry aren't so sure. Web Smith, writer of the e-commerce newsletter 2PM, argued in a tweet that "Supreme's ownership chose mass distribution" when it should have focused on enhancing the brand's powerful "mystique." | |  | Woah—not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter, and allow us to explain. We can't stop caressing ourselves when we're wrapped in a cloud of soft, ethically-sourced, luxurious cashmere that can only be a NAADAM sweater. Since day one, NAADAM has been creating cashmere with a conscience by working to protect the planet and promote ethical conditions for the animals behind the softest cashmere you've ever put your paws on. Seriously. You won't be able to get your hands off your own bod. So when annoying people ask you why you keep touching yourself, just tell them, "I'm wearing a NAADAM cashmere sweater of elevated and rich quality that is durable, soft, and sustainable." They'll understand. And this sweater just got even better because NAADAM is giving Brew readers 30% off and 24-hour early access to their Single's Day event with code FORYOU30. Think of it as being a VIP before Black Friday. Start rubbin' on some quality cashmere today. | |  Pixabay | Will the third time be the curse for the Affordable Care Act? The 2010 healthcare bill, aka Obamacare, is facing the Supreme Court once again. The case: California v. Texas centers around the "individual mandate," an ACA provision requiring Americans to get health insurance or pay $695+ in taxes. The mandate survived a 2012 challenge on the grounds that Congress was within its rights to levy taxes, but in 2017, a Republican-majority Congress reduced the tax penalty to $0. - The latest plaintiffs, 18 red states led by Texas, argue that the zeroed-out mandate is unconstitutional because it's no longer a tax. As a result, they want the entire ACA gone.
- A federal district judge agreed, it got appealed, and now the defendants (20 blue states led by California) want the Supreme Court to step in.
Will they? The addition of Amy Coney Barrett gave the Supreme Court a 6–3 conservative majority, but it's not clear whether conservative judges will agree with the plaintiffs' reasoning. Zoom out: Repealing the ACA is controversial because, without a replacement, an estimated 20 million people could lose health insurance and 135 million with preexisting conditions could lose protections—something politicians on both sides want to avoid. | | | 2020 has revealed some "must-haves" for businesses: Entertainment companies need a streaming service, social media sites need Stories, and fast food chains need a plant-based burger. McDonald's finally caved to peer pressure yesterday, saying it will launch a new plant-based meat line, the McPlant, in some markets next year. - McDonald's will join rivals like Burger King (Impossible Whopper) and Dunkin' (Beyond Sausage) in changing its menu to match increased consumer demand for veggie alternatives.
Zoom out: McDonald's, which beat earnings estimates last quarter, is pursuing a strategy that shows business is less about creating magic from scratch and more about borrowing ideas and making them your own. It's launching a long-awaited loyalty program (pioneered by Starbucks) and planning to roll out a crispy chicken sandwich in the style of Popeyes. + While we're here...shares in Beyond Meat, the company that co-developed the McPlant patty, cratered more than 20% after hours following a bad earnings miss. | | -
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not recognize Joe Biden as president-elect yesterday and said President Trump is "100% within his rights" to conduct legal inquiries into election results. - The EU said it would impose tariffs on up to $4 billion of U.S. goods in retaliation for illegal aid given to Boeing. It also said it's hopeful for better trade relations when President-elect Joe Biden takes charge of the White House.
- The FDA granted emergency use authorization to Eli Lilly's monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19, bamlanivimab.
- SoftBank's Vision Fund posted a $7.6 billion profit last quarter, but four directors resigned from the tech conglomerate's board in a governance shakeup.
- Marketers are focusing on the pandemic in their holiday campaigns, according to Reuters.
| | SPONSORED BY THE GREAT COURSES PLUS |  | | Tech Tip Tuesday: So you want to buy a new Xbox or PlayStation...but can your TV even render their graphics? Find out if your TV can handle new gaming consoles and then browse the best TVs for gaming. Lazy fare: 12 top-notch frozen pizzas to keep in your freezer, as seen in our recommendations newsletter, The Essentials. Slightly less lazy: This spicy infographic features nine DIY spice blends. Marketing jobs: In Part 3 of our series on how to land a marketing job during a pandemic, we walk you through best practices for getting a gig in PR and comms. Read up here. | | | The current human population is 7.8 billion. If you had to estimate, how many trees are there worldwide? | | | Enjoying the Brew? Consider sharing it with a friend. When you do, we don't just give you a pat on the back and say, "Well done old sport." You earn rewards like our classic coffee mug or T-shirt.  Hit the button below to start sharing the Brew. Click to ShareOr copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=8386977e | | | The most recent estimates say there are about 3 trillion trees on Earth, so about 400 trees for every person. | | |
Retail newsletter → 
Tech newsletter → 
Marketing newsletter → 
Quarantine newsletter → 
Business podcast → 
No comments:
Post a Comment