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Pharma stocks took a fresh hit on Friday following a report in The Washington Post that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reportedly plans to link COVID-19 vaccines with the deaths of 25 minors. Moderna shares fell 7.4% Friday to their lowest level since March 2020. The drop brought the drugmakers year-to-date slump to more than 44%. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is one of two manufacturers of approved mRNA coronavirus vaccines. The other mRNA COVID-19 vaccine maker, Pfizer, saw its own shares fall 3.9% on Friday. Shares of its partner on the shot, BioNTech, tumbled 7.3%, while stocks in another vaccine maker, Novavax, were down 3.6%. The pharma companies stock slump stands in contrast to the market as a whole, with the S&P 500 rising more than 12% this year. FDA officials reportedly plan to present the data at an upcoming vaccine advisory panel meeting, according to the Post. The panel makes recommendations to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as it sets vaccine schedules and guidance, and its recommendations have historically guided insurance coverage for vaccines and state policy. The data is apparently based on self-reported adverse events collected in a federal database called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). The database contains unverified reports and is not designed to conclude that a vaccine caused a death. The FDA didnt immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment. Vaccine policy in U.S. shifting under new administration U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all of the members of the vaccine advisory panel, which is known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Kennedy installed seven new members who have criticized vaccines in the past. Kennedy is reportedly considering appointing seven more members to the committee who share his skepticism of COVID vaccines or the pharmaceutical industry, Politico reported. And last month, the FDA imposed new eligibility restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines that critics say has severely limited who can get the shot. ACIP is due to meet on September 18 and September 19, and the committee is expected to discuss vaccines for COVID-19, as well as hold votes on recommendations for vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) and hepatitis B, as well as COVID-19. Pharma companies criticize restrictions on shots Modernas CEO Stéphane Bancel said at a WIRED health summit that recent changes in U.S. vaccine policy represented a step backward. Moderna, in a statement to Barrons on Friday, noted that the safety of its COVID-19 vaccine is rigorously monitored by the company, the FDA, and regulators in more than 90 countries. Those safety systems have not identified any new or undisclosed safety concerns in children or in pregnant women, the company said. And in a statement to Bloomberg, Pfizer said that extensive data supports the safety and effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, and cited its successful administration to more than one billion adults, adolescents, and children. Both drugmakers didnt immediately respond to requests for comment from Fast Company.
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E-Commerce
The Trump administration on Friday announced that it plans to stop requiring more than 8,000 polluters to report greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys proposal would see industrial facilities like coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, and steel mills no longer have to track and report the amount of carbon dioxide, methane, and other emissions they emita requirement that had been in place since 2010. The agency said that U.S. businesses could save as much as $2.4 billion in regulatory costs over the next decade as a result of the change. Some experts have argued that the societal costs of emissions from companies in the U.S. could run into the tens of trillions by 2050. The EPA in its release said that requiring facilities to report emissions had no material impact on improving human health and the environment. It comes after months of work by the Trump administration to dismantle various federal programs designed to combat climate change and cuts to research funding to study the phenomenon. The administrations efforts to pull back on climate change is at odds with the broad scientific consensus that human-driven warming is linked to extreme weather and health risks. A study published in Nature this past week, for example, showed that 180 of the worlds biggest fossil fuel and cement producers made 213 extreme heatwaves between 2000 and 2023 more likely and more dangerous. What does greenhouse gas reporting do? Since 2010, the greenhouse gas reporting program has collected emissions data from about 8,000 of the largest industrial facilities in the U.S. from 47 different source categories. In turn, this information has historically been shared with the United Nations, but for the first time in nearly 30 years, the Trump administration missed an April deadline to submit data on U.S. climate emissions. As part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the United Nations has required industrialized countries to reduce their emissions to combat climate change. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his first day in office that the U.S. would withdraw from this agreement for the second time (Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement during his first term). The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality, Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, said in a statement. Instead, it costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nations prosperity and hurting American communities. Unlike other mandatory information collections under the Clean Air Act, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is not directly related to a potential regulation and has no material impact on improving human health and the environment. By reducing the overall regulatory burden, current regulated parties will be able to focus compliance expenditures on actual, tangible environmental benefits, an EPA spokesperson told Fast Company in a statement. Certain oil and gas facilities will still be required to report emissions data as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, although the EPAs proposal would allow these facilities to suspend reporting until 2034. Critics point to cost of losing data Environmental advocates criticized the proposal as hampering future policy making. With this move, theyre taking away the practical and material capacity of the federal government to do the basic elements of climate policymaking, a former EPA official under the Biden administration told The New York TImes. The proposal would eliminate data that the public, states, and local policymakers have depended on for more than 15 years, leaving Americans in the dark about where pollution is coming from, David Doniger, a senior strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, told The Associated Press. Before this proposal is finalized, the EPA will hold a virtual public hearing and accept public comments for 47 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
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E-Commerce
This week served up a sampler platter of business stories with a little bit of everything: food recalls that had shoppers double-checking the fridge, a high-stakes immigration raid that spilled into international diplomacy, and a splashy fintech IPO testing investor appetite. Housing data hinted that the balance of power is (slowly) tilting back toward buyers in parts of the country, while a blue-chip tech veteran reminded Wall Street that AI demand can paper over a messy quarter. Overseas, Argentinas markets were whipsawed by politicsagainunderscoring how quickly sentiment flips when reform agendas wobble. Theres a common thread running through it all: resilience under pressure. Food companies are racing to pull risky products before they cause harm; automakers and suppliers are navigating the fine print of U.S. work visas; and growth-hungry firms are courting the public markets even as valuations come back to earth. At the same time, nonprofits are turning into content studios to build community (and revenue), builders are using incentives to keep homes moving, and investors are trying to separate real AI tailwinds from hype. Its a reminder that business isnt just earnings and chartsits people, policy, logistics, and timing. With that, lets dig into the biggest moves and what they could mean next. Cheese recall over Listeria fears The Food and Drug Administration flagged multiple cheeses from both Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op and Sunrise Creamery this week after listeria was detected on finished product and cutting equipment. Impacted items range from Gouda and Swiss to pepper Jack and shredded blends, with some sell-by dates stretching into 2026. No illnesses have been reported, but consumers are asked to return or toss affected products and check pantries for long-dated packs. ICE raid at Hyundai battery site sparks a diplomatic scramble On September 4, roughly 300 South Korean workers were detained during a Georgia raid tied to a $4.3 billion Hyundai-LG Energy battery project, the largest single-site action of its kind by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Seoul arranged a charter flight to return the workers to South Korea and is pushing for smoother U.S. visa pathways for technical staff. The incident could complicate trade ties and serves as a cautionary tale for foreign firms staffing fast-moving U.S. projects. Frozen foods salmonella recall widens Chetak LLC expanded its voluntary recall to dozens more Deep-brand frozen veggies and fruits after a positive salmonella test. The outbreak has sickened 11 people across 10 states and led to four hospitalizations. Its part of a broader run of salmonella alerts this season; retailers are urged to pull impacted lots immediately. NYC Marathon nonprofit launches a content studio New York Road Runners is spinning up East 89th St Productions to capture the marathons built-in drama and community. First up: Final Finishers, a documentary premiering at Tribeca that celebrates those last epic hours at the finish line. Beyond storytelling, NYRR sees content as a way to diversify revenue and deepen ties with runners and donors. Housing tips toward buyers in 14 states Active listings are up year over year, and in 14 states inventory has climbed back above 2019 levelsgiving buyers a bit more leverage. Sunbelt and Mountain West markets that ran hot during the Pandemic Housing Boom are seeing softer pricing as builders dangle incentives. Nationally were still below 2019 inventory, but the trend is moving away from sellers complete control. Klarna finally listsat a slimmer valuation BNPL heavyweight Klarna priced its New York Stock Exchange debut at $40 a share, above guidance but well below its 2021 peak valuation. The company is profitable again, but investors will watch whether growth can continue without fueling consumer debt concerns. For the IPO market, its another data point that public is open, just not at 2021 prices. Argentinas markets stumble after local election shock A big loss for President Javier Mileis party in Buenos Aires sent the peso to new lows and hammered stocks and bonds. The setback clouds the path for reforms in the South American country and raises questions about its foreign exchange policy ahead of national midterms. With International Monetary Fund support in the backdrop, investors are bracing for more currency and debt volatility. Oracle pops on AI cloud optimism Austin-based Oracle Corp. missed on earnings and revenue in its first quarter, but shares ripped higher on September 10 thanks to eye-popping AI-driven cloud bookings and long-term revenue targets. CEO Safra Catz touted multibillion-dollar deals with marquee AI names and a massive jump in remaining performance obligations. Investors shrugged off recent layoffs, focusing instead on the growth runway through the decade. Ford recalls ~1.5 million vehicles for backup-camera glitch Ford issued yet another recall this week. This one, announced September 9, is due to a faulty rear-view camera that can display a blank or distorted image across a wide range of 2015 to 2019 Ford and Lincoln models. The company will inspect and replace cameras at no charge; regulators cite 18 accidents and no injuries. Owners will get mailed notices with service instructions.
Category:
E-Commerce
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