Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer jolt delivers taste of post-Covid markets

9 Nov 2020

The pharmaceutical giant said its vaccine may be over 90% effective. Stocks surged and bond yields rose. How long that level of immunity lasts isn’t clear, and inoculating enough people will take time. But the prospect of a return to normality is a potent market stimulant.

Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost

9 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Rising share prices take the sting out of Berkshire Hathaway’s Covid-19 profit hit; and McDonald’s reports a good quarter for American nugget-lovers.

Biogen gets $17 bln jolt of Alzheimer’s hope

5 Nov 2020

The U.S. biotech group's market value rocketed on Wednesday after regulators hinted they were persuaded its drug worked. A vote on Friday could send Biogen stock up more. Approval may also signal an easier regulatory touch for desperate diseases. That could help the whole sector.

Corona Capital: GM earnings, Third-quarter readout

5 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: General Motors swerves around Covid-19 potholes; and U.S. companies look to have emerged from a difficult three months in better shape than expected.

Bristol Myers deal gamble pays off twice over

3 Nov 2020

The pharma firm had to sell assets to close its $74 bln purchase of Celgene in 2019. It took a high-risk gamble – sell a blockbuster to Amgen and keep an unproven drug. A trial shows it got the better end of the bargain. Bristol increasingly looks like it bought Celgene cheap.

Corona Capital: Utah Jazz, Comcast, Kraft

29 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Utah Jazz’s owners sign off with a respectable return; Comcast shoots the light out on broadband; and Kraft rides the stay-at-home wave.

Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A

28 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.

Corona Capital: Binge-watching, Gaming

27 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Streaming viewers like to binge-watch, but they are being stingy; a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases could be a boon for gaming developers.

Bayer’s M&A comeback is reassuringly expensive

26 Oct 2020

The drugs-to-seeds company is buying gene therapy specialist Asklepios BioPharmaceutical for $4 bln. It’s a rich price, but the German group needs to offset patent expiries and shake off the disastrous Monsanto deal. Expanding in a rapidly growing sector offers some protection.

Corona Capital: Mixed market messages, Chile votes

26 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Global stocks slumped on Monday as Covid-19 cases rose – yet some prognosticators are readying for major stimulus; and Chile has shown that pandemics don’t have to squash voter turnout.

Corona Capital: Gilead Sciences, Virtual Santa

23 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Remdesivir gets formal approval; Santa goes missing from Macy’s.

Corona Capital: Quibi

22 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Video streaming company Quibi’s failure is in spite of – not because of – the Covid-19 pandemic.

Corona Capital: U.S. tests, UK loans, Man U groans

21 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Abbott Laboratories has a bumper third quarter; UK banks look at a workaround for their Covid-19 loan problem; and Manchester United reveals a predictably ropey set of annual results.

Corona Capital: U.S. state budget woes

20 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Some conservative U.S. states are hurting as much as liberal New York.

Budding UK cannabis listings will end up stunted

16 Oct 2020

Britain’s watchdog has opened the door for medicinal marijuana companies to be listed in London. Success stories may, however, end up following GW Pharmaceuticals, which in 2016 opted to list solely in New York after more than a decade of seeing its share price stagnate.

Investors’ J&J vaccine obsession looks misplaced

13 Oct 2020

The $390 bln firm paused its Covid-19 vaccine trial – and raised estimates amid rising demand for everything from Tylenol to oncology drugs. The shares fell. Whether the halt means anything is unclear. It’s also of little importance relative to J&J’s core business.

Corona Capital: Oil, Delta, Hunger

13 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: OPEC and the International Energy Agency issue forecasts that bode ill for crude demand; the U.S. airline steers through turbulence; and a food crisis is exacerbating problems facing the most vulnerable in society.

Corona Capital: Tech upgrades, Ruby Tuesday

7 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Indian IT giant TCS is betting the work-from-home boost to its earnings marks the beginning of a years-long boom; U.S. restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday’s bankruptcy offers a lesson in creative culinary destruction.

Bristol Myers pays hearty price for cancer hedge

5 Oct 2020

The $132 bln drugmaker’s Celgene mega-deal last year left it dependent on cancer treatments and vulnerable to generic competition and the whims of governments. Paying $13 bln for revenue-free MyoKardia offers some political and patent protection – but it costs an arm and a leg.

Corona Capital: Donald Trump, Kenzo Takada

5 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. President Donald Trump’s fight with the coronavirus could lead to a less fiercely contested election result; the death of Japanese designer Kenzo Takada comes at a bad time for the global fashion industry.