The U.S. will support a proposal to suspend intellectual-property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, joining an effort to increase global supply and access to the shots as the gap between rich and poor nations widens. The waiver has been opposed by the pharmaceutical industry: Shares of vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech fell on the news. Moderna dropped as much as 9.7%, its biggest intraday decline in two months. The decision comes as the virus continues to ravage nations from Southeast Asia to South America, killing thousands daily. But in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are predicting a potentially large drop in cases come summer. Here is the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic globally and across America. Here are today’s top stories Moderna had some good news on Wednesday. Its Covid-19 booster shots gave positive results against dangerous variants that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, according to early results from a mid-stage trial. A U.S. judge struck down the CDC’s national moratorium on evictions, saying the federal government exceeded its authority. The Reddit crowd is on the hunt. After taking a beating during the GameStop insanity earlier this year, do-it-yourself investors have actually recovered about three-quarters of their losses. Now they’re looking for some new pigeons. Don’t look now, but the Pentagon said it expects a tumbling Chinese rocket to fall out of orbit and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday. Where will it land? Nobody knows. A rocket carrying China’s Tianhe space station core module lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan province on April 29. Photographer: STR/AFP The retreat from major cities has been the pandemic’s big real-estate story—but that doesn’t mean metropolitan house prices have suddenly gotten cheap. From New York to London to Sydney, ultra-low interest rates and vast government fiscal support have limited distressed sales. See how the coronavirus has upended rents and prices everywhere. Peloton was one of the few success stories of an otherwise horrible 2020. Now 2021 is looking a little different for the company. It just recalled its treadmill products and will stop selling them after a child died and more than 70 safety incidents were reported, walking back an earlier position that the devices were safe if used properly. The shares fell 15%, the most in about six months. A Peloton Interactive Inc. Tread exercise machine Photographer: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg Google is giving its employees more flexibility to work from different locations or entirely from home, taking a more lenient policy as the company prepares for a return to office life. What you’ll need to know tomorrow Mandatory vaccination: Companies weigh giving workers ultimatums. Trump’s post-insurrection ban from Facebook will continue. Coronavirus cases rise in the most vaccinated nation on Earth. Meanwhile, Covid-19 spurs a 39% increased risk for diabetes. U.S. births at their lowest point since Jimmy Carter was president. Bloomberg Businessweek: How Bezos beat the National Enquirer. The pandemic was good for one thing, it turns out: butt implants.What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg DigitalWhile masks, plexiglass and empty conference rooms will alter the cubescape, employers remain invested in getting things back to normal—or at least as normal as possible—when workers return. But that won’t be easy. Covid-19’s mental and emotional damage will be felt in the workplace long after the disease has receded. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Like getting the Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters. The best in-depth reporting from Asia Pacific and beyond, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Sign up here for The Reading List. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more. |