Dow finished up 16 (below early highs) lower, advancers a little ahead of decliners & NAZ gained 48. The MLP index remained in the 225s & the REIT index was off 1+ to the 435s. Junk bond funds were a little lower & Treasuries saw aggressive buying. Oil was lower in the 118s & gold fell 6 to 1843 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
Novavax's (NVAX) Covid-19
vaccine will face the scrutiny of the Food & Drug Administration’s
independent immunization experts this week, a crucial step on the path
toward US regulatory authorization 2 years after the company received taxpayer funding to develop the shots. The
committee of vaccine experts will weigh the safety of its shots & their effectiveness at preventing Covid during an all-day public
meeting tomorrow. If the committee endorses the vaccine, the FDA will
almost certainly give the green light for doses to ship from NVAX's
manufacturing partner the Serum Institute of India to the US. The
company's shots have been authorized in 41 countries outside the US,
including Australia, Canada & the EU. “We
feel very confident in the data that we have submitted,” said spokeswoman Silvia Taylor. “If prior success is any indication for
future success, we feel really good,” Taylor added. When
the pandemic began in 2020, NVAX had 100 employees & no
manufacturing capacity, said chief
commercial officer John Trizzino. Today, the company has the capacity to produce 2B doses per year, Trizzino said. The shots are based on protein technology used for decades in hepatitis B & HPV vaccines. Pfizer (PFE) & Moderna (MRNA) shots, on the other hand, were the first vaccines using messenger RNA
technology to receive FDA approval. NVAX believes it can reach people
who have not got vaccinated yet, because they would prefer to receive a
shot based on technology that has a longer track record, Taylor said. The stock went up 2.78 (6%).
If you would like to learn more about NVAX, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/NVAX?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Novavax faces high-stakes FDA review to decide fate of its Covid shots in U.S.
Abbott Nutrition (ABT), a Dividend Aristocrat, resumed baby formula production at its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, a move toward addressing a nationwide shortage. The
company has been given the green light from the Food & Drug
Administration after meeting “initial requirements” as part of a May 16 consent decree. The
company said it will restart the production of EleCare, a formula for
children who struggle to digest other products, along with other
specialty & metabolic formulas. ABT
aims for an initial EleCare product release around Jun 20 & is
working to meet guidelines to resume production of Similac & other
formulas. “We understand the urgent need for formula and our top
priority is getting high-quality, safe formula into the hands of
families across America,” a spokesperson for ABT said. “We will ramp production as quickly as we can while meeting all
requirements.“ While supply problems started early in
the Covid-19 pandemic, issues worsened in part due to the Feb
closure of the Michigan plant amid scrutiny over contamination. FDA
investigations began after 4 infants were hospitalized with
bacterial infections from drinking its powdered formula. 2 of the
babies died. “The FDA is continuing to work diligently to ensure
the safe resumption of production of infant formula at Abbott
Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility,” the FDA said. The stock slid back 22¢.
If you would like to learn more about ABT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/ABT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Abbott Nutrition restarts baby formula production in reopened Michigan plant
Ukraine’s Pres Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had visited 2 towns near the front in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are concentrated. He also visited Zaporizhzhia, which is partly under Russian control. The UK, meanwhile, said it is sending Ukraine multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 50 miles away. The move has been coordinated with the US, which announced a similar military aid package last week. It comes after Russian Pres Vladimir Putin issued a broad warning to the West that his military will strike new targets if the West starts supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles. Ukraine's pres is asking for a secure corridor for Ukrainian vessels to be able to ship out grain & prevent food shortages in Africa & Asia. Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is in talks with countries like Turkey & the US. about security guaranties for Ukrainian ships. “It is important for us that there is a security corridor ... that the fleet of this or that country ensures the shipping of the grain,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy adds that “if now we have 22-25 million tons blocked there, in the fall we might have 75 (million tons).” “What are we going to do?” he asked. “That’s why we can’t do without the ports.” A federal judge ordered the Dept of Justice to seize 2 private planes owned by Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch & ally of Vladimir Putin. The US in a charging letter accused Abramovich of violating US export rules by re-exporting a Gulfstream G650ER & a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to Russia. The Biden administration tightened those regulations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in order to limit the Kremlin's access to equipment that could aid its military campaign.
Zelenskyy seeks a corridor for grain shipments; U.S. moves to seize planes from Abramovich
The price of gold lost its grip on earlier gain to settle lower, after attempting a rebound from its worst session in 3 weeks on Fri. Gold futures for Aug closed lower, slumping 0.3% to settle at $1843 an ounce, down $6 on the day, & about $35 from $1808, the lowest
settlement level of the year so far, which was reached on May 13. The
yellow metal booked a weekly loss last week after 2 straight weeks of
gains. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rate climbed back above 3% today, but it still was below its
one-year high of 3.124% touched on May 6. Higher yields can weigh on nonyielding assets like gold.
Gold closes with a back-to-back loss, extending Friday’s decline
Oil futures saw choppy trade to start the week, ending slightly lower after pulling back from early gains that saw the US & global benchmarks trade above $120 a barrel after Saudi Arabia raised crude prices. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Jul fell 37¢ to settle at $118.50 a barrel after trading at a session high of $121. WTI on Fri closed at the highest for a most actively traded contract since Mar 8. Aug Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 21¢ to close at $119.51 a barrel. Saudi Arabia yesterday raised the official selling price, or OSP, of its Arab light crude to northwest Europe, the Mediterranean & Asia. The move comes after a decision last week by OPEC+ to boost output by 648K barrels a day in Jul & Aug failed to put a lid on rising crude prices. OPEC+ had been raising output targets in monthly increments of 432K barrels a day as it unwinds cuts implemented after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but has repeatedly failed to hit them. The OPEC+ increase was widely characterized as insufficient to make up for expected losses in Russian output in coming months as embargoes & sanctions aimed at the country’s energy exports in response to its invasion of Ukraine take hold.
Oil stalls after briefly topping $120 a barrel; natural gas soars to nearly 14-year high
Dow Jones Industrials
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