Pfizer and Moderna’s booster recommendation, Malboro maker invests in inhalers, Tencent beats on profit
Julie Hyman breaks down Wednesday’s business headlines, including: the Biden administration expected to push for Pfizer and Moderna to move forward with a booster shot program for the fully vaccinated as the concerns over the Delta variant persist, Marlboro’s parent company Philip Morris International buying 22.61% of an asthma inhaler firm called Vectura, and Tencent topping estimates as profits saw a 29% jump in the second quarter.
Video Transcript
JULIE HYMAN: More Americans may be getting COVID vaccine booster shots under a plan expected to be announced by the Biden administration. According to multiple reports, the government will recommend boosters eight months after the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the FDA still examining data on whether a Johnson & Johnson booster will be needed as well. Boosters are already recommended for immunocompromised individuals.
Cigarette maker Philip Morris is aiming for an unlikely acquisition, the company seeking to buy Vectura. It's a British maker of asthma drugs for about 1 and 1/2 billion dollars. Phillip Morris has said that 22.6% of Vectura's shareholders have tendered their stock. It needs the backing of just over 50%. Meanwhile, health groups and anti-smoking advocates have urged shareholders to reject the deal.
The ripple effect from China's tech industry crackdown hit $0.10 revenue last quarter. Sales were up 20%, but that was the slowest pace since 2019 to about $21.3 billion. That's in line with estimates. Net income did beat estimates, even as Tencent spending increased. Tencent itself has not been the target of probes from Beijing, but scrutiny of others, of course, Myles, hit Chinese stocks broadly.
- And seeing a little bit of a bounce in some of those names today-- DD shares, however, under some pressure.