Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via a teleconference call on August 11. (Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty ImagesRussia has the world’s first approved vaccine for Covid-19.
The news is grabbing attention, but there are a few caveats. The vaccine, apparently, hasn’t gone through the equivalent of Phase 3 trials.
Typically drugs and vaccine approvals go through three stages. Phase 1 trials determine safety. Phase 2 is about dosing—how much to take. And Phase 3 determines effectiveness. The speed with which the vaccine was developed leaves some questions about efficacy.
Russia, for its part, is comfortable. “According to the results, the vaccine showed high efficacy and safety. All volunteers developed high titers of antibodies to COVID-19, while none of them had serious complications of immunization,” said Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko in his agency’s news release.
Investors want to believe. The news has global stock markets trading higher. Overseas markets are up more than 2% Tuesday morning, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures have gained more than 1%. The S&P 500 could hit a record high.
It’s hard to understate the importance of a vaccine. The stock market has recovered but the U.S. unemployment rate remains above 10%, and life can’t return to normal until one exists.
That the market would move so much on so little only shows how desperate the world is for effective treatment from the virus.
—Al Root
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S&P 500 Inches Near Record High
After a several-months-long detour amid a global pandemic, the S&P 500 index is back near a record close.
- The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 3360.5 on Monday, up for its seventh straight trading day. Its prior record was 3386.15, set on Feb. 19. S&P 500 futures on Tuesday are up 0.6% to 3371.
- At only 120 days since the previous record, it would be the fastest recovery from a bear market to a record close, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The current record is 310 trading days, from Feb. 9, 1966 to May 4, 1967, and the average recovery is 1,542 days.
- The bounce back for stocks came despite a number of states still grappling with rising cases of Covid-19 and fears from experts that a second wave in the fall could be complicated when combined with the seasonal flu.
What’s Next: With such optimism baked in, a worse-than-expected spike in Covid-19 cases, and an uneven recovery in consumer spending could put a damper on the run.
—Connor Smith
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College Football Season on the Verge of Collapse
This year’s college football season is in danger of collapsing after the Mid-American Conference announced Monday that it was calling off all games for the fall, a first for a top-tier college conference.
- After the MAC’s decision was announced, the Big Ten said it was postponing its planned move to full-contact practices.
- Some college football players are publicly voicing their concerns about the coming season, with athletes from the Pac-12 and Big Ten writing open letters with health, safety, and antiracism demands to their conferences.
- The Pac-12 and the Big Ten, along with the Southeastern Conference, the Atlantic Coast, and the Big 12, form the so-called Power 5 conferences whose teams compete at the highest level of college football.
- ESPN and Sports Illustrated have reported that the Power 5 conferences are holding meetings to discuss canceling their seasons.
What’s Next: Football programs are huge moneymakers for universities across the country. Nebraska’s head coach Scott Frost estimated that his program brings in $80 to $120 million a year for the university. If the Big Ten cancels the season, Frost has suggested that Nebraska may make its own schedule outside the conference.
—Ben Walsh
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McDonald’s Sues Its Former CEO
McDonald’s is suing former CEO Steve Easterbrook after an internal investigation found evidence that he allegedly had sexual relationships with three employees, destroyed the evidence, and lied about it to the board. The fast-food giant is seeking to strip Easterbrook of a severance package worth up to $42 million.
- In November 2019, McDonald’s fired Easterbook for having a relationship with an employee. At the time, he told investigators hired by the company that the relationship was not physical and only involved consensual text and video messages. Following the investigation, the board fired him without cause.
- Because he was fired without cause, Easterbrook received his severance package. McDonald’s said the company did not have enough evidence to justify firing the CEO for cause at the time, which would have denied him those payments. It’s rare for executives to have their severance packages clawed back.
- Easterbook was not accused of sexual harassment, but his dismissal came in the wake of the Me Too movement and a year after workers in 10 cities walked out over the company’s failure to address such complaints.
- Easterbrook has not publicly responded to the lawsuit, but said in November through his lawyer that he “acknowledges his error in judgment.” He became CEO in March 2015 and was credited with turning the company around after it posted poor financial results.
What’s Next: McDonald’s is taking this unusual move amid a climate of increased scrutiny over corporate culture. The company’s Chief People Officer Heidi Capozzi told employees in an email that the lawsuit shows the company will hold any employees accountable for wrongdoing, The Wall Street Journal reported.
—Ben Walsh
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Study Finds Almost 100,000 Children Were Infected With Covid-19
In a two week period at the end of July, 97,000 children across the U.S. were diagnosed with Covid-19, according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association. The data comes as schools across the country prepare for radically altered reopenings.
- In New York City, which has the nation’s largest school district, 74%—or about 700,000 children—are planning to participate in in-person classes this fall, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. The city previously said that in-person instruction will take place two to three days a week with remote learning the remainder of the time.
- No other large public school district in the country has announced plans for in-person instruction in the fall, with districts in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Diego opting for fully-remote classes.
- Back-to-school season has already faced headwinds. Days after a student at a Georgia high school was suspended for posting a photo of unmasked teens in a hallway, the school shut down in-person instruction because six students and three staffers tested positive for Covid-19. Masks aren’t required in Georgia schools.
What’s Next: Successfully reopening schools requires a relatively low infection rate and a robust test and trace program, two things absent in much of the U.S. right now. Instead, many American kids—and parents—look set for more online learning.
—Ben Walsh
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Belarus Protests Continue Against Contested Presidential Vote
Clashes between police and demonstrators occurred in several Belarus cities on Monday and Tuesday after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest against Sunday’s presidential election, which saw sitting President Alexander Lukashenko re-elected to a sixth term by more than 80% of the vote, according to the contested official count.
- Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who earlier said she didn’t accept the results of an election and was compromised by multiple instances of fraud, said Tuesday she had taken refuge in neighboring Lithuania, a member of the European Union.
- Lukashenko, 65, often deemed “Europe’s last dictator,” has ruled Belarus since 1994 and systematically suppressed political opposition and freedom of speech. Many members of Tikhanovskaya’s staff were jailed in the days before the election.
- The Belarus strongman has always benefited from the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, although he took pains to insist during the recent campaign that he would not hesitate to stand up to Moscow.
- Several members of the European Parliament have called for the EU to take sanctions against Belarus for its violation of human rights and political freedoms.
What’s Next: Moscow has been silent since Sunday’s election but could fear that the Belarus unrest evolves toward a situation similar as that of Ukraine in 2004 and in 2014, when protests against a pro-Russian president led to a change of government.
—Pierre Briançon
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—Newsletter edited by Anita Hamilton, Mary Romano, Matt Bemer, Ben Levisohn
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August 11, 2020 at 06:54PM
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Russia’s Coronavirus Vaccine Isn’t All That. The Stock Market Doesn’t Care. - Barron's
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