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    Vaccine inequity will cost the world trillions of dollars, WHO Foundation warns

    The CEO of the WHO Foundation told CNBC that the global economy will lose “trillions of dollars” if more Covid-19 vaccines aren’t delivered worldwide.
    The World Health Organization has set a target for 70% of the global population to be vaccinated by mid-2022.

    The CEO of the WHO Foundation has told CNBC that the global economy will lose “trillions of dollars” if more Covid-19 vaccines aren’t delivered worldwide.
    Anil Soni, who became the Foundation’s first CEO in January 2021, said “the governments of Europe and the West have a clear obligation to donate excess doses and to put money on the table to buy the vaccines, the volumes necessary to deliver to 70% of the world’s population this year.”

    The World Health Organization has set a target for 70% of the global population to be vaccinated by mid-2022.
    Speaking in late February for this week’s episode of CNBC’s “Equity and Opportunity” on vaccine equity, Soni said it is a “moral imperative” to vaccinate the world against Covid.
    “We live in a world in which we see the effects of deep, structural generations-long inequity. This is an opportunity to do something very different and show that history can be corrected. That we can achieve the moral victory of an equitable response where everyone in the world, all of us have equal value, receives the same access to this life-saving technology,” Soni said.
    “But epidemiologically and economically, vaccine inequity is self-defeating, the numbers just make that clear. We’re going to lose trillions of dollars in the global economy if we don’t achieve high vaccine coverage, because what you’ll have in global supply chains is materials not able to come from the countries in which you have continued lockdowns, continued high rates of transmission of Covid-19.”

    Soni said that even with vaccines, the spread of the most recent variant, omicron, had been “breathtaking,” and if large populations of the world remain unvaccinated, future variants could develop which may be resistant to vaccinations.

    The WHO Foundation was established in 2020 to support the World Health Organization’s work in addressing the biggest global health challenges.

    Not enough progress

    Soni told CNBC that he was proud of the “tremendous progress” achieved through vaccines in the first two years of the Covid crisis. But he said the pandemic won’t be over until the 70% global target is met, and there hasn’t been enough progress on that front.
    Last week, the U.N. reported that while more than 10.5 billion vaccine doses had been administered globally, only about 13% of those in low-income countries had been vaccinated, compared with nearly 70% in high-income ones.
    “We have the ability to do it, we can make it happen, but we’ve got to act very differently in the next few months to achieve that target. We have to mobilize more resources, money to buy the vaccines, we have to share doses, and critically, we have to ensure effective delivery in countries around the world to go from the billion doses that have been delivered in low-income countries to hitting that 70% target,” Soni said.

    Fundraising campaign

    In 2021, the WHO Foundation launched the “Go Give One” fundraising campaign.
    The campaign encourages everyone to contribute $5, with 95% of the money going toward buying a single vaccine through the international initiative COVAX — co-led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and vaccine alliance Gavi, alongside delivery partner UNICEF.
    Soni said the campaign had raised $15 million so far, buying 3 million vaccines.
    He also said the sharing of manufacturing knowledge to produce vaccines is “critically important” in achieving vaccine equity.

    A shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from a plane at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 26, 2021.
    Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Images

    “Manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries, in the Americas, in Asia, in Africa, have the ability to make these products and they are ready to make them,” he said.
    “A number of organizations, including the World Health Organization, is facilitating the technology and the information transfer, but we need those companies in the West, in Europe, in the United States to cooperate and to see this as a win, to see this as an opportunity for them to invest in the type of capacity in these countries, in the manufacturing industry, that they simply can’t meet themselves.”

    Freedom through vaccinations

    When asked what he would say to those who are against receiving a vaccine, Soni said he was keen to engage in such conversations, ask about their concerns and provide more data and information on vaccine safety.
    “Many of the vaccines have received conditional approval, not full approval, that doesn’t mean they’re not effective. It means that there’s a regulatory process that requires a certain amount of data about the stability of a product on a shelf, to provide the full approval,” he said.
    With a number of countries scrapping all Covid restrictions recently, Soni warned that it’s necessary to protect that freedom through vaccinations.
    “We are in a moment in which we are feeling liberation and freedom. That’s wonderful. But we have to protect that and the way we protect that is by ensuring everyone is vaccinated,” he said. More

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    Volkswagen says high demand is helping its EVs turn a profit sooner than expected

    Several electric VW Group models, including the Porsche Taycan, are already sold out for 2022.
    High demand — and some help from Ford — will push VW’s EVs to profit parity with its internal-combustion models sooner than expected.
    Volkswagen moved into EVs early and is reaping the rewards: It’s already the biggest seller of EVs in Europe and was second in the U.S. behind Tesla last year.

    A technician fixes a VW sign in the assembly line of German carmaker Volkswagen’s electric ID. 3 car in Dresden, Germany, June 8, 2021.
    Matthias Rietschel | Reuters

    Volkswagen said Tuesday that several of its battery-electric models, including the Porsche Taycan, are already sold out for 2022 and that high consumer demand is helping its electric-car effort become as profitable as its internal-combustion lineup more quickly than expected.
    Volkswagen has worked for several years on an aggressive plan to transition to electric vehicles, aiming to have EVs account for half of its global production by 2030. While the plan isn’t expected to hit its full stride until the middle of this decade, it’s already bearing fruit. Volkswagen was the leading seller of EVs in Europe, with about 25% of the market. In the U.S., it was second behind Tesla, with about 7.5% share last year.

    Volkswagen’s share of China’s EV market is still relatively small, but it’s growing quickly. The group’s EV deliveries in the country jumped fourfold last year to nearly 93,000, and VW expects that total to double again in 2022.
    “We see better scale, we see better margins, we see high customer demand,” CFO Arno Antlitz told reporters during a call ahead of the company’s annual meeting on Tuesday. “Originally we thought it takes two to three years until we see the [profit] parity of ICE and battery-electric vehicles.”
    Part of that “better scale” is coming courtesy of rival Ford Motor Company. Ford and VW announced Monday that there will now be two electric Fords built on Volkswagen’s EV architecture for the European market, with production of the pair expected to total about 1.2 million vehicles over six years starting in 2023. That’s about twice as many as originally planned.
    Volkswagen and Ford have been collaborating on electric vehicles, self-driving and other big-ticket initiatives since 2019.

    Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

    In a separate update for investors ahead of the annual meeting, VW said that its next-generation EV platform is on track to launch in 2026 with a new VW-brand electric sedan code-named Trinity.

    The Trinity sedan will be built in a new advanced factory adjacent to VW’s headquarters campus in Wolfsburg, Germany. The new facility will use advanced production methods and will serve as a blueprint for the gradual conversion of VW plants worldwide to EV production.
    Last week, the company unveiled its ID. Buzz vehicle, an electric version of the iconic hippie-era microbus.
    VW is also expanding its global charging network. The company said it has a total of about 10,000 high-speed charging points operating in the U.S., China and Europe and it plans to boost that total to about 45,000 across the three regions by 2025. About 10,000 of those will be in the U.S., it said, operated under the Electrify America brand created as part of VW’s Dieselgate settlement.
    VW currently expects its overall deliveries, including internal combustion models, to increase between 5% and 10% in 2022. But CEO Herbert Diess acknowledged that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead it to alter that guidance. He said the company is moving some of its production out of Europe to North America and China in response to war-related supply-chain disruptions.

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    Dow jumps nearly 600 points, S&P 500 snaps 3-day losing streak as tech stocks bounce, oil prices slide

    The S&P 500 rose on Tuesday for its first gain in four days, as oil prices continued to drop further below $100 and a reading of wholesale inflation came in lighter than expected.
    The gains came as traders continued to eye the latest with ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine and China Covid lockdowns that could wreak havoc on tech supply chains. Investors are anticipating a big Federal Reserve monetary decision Wednesday, in which the central bank is expected to hike rates for the first time since 2018.

    The broad market index rose 2.1% to 4,262.45, though it remains more than 11% from its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 599.10 points, or 1.8%, to 33,544.34. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.9% to 12,948.62.
    CFRA chief investment strategist Sam Stovall said a volatile and confusing market that has fatigued investors was due for a relief rally, even if it’s just that.
    “Because this market has been so weak, so unconvincing since its all-time high on January 3, and because of intraday reversals, no one really knows what will end up being,” Stovall said. “But what is causing the market to be totally in the green today is it’s just getting tired of going straight down for such an extended period. So even if this were simply a relief rally, I think we are due for one.”
    Falling oil prices and inflation data are both catalysts for that rally, Stovall added. Additionally, with investors looking forward to the outcome of the Fed’s meeting, Stovall noted that the market remembers stocks tend to rise in the first, third and twelfth months after an initial rate increase.

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    “The market expects seven [rate] hikes in 2022. Given the sell-off in the commodity markets, there’s a little less fear of inflation, and when that’s the case, the natural inclination is to go toward the growthier sectors,” Julian Emanuel, Evercore ISI senior managing director of equity, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Tuesday.

    Tech stocks led the bounce after recent losses. Microsoft and Netflix each rose 3.8% after Wall Street analysts reiterated their overweight ratings. Oracle climbed 4.5%. Chipmakers climbed, with Nvidia 7.7% higher and Advanced Micro Devices up 6.9%.
    Disney and McDonald’s added 4% and 2.8%, respectively. Peloton jumped 11.9% after Bernstein initiated coverage of it with an outperform rating and said recent losses make this an “absurdly attractive” entry point for investors.

    Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

    Airline stocks got a boost after some major carriers raised their revenue outlooks. United and American each rose more than 9%, while Delta added 8.7%.
    Falling oil prices pushed up other travel stocks as well, including cruise lines, hotels, casino and gaming companies and travel booking site operators, which were among the top gainers in the S&P 500. The Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF gained about 2.7%.
    Meanwhile, the drop in oil prices put pressure on energy stocks. Chevron and Exxon each fell about 5%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was down about 3.7%, for its third straight negative day and its worst day since November.
    Oil prices continued their decline Tuesday. U.S. crude futures slid about 6.4% to settle at $96.44 per barrel, after topping $130 about a week ago. Meanwhile, the international Brent benchmark settled 6.5% lower at $99.91 per barrel.
    February’s surge in energy prices led wholesale goods prices to their biggest one-month jump on record, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The headline producer price index (PPI) rose 0.8% in February from the previous month. While that was slightly lower than the 0.9% estimated by Dow Jones, it still showed a 10% gain from the same time last year.
    However, core PPI, which excludes food, energy and trade services, rose just 0.2%. That was below the expectation of 0.6%.
    In Ukraine, the capital city of Kyiv announced a 35-hour curfew that begins at 8 p.m. local time following Russian missile strikes that hit several residential buildings in the city. Russia and Ukraine resumed talks Tuesday, following a fourth round of negotiations Monday. Meanwhile, Russia is approaching a series of deadlines to make payments on its debt.
    On Monday, United States officials held “intense” talks with China to discuss, among other things, concerns that Beijing may attempt to help Russia blunt global sanctions. The discussion followed reports that Moscow requested military equipment from China for its war in Ukraine.
    China is also facing its worst Covid outbreak since the height of the pandemic. Shenzhen, a major city in a key manufacturing hub in China, has shut down nonessential businesses and imposed city-wide testing, raising concern over the global economic recovery going forward.
    The Federal Reserve kicked off an important two-day meeting Tuesday, with investors expecting a quarter-point rate hike to be announced Wednesday. That would be just the beginning of the central bank’s unwinding of the massive economic aid it provided during the pandemic.
    Rising inflation is expected to be the focal point of the meeting, however. At the last update, in December, officials projected inflation would run at 2.7%. However, February’s core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s primary inflation gauge, indicated inflation is up 5.2% from a year ago.
    Policymakers will also update their outlook for rates as well as GDP, inflation and unemployment.

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    U.S. stock futures are flat ahead of Wednesday's Fed meeting

    Stock futures were flat in overnight trading after the major indexes rallied and oil prices tumbled below $100 a barrel ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting.
    Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 40 points, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

    The gains came ahead of a critical Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, where the agency is widely expected to raise rates by a quarter-point, the first hike since 2018. Watchers are also expecting the central bank to offer a new quarterly forecast that could indicate five or six more hikes this year.
    “My guess is it’s going to sound a little more hawkish than people want it to sound, and that’s going to be a little tough to digest, particularly in the fixed income markets,” David Zervos, chief market strategist at Jefferies told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “I think the equity market might digest it a little bit better, but it’s going to be a tough swallow.”
    The Fed is expected to announce an interest rate decision and economic projections at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, which will followed by a briefing from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
    Meanwhile, oil prices cooled off on Tuesday, dropping below $100 after topping a multiyear high of $130 earlier this month, while commodities such as gold, which have been volatile in recent days, fell 1.59%.
    The U.S. and global oil benchmarks both settled below $100 a barrel, with West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude falling 6.4% and 6.5%, respectively. The fallback put pressure on some energy stocks, including Exxon and Chevron, which sank about 6% and 5% on Tuesday.

    During regular trading on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 599 points, or 1.8%, while the S&P 500 jumped more than 2.1%, and broke a three-day losing streak. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose about 2.9%.
    “U.S. stocks are trading higher Tuesday as investors react positively to a ‘Goldilocks’ mix of economic reports (lower PPI and eroding Empire survey) and another sharp drop in oil prices — all suggesting that the path to sustained high inflation may be less certain than some think,” wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Chris Hussey in a note Tuesday.
    Tuesday’s market rally was broad-based, led by sharp gains among technology stocks. Microsoft rose nearly 4%, while chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices climbed roughly 8% and 7%. Peloton rose 12% after Bernstein initiated coverage of the stock with an “outperform” rating, and Coupa Software plummeted 19% on the back of a weaker-than-expected outlook.
    Investors continued to monitor the ongoing situation in Ukraine on Tuesday, as Kyiv announced a 35-hour curfew after Russian missile strikes hit some residential buildings. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden signed a government funding bill that included $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine.
    Some European leaders also announced they will visit Ukraine to meet with the country’s president and prime minister, while Russia is expected to default on its debt for the first time in decades as it nears a Wednesday deadline for two payments.
    Traders continued to keep an eye on the situation in China, where one of the country’s largest manufacturing hubs has shut down amid rising Covid-19 cases.
    Investors will be watching Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address Congress on Wednesday and are awaiting economic data, including the retail sales report for February.

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    Cramer says the stock market is unusually fragile, use rallies to raise cash

    Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

    Jim Cramer advised investors on Tuesday to use rallies as an opportunity to sell and better handle volatility in the currently tumultuous market.
    “When things look really horrible and we’ve been down for days and days and days, you don’t need to despair, you just need to be more clever,” the “Mad Money” host said.

    Jim Cramer advised investors on Tuesday to use rallies as an opportunity to sell and better handle volatility in the currently tumultuous market.
    “When things look really horrible and we’ve been down for days and days and days, you don’t need to despair, you just need to be more clever. Raise some cash on the up move, and steel yourself for the next decline if either oil prices” or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine becomes more aggressive, the “Mad Money” host said.

    Cramer’s comments come after the markets trended upwards on Tuesday after weeks of being battered by Wall Street’s fears of the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring inflation and Covid outbreaks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%, while the Nasdaq increased 2.9%. The broad market index gained 2.1%.
    Tech stocks led the rally, and airline stocks rose after major carriers reported upbeat revenue outlooks. Oil prices fell to below $100 a barrel after topping $130 around a week earlier.
    “I heard that the whole rally [on Tuesday] was short-covering and could be dismissed, we could go right back down tomorrow if the Fed says the wrong thing. There’s some truth to that. This market’s about as fragile as any I’ve seen in years,” Cramer said, referring to the Federal Reserve’s expected announcement of a quarter-percentage-point rate hike following the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday.
    However, he added that investors should remain calm as the market remains volatile instead of fearing downturns — and use spikes in the market, even when they are short-lived, to strategically trim their holdings.
    “We’re constantly being reminded that this market goes down, not in a stair-step fashion, but in a couple of days’ decline followed by a spike … I think this spike is still a good chance to reposition,” Cramer said.

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    Cramer's lightning round: Bausch Health is a buy

    Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

    It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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    SoFi Technologies Inc: “[CEO] Anthony Noto is not a loser, he is a winner and he will get this thing going. It is very low at $8 and yet I like it.”

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    Zim Integrated Shipping: “It’s just got a lot of earnings power … I thought that the rates would’ve gone down by now, and they’re not, and I think Zim’s winning.”

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    Zebra Technologies Corp: “The stock has been one day down after another. It does not make sense to me. The company had a good quarter.”

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    C3.ai Inc: “I’m not recommending it. … Again, these companies that don’t make money, people want nothing to do with.”

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    QuantumScape Corp: “There’s dozens of companies in this same space, and I just don’t think QuantumScape fits my depiction of companies that make something for a profit and return some to you.”

    Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Bausch Health.
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    Charts suggest the S&P 500 is poised for a short-term bounce, says Jim Cramer

    Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

    Technical analyst Carolyn Boroden thinks the S&P 500 may soon see a short-term rally, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday.
    There’s a “real possibility that that bounce started today,” the “Mad Money” host said.
    However, Boroden views the rally more as an opportunity to raise cash and reposition a portfolio, he said.

    Technical analyst Carolyn Boroden thinks the S&P 500 may soon see a short-term rally, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday.
    “The charts, as interpreted by Carolyn Boroden, suggest that the S&P 500 is poised to give us a couple of days bounce over the next week-and-a-half, with a real possibility that that bounce started today,” the “Mad Money” host said.

    “However, she also believes this is relatively short-term in nature — not a reason to buy stocks, but maybe a really good reason to reposition and get into areas that are more defensive and less dangerous,” Cramer added. “So, lighten up into this rally.”
    Boroden predicted this swing after finding a significant number of Fibonacci timing cycles coming due between Monday and Thursday, according to Cramer. She and other market technicians use the Fibonacci strategy to spot patterns that can signal when a stock or other security could shift directions. 
    Below is a daily chart of the S&P 500 featuring the Fibonacci timing cycles that Boroden has identified.

    Arrows pointing outwards

    Boroden identified 8 Fibonacci timing cycles coming due between yesterday and Thursday.

    The chart shows the eight Fibonacci timing cycles within a four-day stretch. “To put it in perspective, when she’s normally trying to spot potential lows or highs, she starts taking these timing cycles seriously once there are three or more in close proximity to each other,” Cramer said.
    Cramer said that while Boroden believes this means the market could find a temporary bottom, other parts of her technical analysis suggest there could be more downside down the road.

    “Basically, the S&P still hasn’t fallen low enough for the chart to be screaming ‘bottom,’ and overall she thinks the technical picture is still pretty bleak,” Cramer said.
    He added: “Boroden says there’s good reason to expect an intermediate-term low this week, and that’s what may have happened starting today.”
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    Cyberattacks are on the rise as hackers use Russia-Ukraine war as a distraction, CrowdStrike CEO says

    Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

    Online hackers have been more active since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine in late February, according to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz.
    “Everyone is looking at nation-state actors, everyone is talking about Ukraine and Russia, as they should be,” he said.
    “But the e-crime actors are looking at that as a distraction and ramping up their activities and stealing more money as the days go on,” he added.

    Online hackers have been more active since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine in late February, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday.
    In an interview on “Mad Money,” the cybersecurity executive said shadowy digital actors have sought to take advantage of the on-the-ground military conflict.

    “E-crime is actually up since the war in Ukraine started,” Kurtz contended, leaning on the observations of CrowdStrike’s threat intelligence unit, which he said provides visibility from 176 countries.
    “Everyone is looking at nation-state actors, everyone is talking about Ukraine and Russia, as they should be. It’s a terrible situation,” Kurtz said. “But the e-crime actors are looking at that as a distraction and ramping up their activities and stealing more money as the days go on.”
    Kurtz also appeared on “Mad Money” on Feb. 24, after Russian troops moved into Ukraine to start what’s become nearly three weeks of deadly fighting. At the time, Kurtz told Cramer he’d been hearing from executives across the financial industry who expressed concerns about Russian cyberattacks in response to sanctions on the Kremlin and banks in the country.
    Kurtz suggested that’s still the case, and industry players are mindful of it.
    “Right now, given the geopolitical environment, there is a big focus on the financial services industry expecting some level of retaliation based upon the sanctions we’ve implemented against Russia,” he said.

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