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New research suggests that a lack of exposure to two common viruses during the Covid-19 pandemic may have increased the chances of children becoming severely ill with acute hepatitis.
Two research teams said that lockdown restrictions could have led some infants to miss out on early immunity to both adenovirus and the newly linked adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2).
Crucially, both teams said they found no evidence of a direct link between the spike in hepatitis cases and SARS-CoV-2 infection, the cause of Covid-19.

More than 1,000 children in 35 countries have developed an unidentified type of severe acute hepatitis — or liver inflammation — since the first case was reported in the January 2022.
Yanukit Raiva | Eyeem | Getty Images

Scientists in the U.K. say they have identified the likely cause of a recent outbreak of mysterious liver disease afflicting young children around the world.
New research suggests that a lack of exposure to two common viruses during the Covid-19 pandemic may have increased the chances of children becoming severely ill with acute hepatitis.

In studies published Tuesday, two research teams from University College London and the University of Glasgow said that lockdown restrictions could have led some infants to miss out on early immunity to both adenovirus and the newly linked adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2).
Crucially, both teams said they found no evidence of a direct link between the spike in hepatitis cases and SARS-CoV-2 infection, the cause of Covid-19.

Coinfection of viruses

More than 1,000 children in 35 countries have developed an unidentified type of severe acute hepatitis — or liver inflammation — since the first case was reported in January.

The majority of cases have been in children aged five years old or younger, though diagnoses have been detected in children aged up to 16 years.
Adenovirus, which typically causes mild cold or flu-like illness, was previously believed to be partly responsible for the mysterious outbreak, as it was the most commonly found virus in samples from affected children.

However, the new research indicated that adeno-associated virus 2, which normally causes no illness and cannot replicate without a “helper” virus such as adenovirus or herpesvirus, was present in 96% of cases of unknown hepatitis examined across both studies.

A mystery solved?

Researchers now say that coinfection with the two viruses — AAV2 and an adenovirus, or less commonly the herpesvirus HHV6 — could offer the best explanation for the recent outbreak.
“While we still have some unanswered questions about exactly what led to this spike in acute hepatitis, we hope these results can reassure parents concerned about Covid-19 as neither teams have found any direct link with SARS-CoV-2 infection,” Professor Judith Breuer, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, said in the report.

Typically, children gain exposure — and immunity — to adenoviruses and other common illnesses during their early childhood years. However, pandemic restrictions largely limited that early exposure.
Eric Lalmand | Afp | Getty Images

The findings add to theories among some health experts that Covid lockdowns have reduced public immunity to a number of common illnesses. The researchers added there was no link to coronavirus vaccines.
The two studies were conducted independently and simultaneously using U.K. samples. Dr. Sofia Morfopoulou, professor at UCL’s GOS Institute of Child Health, said further research was now needed to compare their findings with cases of acute hepatitis identified in other countries.
“International collaborations to further investigate and elucidate the role of AAV2 and co-infecting viruses in pediatric unexplained hepatitis in patients from different countries are now needed,” she said.

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SMALL BUSINESS PLAYBOOK 2022
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A record 27.2% of total federal contracting funds were awarded to small businesses in fiscal 2021, according to just-released data from the Small Business Administration.
While more dollars ($154.2 billion) and a higher percentage of federal work went to Main Street, a multi-year decline in the total number of small businesses to win government contracts continues.
In 2010, there were 125,000 small businesses that benefited, but now that’s down to a little over 71,000 firms, and the government continues to fall short on its goals for women and minority businesses.

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 3: Seen through the window of Maria Empanada on South Broadway, Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman does an interview with a local television station on May 3, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.
Rj Sangosti/medianews Group/the Denver Post Via Getty Images | Denver Post | Getty Images

The federal government awarded $154.2 billion to small businesses in fiscal year 2021, an $8 billion increase from the previous fiscal year, according to data from the Small Business Administration released Tuesday.
That’s a record 27.2% of total federal contracting funds, exceeding the government’s goal of 23%.

“We are excited to see that more dollars and a larger percentage are going to small businesses,” said SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman, adding that several of the changes President Biden has announced since taking office are starting to take hold. These efforts are aimed at leveling the playing field for small businesses competing for federal contracts, an area where many have struggled.
Still, there’s work to be done. The number of small businesses receiving prime contracts fell again in fiscal 2021, continuing a multi-year trend. The most recent data show that 71,441 small businesses received contracts, down 5.7% from 75,726 in fiscal year 2020.  
By contrast, about 125,000 small businesses contracted with the federal government in fiscal year 2010, according to a report by The National Equity Atlas, produced by PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI) that used SBA data.
Small business advocates cite several reasons for the difficulty small businesses face in procuring government contracts. Part of the problem is due to competition from larger, more established businesses that have more experience, said Shane McCall, equity partner at Koprince McCall Pottroff who works with small businesses. There can also be procedural headaches and statutory requirements that prevent some businesses from applying in the first place, he said.
The federal government’s bonding requirements, in particular, tend to disproportionately impact disadvantaged business enterprises, said Judith Dangerfield, a senior fellow at PolicyLink, a national research and action institute focused on advancing economic and social equity. These business owners must overcome the same bias — the notion that race equals risk — that they face in banking and finance, she said. “As a result, bonding has been a barrier to participation for DBE firms for decades,” she said.

The best federal agencies for small business contracts
Guzman said she is encouraged by the positive developments in the past fiscal year. Notably, 21 of the 24 agencies monitored by the SBA received an “A+” or “A” rating on its scorecard.
The 11 agencies to receive an “A+” grade are: The Department of Commerce, The Department of Homeland Security, The Department of Labor, The Department of State, The Department of the Interior, The Environmental Protection Agency, The General Services Administration, The National Science Foundation, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, The Office of Personnel Management and The Small Business Administration.
Ten agencies received an “A” grade: The Agency for International Development, The Department of Agriculture, The Department of Defense, The Department of Education, The Department of Energy, The Department of Justice, The Department of Transportation, The Department of Veterans Affairs, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Social Security Administration.   
Government goals for women and minority businesses not met
Still, it’s by no means a perfect system, especially for women-owned small businesses and those located in historically underutilized business zones (HUBZones). The women-owned small businesses federal contracting goal has been met just twice since it was established in 1994 and the HUBZone goal has never been met, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon wrote in a recent op-ed for CNBC in which he voiced the bank’s support for the first reauthorization by Congress of the SBA in over two decades to provide it with more ability to support small business.
In 2021, women-owned small businesses received $26.2 billion in federal contracts, representing 4.63% of the fiscal year 2021 total eligible dollars, the SBA said. The goal was 5%.
HUBZone small businesses, meanwhile, received a historic $14.3 billion in federal contract awards, translating into 2.53% of the fiscal year 2021 total eligible dollars. It’s the highest level in about 10 years, Guzman said, but still falls short of the government’s 3% statutory goal. 
While the agency didn’t meet these goals, Guzman said “they are still on the horizon.”
For women-owned businesses, SBA has increased the number of certified firms to nearly 6,000 from about 1,000. It has also expanded the NAICS codes, the classification system used by the government for business categories, for which women-owned businesses can receive set-aside awards. More than 92% of federal spending is covered by NAICS codes eligible for WOSB (Women Owned Small Businesses) set-aside awards, according to the SBA.
The SBA is also continuing to work on helping HUBZone businesses compete for federal contracts. In 2020, the agency simplified rules to help these businesses compete more effectively. Guzman said the agency aims to do “expanded outreach and make sure more businesses know about the simplified rules.”
Helping small businesses obtain more federal contracts has been a goal of President Biden. Notably, small disadvantaged business spending reached 11% for the first time, according to the new SBA data. The target is to hit 15% of federal contracts by 2025.
White House reforms for Main Street
Late last year, the White House announced key reforms to promote more equitable buying practices. One example is the effort to reform the federal government’s use of “category management,” which has contributed to the consolidation of contracting dollars, said Eliza McCullough, an associate at PolicyLink. The practice allows federal agencies to buy contracts as an organized entity, rather than as thousands of independent buyers. This helps to eliminate redundant buying choices, but an unintended result is that small, disadvantaged businesses receive a proportionally lower share of contracts, she said.
Reforms to mitigate the inequities include giving agencies automatic “credit” under category management for all awards made to small, disadvantaged businesses and strengthening the voice for small business equity considerations in category management governance, McCullough said.
“Along with increased investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions that serve communities of color to uplift the next generation of Black-, Latinx-, and Tribal-owned small businesses, these reforms democratize access to federal contracts and foster inclusive business development,” McCullough said. More

On Wed., July 27, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is holding a hearing with the CEOs of firearm manufacturers Daniel Defense, Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. on the topic of gun violence in America, with a special focus on the sales and marketing of assault rifles.
The hearing comes amid the resurging debate over restrictions on guns following the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, and most recently, in Highland Park, Illinois.

While the debate usually tends to focus on firearm production, distribution and consumerism as avenues for intervention, it seems like some of that attention may be going to marketing now.
Although there is no federal regulation on how guns are advertised, many top media companies have strict policies against ads that promote or sell weapons. Yet firearm companies and influencers are able to post some content across social media.
Advocates for stricter firearm laws believe limiting the marketing of assault weapons could translate to fewer gun-related deaths. Should the U.S. take a bigger stance on regulating them?
Watch the video to find out more.

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Coke reported higher revenue that topped analysts’ expectations on higher pricing and an increase in global sales volume.
Coke and its rival PepsiCo are both facing higher costs for key goods, like aluminum.

A woman is drinking Coca-Cola near Playacar Beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Coca-Cola on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings that topped expectations as the beverage giant’s sales at restaurants, theaters and other venues recovered from the pandemic.
Here’s what the company reported, versus what Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected:

Adjusted earnings per share: 70 cents, versus 67 cents expected
Adjusted revenue: $11.3 billion versus $10.56 billion expected

The Atlanta-based maker of Sprite, Dasani and Minute Maid said it now expects organic revenue growth of 12% to 13% for the full year, up from its previous guidance for growth of 7% to 8%. But it noted that commodity price inflation is expected to be higher than previously forecast, and stuck by its outlook for comparable earnings per share to grow 5% to 6% from a year ago.
For the three months ended July 1, net income was $1.91 billion, or 44 cents per share. A year ago, it was $2.62 billion, or 61 cents per share.
Coca-Cola said its revenue in the second-quarter increased 12% from a year ago on higher pricing and an increase in global case volume, which was driven by recovery in its away-from-home business. Before the pandemic, Coca-Cola generated about half of its revenue from away-from-home occasions, like soda purchases at movie theaters or restaurants.
The company has raised prices to manage higher costs on freight, high fructose corn syrup and aluminum. But CEO James Quincey said in April that consumers won’t swallow inflation endlessly.
Earlier in July, rival PepsiCo reported organic sales growth of 13% during its second quarter, fueled largely by higher prices for its snacks and drinks. Pepsi executives said that they expect inflation to worsen in the second half of the year.
Shares of Coke were up about 1% at $62.79 in pre-market trading.

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The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, through which Russian natural gas has been flowing to Germany since 2011, will be shut down for around 10 days for scheduled maintenance work.
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Natural gas prices are surging around the world as scorching temperatures stoke demand for the fuel, and as Europe’s push to move away from Russian fuel roils global energy markets.
U.S. natural gas futures surged more than 11% at one point on Wednesday to $9.75 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), the highest level since July 2008. The contract later pulled back slightly, and traded at $9.36 per MMBtu at 9 a.m. on Wall Street for a gain of 7.3%.

Natural gas is now up more than 77% for the month, putting it on track for the best month going back to the contract’s inception in 1990.
“Although the magnitude and speed of recent natural gas price gains point to contributing non-fundamental market dynamics, supportive fundamentals are nonetheless the primary driver,” EBW Analytics Group wrote in a note to clients.
“Fundamentally, scorching hot weather is the predominant bullish driver,” the firm added.
The contract for August delivery expires Wednesday, which is heightening volatility ahead of the roll. Volume is typically thin ahead of expiration, which means that individual trades can lead to outsized market moves.

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Still, the contract for September delivery gained more than 7% on Tuesday to trade around $9.21 per MMBtu.

In Europe, Dutch TTF natural gas futures jumped 10% to 194.50 euros per megawatt-hour. The move follows a 10% gain on Monday after Gazprom said it would further reduce flows through the vital Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
Beginning Wednesday, the pipeline will operate at just 20% of its capacity. Gazprom has said the cuts are thanks to turbine maintenance.
“This is not the end of Russia’s weaponization of natural gas flows, in our view, and there remain few near-term alternatives for even current reduced flows to the EU – lending [to] ongoing upside price risks,” RBC wrote last week in a note to clients.

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European Union countries on Tuesday reached a deal to voluntarily reduce gas consumption by 15% starting next month. In an emergency, the suggested cuts would become mandatory.
“The purpose of the gas demand reduction is to make savings ahead of winter in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia that is continuously using energy supplies as a weapon,” the bloc said in a statement.
U.K. natural gas futures surged 11.7% on Tuesday.

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The IMF now expects the world economy to grow 3.2% in 2022 before slowing to a 2.9% GDP rate in 2023 — marking a downgrade of 0.4 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively, from April.
The Washington-based institute said the revised outlook indicated that the downside risks outlined in its earlier report were now materializing.
Those include soaring global inflation, China’s slowdown and the war in Ukraine.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its global growth projections for 2022 and 2023, dubbing the world’s economic outlook “gloomy and more uncertain.”
The IMF now expects the world economy to grow 3.2% this year, before slowing further to a 2.9% GDP rate in 2023. The revisions mark a downgrade of 0.4 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively, from its April projections.

The Washington-based institute said the revised outlook indicated that the downside risks outlined in its earlier report were now materializing. Among those challenges are soaring global inflation, a worse-than-expected slowdown in China and the ongoing fallout from the war in Ukraine.
“A tentative recovery in 2021 has been followed by increasingly gloomy developments in 2022,” the report said.
“Several shocks have hit a world economy already weakened by the pandemic: higher-than-expected inflation worldwide — especially in the United States and major European economies — triggering tighter financial conditions; a worse-than-anticipated slowdown in China, reflecting COVID19 outbreaks and lockdowns; and further negative spillovers from the war in Ukraine,” it added.
The anticipated slowdown would mark the first quarterly contraction in global real GDP since 2020. A “plausible” but less likely alternative scenario could see global growth fall to around 2.6% in 2022 and 2.0% in 2023, the IMF said, putting global growth in the bottom 10% of outcomes since 1970.
The World Bank last month slashed its 2022 global growth outlook to 2.9% from an earlier estimate of 4.1%, citing similar macroeconomic pressures.

The U.S., China, India lead downgrades

Worsening growth prospects in the U.S., China and India drove the IMF’s downward revisions.
The U.S.’s GDP outlook was lowered 1.4 percentage points to 2.3%, driven be weaker-than-expected growth in the first half of 2022, reduced household purchasing power and tightening monetary policy.
China’s economy was seen growing 1.1 percentage points short of previous estimates, following extended Covid lockdowns and a deepening real estate crisis. The world’s second-largest economy is now expected to grow 3.3% in 2022 — its lowest clip in four decades, barring the initial fallout from the Covid-19 crisis in 2020.

The IMF lowered its global growth outlook in July on the back of soaring global inflation, a worse-than-expected slowdown in China and the ongoing fallout from the war in Ukraine, which is fueling a food and energy crisis.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

India’s forecast was cut 0.8 percentage points to 7.4%, largely due to less favorable external conditions and more rapid policy tightening.
Meanwhile, the euro zone’s outlook was lowered 0.2 percentage points to 2.6%, though the IMF said greater fallout from the war in Ukraine was likely to hit further in 2023, particularly in the major economies of Germany, France and Spain.
Russia’s economy contracted less than expected in the second quarter despite wide-reaching economic sanctions over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the IMF said. Its 2022 projection was revised up 2.5 percentage points, though its estimated growth rate remains negative at -6.0%.

Global inflation continues to rise

It comes as inflation continues to track higher through 2022, led by rising food and energy prices.
Global inflation is now forecast to hit 6.6% in advanced economies and 9.5% in emerging market and developing economies this year — an upward revision of 0.9 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively.
With rising prices fueling a global cost-of-living crisis, the IMF said taming inflation should be policymakers’ number one priority.
“Tighter monetary policy will inevitably have real economic costs, but delay will only exacerbate them,” it said.

It added that policies to address higher energy and fuel prices should focus on the most vulnerable groups without distorting overall prices.
For months now, central banks have been progressively embracing tighter monetary policy. The European Central Bank last week joined the likes of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in raising interest rates — its first such move in 11 years.
Yet still, inflation has remained persistent, hitting 40-year highs in the U.S. and the U.K. last month.

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Beginning next year, customers will be able to find Glossier’s famous “Boy Brow” and “Cloud Paint” makeup products at LVMH-owned Sephora.
This marks Glossier’s first retail partnership, and it comes shortly after founder Emily Weiss stepped down as chief executive officer and handed the reins over to Kyle Leahy.

Glossier makeup bottles
John Sciulli | Getty

Makeup company Glossier announced Tuesday that customers will be able to find its popular “Boy Brow” and “Cloud Paint” products at Sephora stores starting next year as it pushes to expand its reach.
The move marks Glossier’s first retail partnership and comes after founder Emily Weiss stepped down as chief executive officer and handed the reins to Kyle Leahy, who was previously Glossier’s chief commercial officer.

Glossier, which tapped pop star Olivia Rodrigo as a brand ambassador earlier this year, said it is one of the most searched brands on Sephora’s website that is not currently available at the LVMH-owned chain. The company will hawk its products in Sephora shops across the United States and Canada as well as on Sephora’s website starting in early 2023.
In a statement, Leahy said making Glossier products available through another retailer “marks a new chapter” for the company. Glossier had struggled through the Covid pandemic, and shuttered the three stores it had at the time roughly two years ago. That included one in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, where the company is based.
The company has since opened stores in Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami and London, and said Tuesday that it is also investing in opening up more of its own bricks-and-mortar locations. It’s scheduled to open locations in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, New York, by the end of this year. It also plans to open a flagship store in the SoHo in 2023.
Glossier’s struggles have persisted under Weiss, who founded the business in 2014 and gained a cult-like following among millennial and Gen Z women. In January, just six months after Glossier raised $80 million in fresh funding, it laid off dozens of corporate staff members.
Leahy, previously executive vice president and general manager of North America at the shoe brand Cole Haan, is hoping to lead the business into its next phase of growth.

By partnering with Sephora, Glossier joins companies like the mattress maker Casper and sustainable shoe company Allbirds that have forged a similar path. Initially, the companies sold only online, then opened up their own stores, before making their products available through other retail partners like Target and Nordstrom as well.
Glossier, which at one point was valued at more than $1 billion in the private markets, declined to comment on whether it plans to pursue an initial public offering.

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3M announced Tuesday that it will spin off its health care business into a separate publicly traded company.
The new business will focus on wound and oral care, healthcare IT and biopharma filtration, the material science company said in a release.
The announcement comes alongside 3M’s second-quarter earnings report.

3M announced Tuesday that it will spin off its health care business into a separate publicly traded company.
The new business will focus on wound and oral care, healthcare IT and biopharma filtration, the material science company said in a release. That includes products like its bandages, skin adhesives, oral aligners, air purifiers and optical lenses.

The company’s health care products also include the Bair Hugger surgical warming system, which is currently the subject of nearly 6,000 lawsuits. 3M maintains that the product has no relation to surgical-site infections.
3M health care products recorded more than $8 billion in sales in 2021. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of next year, and 3M will maintain a 19.9% stake in the new company.
The announcement comes alongside 3M’s second-quarter earnings report. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.48 on revenue of $8.7 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.42 per share and revenue of $8.58 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates.
Shares of the company were up about 4% premarket.
3M is simultaneously spinning off its food safety business. That branch will merge with Neogen and is expected to be divested by September.
—Reuters contributed to this report.

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