Economy

(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures slipped on Friday following a sharp overnight rally on Wall Street, as investors braced for a crucial labor market report that could determine the path of interest rates.The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record high on Thursday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was “not far” from gaining the confidence that inflation is falling sufficiently to begin cutting interest rates.Investors now await the closely watched U.S. jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET that is likely to show job growth slowed in February after two straight months of robust gains.Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 200,000 jobs last month after surging 353,000 in January, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 3.7% for the fourth consecutive month, while wage growth is anticipated to have slowed to 0.3% on a monthly basis.”If the data is sufficiently soft – or ideally softer than expected, the Fed doves will finish the week on a dominant note. But if we see another month of blowout jobs report, confusion will reign,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.However, if next week’s consumer prices data is soft, investors may still cling on to rate cut hopes, Ozkardeskaya added.Signs of persistent strength in the labor market could make it difficult for the Fed to start cutting interest rates in June as currently envisaged by investors.At 6:58 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 82 points, or 0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 2.25 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 26 points, or 0.14%.AI darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 2.8% in premarket trading, outperforming megacap growth and technology peers.Chip stocks such as Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) rose more than 1% each.Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) slid 1.6% after the tech company’s full-year forecast failed to impress investors.Shares of Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) Technology shed 5.4% after it forecast first-quarter results below market expectations on soft demand in its wireless infrastructure, consumer and enterprise markets.Gap climbed 6.5% after the retailer beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter results, buoyed by strong demand on improved product offerings at its Old Navy and namesake brands during the holiday season, and lower markdowns.Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) shed 4.6% as quarterly sales fell short of estimates due to tepid demand for higher-margin goods. More

BAGSVAERD, Denmark (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)’s head of development on Friday told Reuters he was very comfortable the drugmaker would be able to launch the pill version of its experimental weight loss drug amycretin this decade.Below are the highlights of interviews with Martin Lange, Chief Executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen and head of business development David Moore in Bagsværd, Denmark:EXPERIMENTAL OBESITY DRUGS AMYCRETIN AND CAGRISEMA Research head Lange said the drugmaker could launch the pill version of its experimental weight loss drug amycretin this decade.”I never commit to timelines but I would be very comfortable to say at the very least within this decade,” he said.The Danish drugmaker hopes to develop amycretin in its oral and injectable form simultaneously.It expects both new experimental obesity drugs cagrisema and amycretin to lead to greater weight loss than its hugely popular Wegovy. They would also likely have similar cardiac benefits as Wegovy.He hopes to launch them before the patents for semaglutide, Wegovy’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), expire.”The current development plan is to finalise Cagrisema in both obesity and diabetes within the next two years, way before the patent expiry in semaglutide.”We believe it will be difficult for others to scale to the level we are currently scaling for semaglutide, and that basically means that even with the patent expiry, we could still serve a lot of patients with semaglutide, and complement with even more efficacious products like cagrisema and amycretin.”WEGOVY:CEO Jorgensen said he expects a higher proportion of U.S. patients to stay on the weekly injection for more than one year as supply constraints ease.”Now we’re focusing on really making sure that if you start treatment, you can stay on treatment,” he said.He expects more people to take obesity drugs as prices fall over time while new generations of the medicine will justify higher prices in some segments.”I expect that over time we’ll see a lower price point that will cater for more and more patients getting on treatment,” he said.CATALENT:David Moore, head of business development, said it was too early to say if its takeover of three factories owned by contract manufacturer Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) could draw deeper U.S. regulatory review. “We haven’t been given any sort of guidance … whether that will be the case or not,” he said when asked if Novo expects a second request from the Federal Trade Commission on the deal. “At this point, it’s still just sort of normal course and preparing for integrations and things like that.””There’s no plans to look at any other acquisitions in supply chains,” he said.”Our plan is to not disrupt anyone’s supply chain …. We would never disrupt medicines, making it to patients. And so honouring agreement commitments has always been the foundation part of this.”If we’re able to gain access to these three sites, it’s about capitalising on capacity that is idle today and that we could use going forward.”SEMAGLUTIDE COUNTERFEITSCompounded semaglutide, the API in Wegovy and its diabetes drug Ozempic, in the United States is a “serious health issue”, Jorgensen said.Jorgensen said Novo was collaborating with authorities in several countries to address the counterfeit issue. He said it could come from Asia.”I’m very sad that (…) you can have API coming from a source, perhaps in Asia, that has never been reviewed by a regulatory agency and is not approved in that country,” he said. More

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has told suppliers it wants to start production of a new cheaper, mass market product in mid-2025, Reuters reported in January, as it looks to compete with cheaper gasoline-powered cars and inexpensive EVs from China.Here’s how EV startups are trying to steer through the demand weakness:RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVERivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) on Thursday introduced its smaller, less expensive electric R2 SUVs and R3 crossovers with plans to start producing the R2 at its existing U.S. factory to hasten deliveries in the first half of 2026.The move came weeks after the company said it was planning a weeks-long production shut down this year to upgrade its factories and cut costs.The company expects to produce 57,000 vehicles in 2024, well below estimates of 81,700 units. That is also far below the estimated 1.8 million vehicles Tesla delivered in 2023.After shying away from cutting the price of its vehicles last year, Rivian in February introduced lower-range options for its existing cars that are $3,100 cheaper.The startup has focused on reducing its cash burn by re-negotiating supply contracts and building some components in-house. It ended the fourth quarter of 2023 with $9.37 billion in cash, cash equivalents, including short-term investments.LUCID GROUPLucid (NASDAQ:LCID), which has Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as its largest investor with a stake of more than 60%, has also forecast annual production that was widely below estimates as it looks to control cost.The company has missed analysts’ expectations for revenue for six straight quarters. It has slashed the price of the Lucid Air Pure to $69,900 and is including two years of free scheduled maintenance and charging allowance as an incentive.Lucid in November unveiled its Gravity SUV that will start under $80,000 and is expected to go into production late this year. The company has said it aims to start producing a cheaper midsize vehicle in late 2026 to compete with Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, with a price point of around $50,000.Lucid ended fourth quarter of 2023 with $1.369 billion in cash and cash equivalent.FISKER Fisker (NYSE:FSR) issued a going-concern warning this month and said it would lay off 15% of its staff and pause investments on future projects until it secures partnership with a manufacturer. Reuters has reported that Nissan (OTC:NSANY) is in advanced talks to invest in Fisker in a deal that could provide the Japanese automaker with access to an EV truck while giving the struggling startup a financial lifeline.Demand has been weak for Fisker’s flagship Ocean electric SUV. Despite producing more than 10,000 vehicles in 2023, the company delivered only about 4,700.The company ended 2023 with cash and cash equivalents of $325.5 million, down from $527.4 million as of Sept. 30, NIKOLA Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) is pivoting to big rigs powered by hydrogen, after some of its battery-electric trucks caught fire in August and forced a recall.The company expects up to $170 million in truck revenue for 2024 with a target to sell 450 units this year, including its hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks.Its cash balance stood at $464.7 million as of December-end, and the company has said it had the “the highest unrestricted cash balance” since the fourth quarter of 2021. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said she would be honored to serve a second five-year term at the helm of the global lender, and had been assured there was a strong support for her candidacy among European IMF members and beyond.Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist whose current term ends on Sept. 30, last week won the backing of French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who said she had done a “great job” leading the institution and that France would support her for a second term.Georgieva, 70, told Reuters in an interview that she spoke at length with the Bulgarian central bank governor on Thursday, who asked her if she would serve if nominated. She said he cited strong support for her among European members, other advanced economies, emerging markets and low-income countries.”My answer is, yes, if there is broad support across the membership, I will be honored to continue to serve,” Georgieva said. “The fund is this steady ship going through choppy waters, and I would be so grateful to the membership if they elect me for a second time to be a captain on this ship.”Georgieva, who was CEO of the World Bank before heading the IMF and had previously served on the European Union’s executive body, said she had gotten positive signals all around, with many lauding the fund’s swift action when needed and its work to keep members united under the most difficult circumstances.Le Maire’s support was critical, given that European countries traditionally nominate a candidate to lead the IMF, although all European Union members must agree. That decision is expected to come at a Eurogroup meeting on Tuesday.The final decision is made by the institution’s board of directors.’ETERNAL OPTIMIST’Georgieva, the IMF’s 12th managing director since its founding in 1944, is the second woman to head the IMF and the first person from an emerging market economy.Keeping Georgieva on for a second term would help answer longstanding concerns raised by emerging market and developing countries over the U.S.-European duopoly at the two global financial institutions, the IMF and World Bank.It is not unusual for someone to serve a second term. Georgieva’s predecessor, Christine Lagarde, was named to a second term but stepped down early to become the head of the European Central Bank.A self-described “eternal optimist,” Georgieva has weathered huge shocks to the global economy ranging from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic just months after she took office to the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. She said her biggest priorities for a second term would be to bolster prospects for medium-term growth, which is lagging historical levels, managing the ongoing sovereign debt challenges, and guiding the IMF through a complicated quota revamp that boosts the process of representation.”The way I see the years ahead, we have to be in a position of more agility in policies and the capacity of countries to withstand these more frequent shocks, keeping them together, keeping them cooperating, and yet recognizing … that geopolitics plays a big role in economics,” she said.Georgieva drew criticism inside and outside the IMF early on for her push to include climate change as a factor in surveillance reports on member countries’ economies and her great interest in emerging market and developing economies.She’s been instrumental in securing large loans for Ukraine, helping to catalyze additional funds to help its economy weather the strains of the two-year-old war against Russia’s invasion, overseen a revamp of Argentina’s massive loan program and worked steadily to help China embrace sovereign debt restructurings.She also survived a big personal challenge in 2021 when the IMF’s executive board expressed its full confidence in her after reviewing allegations that while working at the World Bank she pressured staff to alter data to favor China.Sources familiar with the process said the selection would be settled quickly once Europe unites around a candidate. While Georgieva’s term won’t end for months, some say it makes sense to make decisions before the April spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, so the leadership issue does not overshadow the already full agenda for the meetings. More

This marked a second consecutive week of inflows into global equity funds, LSEG data showed.Last week, U.S. central bankers indicated that, despite a recent uptick in price pressures, broader progress on inflation could pave the way for interest rate cuts later this year.The MSCI World Stock Index reached a record high of 774.66 on Friday, buoyed by earlier testimonies from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which reinforced expectations of upcoming rate cuts. By region, Asian funds attracted about $2.89 billion during the week, their eighth consecutive week of net purchases. European and U.S. funds also reported net inflows of approximately $1.9 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.The technology sector continued to draw investor interest, with $1.45 billion in fund inflows, marking its eighth week of net purchases. Meanwhile, the consumer discretionary and industrials sectors attracted $726 million and $611 million in net investments, respectively. By contrast, the financial sector saw net withdrawals of $834 million.Global bond funds experienced a significant influx, amassing $18.04 billion worth of inflows, the largest weekly amount since mid-April 2021. Medium-term U.S. dollar bond funds were particularly popular, attracting about $3.7 billion, the largest net inflow since May 3, 2023. Corporate and government bond funds also saw inflows of $3.06 billion and $2.23 billion, respectively.Money market funds meanwhile, saw $57.3 billion worth of net buying, the largest weekly net purchase in eight weeks. Among commodities, precious metal funds saw outflows for a 10th consecutive week, totalling about $788 million on a net basis. Energy funds also had $121 million of net disposals.Emerging markets were out of favour as investors remained net sellers of debt funds for a seventh successive week. They also offloaded about $1.73 billion worth of equity funds to withdraw the biggest amount since Jan. 24, data covering 29,724 funds showed. More

BAGSVAERD, Denmark (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) is very comfortable it will be able to launch the pill version of its experimental weight loss drug amycretin this decade, the drugmaker’s head of development told Reuters on Friday, a day after it announced strong early trial data on it.”I never commit to timelines but I would be very comfortable to say at the very least within this decade,” Martin Holst Lange said in an interview.Novo shares surged more than 8% to record highs on Thursday when the company told investors a Phase I trial of the pill version of amycretin showed participants lost 13.1% of their weight after 12 weeks, a bigger reduction early on than from Wegovy. Shares in the drugmaker, which surpassed Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc in market value on Thursday, were down 0.9% on Friday but were still set for a 7.1% gain this week.Investors said the news shows the Danish company, originally known as an insulin maker, has more in its pipeline beyond its hugely successful Wegovy. Its shares have risen more than three-fold since June 2021 when it launched Wegovy in the United States. It hopes both its new experimental obesity drugs cagrisema and amycretin will have higher efficacy in terms of weight-loss than Wegovy.CARDIAC BENEFITSAfter 12 weeks on amycretin in the trial, more than 80% of the participants were still on the drug, Lange said, describing it as an “impressive” retention rate which would suggest that the doses were safe and patients were tolerating it well without major side effects.Lange added that it also “would be a likely scenario” that the new drugs would have similar cardiac benefits as Wegovy.Wegovy belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, originally designed to treat Type 2 diabetes, that have been shown to regulate blood glucose levels and suppress appetite.Following the success of Wegovy, companies are working on other promising weight-loss therapies such as amycretin, which in addition to binding to the same gut hormone as Wegovy — GLP-1 — also targets a hormone called amylin in the pancreas that affects hunger.Novo in August said a large study had shown Wegovy also had a clear cardiovascular benefit, boosting the company’s hopes of moving beyond its image as a lifestyle drug.Those results have led to a debate over whether the long-term medical benefits of weight-loss drugs are enough to reduce the overall burden on healthcare systems and the cost of treating heart disease in overweight and obese people.Novo’s current plan is to advance the development of amycretin in its oral and injectable form simultaneously, and it gives a regulatory advantage to deliver safety data on both versions at the same time, Lange said. More

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the current practice of forcing young doctors to work 36 hours at a stretch was partly responsible for their protest walkout and must be changed.”We will start the trial as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the government would consider limiting to 24 hours the period that resident doctors and interns must work continuously.More than 10,000 medical interns and resident doctors are protesting against a government plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 a year to tackle a shortage of doctors. The country has one of the world’s fastest-ageing populations.The striking doctors argue that simply adding medical students will not address pay and work conditions, and could possibly exacerbate the problems. While not backing off the government’s plans for more medical students, the proposals outlined by Han appeared aimed at finding common ground with the protesters.The striking doctors and medical associations that have been critical of the government did not immediately publicly comment on the proposals.From this month, trainee doctors in paediatrics will receive an additional allowance of 1 million won ($757), and the government plans similar payments for other trainee doctors, Han said.It will start with those in essential specialisations such as emergency medicine and general surgery and will allocate additional government funds, he said. President Yoon Suk Yeol has taken a hard line against the protesters, taking steps toward suspending their medical licences for defying return-to-work orders. The president said on Wednesday their action had created “chaos” in major hospitals that employ trainee doctors as a key share of their staff. However, officials said on Friday the situation has stabilised, partly because other doctors and nurses took on extra work.”To suggest, as some have done, that we have a healthcare crisis, is an exaggeration,” said Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo.On Friday the government began allowing nurses to perform some procedures restricted previously to doctors, such as CPR and giving some medicines. ($1=1,319.5400 won) More

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