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Thermo Fisher says its COVID-19 tests accurately detects Omicron variant

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Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed stock graph and words “Omicron SARS-CoV-2” in this illustration taken, November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photo

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Nov 29 (Reuters) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO.N) said on Monday its COVID-19 diagnostic tests can accurately detect the new coronavirus variant Omicron that has prompted several countries to shut their borders.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last week classified the Omicron variant as a SARS-CoV-2 “variant of concern,” saying it may spread more quickly than other forms. read more

Thermo Fisher’s TaqPath COVID-19 assays can report accurate results even in the case where one of the gene targets is impacted by a mutation, the company said in a statement.

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“This assay can be used not only to successfully detect COVID-19 but… it can also be used as a proxy for the [Omicron] variant,” Mark Stevenson, chief operating officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said in an interview.

Stevenson said this is the only COVID-19 diagnostic test that is both authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and can be used to indicate if a case is caused by the Omicron variant.

He added that Thermo is prepared to increase its production of tests to meet demand from countries in Africa and elsewhere as they work to track the spread of the new variant.

Other COVID-19 tests, including from Roche Holding AG (ROG.S) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), can also be used to diagnose positive cases of COVID-19 caused by the variant, though only Thermo Fisher has so far confirmed that its test can be used to help identify the variant.

“We have conducted an assessment of the Omicron variant and we’re confident our antigen and PCR tests can” identify positive cases of COVID-19 caused by Omicron, a spokeswoman for Abbott said.

Test samples must still be sent to a lab for sequencing to confirm that the case was caused by Omicron and not another variant with similar features, such as the Alpha variant, Stevenson said.

Omicron, which was first detected in Southern Africa, has now been confirmed in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, and the United States’ neighbor to the north, Canada.

The WHO said it was working with technical experts to understand the potential impact of the variant on existing countermeasures against COVID-19, including vaccines.

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Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru and Carl O’Donnell in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Andrea Ricci

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna expect data on shot’s protection against new COVID-19 variant soon

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Empty vials of the “Comirnaty” Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are seen inside a waste package at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination center in Madrid, Spain, November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo

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  • Looking for signs that warrant a vaccine redesign
  • BioNTech says it understands experts’ concerns
  • BioNTech, Pfizer in effort to establish relaunch routine
  • Moderna also studying booster options for new variant

FRANKFURT, Nov 26 (Reuters) – BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) said on Friday it expects more data on a worrying new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa within two weeks to help determine whether its vaccine produced with partner Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) would have to be reworked.

Pfizer and BioNTech said that if necessary they expect to be able to ship a new vaccine tailored to the emerging variant in approximately 100 days.

“We understand the concern of experts and have immediately initiated investigations on variant B.1.1.529,” BioNTech said in a statement when asked to comment.

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“We expect more data from the laboratory tests in two weeks at the latest. These data will provide more information about whether B.1.1.529 could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally,” it added.

Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said in a statement it is working to advance a booster candidate tailored to the new variant and has also been testing a higher dose of its existing booster and to study other booster candidates designed to protect against multiple variants.

“A booster dose of an authorized vaccine represents the only currently available strategy for boosting waning immunity,” Moderna said in the statement.

Escape variants are those that elude the targeted immune response brought about by vaccination. Pfizer and BioNTech would be able to redesign their shot within six weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days, BioNTech added.

BioNTech ADRs gained 14.2% to close at $348 on Friday and Pfizer shares rose 6.1% to end at $54. Moderna gained 20.6% to close at $329.63.

Global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to the new variant, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as scientists sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant. read more

Pfizer and BioNTech have already created versions of their established mRNA-based vaccine – based on the original virus found in the Chinese city of Wuhan – to target the so-called Alpha and Delta variants, with clinical trials ongoing.

Those efforts are not meant to yield commercial products; the exercise is carried out to establish a routine with regulators that will help speed up any future vaccine relaunch.

Analysts at Evercore ISI said data from Qatar on another recent variant showed a high level of initial efficacy by current vaccines that faded significantly four months after dosing.

Johnson and Johnson (JNJ.N) said it is also closely monitoring emerging strains of COVID-19 and is testing the effectiveness of its shot against the new variant.

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Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt
Additional reporting by Carl O’Donnell in New York
Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Matthew Lewis

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Business

Tesla decides against state aid for German battery plant as Musk opposes subsidies

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A view shows the entrance to the construction site of the future Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany, August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

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  • Tesla withdraws application for state funding
  • All subsidies should be eliminated, Musk tweets
  • Car plant construction progressing well – economy ministry
  • Regional funding application still underway

BERLIN, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) said on Friday it has withdrawn its application for state aid for its planned battery factory near Berlin as CEO Elon Musk declared the electric vehicle maker opposed all subsidies.

The European Union in January approved a plan that included giving state aid to Tesla, BMW (BMWG.DE) and others to support production of electric vehicle batteries and help the bloc to reduce imports from industry leader China.

Tesla was expected to receive 1.14 billion euros ($1.28 billion) in EU funding for its battery plant in Gruenheide, Brandenburg under the plan, with a final decision likely by the end of the year.

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“Tesla has informed the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Brandenburg Ministry of Economics… it is withdrawing its IPCEI application for state funding for the battery factory in Grünheide,” a Tesla spokesperson said, referring to European subsidies allocated to so-called ‘Important Projects of Common European Interest’.

Construction plans for the plant would not be affected by the decision, the spokesperson said.

“It has always been Tesla’s view that all subsidies should be eliminated,” Musk posted on Twitter in response to a tweet by another user after Tesla said it had withdrawn its funding application.

“But that must include the massive subsidies for oil & gas. For some reason, governments don’t want to do that…,” Musk added, deviating from the subject of the factory grant.

Tesla itself is investing 5 billion euros in the battery plant, according to German economy ministry estimates.

Meanwhile, construction of a car production site alongside the battery plant, which Tesla has begun building under pre-approval permits while it awaits final approval from the regional government, has made good progress in the last few weeks, a spokesperson for the federal economy ministry said.

The electric vehicle maker also applied in November 2020 for regional funding from Brandenburg, according to the regional government’s website.

A Brandenburg economy ministry spokesperson said this application had not been withdrawn.

The amount Tesla applied for is undisclosed, but investments worth over 100 million euros are generally given 6.8% of their value, the website says.

The latest round of online consultations for the public to express environmental and other concerns about the car factory and battery plant closed last week and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he hopes to formally begin production by the end of the year and then ramp up as quickly as possible.

Musk has made his irritation for German laws and processes known, saying in a letter to authorities in April that the country’s complex planning requirements were at odds with the urgency needed to fight climate change. read more

($1 = 0.8876 euros)

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Reporting by Christian Kraemer, Nadine Schimroszik, Victoria Waldersee, editing by Thomas Escritt and Susan Fenton

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



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Business

SoftBank shares jump 11% on $9 bln buyback

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SoftBank Corp’s logo is pictured at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, February 4, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

  • Buyback is SoftBank’s second largest ever
  • SoftBank crashed to quarterly loss
  • Shares have lost 40% since end of Y2.5 trln programme in May
  • Stock lacks catalyst amid China crackdown, Arm sale delay

TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) – SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) shares jumped 10.5% on Tuesday, the first trading session after the Japanese conglomerate said it would spend up to 1 trillion yen ($8.8 billion) buying back almost 15% of its shares.

The company announced the buyback, long speculated about by the market, after it revealed its quarterly earnings crashed to a loss amid a decline in the share prices of its portfolio companies and a regulatory crackdown in China.

SoftBank’s shares closed at 6,808 yen in its biggest daily rise in 11 months, lifting the group’s market capitalization above $100 billion. Tuesday’s trading volume was more than twice the 30-day average.

The buyback is SoftBank’s second largest after a record 2.5 trillion yen buyback launched during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Shares of the tech group quadrupled during that buyback, but have since fallen 40% from a peak in May.

“Our analysis of buyback history indicates that SBG stock performs (and outperforms indices or BABA) during buybacks,” wrote Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal in a note, referring to Alibaba (9988.HK), the group’s largest asset. SoftBank owns about a quarter of Alibaba’s shares.

The slide in the Chinese e-commerce giant’s shares and the broader regulatory backlash in China contributed to a $57 billion fall in SoftBank’s net assets to $187 billion, a metric that Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has said is the primary measure of SoftBank’s success.

Reuters Graphics

The repurchase period for the latest buyback runs to Nov. 8 next year, with the group signalling the programme could take longer than the fast-paced purchases last year.

The buyback “is nice support, but it isn’t rocket fuel,” wrote LightStream Research analyst Mio Kato on the Smartkarma platform, adding “there are material downside risks if broader tech, especially unprofitable tech, falters.”

Speculation that SoftBank could launch a buyback has been raging for months as the discount – the gap between the value of its assets and its share price – has lingered to the frustration of executives and as investors push for repurchases.

Ongoing uncertainties include the prospect of gaining regulatory approval for the $40 billion sale of chip designer Arm to Nvidia (NVDA.O).

Delays to the sale “may have given Softbank the flexibility to announce a buyback now with expectations of ramping up share purchases later,” Redex Research analyst Kirk Boodry wrote in a note.

SoftBank is ramping up investing via Vision Fund 2, which has $40 billion in committed capital from the group and Son himself, even as it winds down activity at trading arm SB Northstar.

“Even if the company manages its finances with a certain amount of discipline, share buybacks would likely erode the financial buffer if executed,” S&P Global Ratings analysts wrote in a note.

The conglomerate held more than 5 trillion yen in cash and cash equivalents at the end of September, an increase of 9% compared to six months earlier.

($1 = 113.3500 yen)

Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Sam Holmes, Stephen Coates, Jane Wardell and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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Business

Some investors have not got Evergrande unit’s bond interest due Nov 6: sources

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The company logo is seen on the headquarters of China Evergrande Group in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 26, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Some holders of offshore bonds issued by a unit of developer China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) had not received interest payments due on Nov. 6 by Monday morning in Asia, two people familiar with the matter said.

Scenery Journey Ltd was due to make semi-annual coupon payments on Saturday worth a combined $82.49 million on its 13% November 2022 and 13.75% November 2023 U.S. dollar bonds. ,

Non-payment of interest by Nov. 6 would have kicked off a 30-day grace period for payment.

Twice in October, Evergrande narrowly averted catastrophic defaults on its $19 billion worth of bonds in international capital markets by paying coupons just before the expiration of their grace periods.

One such period expires on Wednesday, Nov. 10, for more than $148 million in coupon payments that had been due on Oct. 11. Evergrande is also due to make coupon payments totalling more than $255 million on its June 2023 and 2025 bonds on Dec. 28.

A spokesperson for Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sources could not be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Reuters was unable to determine whether Evergrande has told bondholders what it planned to do regarding the coupon payment due on Saturday.

BONDS, SHARES FALL

Evergrande’s shares edged lower on Monday, finishing the morning down 0.9%. They have fallen nearly 85% this year. Duration Finance data showed the company’s dollar bonds continuing to trade at discounts of about 75% from their face value on Monday.

Once China’s top-selling developer, Evergrande has been reeling under more than $300 billion in liabilities, and its liquidity woes have reverberated across the country’s $5 trillion property sector, prompting a string of offshore debt defaults, credit rating downgrades and sell-offs in the developers’ shares and bonds in recent weeks.

Spreads on Chinese corporate high-yield dollar debt (.MERACYC) widened to record highs on Friday, and on Monday Shanghai Stock Exchange data showed developers’ bonds once again dominating the list of the day’s biggest losers. One yuan bond issued by an onshore unit of Shimao Group (0813.HK) was suspended from trade after falling more than 34%.

Falls even extended to investment-grade names. Tradeweb data showed a 4.75% January 2030 bond issued by a unit of Sino-Ocean Group Holding (3377.HK) fell nearly 15% on Monday to just above 75 cents. Sino-Ocean is rated “BBB-” by Fitch Ratings and has a “Baa3” rating from Moody’s Investors Service.

Nomura economists Ting Lu and Jing Wang said in a note that they expected “much higher” repayment pressures on developers in the coming quarters, almost doubling from $10.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $19.8 billion and $18.5 billion in the first and second quarters of 2022, respectively.

“With the worsening property sector, we might see a rebound of defaults onshore by developers, and bond prices in onshore and offshore markets may increasingly impact one another as investors are on alert,” they said.

“We believe regulators are likely to step up efforts to avoid rising defaults in China’s (offshore commercial dollar bond) market.”

Regulators in October told developers to proactively prepare for repayment of both principal and interest on their foreign bonds and to “jointly maintain their own reputations and the overall order of the market.” read more

Reporting by Clare Jim and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

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Business

China Evergrande supplies funds for interest payment, set to avert default

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HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Oct 22 (Reuters) – China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) has supplied funds to pay interest on a dollar bond, a source told Reuters on Friday, days before a deadline that would have plunged the embattled developer into formal default.

The source corroborated a story in the state-backed Securities Times on Friday that the company had remitted $83.5 million in coupon payments to a trustee account at Citibank on Thursday, allowing it to pay out to all bond holders before the grace period expires on Oct. 23.

News of the payment will bring some relief to investors and regulators worried about the wider fallout from a messy default and contagion hitting global financial markets elsewhere, although the company will still need to make payments on a string of other debts due.

“They seem to be avoiding short-term default and it’s a bit of a relief that they have managed to find liquidity,” said a Hong Kong-based restructuring lawyer representing some bondholders.

“But still, Evergrande does need to restructure its debt. This payment might be a way for them to get some sort of buy-in with stakeholders before the heavy work needed on the restructuring.”

Evergrande did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Citi declined to comment.

The wired payment comes a day after financial information provider REDD reported on Thursday that the company had secured more time to pay a defaulted bond issued by Jumbo Fortune Enterprises and guaranteed by Evergrande.

A string of Chinese officials in recent days have sought to reassure investors, saying that creditors’ interests would be protected. Market participants nevertheless expressed shock at news of the payment.

“This is a positive surprise,” said James Wong, portfolio manager at GaoTeng Global Asset Management Ltd, adding many had expected a default.

The news would boost bondholders’ confidence, he said, as “there are many coupon payments due ahead. If Evergrande pays this time, I don’t see why it won’t pay the next time.”

Evergrande missed coupon payments totalling nearly $280 million on its dollar bonds on Sept. 23, Sept. 29 and Oct. 11, starting the clock on 30-day grace periods for payment.

Non-payment of interest for 30 days would result in a formal default by the company, and trigger cross-default provisions for other Evergrande dollar bonds.

Evergrande’s next payment deadline falls on Oct. 29 with the expiration of the 30-day grace period on its Sept. 29 coupon.

RELIEF

Evergrande’s dollar bond prices surged on Friday morning, with its April 2022 and 2023 notes jumping more than 10%, according to data provider Duration Finance, although they still traded at deeply distressed levels of around a quarter of their face value.

Evergrande’s shares rose as much as 7.8%, a day after the resumption of trade following a more than two-week suspension pending the announcement of a scrapped stake sale in its property management unit.

The Hang Seng mainland properties index (.HSMPI) surged more than 4%, against a 0.25% rise in the broader Hang Seng index. (.HSI)

In mainland markets, the CSI300 Real Estate index jumped as much as 6.5%, and an index tracking the broader property sector (.CSI000006) was on track for its biggest gain in nearly two months.

Reporting by Clare Jim and Anshuman Daga in Hong Kong, Samuel Shen and Andrew Galbraith in Shanghai; Writing by Sam Holmes; Editing by Christopher Cushing

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World

Christmas isn’t cancelled despite choked port, Britain says

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  • People should buy normally for Christmas – minister
  • Maersk diverts vessels from UK’s biggest port
  • Trucker shortage snarls Felixstowe
  • Maersk says lack of truck drivers is a problem
  • PM Johnson is on holiday

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Britain said on Wednesday that people should buy normally for Christmas and there would be no shortage of gifts, after shipping containers carrying toys and electrical goods were diverted from the country’s biggest port because it was full.

Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, has diverted some vessels from Felixstowe port in eastern England because a lack of truck drivers means there is nowhere left to stack containers.

“I’m confident that people will be able to get their toys for Christmas,” Conservative Party co-Chairman Oliver Dowden told Sky. He said he was sure Christmas gifts would be delivered this year.

Dowden, a cabinet minister without portfolio, said the issues at the port were easing and the supply chain problems facing the world’s fifth largest economy were global – such as a shortage of truckers and port congestion.

“The situation is improving,” Dowden said, referring to Felixstowe, which handles 36% of the country’s containerised freight. Asked whether people should start to buy now for Christmas, he said: “I would say just buy as you do normally.”

He said Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on holiday abroad, was very much engaged with domestic and international issues. “He’s very much engaged with the job.”

Britain’s economy is forecast to grow at 6.8% this year, the fastest in the G7 leading economies, though supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures are constraining the global economy, the International Monetary Fund said.

A view shows stacked shipping containers at the port of Felixstowe, Britain, October 13, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

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Britain’s economy returned to growth in August after contracting for the first time in six months in July.

But its exit from the European Union has exacerbated some of the problems by constricting immigration.

Britain is short of about 100,000 truckers, leading to queues for fuel at filling stations and worries about getting food into supermarkets, with a lack of butchers and warehouse workers also causing concern.

“Felixstowe is currently among one of the affected ports. The main factors in addition to pandemic impact behind this situation are high consumption demand and lack of truck drivers for land side distribution,” Maersk said.

It was diverting some ships “to alternate continental ports” to regulate the flow of cargo and minimise the impact on supply chains and British consumers ahead of Christmas, it said.

A lack of labour is also affecting farmers.

Two sisters running a pig farm in northeast England urged Johnson to lift strict immigration rules for butchers or risk seeing the pork sector collapse under the weight of overly fattened animals.

“The pressure is like pressure we’ve never had before, emotionally it’s absolutely draining, financially it’s crippling,” Vicky Scott told Reuters over the squeals of a couple of hundred pigs. “We’re in a fairly bad place right now.”

Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Editing by Alistair Smout and Barbara Lewis

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