*Today one of our shares hit a 12-month low, drug stock VIR after the US FDA said its current dose will not stop the omicron virus. The shares of other firms using that dosage include Glaxo (GSK); Merck (MRK); and Eli Lilly (LLY)but the market thinks they are better positioned to reformulate their jabs than small-cap VIR.

*Genfit of France fell 11% to $59 and change. GNFT.

*Bioline RX fell 5.25%. BLRX.

*However Pfizer PFE is up on the news that a second jab of its covid-19 jab may cut the risk for people over 65. It is being tested on hospitalized patients. 

*Nutrien NTR was downgraded to hold from buy. The Canada firm produces chemicals in addition to seeds and is, therefore, a broad play on agriculture and also lends to farmers.

*Japanese Takeda TAK shares failed to thrive after the edema prevention drug TQR HZ was approved by Japanese regulator for children and adults with the rare disease. This may be because it didn't get any other approvals.

*I have owned TEVA stock since the share traded OTC because on my first trip to Israel I met the psychiatrist Siegfried Susskind (who famously treated Moishe Dayan, the one-eyed sex fiend.) He had been a classmate of my father's at the K und K high school in Bad Godesberg and was the father of the Teva Dan official. I bought the Israeli stock in my Paris brokerage account and later converted to the ADR. But only those who were misled in the period between Feb. 6, 2014, and May 10, 2019, with new ADRsget to collect from the settlement of $420,000,000 to be paid by TEVA or its insurer.

Image Source: Pixabay

Finance

*Pres. Biden wants to increase military spending for which he will attempt to add 20% in taxes on households with over $1000 mn in assets.  

*Russia may well default on its April 4 bond payment. This took down banks that are still operating there.

*Just how to play the AT&T T spinoff of Warner Brothers has now been spelled out. You can elect to either sell with or without the Warner payout. I vote for with on the bird in hand theory. The share rose a teeny bit. You will get one TW share for roughly every 4 T shares you own. 

*Banks also were in focus after Barclays revealed that it paid GB pounds 1.2 bn for Royal Bank of Scotland shares that had been priced at 11.9 bn sterling in 2008. However, it also revealed that it had lost 450 mn on a product sale error for which this essentially was covered, resulting from a mismatch in the registered SEC shares and the yield on exchange-traded notes.

*Mercado Libre MELI rose a whopping 20.91% on its purchase of a Brazilian private investment fund. The deal will only be closed later this year. There may be other contenders.

*Atlantica Yield AY rose 1%. It is a broad energy stock that so far was not targeted by Warren Buffett.

*Investor AB is up 2% in European trading, IVSBF. 

*Ireland Fund gained 0.66% in European trading. IRL.

*Mexichem rose 18.1% more. MXCHY.

Energy

*Cameco CCJ fell 2.64% today. The Canada firm hit a new high at $30.49 (US) last week. Oil stocks have been on a roll.

*Indian Azure Power gained about 1% in the New Delhi market. AZRE.