2025-05-19 15:43

May 19 (Reuters) - Novavax (NVAX.O) , opens new tab shares jumped more than 15% on Monday after the company secured a long-awaited U.S. regulatory approval for its COVID-19 vaccine, albeit with new conditions, which helped allay some investor concerns over the future of the shot. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine, Nuvaxovid, but limited its use to individuals aged 65 and older and people over 12 years who have at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk due to the illness. Sign up here. The conditions on the label are medically unusual but consistent with the chatter to date, said BTIG analyst Thomas Shrader. The vaccine's future was called into question after the FDA missed its April 1 deadline to approve the shot — a more traditional protein-based vaccine unlike its messenger RNA-based rivals from Moderna (MRNA.O) , opens new tab and Pfizer (PFE.N) , opens new tab. The approval will provide "a reassuring alternative" for those skeptical for mRNA shots, said William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. It, however, was "a bit unusual" for the FDA to specify age groups and usage circumstances as it is usually done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisory committee, he said. Novavax now expects to be ready for commercial delivery of the vaccine in the U.S. this fall in partnership with France's Sanofi (SASY.PA) , opens new tab, with which it has a licensing deal, pending strain recommendation. Novavax, along with its competitors, will need to seek additional approval to alter the strain of the virus its vaccine targets for the upcoming immunization season. The topic is set for discussion at a meeting of FDA vaccine advisers later this week. The regulator has asked Novavax for post-marketing studies in individuals aged 50 through 64 without high-risk conditions for severe COVID-19. The vaccine maker is working closely with Sanofi to assess funding and execution of this new trial, it said. The full approval has triggered a $175 million milestone payment to Novavax from Sanofi. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/novavax-shares-jump-after-long-awaited-fda-approval-its-covid-19-vaccine-2025-05-19/

2025-05-19 14:44

SANTIAGO, May 19 (Reuters) - Chile's gross domestic product grew 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025 from the previous three-month period, central bank data showed on Monday. The result came in slightly above the 0.5% expansion expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Sign up here. The Andean nation's economy was up 2.3% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the central bank added, also above the 2.0% forecast in the Reuters poll. Trade, manufacturing, personal services, and agricultural activity were the main contributors to GDP growth, Chile's central bank said, while mining, financial services and construction registered declines. "Looking ahead, we expect growth to slow gradually over the coming quarters as the impact of temporary drivers fades and external conditions become less favorable," Andres Abadia, chief Latin America economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a note to clients. The slowdown should not be a major worry, as leading indicators suggest that activity in Chile will remain relatively strong, Abadia added. The central bank also released on Monday a poll of analysts showing that they expect interest rates to be held at 5% at the bank's next monetary policy meeting in June. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-economy-grows-more-than-expected-first-quarter-2025-05-19/

2025-05-19 14:04

Authorities concerned rouble could weaken too far Rouble has surged by 40% vs dollar this year Any failure of Ukraine talks could trigger slide, analysts say Lower oil price or interest rate cut also potential triggers MOSCOW, May 19 (Reuters) - The Russian economy could cope with the rouble sliding back to 100 to the dollar but authorities worry that any correction from current levels could spiral out of control, a senior government source has told Reuters. The rouble has surged about 40% against the dollar to around 80 this year. Analysts widely see it as overvalued and cite a failure of Ukraine peace talks, a possible interest rate cut and further falls in oil prices as likely triggers for a slide. Sign up here. A senior government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was broad interest in a weaker rouble, perhaps at around 100 to the dollar, as long as the fall was steady and did not go much further. A weaker rouble would help the government to replenish state coffers at a time when a fall in oil revenues - caused by the rouble's strength as well as international sanctions and a fall in global market prices - has forced it to triple this year's deficit forecast. The rouble has risen mainly on expectations of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine and falling imports, as high domestic interest rates mean Russian firms and households can no longer afford to take expensive loans or buy foreign-made goods. But analysts say a negative outcome to the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years or new Western sanctions could trigger heavy buying of foreign currency. Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to hold a call with U.S. President Donald Trump at 1400 GMT on Monday that had the potential to affect perceptions of the prospects for peace. The source said that a rouble rate as weak as 110-120 to the dollar would benefit the budget by boosting oil revenue in roubles, but that neither the central bank nor the government would welcome the accompanying rise in inflation. INTEREST RATE MAY HAVE PEAKED The central bank raised its key interest rate to 21% last year, the highest level since the early 2000s. However, with the latest data showing that the economy and inflation are slowing sharply, many economists are predicting a rate cut as early as this summer. The source said that in a small and fragmented market, where China's yuan has become the most traded foreign currency since Western sanctions were imposed on the Moscow Stock Exchange, even small trading volumes could move the dollar rate. The authorities steer the market through mandatory foreign exchange sales for exporting companies, daily forex interventions and capital controls, imposed after Russia sent its army into Ukraine in 2022. The source's view was broadly in line with the government's forecast of an average exchange rate of 94.3 roubles to the dollar this year. Most analysts agree that the rouble is overvalued. In Reuters' latest poll, economists see the rouble at 95 to the dollar in 12 months. The U.S. bank Goldman Sachs sees the rouble back at 100 to the dollar by midsummer. "Currently, the rouble is overvalued. Determining the extent is a complex question," said Dmitry Belousov, head of the TsMAKP think tank, which advises the government, who said a fall in oil prices could trigger a rouble slide. "There are risks that it might overshoot due to purely psychological reasons," Belousov added. Economist Evgeny Kogan said the rouble's real exchange rate, adjusted for inflation, was 12% stronger than in 2019 and 14.9% stronger than the 10-year average. He pointed to a clear failure in peace talks as the biggest potential trigger for a slide. "Russian and international capital have entered Russia hoping that negotiations will advance and sanctions, especially financial ones, will be eased," he said. "If these hopes are not realised, this capital will quickly turn around and leave." https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/hundred-roubles-dollar-would-be-acceptable-says-russian-government-source-2025-05-19/

2025-05-19 12:38

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - Antonio Costa, the head of the European Council that represents EU member states, said on Monday that the European Union and Britain were "not very far" from concluding a deal on Gibraltar. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eus-costa-says-eu-uk-close-completing-deal-gibraltar-2025-05-19/

2025-05-19 12:15

MILAN, May 19 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection agency has fined the developer of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot company Replika 5 million euros ($5.64 million) for breaching rules designed to protect users' personal data, the authority said on Monday. Launched in 2017, San Francisco-based startup Replika offers users customised avatars that can have conversations with them. The 'virtual friend' is marketed as being able to improve the emotional wellbeing of users. Sign up here. Italian privacy watchdog Garante ordered Replika to suspend its service in the country in February 2023, citing specific risks to children. Following an investigation, it found that Replika lacked a legal basis for processing users' data and had no age-verification system to restrict children from accessing the service, resulting in the fine for its developer, Luka Inc. Replika did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Italian authority has also announced a separate investigation to assess whether Replika's generative AI system is compliant with European Union privacy rules, especially around the training of its language model. Garante is one of the European Union's most proactive regulators in assessing AI-platform compliance with the bloc's data privacy rules. Last year, it fined ChatGPT maker OpenAI 15 million euros after briefly banning the use of the popular chatbot in Italy in 2023 over the alleged breach of EU privacy rules. ($1 = 0.8868 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/italys-data-watchdog-fines-ai-company-replikas-developer-56-million-2025-05-19/

2025-05-19 11:55

BRUSSELS/PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil, the world's largest poultry exporter and main poultry meat importer into the European Union, is no longer allowed to ship poultry and meat products to the EU due to the outbreak of bird flu, the European Commission said on Monday. This comes after Brazil confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a poultry farm on Friday, triggering protocols for a country-wide trade ban from top buyer China and state-wide restrictions for other major consumers such as Japan. Sign up here. "EU import conditions require that the country of export (Brazil) is free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza," a European Commission spokesperson said in an email. "Brazilian authorities can no longer sign such animal health certificates for export into the EU and such certificates cannot be issued. No poultry/meat products can be exported to the EU from any part of the Brazilian territory." Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said on Friday that under existing protocols, countries including China, the European Union and South Korea would ban poultry imports from Brazil for 60 days. But the Commission did not give any timeframe. It noted that because of the outbreak, which was detected on a farm in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the entire territory of Brazil had suspended its official status of being "free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza". EU import conditions require that an export country be free of HPAI. The EU is only a small market for Brazil, which is dominated by China, the United Emirates, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. In 2024, Brazil exported more than 5 million tons of poultry meat. Of these approximately 4.4% headed to the EU, national pork and poultry group ABPA said. Of total EU poultry imports, Brazil is the main origin, with a share of 32% last year, according to official EU data. However, the volume remained rather thin with most of the EU consumption supplied locally. Still, despite the small volumes the cheaper, high added-value, Brazilian imports have pressured EU prices. A halt in imports is therefore likely to come as a relief for the local poultry industry. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/brazil-can-no-longer-export-poultry-meat-eu-due-bird-flu-2025-05-19/