2023-12-01 16:49

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Pfizer (PFE.N) said on Friday it would not advance a twice-daily version of oral weight-loss drug danuglipron into late-stage studies after most patients dropped out of its midstage trial with high rates of side effects such as nausea and vomiting, and its shares fell 5%. Pfizer has a once-daily version of the weight-loss pill still in the development. It hopes a change in the drug's release mechanism can reduce side effects, but early data on the new formulation will not be available until the first half of next year. The decision is a setback to the U.S. drugmaker's ambition of tapping into a booming obesity market that analysts expect to be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade. Danuglipron belongs to the same class of injected diabetes and obesity treatments as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N) Mounjaro and Zepbound, known as GLP-1 agonists, that are already bringing in billions of dollars. GLP-1s, originally developed for type 2 diabetes, mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone to regulate blood sugar, slow digestion and suppress appetite. Lilly and Novo are in late-stage development with oral versions of their respective drugs. Novo has said it expects to file for approval of a high-dose oral version of its compound semaglutide this year, and Lilly expects its version to launch in 2025. Eli Lilly shares were up slightly, while shares of Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) erased an earlier 1% loss and were about flat following the Pfizer news. Several analysts said it was unclear whether the reformulated version of Pfizer's drug would have a better tolerability profile for patients. The once-daily version may keep some hopes alive for Pfizer's obesity strategy, Barclays analyst Carter Gould said in a note, but "it's increasingly apparent the company will have to look to external assets to deliver on the market opportunity it had portrayed." Pfizer said the drug cut weight by as much as 13% at 32 weeks in adults with obesity and without type 2 diabetes in a mid-stage trial. That compares with 15% for Eli Lilly's experimental oral drug at 36 weeks at a high dose. Pfizer characterized the side effects in the twice-daily version study as mild, but the rates were high with more than half of those on the drug dropping out compared with discontinuation rate of about 40% for the placebo group. Meanwhile, tiny Altimmune (ALT.O), which has a market value of less than $200 million, said late on Thursday that its experimental obesity drug helped reduce weight by as much as 15.6% at 48 weeks in a mid-stage trial of 391 patients. It's shares were up more than 45% at $4.61. Danuglipron is among the most high-profile medicines in Pfizer's drug development pipeline as it works to replace lost revenue from slumping demand for its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment. The company's shares are down more than 40% this year, due in part to falling sales of its COVID products and investor concerns about potential competition for several of its top-selling drugs. Pfizer announced a $3.5 billion cost-cutting program in October, but has yet to disclose many specific details on the planned cuts. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has said an obesity pill could eventually be a $10-billion-a-year product for the drugmaker. "Overall, this is a worse-than-anticipated outcome for a program that was already playing catch-up," said TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala in a note to clients. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-drops-plan-study-twice-daily-obesity-pill-late-stage-studies-2023-12-01/

2023-12-01 15:41

WASHINGTON, Dec 1(Reuters) - U.S. construction spending increased more than expected in October amid strong gains in single-family homebuilding, but data for the prior month was revised lower. The Commerce Department said on Friday that construction spending rose 0.6%. Data for September was revised down to show construction spending climbing 0.2% instead of 0.4% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending climbing 0.4%. Construction spending accelerated 10.7% on a year-on-year basis in October. Spending on private construction projects increased 0.7% in October. Investment in residential construction shot up 1.2%. Spending on new single-family construction projects surged 1.1%. Strong new single-family homebuilding helped to end nine straight quarters of decline in residential investment in the third quarter. New construction is being driven by a dearth of previously owned homes on the market, but mortgage rates above 7% are a challenge for both builders and prospective home buyers. Outlays on multi-family housing projects fell 0.2% in October. There is a large stock of multi-family housing under construction and the rental vacancy rate jumped to its highest level in 2-1/2 years in the third quarter, limiting growth in this housing segment. Outlays on private non-residential structures like factories edged up 0.1%. Spending on manufacturing construction projects rose 0.9%, still supported by the Biden administration efforts to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States. Spending on public construction projects increased 0.2%. State and local government spending ticked up 0.1% while outlays on federal government projects increased 2.2%. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-construction-spending-rises-october-2023-12-01/

2023-12-01 14:41

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Shares of crypto miners and bitcoin-tracking companies rose on Friday as the world's largest cryptocurrency extended a recent rally to touch a near 19-month high on improving risk appetite. Bitcoin , up 1.6% at $38,337, has been gaining since October on optimism that a potential approval of a spot exchange-traded fund is likely to unleash more capital investments in the digital asset sector. "Tailwinds have been gathering strength all year, especially in recent months, as spot ETF expectations build, the Binance uncertainty is resolved, and 2024's accelerated money printing becomes more inevitable," crypto-focused economist Noelle Acheson said, referring to the bitcoin rally. Shares of bitcoin miners - whose profitability improves as bitcoin climbs - including Riot Platforms (RIOT.O), Marathon Digital (MARA.O) and TeraWulf (WULF.O) rose between 1.7% and 4%. J.P.Morgan raised its price targets on Cipher Mining (CIFR.O), CleanSpark (CLSK.O), Iris Energy (IREN.O), Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms to reflect the rally in bitcoin. The mining companies are also increasing production before bitcoin's "halving" event next year, when rewards for producing the tokens are cut in half. Coinbase's shares (COIN.O) rose about 2.5% following the 62% jump in November that outperformed bitcoin's 11% climb even as the U.S. crypto exchange reported a decline in trading volume earlier in the month. "Higher crypto prices should lead to a boost in transaction volume and transaction revenues for Coinbase as we enter 2024," said CFRA Research analyst Michael Elliott. However, Elliott cautioned the crypto exchange faces both legal challenges and new regulations that are likely to take time to play out and will continue to result in volatility for the stock. The ETF approval bets have helped counter latest concerns after Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's largest crypto exchange, stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws. Among other gainers were U.S. software developer and bitcoin investor Microstrategy (MSTR.O), up nearly 3.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO.P), which added 2.1%. https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-stocks-set-start-december-high-note-bitcoin-hits-near-19-month-high-2023-12-01/

2023-12-01 14:31

ABUJA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira dropped to a record low against the dollar on Friday on the official market, close to the rate at which it trades on the unofficial parallel market. The currency of Africa's biggest economy fell as low as 1,160 naira to the dollar, LSEG data showed, before recovering to around 800 naira. The naira's official exchange rate has been drifting towards the parallel market level as the central bank is yet to clear outstanding foreign-currency amounts owed in forward deals. Last week, central bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso said he would allow market forces to determine exchange rates while setting clear, transparent and harmonised rules governing market operations. The currency sold at around 1,165 naira on the parallel market on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/nigeria-naira-hits-record-low-near-unofficial-market-rate-2023-12-01/

2023-12-01 12:36

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) and Paramount Global (PARA.O) have discussed bundling their streaming services at a discount, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The companies have talked about rolling out a combined Paramount+ and Apple TV+ offering that would cost less than subscribing to both services separately, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions. Shares of media company Paramount rose 1.2% to $14.58 in premarket trading. A pairing between the two rival streaming giants could likely help attract cost-conscious customers who have been grappling with higher costs for everything from food to electronics. Verizon (VZ.N) is also planning to offer the ad-supported versions of Netflix (NFLX.O) and Warner Bros Discovery's (WBD.O) Max streaming services for about $10 a month combined instead of about $17, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters last month. Grocery delivery app Instacart (CART.O) said earlier this week that it had partnered with NBCUniversal's Peacock to provide the streaming service at no extra cost to all of its paying U.S. subscribers. The talks between Apple and Paramount are in early stages, and it is unclear what shape the bundle could take, the WSJ report said. Paramount declined to comment, while Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-paramount-discuss-bundling-their-streaming-services-wsj-2023-12-01/

2023-12-01 12:24

Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. equity funds witnessed outflows in the week to Nov. 29, as investors booked profits after a strong rally and were cautious ahead of some key economic reports and earnings results. U.S. equity funds suffered about $3.31 billion worth of outflows during the week, the first weekly net selling since Nov. 1, LSEG data showed. During the week, market participants were closely monitoring upcoming releases, including the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" and October's personal consumption expenditure index data, seeking insights into the U.S. central bank's upcoming rate decisions. U.S. consumer spending rose moderately in October, while the annual increase in inflation was the smallest in more than 2-1/2 years, signs of cooling demand that bolstered expectations the Fed's interest rate hiking campaign was over. Analysts said investors booked profits during the week as benchmark equity indices — the Dow (.DJI), S&P 500 (.SPX) and Nasdaq (.IXIC) — all posted more than 8% gains in November, their best monthly performance since at least October 2022. Investors withdrew $3.32 billion, $2.97 billion and $500 million, respectively, from multi-, small-, and mid-cap equity funds. U.S. large-cap equity funds still received about $6.81 billion, their sixth straight weekly inflow. The technology sector faced $2.19 billion worth of net selling after three consecutive weeks of purchases. Investors also pulled $526 million out of healthcare funds but poured $390 million into financials. U.S. bond funds lost $1.77 billion during the week after about $262 million worth of net selling in the prior week. U.S. short/intermediate government and treasury funds recorded a fourth successive weekly outflow, worth about $2.01 billion. Investors also shed $660 million of general domestic taxable fixed income funds but poured $381 million and $273 million, respectively, into mortgage and high yield funds. U.S. money market funds received $68.28 billion in inflows, the biggest amount since March 22. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-equity-funds-see-weekly-outflows-amid-profit-taking-economic-report-caution-2023-12-01/