Plus, stimulus stocks continue to sputter, Eli Lilly is beginning a late stage trial of its experimental coronavirus antibody treatment in nursing homes, Microsoft has 45 days to finalize a deal to buy TikTok, and another electric vehicle maker is going public via a merger with a blank-check SPAC.
Stocks were higher to start Monday with the Dow gaining 219 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 also added 0.8%, while the Nasdaq rose 1.5% to a new all-time high.
Stimulus talks continue to sputter. While the White House and congressional Democrats agree on sending another round of $1,200 checks to Americans, the two sides are still at odds over extending federal unemployment benefits with Democrats insisting on an additional $600 per week, while the White House is in favor of reducing the federal assistance to $200 a week for two months. “We’ve been for the $600. They have a $200 proposal, which does not meet the needs of Americas working families, and it’s a condescension, quite frankly,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “They’re saying, ‘They really don’t need it. They’re just staying home because they make more money at $600.’” Pelosi said that she is aiming to tie the additional $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits to the condition of the labor market, a policy known as automatic stabilizers where the additional payments would drop only when unemployment dips to preset levels. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin countered that with the $600 per week payments, some workers are making more unemployed than they would have while employed, saying, “we want to fix the issue where in some cases people are overpaid and we want to make sure there’s the right incentives.” Pelosi and Mnuchin are expected to meet again today with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who said Sunday, “I’m not optimistic that there will be a solution in the very near term.”
As the coronavirus relief fight continues, cases in the U.S. have surged to nearly 4.7 million over the weekend. With cases continuing to march higher, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, said Sunday that the country is “in a new phase” of battling the pandemic while urging Americans to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. “What we are seeing today is different from March and April,” Birx said. “It is extraordinarily widespread… it’s more widespread and it’s both rural and urban. To everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune or protected from this virus. And that is why we keep saying, no matter where you live in America, you need to wear a mask and socially distance, do the personal hygiene pieces. … We definitely need to take more precautions.” In other virus news, Eli Lilly said this morning that it is beginning a late-stage trial for its experimental COVID-19 antibody treatments in U.S. nursing homes to see if the treatments can prevent the spread of the virus in residents and staff. “COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on nursing home residents,” Lilly’s chief scientific officer Daniel Skovronsky said in a statement. “We’re working as fast as we can to create medicines that might stop the spread of the virus to these vulnerable individuals.”
Microsoft confirmed Sunday that it is pursuing a deal to buy TikTok, the trendy social media app owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance. The app has been under fire from the Trump administration recently, with President Trump threatening to ban the app over concerns that its data may be fed to the Chinese Communist Party. According to Reuters, Trump has agreed to give Microsoft and ByteDance 45 days to cut a deal for TikTok in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Microsoft said it would make sure that data on app users in the U.S. would be located here and data stored elsewhere would be deleted after it has been moved. “This new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love, while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections,” Microsoft said in a statement. “The operating model for the service would be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these countries.”
ADT shares are up more than 63% this morning following reports that Google-parent Alphabet is buying a 6.6% stake in the home security company for $450 million. The deal will allow Alphabet to provide ADT’s security service to customers of its Nest home security devices, including Nest products like cameras, thermostats, doorbells, and alarm systems. ADT said that it expects to offer certain Google devices to its customers beginning this year, with expanded integration happening in 2021. Both ADT and Alphabet will commit an additional $150 million for co-marketing, product development, technology, and employee training. “We are thrilled to partner with Google to provide the smart home market with a strong, differentiated product and service offering that integrates the best technology, hardware and smart home security expertise from our two brands,” said Jim DeVries, President and CEO of ADT, in a press release. “Google’s partnership and financial investment in ADT underscores the depth of our joint commitment to the smart home and security markets. Our entire leadership team is looking forward to continuing our work with Google as we define the future of helpful home security and build a productive long-term partnership.”
And DiamondPeak Holdings shares are up nearly 16% today after the special purpose acquisition company announced that it will merge with electric vehicle company Lordstown Motors. The combined company will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “RIDE” after the merger closes in the fourth quarter of 2020, marking the third deal between a SPAC and an electric vehicle start-up this year. “We are thrilled with the opportunity to build Lordstown Motors into a top-tier electric truck company that is highly differentiated from the competition,” said Steve Burns, founder and CEO of Lordstown Motors. “We are uniquely positioned to be a leader in the industry, with our first vehicle, the revolutionary Lordstown Endurance. Our all-electric full-size pickup truck delivers the equivalent of 75 miles per gallon and has been systematically engineered and competitively priced specifically for the large commercial fleet market, which includes companies in manufacturing, contracting, utilities, transportation and delivery, and agriculture, among others. Since its unveiling just over a month ago, the Endurance has been met with enthusiastic support, and to date, we have secured $1.4 billion of pre-orders. Our platform is rooted in sustainability, and the entire Lordstown team is committed to ensuring we contribute to a healthier planet for generations to come.”
Stocks We’re Watching
electroCore Inc (NASDAQ: ECOR): electroCore shares gained as much as 95% on Friday after the commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company announced more information about availability, distribution and pricing for its gammaCore Sapphire CV non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) therapy under its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA. “We are pleased to be ready to make gammaCore Sapphire CV available to treat people with known or suspected COVID-19 who are experiencing exacerbation of asthma-related breathing difficulty,” said Dan Goldberger, Chief Executive Officer of electroCore. “Our goal is to make this process as simple as possible for all of the patients, physicians and hospitals that would like to use gammaCore Sapphire CV, and we have engaged Premier Pharmacy Services, a national specialty pharmacy, to support its distribution.”