Jobless Claims Rose Less Than Expected As President Biden Prepares To Sign $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Deal

Plus, AstraZeneca shares are down after Denmark temporarily suspended use of its COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine was approved for use in the EU, and a group fo activist investors reduced the number of board seats it wants on Kohl’s board.

Stocks were higher at the open on Thursday with the Dow adding 57 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq gained 1.6%.

As President Joe Biden prepares to sign the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by the House yesterday, the Labor Department reported jobless claims rose less than expected last week. Initial claims for the week ended March 6 came in at 712,000, below economists’ estimate for a reading of 725,000. Continuing claims fell to 4.1 million, marking a pandemic era low, while the total number of claims for all unemployment programs was 20.1 million. “This once again represents the lowest print of the pandemic as workers are slowly brought back online,” said Ian Lyngen, rates strategist at BMO Capital Markets. “On net, a solid read on the labor market that keeps the recovery trend in place as vaccines are administered, the COVID restrictions continue to be rolled back.”

AstraZeneca shares are down nearly 2% this morning after Denmark announced that it will temporarily suspend the use of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the company and the University of Oxford. Denmark’s health authority said the decision was made “after reports of severe cases of blood clots in people who have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca. Against this background, the European Medicines Agency has launched an investigation into the AstraZeneca vaccine. One report relates to a death in Denmark. At present, it cannot be concluded whether there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots.” The company said in a statement, “Patient safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studies in Phase III clinical trials and Peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated.”

In other vaccine news, Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot dose has been authorized for use in the EU. The EU has ordered 200 million doses of the shot with the option for 200 million more, though an unnamed EU official told Reuters that J&J has told the bloc that it is facing supply issues, which may complicate plans to deliver the doses. The European Medicines Agency’s “recommendation is a landmark moment for Johnson & Johnson and for the world,” said Paul Stoffels, the drugmaker’s chief scientific officer. Elsewhere, Pfizer said today that its COVID-19 vaccine blocked 94% of asymptomatic infections in an Israeli study, which CEO Albert Bourla said is an “extremely important” finding. “The asymptomatic carriers and patients are the ones spreading the disease mainly. We were expecting something good in terms of symptomatic,” Bourla said, adding the company wasn’t expecting such a “high number” against asymptomatic cases. And Moderna said it has dosed the first subject in its first human trial of a COVID-19 booster vaccine designed to target a specific variant of the virus. Moderna chief medical officer Tal Zacks said the booster vaccine acts as an “insurance policy,” adding that the original vaccine is still expected to protect against variant strains.

Verizon shares are down nearly 2% this morning on reports that it is expected to tap the debt market to help finance $36 billion due this month investments in 5G. Verizon committed $45 billion in a record federal airwaves auction last month and made an $8.2 billion payment to the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday. “We expect to access the public debt market as soon as possible, assuming favorable conditions,” said Verizon CFO Matt Ellis.

And a group of activist investors looking to transform Kohl’s board has reduced the number of directors that it plans to nominate, from nine to five. The group of investors—Ancora Holdings, Legion Partners Asset Management, Macellum Advisors, and 4010 Capital—said in a letter to the retailer’s shareholders on Thursday, “Today we have identified the five incumbent directors who we believe are the least qualified to continue serving on the Board… Since we initially nominated candidates in January, our goal has always been to assemble the best Board possible to help Kohl’s reach its full potential. To that end, we originally nominated nine highly qualified individuals in hopes of working constructively with the Board to choose from a large pool of candidates to construct a well-balanced Board with the attributes and skillsets to create shareholder value. Rather than engaging in meaningful discussions, however, Kohl’s has tried to distract shareholders into believing our campaign is about “seizing control” of the Company or the Board. To be clear – our campaign is to construct the strongest possible Board with directors who possess relevant retail, capital allocation, strategy and corporate governance expertise – and who will also serve as strong advocates for shareholders.”

Stocks We’re Watching

ChromaDex Corp (NASDAQ: CDXC): ChromaDex shares jumped a much as 29% yesterday after the company announced that its flagship consumer product and industry-leading NAD booster Tru Niagen® will be available in 3,000 Walmart retail stores in the U.S. beginning in June. We believe Tru Niagen® is one of the most important new dietary supplements to emerge in many years,” ChromaDex CEO Rob Fried said in a statement. “We are grateful to Walmart in assisting in our quest to help as many people as possible to Age Better®.”


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