Hey Snackers,
"It kind of sucks" — A man waiting for his stimulus check found $8.2M deposited in his bank account. Turns out it was an ATM error... his actual balance was $13.69.
US markets climbed again, surging Friday after early reports of an effective COVID-19 treatment and everybody planning when/how to turn the economy back on. More on that below.
Gilead’s COVID-19 treatment shows early signs of effectiveness — could mean a faster reopening
Pronounced how it sounds... Remdesivir. Gilead's antiviral drug was tested to treat Ebola patients — now it's the most promising potential COVID-19 treatment. A juicy report in STAT details its (apparent) effectiveness. More rigorous studies/trials/science are needed before we can celebrate a victory — but markets soared anyway as investors celebrated the chance this drug could work and help reopen the economy faster. How it went down read like a screenplay:
- The setting: University of Chicago Medicine Hospital, where patients are participating in Gilead-sponsored remdesivir trials.
- The plot: Out of 125 coronavirus-infected patients who participated, 113 had severe symptoms. Will remdesivir help them recover?
- The result: Most patients recovered in less than a week and 2 died. That's a 1.6% death rate compared to the 4.9% overall US rate — even more impressive considering cases in the trial were over 90% severe. But there was no control group to compare with.
Opening up America (Again?)... Not sure what the again is about, but there might be one if the economy reopens too soon. Last week, the White House recommended a 3-phase plan for states to reopen (when safe). Approval for a COVID-19 treatment could speed up this reopening, but it's not the only consideration...
There are 3 parts to this medical solution... All 3 will be necessary to (completely) end the corona-crisis:
- Testing: We've got tests, but not enough. Widespread testing is crucial to curbing the spread and give non-infected people the green light.
- Treatment: We don't have an approved one yet — if remdesivir gets FDA approval, this would be a game-changer.
- Vaccine: We don't have one yet, but companies are racing for it — Johnson & Johnson has a lead candidate for trials and is (very ambitiously) aiming to get 1B doses of a vaccine out by the end of 2021.
Who's up...
Pass the dongle... Roku couldn't help but tune us into a sneak-preview of its performance: the streamer expects it added 3M new accounts in the last 3 months to hit a total of 40M. Roku's devices streamed 13.2B hours of content over the period — a 49% rise from last year. We're calling it "The People's Dongle" — its low-priced devices power 44% of all streaming hours in the US.
Coke ICEEs with Red Vine straws... America's largest movie theater chain, AMC, is struggling hard since 100% of its global locations are closed. It's making $0, owes $4.8B in debt, and has furloughed all employees (including the CEO). Now it's raising $500M through a private debt offering to help it survive through Thanksgiving. Doubly lucky: movie theaters are (shockingly) included under "Phase 1" of the new federal guidelines for national reopening — AMC stock has jumped 32% since Thursday, after falling nearly 90% in the previous 12 months.
...and who's down
Less Bitcoin-y, more Venmo-y... Facebook wanted to change the world with its big, sexy crypto project Libra: a single, global cryptocurrency that would empower billions to save, earn, and spend via their phones. But Congress didn't like all that power with 1 company. Facebook announced Friday that Libra's ambitions got a massive downgrade: instead of a global currency independent of all others, Libra 2.0 will be digital money tied to a local currency in your FB account. Sounds more like Venmo. And TBD when/if it'll actually launch.
The defaults are coming... With 22M Americans unemployed, big banks are preparing to not receive repayment on many of their loans. So they're setting aside cash in advance to cover expected future loan losses. JPMorgan's profit fell 70% as it set aside an extra $6.8B for losses (it had only expected to need $1.5B pre-corona). Goldman Sachs' profit plunged 49% after it held an extra $1B to cover future loan fails and Wells Fargo evaporated $3B of profit on its own loss expectations.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Stream: The best foreign shows to watch on Netflix, so you can feel cultured and productive (if it's foreign, is it even binging?)
- Visualize: Historic US job losses, in perspective— the current unemployment numbers beat out all past ones by far.
- Question: What to do if you're a sort of unemployed freelancer who's running out of cash (fast).
- Wipe: What the toilet paper shortage can teach us about 5 different leadership styles — excellent leaders use Kleenex?
- Work: 8 tips for 2020 grads on navigating the job and internship scene right now (keep calm and apply on).
- Read: 5 book recommendations straight out of Bill Gates' book bag.
This Week
- Monday: Earnings expected from IBM, Equifax, and Ally Financial
- Tuesday: Earnings expected from Netflix, Coca-Cola, Snap, United Airlines, Chipotle, SAP, Lockheed Martin, and Texas Instruments
- Wednesday: Earnings expected from AT&T, Delta, PayPal, Canon, Credit Suisse and Boston Beer
- Thursday: Earnings expected from Amazon, 3M, Domino's, Alaska Air, Intel, T-Mobile, and Blackstone
- Friday: Earnings expected from Verizon, American Express, and American Airlines
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of JPMorgan, Roku, Chipotle, Blackstone, and a Bitcoin
ID: 1157574