The opioid saga continues... And now pharmacies are center stage. Last week, two Ohio counties ruled that CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart enabled the opioid epidemic — which has killed 500K+ Americans — by allowing opioid over-prescription. The verdict will likely lead to more fines for pharmacy giants. Leading drugmakers are already being held accountable: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma was slapped with $8.3B in penalties for fraudulent marketing, while Johnson & Johnson and opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen also face a $26B settlement.
The inflation situation... Consumer prices jumped the most in 31 years last month. Three-quarters of Americans say they’re feeling the pinch, and more than half blame President Biden, knocking his approval rating to an all-time low of 41%. But high prices haven’t stopped US consumers from splurging, and holiday spending’s expected to hit a record $860B. Analysts expect inflation to stay high for years, so Biden’s stepping in. Last week, he tapped into national oil reserves to lower gas prices and renominated Fed Chair Jerome Powell, hoping he’ll fight surging prices.