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☆ Forget about Nvidia. The big winner so far this quarter is a one-time Midwest phone company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sure Nvidia , the leading artificial intelligence play, has rallied 17% in the third quarter. But little Chicago-based Telephone & Data Systems — the parent of U.S. Cellular, with a market value just 0.18% of Nvidia's — has far and away scored the biggest stock market gain this quarter, soaring 161%. That's the largest advance of all the stocks in the S & P 500, S & P Midcap 400 and S & P 600 small-cap indexes — combined. The other 17% of U.S. Cellular is publicly traded and has risen a similar amount to TDS this quarter. TDS NVDA,GOOGL,.SPX mountain 2023-06-30 Telephone & Data Systems vs Nvidia, Alphabet and S & P 500 since June 30, 2023 To say Telephone & Data Systems is marked by humble beginnings is an understatement.

Persons: —, FactSet, Leroy Carlson, JPMorgan's Philip Cusick, Cusick, Carlson, Michael Bloom Organizations: Big Tech, Nvidia, Data Systems, U.S . Cellular, Wall, TDS, U.S, Cellular, USM, Verizon, Mobile U.S Locations: Chicago, U.S, Wisconsin

☆ 'Barbie Botox' goes viral but doctors inject caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Leroy Leo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But since the "Barbie" movie released in July, there has been an uptick in demand for use as a cosmetic procedure. Meanwhile, Revance and Evolus Inc (EOLS.O), which make similar toxins under the brand Daxxify and Jeuveau, respectively, told Reuters that though "Barbie Botox" has picked up in recent months, they do not see the trend significantly boosting sales. However, the doctors said they were concerned about a rise in use among younger women - and six doctors warned that procedures by underqualified staff at some medispas raised the risk of complications. Doctors also stressed the risk with administration by people who may not be properly qualified, especially at medispas where there is little oversight. "The science isn't quite there yet, in order to support the clinical profile of it," said Evolus CEO David Moatazedi.

Persons: Margot Robbie, BarbieBotox, that's, Barbie, Dustin Sjuts, Scot Glasberg, Revance, Shilpi Kheterpal, Kheterpal, Doctors, Melissa Levoska, David Moatazedi, Leroy Leo, Sriraj Organizations: Therapeutics, Reuters, Plastic Surgery Foundation, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Evolus Inc, AbbVie Inc, Cleveland Clinic, Icahn School of Medicine, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, medispas, Mount Sinai, Bengaluru

☆ US FDA warns 3 baby formula makers to correct manufacturing process controls
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. The FDA pulled up these companies for failing to establish processes to ensure infant formula does not become contaminated during manufacturing. The recalls were meant to remove products potentially contaminated with the bacteria cronobacter sakazakii, the FDA added. "The agency... believes that the recalls were effective in removing the potentially contaminated batches of product from the market," the FDA said. Infant formula manufacturing is under greater scrutiny following the shortage of the product last year due to a shutdown of Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N) unit in Michigan.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Benckiser, Mead Johnson, Perrigo, ByHeart, Leroy Leo, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, FDA, REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, ByHeart Inc, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Abbott Laboratories, Thomson Locations: White Oak , Maryland, U.S, PRGO.N, Wisconsin, Michigan, Bengaluru

☆ A 100-year-old tree collapsed on the Florida governor's mansion during Idalia, Casey DeSantis says the family is fine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Casey DeSantis said she and her kids were fine after a massive tree fell on the governor's mansion. DeSantis told reporters his wife had called him about the situation. AdvertisementAdvertisement"I don't know if they are going to cut down the whole tree," DeSantis told reporters during a storm update. FEMA director Deanne Criswell told reporters at the White House that President Joe Biden spoke to DeSantis and offered the federal government's assistance. The Florida governor's mansion was first built on its current grounds in 1907, according to a state website devoted to its history.

Persons: Casey DeSantis, Florida's, Idalia, Ron DeSantis, Hurricane Idalia, Mamie, DeSantis, John Dailey, Deanne Criswell, Joe Biden, LeRoy Collins, Andrew Jackson's, Jackson Organizations: Gov, Service, Hurricane, Associated Press, FEMA, Florida Territory Locations: North Florida, Wall, Silicon, Florida, Tallahassee — Mason, Madison, Florida's, Tallahassee, Hermitage, Nashville

☆ Kane scores twice on league home debut as Bayern beat Augsburg 3-1
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUNICH, Germany, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Bundesliga record signing Harry Kane scored twice in his first league appearance in front of a home crowd on Sunday to steer champions Bayern Munich to a 3-1 victory over Augsburg and make it two wins out of two matches. Despite their second straight league win coach Thomas Tuchel was not happy with his team's overall performance, especially after a sluggish first half. Bayern had their opponents on the backfoot from the start but chances were few and far between. Augsburg did manage to cut the deficit in the 86th when they caught the Bayern defence napping and Dion Beljo rounded keeper Sven Ulreich. Bayern are on six points, as many as Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

Persons: Harry Kane, Kane, Adolfo Valencia, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Tuchel, Tuchel, Augsburg's Felix Uduokhai, Leroy Sane, napping, Dion Beljo, Sven Ulreich, Karolos Grohmann, Pritha Sarkar, Toby Davis Organizations: Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Werder Bremen, Bayern, Champions League, Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg, Thomson Locations: MUNICH, Germany, Augsburg, Munich, England, Union, Freiburg

☆ Disney closes at lowest in nearly nine years as investors turn bearish
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 24 (Reuters) - Shares of Walt Disney (DIS.N) fell 3.9% on Thursday, closing at their lowest level in nearly nine years, with some investors betting that a further price drop is on the cards in the next few months. On Thursday, Disney options were busier than usual with some 321,000 contracts traded, or 1.4 times the average daily volume, according to data from options analytics firm Trade Alert. Traders work at the post where Walt Disney Co. stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 14, 2017. Put options convey the right to sell shares at a fixed price in the future. Disney's stock closed at $82.47, its lowest since October 16, 2014.

Persons: Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell's, Iger, Yuvraj Malik, Saqib Ahmed, Leroy Leo, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Walt, Alert, Walt Disney Co, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S . Federal, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon in talks with Disney about ESPN streaming partnership - The Information
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, January 5, 2023. Disney and ESPN are still in the midst of determining an appropriate price for the new service, the report said. ESPN is considering charging between $20 and $35 a month for the new streaming service, which could make it the most expensive streaming service in the U.S, the report added. Amazon.com, Walt Disney and ESPN did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reporting by Leroy Leo and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pascal, Walt, Robert Iger, Leroy Leo, Zaheer Kachwala, Maju Samuel, Shailesh Organizations: REUTERS, Walt Disney Co, ESPN, Disney, Walt Disney, CNBC, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Opinion: India’s moon landing shines an uncomfortable light on Russia’s failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Opinion Leroy Chiao | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The milestone marks a huge accomplishment for its nascent space program, which has made steady progress over the years. China also boasts a human spaceflight program with an operational space station, including crew and cargo transport spacecraft. Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty ImagesIn the International Space Station (ISS) partnership, the US, Europe, Japan and Canada also continue to move forward with space exploration. Instead of expanding, its space program has been in decline for several years. The lamentable state of Moscow’s space program is just the latest confirmation of that.

Persons: Leroy Chiao, Yuri Gagarin, John F, Vladimir Putin, Putin, —, Luna, Indranil Mukherjee, Artemis, Jeff Bezos, Sergei Krikalev, Dmitry Rogozin, Nick Hague, ” Organizations: NASA, Russian Soyuz, International, CNN, Leroy Chiao CNN, Sputnik, Republicans, Russian Luna, Getty, Space, SpaceX, Soviet Union, ISS, Expedition, Space Shuttle, Twitter, Facebook, Progress, Soyuz, Luna Locations: Russian, what’s, India, Delhi, Soviet Union, United States, Moscow, Russia, America, Ukraine, Asia, China, Mumbai, US, Europe, Japan, Canada, West, Soviet, Columbia

☆ Boehringer to test obesity drug in three late-stage trials
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is seen at its building in Shanghai, China February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 17 (Reuters) - Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim said on Thursday it would conduct three late-stage studies for its obesity drug candidate after it showed up to 19% weight loss after 46 weeks in a mid-stage trial. The private company plans to start enrollments for the trial of the drug, survodutide, which it co-invented with Danish biotech company Zealand Pharma (ZELA.CO), before the end of the year. Boehringer and Zealand are among global drugmakers racing to grab a share of the potential $100 billion market for obesity treatments within a decade. Survodutide works by mimicing a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which suppresses appetite, as well as imitating another gut hormone called glucagon that helps break down fat.

Persons: Stringer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boehringer, NASH, Leroy Leo, Sriraj Organizations: REUTERS, Zealand Pharma, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Zealand, Bengaluru

☆ US FDA approves Pfizer's blood cancer therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File PhotoAug 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted accelerated approval to Pfizer's (PFE.N) therapy for treating patients with a type of blood cancer that is difficult to treat, the company said. Multiple myeloma is a common type of blood cancer, which develops in the bone marrow and can spread throughout the body. The FDA approval is based on data from a mid-stage study that showed that 58% of patients treated with Pfizer's therapy had no signs of cancer or had seen a significant decrease in cancer cells in the body. Pfizer said it will continue testing the therapy in ongoing late-stage trials to expand its use in earlier lines of treatment for patients. The therapy's approval comes with a boxed warning for neurologic toxicity and cytokine release syndrome, a condition where the immune system reacts more aggressively.

Persons: Johanna Geron, Epkinly, Johnson, Pfizer's, Bhanvi Satija, Leroy Leo, Pratik, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Pfizer, REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Thomson Locations: Puurs, Belgium, U.S, Bengaluru

The World Health Organisation (WHO) logo is seen near its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 2, 2023. "Collectively, available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 has additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the WHO said in a risk evaluation. COVID-19 has killed more than 6.9 million people globally, with more than 768 million confirmed cases since the virus emerged. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said EG.5 had an increased transmissibility but was not more severe than other Omicron variants. Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus deplored that many countries were not reporting COVID-19 data to WHO.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Maria Van Kerkhove, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Van Kerkhove, Leroy Leo, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Toby Chopra, Angus MacSwan Organizations: World Health Organisation, REUTERS, World Health Organization, EG, WHO, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Bengaluru

☆ Eleven dead in fire at French holiday home for disabled
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Tilman Blasshofer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WINTZENHEIM, France, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Eleven people died in a fire that tore through a holiday home for disabled people in eastern France in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said. A neighbour, Nathalie, told BFM TV that she heard people scream and saw huge clouds of smoke from her window. "Everything happened very quickly," an unnamed witness told France 3 TV. [1/5]Dark clouds are seen over the remnants of a holiday home in eastern France near Colmar where disabled people were killed as fire broke out during their summer holidays in Wintzenheim, France, August 9, 2023. Kielwasser told reporters it had likely been a low-level fire that had burnt for a while before growing bigger and tearing the house down.

Persons: Nathalie Kielwasser, Elisabeth Borne, Borne, Nathalie, BFM, Tilman Blasshofer, Philippe Hauwiller, Kielwasser, Daniel Leroy, Elizabeth Pineau, Zhifan Liu, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Blandine, Ingrid Melander, Angus MacSwan, Bernadette Baum, Toby Chopra, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: France, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: WINTZENHEIM, France, Wintzenheim, Strasbourg, Colmar, Paris

Paris CNN —At least nine people were killed and two are missing after a fire broke out at a vacation home in eastern France early Wednesday morning, authorities said. Christophe Marot, a senior official in Haut Rhin, told CNN affiliate BFMTV that those inside the building could not escape from the blaze. “It’s very tragic.”The 500 square-meter (5,400 square-foot) house had been hosting people with disabilities during the summer holidays. Authorities do not have any leads on what caused the blaze, but an investigation has been opened, Hauwiller said. Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty ImagesOne official said that those inside the building could not escape from the blaze.

Persons: Firefighters, Philippe Hauwiller, Hauwiller, hadn’t, Christophe Marot, ” Marot, “, Leroy, Sebastien Bozon, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne, ” Organizations: Paris CNN —, Authorities, CNN, BFMTV, Getty, Getty Images, Solidarity Locations: France, Wintzenheim, Paris, Haut Rhin, Nancy, AFP

☆ Novavax posts quarterly profit on COVID vaccine sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Novavax Inc FollowAstraZeneca PLC FollowBioNTech SE Follow Show more companiesAug 8 (Reuters) - Novavax (NVAX.O) reported a second-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strong revenue from its COVID-19 vaccines, but still trimmed its annual forecast for sales of the shot. As part of the agreement, Novavax will issue 6.5 million shares to SK Bioscience at $13 per share. Following the agreements, Novavax now owes SK Bioscience $65 million in cash. The company reported revenue of $424 million, compared with analysts' estimates of $240 million, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Novavax lowered the sales forecast for its COVID-19 vaccines to between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion this year, compared with a previous outlook of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion.

Persons: Novavax, Leroy Leo, Michael Erman, Varun H, Maju Samuel, Shounak Organizations: AstraZeneca, SK Bioscience, South Korean, South, Thomson Locations: KS, South Korean, United States, Bengaluru, New York

COVID vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer are pinning their hopes on private markets sales and strong demand for their new updated shots targeting XBB.1.5 variant to turn around a slump in sales of the products that had bumper growth during the peak of the pandemic. The company sees between $2 billion and $4 billion in the vaccine sales from commercial contracts in the United States and other places. However, it said $1 billion of a total $5 billion in sales from signed government contracts would be deferred to next year. Pfizer on Tuesday warned that sales of COVID vaccines were uncertain, adding that the COVID vaccination rates this fall should be a good predictor for annual rates. For Moderna, second-quarter COVID vaccine sales slumped 94% to $293 million, which was still higher than analysts' average estimate of $233.6 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Leroy Leo, Patrick Wingrove, Shinjini Organizations: REUTERS, Moderna Inc, Moderna, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru, New York

The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Rahway, New Jersey, U.S., July 12, 2018. Merck said Keytruda sales for the quarter jumped 19% to $6.3 billion, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $5.9 billion. Sales of Gardasil, which prevents cancers caused by HPV, surged 47% to $2.5 billion, also well above Wall Street estimates of $2.1 billion. There is room for further Gardasil growth as its use expands into treating males and moves into smaller cities, he added. Despite those challenges, Merck raised its full-year sales forecast to $58.6 to $59.6 billion, from its prior view of $57.7 billion to $58.9 billion.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Merck, Rob Davis, Davis, Keytruda, Caroline Litchfield, Litchfield, Bill Smead, Prometheus, drugmaker, Michael Erman, Leroy Leo, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Merck, Co, REUTERS, Reuters Connect Companies Merck, Merck & Co, Keytruda, Prometheus Biosciences, Analysts, Prometheus, Smead Capital Management, drugmaker, Thomson Locations: Rahway , New Jersey, U.S, United States, China, Europe, Germany, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Senegal's Mane joins Saudi side Al-Nassr from Bayern
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich's Senegal forward Sadio Mane has joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr after one season with the Bundesliga champions, both clubs said on Tuesday. Mane has signed a four-year contract, Al-Nassr added on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Mane moved to Bayern last year with high hopes after netting 120 goals in 269 games for Liverpool where he won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup. "We want to thank Sadio Mane for the past season," Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told the club website. Mane joins an Al Nassr outfit who have strengthened their squad since the marquee signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last term.

Persons: Sadio Mane, Mane, Nassr, Leroy Sane, Jan, Christian Dreesen, Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic, Seko, Alex Telles, Ahmed Musa, Rohith Nair, Anita Kobylinska, Osama Khairy, Ken Ferris Organizations: Bayern Munich's, Saudi Pro League, Al, Bundesliga, Twitter, Bayern, Liverpool, Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Africa, Nations, FC Bayern, Inter Milan, Manchester United, FIFA, Leicester City, Thomson Locations: Bayern Munich's Senegal, Merseyside, Senegal, Lens, Leicester, Bengaluru, Gdansk, Cairo

☆ Merck beats quarterly sales estimate on top drugs' strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Merck & Co Inc FollowAug 1 (Reuters) - Merck & Co (MRK.N) posted better-than-expected second-quarter sales on Tuesday on strong demand for its two top-selling products, cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil. Shares of Merck rose about 2% at $108.45 in premarket trading after the company also raised its full-year revenue forecast. Merck said Keytruda sales for the quarter jumped 19% to $6.3 billion, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $5.9 billion. Sales of Gardasil, which prevents cancers caused by HPV, surged 47% to $2.5 billion, also well above Wall Street estimates of $2.1 billion. Merck said it now expects full-year sales of $58.6 to $59.6 billion, up from its prior view of $57.7 billion to $58.9 billion.

Persons: Merck, Rob Davis, Davis, Keytruda, Cantor Fitzgerald, Louise Chen, Prometheus, drugmaker, Michael Erman, Leroy Leo, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Merck, Co, Merck & Co, Merck's, Prometheus Biosciences, Analysts, Prometheus, Thomson Locations: United States, China, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

Companies Centene Corp FollowJuly 28 (Reuters) - Centene Corp (CNC.N) said on Friday it was working to enroll people back into government-backed Medicaid plans after the end of pandemic-relief measures left hundreds of thousands of members without coverage. Medicaid memberships, the largest contributor to Centene's revenue, were hit by the removal of pandemic-related relief measures on April 1 that rendered several members ineligible for insurance coverage. Centene lost a little more than 260,000 Medicaid members in the second quarter due to redetermination, and had around 16 million members under Medicaid as of June 30. The company on Friday, however, beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit, helped by strong membership growth in its commercial marketplace business even as a fall in Medicaid memberships hurt. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.10 per share in the second quarter, above estimates of $2.03.

Persons: Centene, Sarah London, Julie Utterback, Mariam Sunny, Leroy Leo, Shinjini Ganguli, Shounak Organizations: Centene, Wall, Medicaid, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

July 27 (Reuters) - AbbVie (ABBV.N) on Thursday raised its annual profit forecast after beating analysts' estimates for second-quarter earnings on a lower-than-expected fall in sales of blockbuster arthritis drug Humira and strong sales of newer treatments. Global Humira sales tumbled 25.2% to $4.01 billion while analysts had expected $3.94 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Still, Humira sales are expected to drop 37% in 2023, and the company has been leaning on newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to drive growth. Excluding one-off items, AbbVie reported a profit of $2.91 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.81. The company raised its 2023 adjusted profit forecast to $10.90 to $11.10 per share from $10.57 to $10.97 earlier.

Persons: Evan Seigerman, Richard Gonzalez, Leroy Leo, Patrick Wingrove, Sriraj Kalluvila, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Global, BMO Capital, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Amgen, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Eli Lilly's obesity drug succeeds in two late-stage studies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 27 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly (LLY.N) said on Thursday its experimental obesity drug met the main goals in two late-stage studies, with the drug helping patients reduce 26.6% weight on average in one of the studies following intensive lifestyle changes. The company said both the late-stage studies also achieved all secondary goals. Overall safety of the drug tirzepatide, sold under the name Mounjaro for diabetes, was similar to that observed in previous studies. The results follow strong data for the drug from two earlier trials. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Eli Lilly, LLY.N, tirzepatide, Lilly, Bhanvi Satija, Leroy Leo, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Shounak Organizations: Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

[1/3] A man called David checks his phone as he stands near a fan to cool off, during a heatwave across Italy, in Rome, July 14, 2023. A heat wave has hit southern Europe during the peak summer tourist season, breaking records - including in Rome - and bringing warnings about an increased risk of deaths. Spain is expected to endure higher-than-average temperatures this summer, with two heatwaves already baking the country in June and July. Amazon Business, where companies can order supplies, saw more than a 20% increase in portable air-conditioning unit sales across Spain, Italy, and France this month compared to July last year. Smaller devices, like hand-held fans and fans worn around the neck, were also selling in their thousands.

Persons: David, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Angela Lonardo, Leroy Merlin, Elisa Anzolin, Corina Rodriguez, Helen Reid, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, El, El Corte Inglés, Amazon Spain, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, MADRID, MILAN, Southern Europe, Europe, United States, El Corte, Madrid, Spain, Seville, Sensibo, France, Corte, Milan, London

Video The attack on the Moscow buildings closed traffic on at least two large avenues, according to state media. Credit Credit... Reuters Smoke was rising from the top floors of a high-rise building in a complex for Leroy Merlin, a French home improvement store. Russia has fired missiles and drones at cities across Ukraine nearly every day while Russian cities, including Moscow, have been spared the violence of the war. Then on May 31, the Russian defense ministry said at least eight drones had targeted the capital and surrounding region. Ukraine has started to publicly take credit for attacks in Crimea, the peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014, arguing that the attacks are happening inside Ukrainian territory.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Sergei Sobyanin, Leroy Merlin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Shawn Paik, Jin Yu Young, Ivan Nechepurenko Organizations: ., Reuters, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian National Defense Management Center, The New York Times, Credit, Military University, Central Military, Russian Armed Forces Locations: Moscow, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Komsomolsky, Russian, Moskva, Russia, Crimea

☆ Vir Biotech slumps to over 3-year low as flu prevention therapy fails trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 20 (Reuters) - Vir Biotechnology's (VIR.O) shares plunged 45% to a more than three-year low on Thursday after the company's experimental antibody therapy to prevent a type of flu failed to meet its goals in a mid-stage trial. The biotechnology firm, which came into prominence through its COVID-19 antibody therapy sotrovimab developed in partnership with GSK plc (GSK.L), lost over $1 billion in market capitalization in early trade hit by the therapy's failure. The company said it will conduct further analyses on the trial data to "better understand these outcomes", but TD Cowen analyst Phil Nadeau does not expect the therapy to undergo further development. The company is developing antibody therapies against hepatitis B and D, for which data is expected later this year, and also has development programs for COVID-19, HIV and influenza. Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vir Biotechnology's, sotrovimab, Cowen, Phil Nadeau, Nadeau, Leroy Leo, Shailesh Organizations: GSK plc, COVID, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Teladoc Health expands Microsoft tie-up to automate documentation with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 18 (Reuters) - Teladoc Health (TDOC.N) is expanding a partnership with Microsoft (MSFT.O) to use the tech giant's artificial intelligence services to automate clinical documentation on its telehealth platform. The integration of AI services including Microsoft's OpenAI, owner of viral chatbot ChatGPT, will help ease the burden on healthcare staff during virtual exams, Teladoc said on Tuesday. The companies have been collaborating since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, wherein Teladoc integrated its Solo virtual healthcare platform into Microsoft Teams. Teladoc will now also use Microsoft's Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience, an AI-powered voice-enabled solution that uses the GPT4 AI service, to automatically document patient encounters, the telehealth company said. Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Microsoft's OpenAI, Teladoc, Leroy Leo, Devika Organizations: Teladoc, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

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