8 The EconomistNovember 21st 2020
The world this week Business
Pfizer and BioNTech said fur-
ther data showed that their
vaccine for covid-19was 95%
effective, and similarly effica-
cious in people over 65. They
will soon ask regulators in
America and Europe for emer-
gency approval of the treat-
ment. That came after
Moderna reported that its
vaccine was 94.5% effective in
an interim analysis, the second
breakthrough in potentially
preventing the disease in just
over a week. Moderna’s ad-
vantage is that its vaccine can
be stored at refrigerated tem-
peratures of between 2^0 C and
80 C for 30 days. The shots being
developed by Pfizer and BioN-
Tech need to be transported at
-70^0 C and last less than a week
in refrigerated conditions.Thegoodnewsonvaccinesis
bad news for the share price of
Zoom, one of the star perform-
ers in tech stocks boosted by
remote working. It is not just
office staff who are stuck in-
doors. Zoom is making its
video-chat service entirely free
on Thanksgiving Day so that
families can catch up for lon-
ger; free meetings are usually
limited to 40 minutes.Amazonlaunched an online
pharmacy in America that
offers discounts of up to 80%
to subscribers to its Prime
programme, assuring custom-
ers that their health data would
be kept confidential and sep-
arate from other information.
The share prices of big pharma-
cy companies, such as Rite Aid
and cvsHealth, swooned in
response.Australia, New Zealand and 13
Asian countries, including
China, signed the Regional
Comprehensive Economic
Partnership. The trade deal islimited in scope, joining to-
gether a patchwork of existing
free-trade agreements, and
does not include India, which
withdrew for fear of being
overwhelmed by Chinese
imports. But it will produce
benefits, raising global gdpin
2030 by an annual $186bn
according to one estimate.Jay Clayton decided to step
down as chairman of America’s
Securities and Exchange
Commissionby the end of the
year. Joe Biden is expected to
appoint someone to the job
who will be tough on banks.pnc, a bank operating primari-
ly in America’s east and south,
agreed to buy the American
operations of bbva, a Spanish
bank, for $11.6bn. The deal will
make pncthe country’s fifth-
largest commercial bank by
assets (though still some way
behind the big four). Mean-
while, more consolidation in
Spain’s banking industry
beckoned when bbvasaid it
was in talks to merge with
Sabadell, a rival.Airbnbfiled the prospectus for
its long-awaited ipo, which is
expected in December. Door-
Dash, a food-delivery service,
also published a prospectus for
its stockmarket flotation, also
expected next month.Cleared for take-off
The Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration gave its approval for
Boeing’s 737 maxaircraft to fly
again in America, 20 months
after the fleet was grounded
following two crashes. The 737
maxwon’t take to the skies
immediately. Among other
things, airlines based in Amer-
ica must still get the faa’s all-
clear for revised pilot-training
procedures for the plane.With flying curtailed during
the pandemic,easyJetreport-
ed a £1.3bn ($1.7bn) annual loss,
the first in its 25-year history.The British government
brought forward to 2030 the
date by which the sale of new
petrol and diesel carswill be
banned. It forms part of a new
“green industrial revolution”
strategy, which includes ener-
gy-efficiency measures and a
huge boost to offshore-wind
power. Critics said the plan
would need more money, not
least for charging points for the
millions of electric cars that
drivers are supposed to buy.Japan’s economygrew by 5%
in the third quarter over the
second, though year on year it
was 5.8% smaller. Consump-
tion bounced back, but busi-
ness investment fell again.Four astronauts were trans-
ported to the International
Space Station aboard the Crew
Dragon spacecraftbuilt and
operated by SpaceX. nasa
described it as the first opera-
tional flight of the spacecraft.
Two astronauts who took the
trip in May, the first to be
launched from American soil
since 2011 and the first from
any country to reach orbit in a
vessel designed and operated
by a private company, were
conducting tests.Swire Pacificwas dropped
from Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
stockmarket index. Founded in
1816, the conglomerate used to
be synonymous with business
in the territory and is still the
largest shareholder in Cathay
Pacific. Its replacement in the
index is a food-delivery app.Respectability at last
Having previously been
spurned by the s&p 500, Tesla
is to be included in the index
from December 21st. Fund
managers that track the s&p
will now have to buy the elec-
tric-car maker’s stock for their
portfolios. The share price has
soared this year, and surged
again on the news. Tesla will be
one of the biggest companies
by market value in the s&p 500
when it joins.Zoom’s share price
2020, $Source:RefinitivDatastream6004002000
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