The Boston Globe - 11.03.2020

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 The Boston Globe Business B9

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posted a video on YouTube with

a caption reading “Paredox

Therapeutics Study” under a

picture of a caged beagle. The

video, titled “Cruel Tests on

Dogs Exposed!” shows “Harvey

the Beagle” and other dogs that

are “subject to forced inges-

tions,” “suffer painful surger-

ies,” are implanted with unnec-

essary devices, and “continue to

be tested and killed.”

A Charles River spokeswom-

an declined to comment, citing

pending litigation. The Hu-

mane Society, which also issued

a report about the testing, also

declined to comment.

The video, which has so far

notched nearly 220,000 views,

and subsequent media cover-

age briefly drew renewed atten-

tion to the issue of animal test-

ing, a contentious topic for the

pharmaceutical industry.

Animal rights activists have

long complained that testing

should be halted and regularly

seek to publicize instances in

which animals are mistreated.

Recently, People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals succeed-

ed in convincing several drug

makers to end the use of a so-

called forced swim test on ro-

dents, which was is used to

gauge the effectiveness of anti-

depressants.

Generally, though, drug mak-

uCHARLES RIVER LABS

ContinuedfromPageB 6

ers counter that certain prod-

ucts cannot otherwise be devel-

oped without testing and argue

that humans consequently can

be robbed of needed treatments.

Last year, though, Congress di-

rected the National Institutes of

Health and the Food and Drug

Administration to produce re-

ports detailing ways their scien-

tists use nonhuman primates in

their research centers.

Coincidentally, the Charles

River lawsuit also highlighted

another sensitive issue con-

fronting the pharmaceutical in-

dustry: the alleged theft of

trade secrets.

This is a common anxiety in

all industries, but especially

among drug makers that rely

on employees and partners to

maintain confidentiality. Over

the last few years, several drug

makers have tussled with em-

ployees who allegedly stole se-

crets, although generally the

circumstances involve accusa-

tions that information was pro-

vided to rivals.

Ed Silverman can be reached at

[email protected].

Animal-testvideotriggersalawsuit

ended nearly 5 percent higher

— recouping more than half of

the previous day’s losses — in

its biggest one-day gain this

year.

“Markets are always enam-

ored with tax cuts, or even the

hope thereof. Yesterday’s sell-

off was so extreme that it’s not

at all surprising to see a

bounce,” Steve Sosnick, chief

strategist at Interactive Brokers

in Greenwich, Conn., said in an

e-mail.

Technology shares led the

climb as investors rushed to

buy the recently beaten down

shares of tech behemoths such

as Apple and Microsoft, which

both rose roughly 7 percent.

Financial stocks also re-

bounded, reversing some of the

damage the sector sustained in

recent weeks tied to a sharp de-

cline in yields on government

bonds. Government bond

yields influence the interest

rates that banks charge, and

sharp declines in yields can

hurt banks’ profitability.

But analysts stressed that

any recovery in the markets is

likely to be tenuous. The White

House had not announced any

specific measures, and in-

creased testing for coronavirus

is expected to generate rising

numbers of new infections in

the coming weeks, which could

be a new challenge for inves-

tors’ nerves. And measures like

tax cuts, rebates, or expanded

insurance benefits and other

spending increases are far from

guaranteed.

“Given the nation’s charged

politics, especially in the lead-

up to the presidential election,

these steps could prove difficult

if not impossible for lawmak-

ers,” Mark Zandi, chief econo-

mist at Moody’s Analytics,

wrote in a note to clients.

In Monday’s global plunge,

the S&P 500 fell nearly 8 per-

cent, its sharpest daily decline

since December 2008 and a

tumble so swift that trading in

uMARKETS

Continued from Page B6

the United States had to be

halted for 15 minutes early in

the day. In Asia and Europe,

some of the biggest financial ex-

changes flirted with or crossed

into bear market territory — a

decline of more than 20 percent

from their highs. Through

Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down

about 15 percent.

The price of oil, which had

slumped by a quarter on Mon-

day, rose about 8 percent on

Tuesday. But oil prices remain

down more than 40 percent

this year.

Trump took his pitch for a

coronavirus-related economic

stimulus package to Capitol

Hill on Tuesday, joining Senate

Republicans over lunch to dis-

cuss cutting payroll taxes, offer-

ing targeted relief to the tour-

ism and hospitality industries,

and possibly taking other steps

to lift economic growth.

After the meeting, a Senate

aide said Treasury Secretary

Steven Mnuchin and Speaker

Nancy Pelosi of California

would take the lead on negoti-

ating a bipartisan package.

Trump emerged from his

lunch with no new details to

share on the package, which re-

mained in flux throughout the

day, amid internal struggles at

the White House and a cool re-

ception among congressional

Republicans to the idea of a

temporary payroll tax cut.

Trump said that and other ideas

were discussed, adding “there’s

great unity within the Republi-

can Party.”

He acknowledged there was

no consensus on how to pro-

ceed but had confidence the

economy will endure. “Be

calm,” he said after speaking

with lawmakers. “The consum-

er has never been in a better po-

sition than they are now.”

Walmart, the nation’s largest

employer, said it was taking

steps to ensure its 1.4 million

workers would continue to be

paid if they contracted the virus

or were subject to a quarantine.

The company said employ-

ees forced into a mandatory

quarantine would receive up to

two weeks of pay and their ab-

sence would not be counted

against their attendance record.

Additionally, any US worker

with the virus unable to return

to work would be paid up to 26

weeks. The policy, announced

Tuesday, came as concerns

mounted about low-wage work-

ers who risk lost wages if they

miss work. Walmart confirmed

an employee in Cynthiana, Ky.,

had tested positive for the virus.

As the epidemic spreads,

companies are less worried

about factory shutdowns by

Chinese suppliers and more

about a lack of US customers.

Some have already taken ac-

tion. Jay Foreman, chief execu-

tive of Basic Fun, said the coro-

navirus crisis had forced him to

lay off 18 of the toy company’s

175 workers, 10 of them in the

United States.

“China is slowly starting to

open up, so we’re getting ship-

ments,” said Foreman. “But

now what I‘m worried about is

a demand scenario in the Unit-

ed States, where people decide

the only thing they’re buying is

hand sanitizer and Wet Wipes

and Campbell’s Soup.”

The root of Monday’s finan-

cial market meltdown was the

start of an oil-price war be-

tweenSaudiArabiaandRussia

over the weekend, when the

Saudis slashed prices after Rus-

sia refused to join the Organiza-

tion of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries in production cuts.

On Tuesday, Saudi Aramco

said it would produce 12.3 mil-

lion barrels a day of crude in

April, a jump from its average

of 9.7 million barrels a day.

Although it is not clear how

much would come from stor-

age, the company is likely to

sharply increase production.

Saudi officials have said they

need to sell more oil to compen-

sate for lower prices, and Aram-

co is offering deep discounts on

its oil to win over buyers.

The sudden upheaval in the

oil markets may take months to

assess, but the impact on the

US economy is bound to be con-

siderable. Many smaller US oil

companies could face bank-

ruptcy if the price pressure goes

on for more than a few weeks;

larger ones will be challenged

to protect dividend payments.

Thousands of oil workers are

about to receive pink slips.

Several airlines announced

the temporary suspension of all

flights to and from Italy, a day

after the country announced a

nationwide lockdown. Spain

barred Spanish airlines from

operating inbound or outbound

Italian flights. British Airways

announced the suspension of

flights until April 4. Alitalia will

continue service but gave pas-

sengers the option to rebook or

reroute, free of charge.

Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines’

CEO, announced that the air-

line would cut domestic service

by about 15 percent.

Stocksreboundon

signalsofD.C.help

SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

Tech shares led Tuesday’s climb as investors rushed to buy

the beaten down shares of Apple, Microsoft, and others.

DINA RUDICK/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2016

A video of drug tests on dogs at CRL and subsequent media coverage drew attention to the

issue of animal testing, a contentious topic for the pharmaceutical industry.

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