onsdag 19 augusti 2026
Latest news
Drug Development
Progress in the Development of mRNA Vaccines Against Cancer
The pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck report that they have made an important progress in the development of mRNA-based vaccines against cancer. This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.
– I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of a new area of research, says Merck's head of oncology Jane Healy.
The companies have published preliminary results from a phase 3 study, in which 1137 high-risk patients with malignant melanoma are participating. The experimental group has received the mRNA vaccine together with immunotherapy and the control group only immunotherapy. Both the primary goal of reducing the risk of relapse and the secondary goal of preventing spread have been achieved.
It is the first successful phase 3 study of a personalized cancer treatment based on mRNA, after decades of research.
Specific details from the study will be presented at a conference later this year.
North Korea-US relations
Trump: North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons
North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons, says US President Donald Trump according to AFP.
– He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should never have let that happen. But he has them. I get along very well with him, says Trump about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
Trump also says that he will meet Kim later this year. North Korea has not confirmed this.
Middle East crisis Gaza war
Israel builds gallows with spectator seats
Israel is building a gallows to hang Palestinians convicted of terrorism. The facility has spectator seats for the victims' families, writes The Telegraph.
The construction is shown off by Israel's far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a video.
– We are making history. Terrorists deserve only one thing: hanging, he says.
Earlier this year, the Knesset passed a law that makes the death penalty the standard for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. The law de facto does not apply to Israeli citizens.
Helicopter crash in Kenya – intelligence chief dead
Six tourists and a pilot have died in a helicopter crash in Kenya, AFP reports.
One of the dead is Ecuador's intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi, the country's transport minister said, according to TT. His wife also died.
The other five people on board were American citizens.
According to local authorities, no one survived the crash. The purpose of the helicopter trip was to see Mount Ololokwe, which is popular with tourists.
Shares rise 177 percent after successful vaccine test
A cancer vaccine from the companies Merck and Moderna has shown positive initial results.
The vaccine slows the return of aggressive skin cancer.
The news caused Moderna's shares to surge on the stock market.
A new, personalized cancer vaccine from Merck and Moderna has shown positive initial results. The companies announced this on Wednesday.
The results mean that the treatment is one step closer to a possible application for approval, according to CNBC.
Moderna, together with industry colleague Merck, has developed a vaccine based on mRNA therapy. The vaccine slows the return of malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
The stock soared
Merck's stock rose more than 12 percent on Wednesday, while Moderna's stock soared about 177 percent.
The large differences in price movements reflect the size of the companies. Before Wednesday, Merck was worth about $ 333 billion and Moderna about $ 25 billion.
- It is a big moment for medicine and a big moment for patients, said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel in an interview with CNBC.
Several other forms of cancer
The Phase 3 study continues and will, among other things, investigate whether the treatment also improves overall survival.
The companies plan to present the results at an upcoming international medical congress. It is still unclear when they will apply for approval in the United States.
Merck and Moderna are already investigating the vaccine in clinical trials against several other forms of cancer, according to CNBC.
Among other things, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer and renal cell cancer.
Tariff crisis Trump's tariff policy
Sources: US halve steel tariffs against Canada
The US and Canada are nearing a preliminary trade deal that would cut US tariffs on some Canadian steel and aluminum products from 50 to 25 percent, sources told Bloomberg.
The new tariffs are not expected to apply across the board. Some processed products containing steel and aluminum could instead receive different tariff levels. The details of the agreement have not yet been finalized.
The talks continue on Wednesday, less than a day after Donald Trump paused the planned 50 percent tariffs to give negotiations more time.
Trump pauses tariff threat against Canada: "There is a deal"
US President Donald Trump is pausing the tariff threat against Canada for three days, barely two hours before the tariff deadline was due to expire. Now the president claims that there is a “deal” between the countries and that it should be chalked up in an agreement.
Import duties of 50 percent on alcohol, lumber and hockey equipment, among other things, would have come into effect on Wednesday if Trump had not extended the tariff deadline.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney writes on X that significant progress has been made, but that there is still “important work” to be done.
Stock market sentiment / Today's stock market
Stock market sentiment
Economist after US stimulus purchases: “Interest rate problems persist”
The US Treasury Department is more than doubling its repurchases of US government bonds, which is pushing down long-term interest rates. SEB economist Elisabet Kopelman sees the measure as a clear signal that the government is concerned about high interest rates, but emphasizes that the problems persist.
– What they really need is for inflation to fall back and pave the way for lower interest rates from the Fed, she tells DI.
Shortly before 5 p.m., the US ten-year yield fell six points, from 4.70 to 4.64 percent.
Today's Stock market
Moderna's price surge costs short sellers 50 billion
Vaccine
developer Moderna's price surge on Wednesday has cost short sellers the
equivalent of around 50 billion kronor, according to S3 Partners.
-
This is an exceptionally painful price movement for those who shorted
Moderna, says the analyst firm's CEO Matthew Unterman to Bloomberg.
The
share of short-listed shares has already fallen from around 20 to 14
percent this year. Unterman believes that the price surge will prompt
more short-sellers to reduce their positions.
The stock surged as
much as 160 percent after positive results in a late study of the
company's personalized cancer vaccine against melanoma, a form of skin
cancer.
Wall Street breaks losing streak – Moderna rises 195 percent
Wall Street closed in the red, breaking a three-day losing streak. All leading indexes rose 0.2 percent.
US
market interest rates fell after the country's Treasury Department
announced that it will more than double the repurchases of long-term
bonds. The 30-year interest rate fell 9 basis points to 5.20 percent
while the 10-year fell just over 5 basis points to 4.65 percent.
The
minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate meeting also
showed that members saw room for higher interest rates if inflation is
not subdued.
Among individual companies, Moderna surged
195 percent after positive phase 3 results for the company's cancer
vaccine against melanoma, developed together with Merck. Merck advanced over 13 percent on the same news.
Marvell Technology climbed
9 percent after a deal with Google linked to the company's AI chip.
Google also received the right to buy Marvell shares for up to $12.2
billion.
Several other technology stocks fell after reports that OpenAI's second-quarter results disappointed investors. Broadcom and AMD fell 4-5 percent.
Economy
Crypto Market
Bitcoin surges ahead of Trump's meeting with crypto leaders
Bitcoin surges about 8 percent to $69,500 – its biggest gain since March. The lift comes ahead of Donald Trump's meeting with several crypto leaders at the White House and in the wake of falling US market interest rates.
The rise also forced many who had bet on a bitcoin drop to close their positions, which helped to amplify the price surge.
– Buyers are regaining confidence, says Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at trading platform IG.
According to him, the next big test will be whether bitcoin can continue to rise and challenge $75,000.
Several Fed members wanted to raise interest rates in July
Several Federal Reserve members wanted to raise interest rates in July and many saw a need for tightening if inflation does not fall, according to the minutes of the US central bank's latest meeting.
“Many considered that the recent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East had made the inflation outlook significantly more uncertain,” writes the Fed.
The Fed left the interest rate at 3.5-3.75 percent with a vote of 9-3.
Essity buys operations in Brazil for 2.7 billion
Essity is buying Kenvue’s menstrual care operations in Brazil for the equivalent of 2.7 billion kronor, according to a press release.
“With the acquisition, we establish a strong position in feminine care in Brazil and take another step in our strategy to grow in our most value-creating categories,” comments CEO Ulrika Kolsrud.
The purchase includes brands for sanitary napkins, panty liners and tampons, among others. The operations had sales of around 1.4 billion kronor last year.
Climate Threat Extreme Weather in Europe
Bank: Extreme Heat Costs Productivity Crash
The extreme heat of the summer in Europe will reduce the total GDP of EU countries by 1 percent in 2026, according to calculations from Triodos Bank. This is reported by SR Ekot.
A strong contributing factor is that general productivity drops sharply in the heat.
“The connection is well documented: workers' productivity decreases measurably when the temperature reaches 25–30 degrees. The effects are particularly clear in physically demanding work, outdoor work or work in environments without temperature control,” it writes.
In addition, the economy is burdened by, among other things, reduced production in agriculture and higher prices for food and electricity, according to Triodos.
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