CVS Well being, Sandoz companion on low cost Humira biosimilar

Rafael Henrique | Lightrocket | Getty Images

CVS Health is partnering with drugmaker Sandoz to produce a near identical version of the blockbuster arthritis treatment Humira that will sell for 80% below the price of the brand-named drug.

The move is part of the company’s new venture focused on securing, and in some cases co-producing, biosimilar drugs, which are the equivalent of generic versions of complex gene or protein-based therapies known as biologics.

“We’ve invested in committing to certain volumes for the U.S. marketplace so that we have a durable supply of product. We want to ensure that once we bring this into the U.S. marketplace, we don’t have any supply issues, we have a high-quality biosimilar product available, and it’ll be launched at a much lower … price than the originator molecule that exists,” said Prem Shah, CVS Health EVP and chief of pharmacy.

CVS is already one of the leading players when it comes to sourcing generic drugs through Red Oak, its joint venture with Cardinal Health. But it’s looking to strengthen its foothold in the biosimilars market, which is expected to grow to $100 billion over the next six years.

The company said Wednesday it’s launching a new subsidiary called Cordavis, which will specialize in securing supply of the new biosimilar drugs and will partner with Novartis Pharmaceuticals‘ generic manufacturing unit, Sandoz.

Sandoz, currently a unit of Novartis, is expected to be spun off as an independent publicly traded firm later this year.

CVS did not disclose the terms of the agreement for the new biosimilar, trademarked Hyromiz.

The company pledges that the list price of Cordavis Hyromiz will be more than 80% lower than the current list price of Humira, which is made by drugmaker Abbvie. It will launch in the first quarter of 2024.

The first FDA-approved biosimilar for Humira, Amgen’s Amjevita, went on sale in January. Eight more biosimilars are expected to come online within the next year, including Hyromiz.

Amgen executives have said demand for the company’s biologic appears to be growing, but that securing coverage from health insurers has posed a challenge.

“We’re obviously very early innings still in this biosimilar market with Amjevita. And we’re seeing clearly what is new payer behavior in light of such a large product having biosimilar competition,” said Murdo Gordon, Amgen EVP of commercial operations, on the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “The clarity of how pharmacy benefit works with biosimilar uptake, or lack thereof, is becoming clear to us and to other biosimilar manufacturers and other onlookers.”

Abbvie reported more than $4 billion in Humira sales in its most recent quarter, which was slightly better than expected. The company says it continues to be offered on health insurer plans at parity with the new biosimilars.

The launch of Cordavis has long been in the works, before the news last week from Blue Shield of California that it was dropping CVS as its pharmacy benefits manager and switching to Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company, Amazon Pharmacy and others in an effort to save on drug costs.

The news sent CVS shares plunging, but analysts like John Ransom of Raymond James say the selloff was overblown. 

At this point, the potential threat from upstarts is not as big as some might fear, especially when it comes to the current biosimilar market for drugs like Humira, Ransom said.

“They either get a big rebate from Abbvie, or they get a big discount from one of the competing biosimilar manufacturers. And that’s really where they have the advantage,” said Ransom.

Cuban’s Cost Plus doesn’t have the scale to buy generic or enough shelf space from the manufacturers, he said.

Correction: CVS Health subsidiary Cordavis will partner with Sandoz on biosimilar drugs. An earlier version mischaracterized the relationship.

Key Witness Recanted False Testimony And Implicated Trump

Trump Employee 4 who is a key witness in the classified documents case recanted his previous false testimony after Trump’s effort to destroy video surveillance footage after he dumped a Trump paid for attorney and got a new lawyer.

According to page 4 of the filing:

District Court for District of Columbia (Boasberg, C.J.), who presides over grand jury matters in that district. The Government notified this Court on the same day, by sealed notice, of the filing in the District of Columbia. See ECF Nos. 45, 46. Mr. Woodward raised no objection to proceeding in the District of Columbia regarding Trump Employee 4. In fact, he responded that he “welcome[d] the Court’s inquiry into [his] representation of” Trump Employee 4, Response at 1, In re Grand Jury Subpoena, No. 23-GJ-46 (D.D.C. June 30, 2023), but asserted that he had no “information to support the Government’s claim that [Trump Employee 4] has provided false testimony to the grand jury,” and that “even if [Trump Employee 4] did provide conflicting information to the grand jury such that could expose him to criminal charges, he has other recourse besides reaching a plea bargain with the Government. Namely, he can go to trial with the presumption of innocence and fight the charges as against him.” Id. at 3. According to Mr. Woodward, if Trump Employee 4 “wishes to become a cooperating Government witness, he has already been advised that he may do so at any time.” Id.

Chief Judge Boasberg made available independent counsel (the First Assistant in the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the District of Columbia) to provide advice to Trump Employee 4 regarding potential conflicts. On July 5, 2023, Trump Employee 4 informed Chief  Judge Boasberg that he no longer wished to be represented by Mr. Woodward and that, going forward, he wished to be represented by the First Assistant Federal Defender. Immediately after receiving new counsel, Trump Employee 4 retracted his prior false testimony and provided information that implicated Nauta, De Oliveira, and Trump in efforts to delete security camera footage, as set forth in the superseding indictment.

The Government anticipates calling Trump Employee 4 as a trial witness and expects that he will testify to conduct alleged in the superseding indictment regarding efforts to delete security Case 9:23-cr-80101-AMC Document 129 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/22/2023   footage. Trump Employee 4 will very likely face cross-examination about his prior inconsistent statements in his grand jury testimony, which occurred while Mr. Woodward represented him, and which he disavowed immediately after obtaining new counsel.

Trump doesn’t pay for lawyers for his employees and other witnesses that get caught up in his schemes out of the goodness of his heart. He pays for lawyers to control the testimony of witnesses. Anyone who accepts a lawyer from Trump needs to understand that the lawyer is working for Donald Trump.

Employee # 4 is the Cassidy Hutchinson situation all over again. After Hutchinson dumped her Trump lawyer, she had a different story to tell to the 1/6 Committee.

Trump uses lawyers to tamper with witnesses.

The fact that the IT employee changed his testimony when he got a new lawyer implicates Trump in witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

Jaylan Banks Seeks Full Custody Amid Falynn Pina’s DV Claims

On Sunday (Aug. 20), Jaylan Banks revealed he filed for full custody of his daughter Emma against ex-girlfriend Falynn Pina, he exclusively told The Shade Room.

Banks submitted paperwork via Odyssey eFileGA, categorized mandatory for e-filing for Fulton County State and Superior Court on Gerogia’s Judicial Council website. A screenshot of the online filing classified it under OTHER with no file description.

His statement to The Shade Room’s Maya M. on the filing was brief. Banks said:

“…I don’t feel as she is in the right head space for our child, and I am praying for her.”

This isn’t the first time that Jaylan has expressed concerns about Falynn parenting their daughter. Last week, the “Relationships Matter Podcast” published an episode featuring Banks. During that talk, Jaylan Banks said Falynn “groomed him” into a relationship by negatively portraying her ex-husband Simon Guobadia.

Later in that interview, he claimed that one of Falynn’s children is already calling another man “dad.” He added that his ex’s trauma makes him “scared to let [his] daughter be raised like that.”

However, Banks has not presented material examples or evidence of incidents indicating trouble in Falynn’s caretaker abilities.

After the interview went live, Pina teased him with a “groomer” t-shirt. The crop top sparked backlash for perceived insensitivity. In response, Banks released a statement clarifying that he meant to highlight Falynn’s alleged manipulative behaviors—not misuse the term grooming or belittle that experience.

RELATED: Jaylan Banks Reacts After Falynn Pina Teases His ‘Grooming’ Claim With T-Shirt: ‘This Behavior Raises Concerns’

Falynn Pina Alleges Jaylan Banks Never Paid A Bill And Physically Abused Her

Now that he’s escalated his concerns to court, it’s unclear what Falynn’s reaction will be. However, in response to the podcast episode, Pina joined the hosts of The Baller Alert Show to tell her side of their relationship woes. She has not publicly commented on Jayland Banks allegedly filing for full custody.

For the most part, Pina says that Jaylan Banks is the “liar” who engaged in physical abuse toward her, driving her to the other man he spoke about.

About 17 minutes into the interview, Falynn said she never planned to air Jaylan Banks out because he was her daughter’s father. However, she declared Jaylan put her in a position to defend herself.

RELATED: RHOA Alum Falynn Pina And Jaylan Banks Announce End Of Their Relationship

The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum was adamant that Banks “never paid for anything, ever.” She added that despite being “a great daddy” to their child, he never paid a single bill. Instead, Pina says she showered her ex with gifts, including two trucks she allegedly took back when the relationship ended.

“I took it back cause there was cheating. There are abuse, there was domestic violence. “There’s was a lot that I put up with in just two years of being with him. It got to a point where, I mean, he was putting his hands on me and we weren’t even together anymore.”

Falynn alleges she discovered he was cheating after he came home at 8 a.m. one day, after another usual night of being out. She says she searched his phone and realized he was sharing his location with another woman and vice versa.

Pina revealed that they lived together for months after the breakup–though she didn’t give a specific time frame. The former couple announced a miscarriage in January and their split the following month. She says they hadn’t been sleeping in the same bed but were working out the kinks of going their separate ways.

Their domestic situation allegedly turned dark when he found out Falynn had moved on. But it wasn’t the first time he had gotten physical. Falynn claims that happened while she was still pregnant with their daughter Emma.

“When [Jaylan Banks] found out that I finally was like moving on, you know, taking those steps toward seeing other people, I’ll never forget it. He came home, it was four in the morning. He came bussing in the door, he just, he choked me out, and I had to calm him down cause after that he said he couldn’t forgive himself cause he said he’d never hit me again.”

Later in the interview, Falynn admitted that she’s the type of mother that will introduce her kids to her new beau early on. Her comment responded to Jaylan’s claims that her nine-year-old was calling someone dad fresh after they split. But Pina insists that the accusation Banks made isn’t that simple.

“I know in his interview he said that I just up and left with a man and now my kids are calling another man dad. And it’s like no, I had to call that man cause I don’t have family that could be there for me. And I had to call that man to come protect me and my kids and get us outta there safely. I had to call the police. It was dark. It got really dark, it got really bad and all I kept thinking was I don’t deserve this and my daughter doesn’t deserve to grow up seeing a man put their hands on her. The only reason I put up with it is because I watched my mom go through the same thing.”

Falynn Reveals Her New Man Is An Actor, Pleasure P Posts Photo Of Them Days Later

As for the groomer t-shirt, Pina said she doesn’t think “grooming is very funny at all.” She said she was “actually groomed” during a relationship with someone 30 years older than her, presumably Simon.

Instead, the reality TV star says she made a lot of excuses on Jaylan’s behalf until she learned to stop “saving people’s image.”

“To say that I was a groomer knowing damn well I held you down. I paid for everything. I allowed the media and everyone, my own family, that you were a real man and you were taking care of business in the household when in all actuality, you weren’t doing anything. I cooked, I cleaned. Not that he didn’t cook ever, but most of the time. He would play his game for 16 hours a day because he fell into depression and would not be there for me and the children.”

One claim Falynn confirmed is that she’s moved on with another man. She says he’s an actor and boxer but refuses to reveal his identity. Her interview preceded an unexpected post from RSVP’s Pleasure P. On Saturday, Pleasure uploaded a boo’ed up photo featuring Falynn.

She hasn’t publicly commented on that. But Pleasure appeared smitten, given the caption, which reads, “@falynn I need more of you every moment #galaxy.” 

If you were wondering, Banks left a series of laughing emojis under The Shade Room’s repost. Meanwhile, a source close to the situation tells TSR that Pleasure P is not the man Falynn allegedly resides with.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: RSVP Talks Debut Album, Making Man-Bands Cool Again & Previews New Single ‘Mr. Nasty Time’

Some lawmakers need to improve the 1099-Ok tax reporting thresholds

As the year-end approaches, there’s been debate around tax reporting for business transactions on payment apps such as Venmo and PayPal, along with e-commerce companies, such as eBay, Etsy and Poshmark.

Some lawmakers are pushing to increase the IRS reporting threshold for Form 1099-K, which covers third-party business payments. Taxpayers who use a payment app to process transactions for a side hustle or small business, or who sell a product or service through an e-commerce site, will receive a Form 1099-K at tax time detailing that income if their transactions exceed the threshold.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 dramatically reduced the threshold, and now lawmakers are looking to change course.

“There’s bipartisan interest in the backslide because of all the misinformation that’s out there,” said Steve Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, who addressed the issue on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week.

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How the tax rule change affects payment app users

Before this year, you may have received Form 1099-K if you had more than 200 transactions worth an aggregate above $20,000. But the 2023 threshold is just $600, and even a single transaction can trigger the form.

That change is expected to result in a flood of Forms 1099-K in early 2024 when taxpayers typically receive so-called “information returns” from employers and financial institutions. Duplicate copies go to the IRS.

The threshold doesn’t apply to personal transfers on apps like Venmo and PayPal, such as sending a friend or family member money. But experts have expressed concern that some taxpayers may now receive a 1099-K by mistake, creating headaches at tax time.

And given that just one transaction above $600 is enough to trigger the form, even someone who makes a one-off sale of, say, an old couch or hot concert tickets could find themselves with an extra tax document to contend with.

The lower 1099-K reporting thresholds have been controversial amid increased scrutiny of the IRS, particularly among online sellers, gig economy workers and others who worry about confusion and higher taxes.

There’s bipartisan support for the change

The lower Form 1099-K thresholds were originally slated for 2022. But the IRS delayed the rule in late December, to “help smooth the transition and ensure clarity” for taxpayers and professionals.

Now, with the tax season fast approaching, there’s a legislative push from both chambers to increase the 2023 reporting threshold.

The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee in June approved legislation to revert the reporting thresholds back to 2022 levels. There are also proposals in the Senate, including the Red Tape Reduction Act, introduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., in May, which aims to raise the threshold to $10,000.

But advocates say the lower 1099-K threshold will reduce taxpayer burden. “[Information returns] don’t actually increase taxes,” said Rosenthal. “They only help determine taxes already owed.”

Form 1099-K has ‘always been problematic’

Meanwhile, there are lingering worries among tax professionals about the 1099-K change. The American Institute of CPAs in June renewed its support for raising the reporting threshold to avoid “significant confusion in the tax system.”

In a June letter endorsing the Senate’s Red Tape Reduction Act, AICPA voiced concerns about an administrative burden for taxpayers and the IRS, especially if Forms 1099-K wrongly include personal transactions, such as gifts or reimbursements.

Form 1099-K has always been problematic.

Phyllis Jo Kubey

Immediate past president of the New York State Society of Enrolled Agents

“Form 1099-K has always been problematic,” said Phyllis Jo Kubey, a New York-based enrolled agent and immediate past president of the New York State Society of Enrolled Agents. “Even in its older iteration with the higher thresholds and number of transactions, a lot of times it just didn’t accurately reflect what should be taxable income.”

For businesses selling goods, she said Form 1099-K may not accurately reflect returns or adjustments. “But if the IRS has a document that says ‘X,’ and you’re saying ‘Y’ on your tax return, it may provoke more scrutiny, which is another level of time, expense and aggravation that people don’t need,” Kubey said.

How to prepare for the 1099-K reporting change

Even if you don’t receive a Form 1099-K, business payments are still taxable, and experts say it’s a good time to start getting organized.

Regardless of the payment platform, it’s important to “be familiar with the systems,” know where to access payment information and to keep your account open, said Albert Campo, a certified public accountant and president of AJC Accounting Services in Manalapan, New Jersey.

“Our biggest piece of advice is to make sure you get the [payment] information as soon as you have it available,” which may save time next filing season, he said.

Can costly, American-made weapons like F-16s flip the tide in Ukraine’s battle in opposition to Russia?

The Ukrainian counteroffensive that launched in June against Moscow’s invasion has run into a Russian wall. 

In the run-up to the Ukrainian push, weapons from Western allies — such as tanks, artillery and other equipment — poured into Ukraine. Despite some small gains, Ukrainian forces have yet to see a large breakthrough, leaving some to wonder what else is needed.

“This is about as hard as it gets,” said Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Think World War I with drones. … That’s a little bit what the Ukrainians are facing. And so in our microwave culture here in the United States, we want results yesterday, but that’s just not the way it works when you’re confronting a military like the Russians.”

Land mines have been a massive problem for Kyiv’s forces. Russia has deployed large tracts of the explosive devices, including mines aimed at troops as well as mines that are designed to take out armored vehicles like tanks, slowing down any Ukrainian advance. And with Russia’s ability to lay mines with specialized artillery, keeping cleared lanes open to send forces through has been a struggle.

“Let me be clear, this would present a significant challenge for any force that is trying to take it without the full scope of Western capabilities,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator and co-founder of CrowdStrike.

Many in Kyiv have called for the introduction of Western fighter jets, such as the F-16, to beef up the beleaguered Ukrainian Air Force, which has managed to keep flying and fighting despite what on paper is an overwhelming Russian advantage in air power. These fighters would also help take the pressure off of air defense forces, which consists of older Soviet surface-to-air missile systems that are difficult to resupply, and the newly provided Patriot missile system. Just sending F-16s to Ukraine wouldn’t turn the tide overnight. It would take months, if not years, of training to get the most out of these expensive jets.

“These weapons are not silver bullets,” said Mick Ryan, a retired major general of the Australian army and adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “There’s no such thing as a single weapon system that will provide that. It’s when you have lots of different weapons systems in the air on the ground. You have operators who are technically proficient and then you’re able to undertake the collective combined arms training, that’s when you have a really war-winning capability.”

Watch the video above to find out if more big-ticket, U.S.-made weapons such as F-16s, the Patriot missile system and HIMARS can turn the tide in Ukraine.

New vaccines will possible defend in opposition to Eris variant

A pharmacist prepares to administer Covid-19 vaccine booster shots during an event hosted by the Chicago Department of Public Health at the Southwest Senior Center in Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 9, 2022.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

New Covid vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax will likely provide protection against the new “Eris” variant, now the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S.

The drugmakers designed their updated vaccines to target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which is slowly declining nationwide. But health experts and initial data suggest that the new shots will still be effective against Eris, or EG.5, and other widely circulating variants – all of which are descendants of omicron. 

“I think that these vaccines will provide very substantial protection against EG.5. Maybe just a little bit of loss, but it’s nothing that I’m very concerned about,” Dr. Mark Mulligan, director of the NYU Langone Vaccine Center, told CNBC. “It looks like we’re going to be OK.”

All three companies are still waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to approve their vaccines, meaning those jabs won’t be available to the public for a month or so. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has to decide which Americans should get the shots and how often. 

Still, the upcoming arrival of those vaccines offers some reassurance to Americans as Eris and other Covid variants fuel a slight uptick in cases and hospitalizations across the country but remain below the summer peak that strained hospitals this time last year.

Eris accounted for 17.3% of all cases in the U.S. as of earlier this month, according to the latest data from the CDC. The new strain surpassed XBB.1.5, which accounted for roughly 10% of all cases. 

The World Health Organization earlier this month designated Eris a “variant of interest,” meaning it will be monitored for mutations that could potentially make it more severe. 

But the health agency and experts said Eris does not appear to pose a significant threat – or at least no more than any of the other omicron variants currently circulating in the U.S. It’s also not expected to cause a huge wave of Covid cases like other strains have in previous years. 

Why are the shots likely effective against Eris?

The new vaccines will likely provide protection against Eris because the strain has a very similar genetic makeup to XBB.1.5. 

The key difference is that Eris carries an additional amino acid mutation, which may make the strain only slightly more capable of evading immunity from previous infection or vaccination. 

“It’s not like back then when we had the alpha, beta, delta and omicron variants emerge and they were significantly different from one another,” said Dr. Nicole Iovine, chief hospital epidemiologist and an infectious disease physician at the University of Florida. “These are all omicron variants, so they’re much more similar to each other. I think this vaccine is actually going to be quite effective because of that.” 

A nurse administers a booster shot at a Covid-19 vaccination clinic on April 0=6, 2022 in San Rafael, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

That’s backed up by new data from the three companies.

Moderna on Thursday said its updated shot caused a “significant boost” in protective antibodies against Eris and another quickly spreading strain of the virus called “Fornax,” or FL 1.5.1, in a clinical trial. The company didn’t provide specific data on antibody levels since the trial results are preliminary. 

But Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in a release that the results “reflect our updated vaccine’s ability to address emerging Covid-19 threats.” 

A Pfizer spokesperson, in a statement to CNBC on Thursday, said the company’s own shot “effectively neutralized” a number of omicron variants, including Eris and XBB.1.5, in a recent study on mice. The company plans on releasing the entirety of the study results in a research publication, the spokesperson said. 

A Novavax spokesperson also told CNBC that it expects its updated Covid vaccine to work against Eris given its similarity to the XBB.1.5 strain. 

“We’re now conducting testing to demonstrate that,” the spokesperson added. 

Should you wait for the new shots? 

As Eris gains a stronger foothold in the U.S., some Americans may be questioning whether they should get one of the currently available Covid boosters rather than waiting for the new shots to arrive. 

Some experts say it depends on individual circumstances and risk levels, so patients should talk to their doctors.

Mulligan said unvaccinated or immunocompromised people who haven’t gotten the available boosters could potentially consider taking them now. Those patients are at a higher risk of getting severely sick from Covid. 

But he added that most people, especially healthy patients, could probably afford to wait for the new vaccines.

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Eris isn’t expected to infect a substantial number of Americans before the shots come out. “Some of us may get impacted, but I don’t expect us to see a huge wave in a short period of time between now and the next month or two,” Mulligan said.

The currently available boosters also might not provide as much protection against Eris because the variant has “drifted too far away” from omicron BA.5, according to Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health. The boosters target BA.5, BA.4 and the original strain of Covid. 

“It’s probably not going to be that beneficial and we do expect the updated vaccines to be available in about a month or so,” Blumberg said. “So I would wait for that one and get one as soon as it’s available.” 

Still, it’s unclear how many Americans will take the new Covid shots given widespread vaccine fatigue.

Prime GOP voice on China menace says funding restrictions fall quick

WASHINGTON — A leading House Republican voice on the national security threat posed by China said the White House’s plan to restrict outbound investment in the Chinese military and defense companies falls short of addressing the real problem.

President Joe Biden’s executive order, which is expected to be implemented next year, “takes an important step in the right direction,” but it should have accounted for public market investments into Chinese firms collaborating with the Chinese military or complicit in human rights abuses, Rep. Mike Gallagher, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.

The executive order will also require outbound U.S. investors to notify the Treasury Department about transactions involving certain technologies that could pose a threat to the United States.

The Wisconsin Republican is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and a leading voice in the House on the risks of U.S. investment in China.

Americans who invest in company stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and bonds on the public market risk inadvertently contributing to technology that poses a potential national security threat if they rely on U.S. financial firms that invest in companies blacklisted for supporting the CCP.

The House CCP Committee has flagged around 50 firms, including machinery, aircraft and technology firms and created a de facto blacklist.

Gallagher argued that investment restrictions can be used both defensively for national security, and as a weapon to weaken China’s economic stature and its military capabilities by cutting off funds.

“The CCP is an adversary and you don’t defeat an adversary or deter an adversary by shoveling billions of dollars into their military and technology program,” he said.

He also contended that investments like American retirement plans should not be dependent for returns on companies that could pose a threat to the long-term security of the plans’ investors.

“We have to ask ourselves if we want the pension fund, the overall retirement health of millions of Americans, to be dependent on the success of investing in things like [Chinese] aircraft carriers, artillery shells, and fighter jets.”

China is currently the third largest U.S. trading partner behind Mexico and Canada, a reality that puts the White House in a tricky position of trying to restrict specific U.S. investments while keeping the overall bilateral trade relationship stable.

Gallagher’s statements come as the Chinese government announced on Thursday that it is considering countermeasures to Biden’s order.

Last month, the House CCP Committee sent inquiries to U.S.-based global investment firms MSCI and BlackRock seeking more information about how the firms might direct U.S. investments into Chinese companies on a committee blacklist.

“We don’t think Blackrock or MSCI should funnel American dollars into certain companies like this, and we need to close the loopholes and at a minimum, ensure Americans are not knowingly or unknowingly funding the Chinese Communist Party,” Gallagher said Friday.

MSCI provides investment data and analytics to help clients make investment decisions in different global markets. In a statement to CNBC, the company said it is that it “engaging constructively with the House Select Committee” and “complies with all applicable U.S. laws.”

BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and has previously said it offers its clients options to avoid investing in certain Chinese sectors. The company told CNBC Friday that it complies with applicable laws and “the majority of our clients’ investments in China are through index funds.”

The executive order grants Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen broad authority to determine what is a covered investment — too much authority, according to Gallagher.

The brewing debate over how widely to apply restrictions is pitting the White House against China skeptics on Capitol Hill, both Republicans and a significant cohort of Democrats.

Yellen has already signaled that she intends to keep any investment restrictions “narrowly targeted” to protect U.S. national security, and insists they are not intended to weaken China’s economy.

“Even though these policies may have economic impacts, they are driven by straightforward national security considerations,” she said in an April speech.

Treasury is accepting public comment on the proposed rules in the executive order through Sept. 28. So far, however, no formal timeline has been released for the issuance of final rules on outbound investment restrictions.

TJX Firms (TJX) earnings Q2 2024

Shoppers at a TJ Maxx store in New York.

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Cash-strapped consumers may be pulling back on discretionary purchases at Target, but they’re spending big on name brands and home goods at off-price TJX Cos. 

The discounter raised its full-year outlook on Wednesday after posting a 7.7% year-over-year sales jump and a 23% rise in profits. It cited high customer traffic and a windfall of premium merchandise that it secured from higher-end retailers eager to offload their bloated inventories. 

Here’s how TJX Cos. did during its fiscal second quarter, compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

  • Earnings per share: 85 cents vs. 77 cents expected
  • Revenue: $12.76 billion vs. $12.45 billion billion expected

The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended July 29 was $989 million, or 85 cents per share, compared with $810 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier. 

Sales climbed to $12.76 billion, up 7.7% from $11.84 billion a year earlier. 

Shares of TJX Cos. reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday, spiking more than 4%.

TJX Cos., which runs T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra and Homesense in the U.S., raised its full-year outlook for comparable store sales, pretax profit margin and earnings per share following the strong quarter.

The company now expects comparable store sales to climb 3% to 4%. It anticipates pretax profit margin in the range of 10.7% to 10.8%, and earnings per share between $3.66 and $3.72. Analysts had been expecting earnings to be $3.59 per share, according to Refinitiv. 

TJX may have had a stronger quarter, but the figures also compared with a prior year when sales had slid 1.9% and comparable store sales had fallen about 5%, Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData, noted. Still, the retailer is managing to win market share.

As inflation-weary and debt-laden consumers pull back on high-ticket and discretionary items and use their precious dollars on services, they are still seeking deals and are splurging on accessories, clothes and home goods at TJX’s many off-price stores. Traffic increased in all of the company’s divisions, driving the strong quarter, the retailer said. 

TJX Cos. has been able to offer a wider assortment of premium merchandise because so many of its suppliers, which tend to be full-price, high-end retailers, have been dealing with bloated inventories and offloading more of their stock than usual. 

“The third quarter is off to a very strong start and we are seeing tremendous off-price buying opportunities in the marketplace,” TJX Cos. CEO Ernie Herrman said in a news release. “Going forward, we continue to see excellent opportunities to grow sales and customer traffic, capture market share, and drive the profitability of our Company.”

The home goods sector has been under pressure recently after consumers shelled out to upgrade living spaces during the Covid pandemic and then switched their spending toward experiences and services. Even so, TJX’s HomeGoods posted a 4% comparable sales increase as consumers still sought out home decor, throw pillows and other furnishings.

Meanwhile, Target reported fiscal second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and is continuing to see a pullback in spending on discretionary items like clothes and home decor. It slashed its full-year forecast and said consumers still face pressure from high inflation in food, beverages and household essentials.

Tuohy Household Lawyer Slams Michael Oher’s Lawsuit as “Shakedown Effort”

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy‘s lawyer is calling a foul on Michael Oher‘s lawsuit.

Marty Singer, who is representing the couple in the case, fired back at the former NFL star’s allegations that the family had lied about adopting him and subsequently made millions from his story, which was the basis of the 2009 movie The Blind Side. Singer argued that his client had “given Mr. Oher an equal cut of every penny received from The Blind Side” and accused the 37-year-old of using the lawsuit as a “shakedown effort” for more cash.

“Anyone with a modicum of common sense can see that the outlandish claims made by Michael Oher about the Tuohy family are hurtful and absurd,” Singer said in a statement to E! News on Aug. 15. “The idea that the Tuohys have ever sought to profit off Mr. Oher is not only offensive, it is transparently ridiculous.”

Saying that the Tuohy’s wealth came from their “hard work and good fortune” in the restaurant business, Singer continued, “The notion that a couple worth hundreds of millions of dollars would connive to withhold a few thousand dollars in profit participation payments from anyone—let alone from someone they loved as a son—defies belief.”

“In reality, the Tuohys opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support and, most of all, unconditional love,” he said. “They have consistently treated him like a son and one of their three children.”

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