Day Traders Send Biotech Soaring 998% Amid Share Crunch

Greenwich LifeSciences Inc. soared 998% Wednesday as day traders leap-frogged each other to get in on the micro-cap drug developer.

The Stafford, Texas-based company rallied as trading chatrooms lit up with mentions of a poster presentation showing promising data from an experimental breast cancer drug whose core findings have appeared in documents for months, including a June S-1 filing.

A key part of the stock’s massive rally, which triggered at least 24 halts due to volatility, is the fact that the float is 9% of shares. At one point, Greenwich surged as much as 2,941%.

More than 17 million shares changed hands Wednesday, over 700 times the 30-day daily average. The bout of volatility extended in late trading as the stock rose as much as 56% at 4:06 p.m. in New York.

Greenwich’s chief executive officer, Snehal Patel, owns a 65% stake in the company, which ended the day with a market value of $686 million. Patel has led the firm since June 2016.

Stock Alert: Photronics Down 20% On Quarterly Results, Outlook

Shares of Photronics Inc. (PLAB) are slipping nearly 20% on Wednesday morning after the photomask maker’s fourth-quarter results missed the Street estimates. Earnings outlook for the first quarter is also below analysts’ expectations.

PLAB is currently trading at $10.58, up $2.63 or 19.91%, on the Nasdaq.

Profit for the fourth quarter dropped to $6.5 million or $0.10 per share from $9.7 million or $0.15 per share last year. Fourth-quarter revenues dropped 4% to $149.3 million from $156.3 million last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.15 per share on revenues of $153.87 million.

Looking forward to the first quarter, Photronics expects revenue to be between $145 million and $155 million earnings of $0.07 and $0.14 per share. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.16 per share on revenues of $152.57 million.

U.S. Challenges Canadian Dairy-Tariff Quotas Under USMCA

The U.S. is challenging Canada’s allocation of dairy tariff-rate quotas, saying they way it’s done undermines the ability of American dairy farmers sell a wide range of products to Canadian consumers.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the enforcement action, which is being done in terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in an emailed statement Wednesday.

By setting aside and reserving a percentage of each dairy TRQ exclusively for processors, Canada’s “measures violate its commitments and harm U.S dairy farmers and producers,” Lighthizer said.

The move represents the first enforcement action under the new USMCA agreement, which went into force in July.

— With assistance by Marcy Nicholson

Watch live: Trump administration officials discuss Covid vaccine distribution

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vStXybNzUno?wmode=opaque

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The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense are holding a joint briefing Wednesday on the Trump administration's Covid-19 vaccine program Operation Warp Speed as states prepare to distribute the first doses.

The briefing comes a day before a Food and Drug Administration panel is scheduled to vote on whether to recommend the approval of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, the last step before the FDA gives the final OK for public distribution.

If the meeting goes well and the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee formally recommends the vaccine, the FDA could announce its authorization "within days," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday.

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid -19 outbreak.

Canada approves Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid vaccine

• Health Canada on Wednesday approved the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, clearing the way for shots to be delivered and administered across the country.
• The nation's first coronavirus vaccine green light comes under a new interim order system that allows for accelerated approval.

Health Canada on Wednesday approved the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, clearing the way for shots to be delivered and administered across the country.

The nation's first coronavirus vaccine green light comes under a new interim order system that allows for accelerated approval very similar to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorizations.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

EXCLUSIVE-Pemex tax burden could be reduced further, senior official says

MEXICO CITY, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Mexico’s government is weighing making further reductions to the tax burden on national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to bring it closer to that of ordinary companies, a top finance ministry official said on Wednesday.

Lower taxes could mark a turning point for ailing Pemex , the country’s largest company and tax payer.

A $1,200 check isn't the only help Americans received this year. Here are the other Covid relief measures set to expire in 2021

A second round of stimulus checks won't be the only thing Americans might miss out on if Congress and the White House can't agree on another Covid relief package.

The most important aid set to expire at the end of the year is the enhanced funding for unemployment benefits, according to Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation.

Check out this video for a full breakdown of how unemployment benefits will change and to learn about the other measures set to expire at the end of the year.

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Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.