China Reports 17 New COVID-19 Cases

China has reported 17 new coronavirus cases on Monday, its second consecutive double-digit increase after a 10-day lull in the pandemic.

No new deaths were reported for nearly a month, Xinhua quoted a Chinese health official as saying.

The global coronavirus cases have crossed 4 million mark with the number of infections increased to 4,132,365 on Monday.

A total of 283,387 people have died of the deadly virus.

Lockdowns are slowly being eased across some parts of Europe,including the hardest-hit countries of France and Spain, where death rates are falling.

Spain registered its lowest coronavirus death toll since mid-March, 143, on Sunday.

The United States remains the worst-hit with death toll nearing 80,000.

It is followed by Britain, with more than 32,000 deaths, and Italy, where more than 30,000 casualties were reported so far.

After record rise in coronavirus cases, Russia has overtaken Italy and the UK in the number of infections in the world.

In a statement he made in the UK parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening of society and the UK economy should go ahead with “utmost caution”.

With 34 new cases, South Korea reported its biggest single-day jump in a month.

Stock Alert: Moderna Jumps 19% On Positive News On Its Vaccine

Shares of Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) are rising more than 19% Monday morning after the company announced positive interim clinical data from the pahse I study of mRNA-1273, its vaccine candidate against novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The company said the vaccination in humans showed immune response.

The study was led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The stock has touched a new high of $87.00 and is currently trading at $79.79.

“With today’s positive interim Phase 1 data and the positive data in the mouse challenge model, the Moderna team continues to focus on moving as fast as safely possible to start our pivotal Phase 3 study in July and, if successful, file a BLA,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer at Moderna.

Total Not To Buy Anadarko’s Interests In Ghana – Quick Facts

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) announced Monday that Total S.A. (TOT) has informed Occidental that it is not interested in purchasing Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s (APC) interests in Ghana in the current circumstances.

The Ghana assets sale was conditional upon the completion of the Algeria assets’ sale. Occidental would not be in a position to sell its interests in Algeria to Total.

This was part of a Purchase and Sale Agreement entered into between Total and Occidental in August 2019 for Total to acquire Anadarko’s assets in Africa. Total and Occidental have since completed the sale and purchase of the Mozambique and South Africa assets.

On May 5, 2019, Occidental entered into a binding agreement to sell Anadarko’s Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa assets to Total for $8.8 billion. The sale is contingent upon Occidental completing its acquisition of Anadarko.

On May 9, Occidental agreed to buy Anadarko in a transaction valued at $57 billion, including the assumption of Anadarko’s debt.

Man charged in R.M. of West Interlake homicide

Ashern RCMP have a man in custody after a homicide in the R.M. of West Interlake earlier this weekend.

On Friday, Mounties were called to a home where the victim, a 35-year-old man from Vogar, Man., was found fatally injured and pronounced dead at the scene.

Stock Alert: Aurora Cannabis Surges 41% On Revenue Growth

Shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB) are gaining more than 41 percent or $4.63 in Monday’s morning trade at $15.83 after the company reported strong revenue growth in the third quarter. The stock has traded in a range of $5.30 to $105.48 in the past 52 weeks.

Friday, the Canada-based cannabis company said its net revenue for the third quarter, excluding provisions of $2.9 million, rose 18 percent from the prior quarter to $78.4 million. Consumer cannabis net revenue, excluding provisions, increased 24 percent from the prior quarter to $41.5 million, reflecting the launch of Daily Special, Aurora’s value brand, and a full quarter of Cannabis 2.0 products. Medical cannabis net revenue, both Canadian and international, showed growth of 13.5 percent overall.

Michael Singer, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Aurora said, “I am also pleased that our third quarter 2020 financial results were in-line with our expectations, and that we remain firmly on track with the cost-savings and capex goals we detailed during our business transformation plan in February 2020.”

Stock Alert: Align Technology Rises 12%

Shares of Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) are climbing more than 12% Monday. There are no company-specific news to move the stock up.

The US stocks are rising on the positive news about vaccine development and also the optimism expressed by the Federal chief that the American economy may start recovering this year.

Align Technology, that makes Invisalign dental aligners was badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic as dentists are one of the most at-risk group of people. The stock has come up more than 80% from its 52 week low of $127.88 hit mid-March.

ALGN has recorded a 52 week high of 330.72 in May last year. It is currently trading at $231.08.

France, Germany want $543 billion Recovery Fund, joint EU debt

PARIS (Reuters) – France and Germany called on Monday for the creation of a 500 billion euro ($543 billion) Recovery Fund able to offer grants to the countries and regions hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis.

In a joint statement, Paris and Berlin also said they were proposing to authorize the European Commission to borrow money on financial markets in the European Union’s name, while at the same time respecting EU treaties.