Pfizer Says No Vaccine Shipments Have Been Delayed

Pfizer Inc. said it has shipped all 2.9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine that the U.S. government ordered this week and that it has millions more doses sitting in warehouses awaiting instructions for where to ship.

Officials from Operation Warp Speed have said that the second shots of the two-dose vaccines are being withheld until they are due in three weeks.

Some governors have complained this week that their allocations of Pfizer’s vaccine are less than what they had expected. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said Pfizer is experiencing production issues, an assertion that Pfizer rejected. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made similar claims in a briefing Wednesday.

Pfizer’s statement Thursday is the latest volley in a back-and-forth between Pfizer and U.S. officials over vaccine supply as the first shots roll out.

Why cheap cars are disappearing from dealer showrooms

The category of new cars costing less than $20,000 has shrunk in recent years, and it may keep younger buyers out of the market for a car, pushing them further toward ride-sharing and other forms of transportation.

Data from J.D. Power shows that sales of cheap cars fell off a cliff in recent years, despite the fact that overall car sales have been strong. In 2013, sales of cars costing less than $20,000 made up 20.1% of total annual new car sales. By 2020, that figure was 9.4%.

One reason for the drop is the steady thinning of the subcompact and compact car segments, from which many sub-$20,000 cars came. Those have been replaced by subcompact and compact sport utility vehicles, which tend to have slightly higher sticker prices starting at or just above $20,000.

Of course, with auto sales at or near record highs in recent years, there has been little pressure to sell less-profitable vehicles, which subcompact and compact cars tend to be.

But cheaper cars are valuable for bringing young buyers into a brand and building loyalty over a lifetime. Some auto industry analysts say that by choosing to sell more expensive vehicles, automakers risk leaving money on the table in the future.

Sydney Beach Virus Cluster Triggers Swift State Restrictions

A week out from one of the biggest public holidays of the year, Australia’s largest city is battling to contain an outbreak of Covid-19, ending a more than month-long run with limited community transmission in New South Wales state.

Sydney reported an additional 15 cases on Thursday, taking the total cluster on the city’s northern beaches to 17. The state health department has asked that region’s 250,000 residents to remain at home as much as possible over the next three days and avoid unnecessary gatherings to assist with contact tracing.

Almost all other Australian states and territories moved swiftly in response to the outbreak, with Victoria and the Northern Territory enforcing 14-day quarantines for Northern Beaches residents, while Tasmania has banned all visitors who have visited the region since December 11. Western Australia said Thursday anyone who has arrived from New South Wales on or before this time will be required to self-quarantine and get tested.

The uptick is a concern as many Sydneysiders prepare to travel across the country for Christmas. While most states have reopened their borders in recent weeks, rising infections could see restrictions re-imposed. The Sydney cluster shows the challenges in controlling the virus, even in a nation that has been spared the scale of infections and deaths experienced in Europe and the U.S.

Hackers Hit at Least Three States in Attack Tied to Russia

At least three states were hacked as part of a suspected Russian cyber-attack that breached several U.S. government agencies.

Two people familiar with the ongoing investigation said three states were breached in the attack, though they wouldn’t identify the states. A third person familiar with the probe confirmed that states were hacked but didn’t provide a number.

In an advisory Thursday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the hackers posed a “grave risk” to federal, state and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure and the private sector. The agency said the attackers demonstrated “sophistication and complex tradecraft.”

President-elect Joe Biden issued a statement Thursday on “what appears to be a massive cybersecurity breach affecting potentially thousands of victims, including U.S. companies and federal government entities.”

“I want to be clear: My administration will make cybersecurity a top priority at every level of government — and we will make dealing with this breach a top priority from the moment we take office,” Biden said, pledging to impose “substantial costs on those responsible for such malicious attacks.”

Largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase files for IPO as bitcoin soars past $23,000

Digital currency exchange Coinbase is going public as renewed investor interest in cryptocurrencies has pushed bitcoin to an all-time high.

On Thursday the company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The form is expected to go into effect after the SEC completes its review process.

California-based Coinbase, founded in 2012, has long been a go-to spot to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, and the company has grown into the largest digital currency exchange in the U.S.

The company's filing comes on the heels of a surge in the price of bitcoin. On Thursday the largest cryptocurrency rallied more than 12% to top $23,000 for the first time on record, according to crypto market data provider Coin Metrics. The move came just one day after the cryptocurrency topped the $20,000 mark for the first time.

With Thursday's jump, bitcoin is now up more than 200% for the year. Bitcoin has garnered much attention from investors lately, and Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller are among those who have come out in favor of the cryptocurrency. Large financial companies like PayPal and Fidelity have also made moves in the space.

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