FDA signs off on updated Covid-19 vaccines that target circulating variants
The US Food and Drug Administration gave the green light Monday to updated Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech amid rising casesandhospitalizations.
Both vaccine manufacturers have said testing shows that their vaccines are effective against EG.5, thecurrently dominantstrainintheUnited States.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of independent experts that advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its vaccination decisions, will now weigh the safety and effectiveness of the updated vaccines and make recommendations for their use. After the CDC director signs off on those recommendations, the vaccines can be administered.
Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated as soon as the shots are available. They’re debuting amidalatesummerriseinCovid-19hospitalizations in the United States and growing concerns about the effects that the triple threat of respiratory viruses – coronavirus, flu and respiratory syncytial virus–mayhavethisfallandwinterseason.
Souce:
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/11/health/fda-signs-off-on-updated-covid-19vaccines/index.html
U.S. sets record for billion-dollar climate catastrophes in 2023
With months to gobefore2023 wraps up, theU.S. has set a new record for the number of weather disastersinayearthatcost$1billionormore.
There have been 23 climate catastrophes and weather events costing at least $1 billion as of the end of August, breaking the record of 22 set in 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday. This year's disasters have so far cost more than $57.6 billionandkilled253 people.
And the number could climb higher. NOAA is still totaling the cost of Tropical Storm Hilary, which wreakedhavocacrossCalifornialastmonth,anda droughtintheSouthandMidwest.There'salsoan "above normal" forecast for this year's hurricane season, which will continue through the end of November.
Some of the latest costly disasters include the firestorm in Hawaii, Hurricane Idalia and hail stormsinMinnesota.
Last year, there were 18 climate extremes that caused at least $1 billion in damage each, totaling morethan$165 billion.
Inflation rises for second straight month in August on higher gas costs
Inflation accelerated for a second month in August on a spike in gasoline prices and an underlying measure of household expenses rose more than anticipated, highlighting that the Federal Reserve's battletotameconsumerpricesmaynotbeover.
Goods such as used cars and furniture kept drifting downinprice,partlyoffsettingaclimbinrent,travel andotherservices.
Consumer prices overall rose 3.7% from a year earlier, up from 3.2% in July, according to the Labor Department’sconsumerpriceindex.
On a monthly basis, prices increased 0.6%. That followed a 0.2% rise in July and marked the biggest jump in more than a year. The chief culprit was a surgeingascosts.
Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items and which the Fed watches more closely, are still elevated and rose 0.3%. Economists expected a repeat of the prior month's 0.2% advance. The rise still moderated the annual increase to 4.3%, down from 4.7% in July and the smallest gain since September2021.
Souce:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2023/09/13/august-cpi-inflation-
Retail sales rise 0.6% in August largely due to a spike in gas prices
Retail sales rose 0.6% in August, compared with a revised0.5%increaseinJuly,accordingtoareport issued by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
Thebigriseingaspricesaccountedformorethan half of the inflation increase recorded in August, theU.S.reported Wednesday.
Excluding gas, retail sales were just up 0.2% for August, accordingtothereport.
Sales at gas stations rose a robust 5.2%, while furniture and home furnishings stores saw a 1% drop in sales. Clothing and accessories stores had a 0.9% gain, likely helped by back-to-school spending. Restaurants saw a 0.3% increase. Grocerystoreshada0.4%salesincrease.
The uptick in retail sales reflects the economy’s resiliency despite a still tough economic environment. Yet spending has been volatile this year after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbledinFebruaryandMarchbeforerecovering inthespringandsummer.
Retailers are losing $100 billion a year from return fraud, bots and coupon stacking, study says
Fraud it’s costing retailers more than $100 billion per year, according to Riskified, which published a new study on the problem on Thursday. For the study, it surveyed over 300 global companies with more than $500million intotalannualrevenue.
The firm found retail policy abuses, such as return fraud and using fake email addresses for promo codes, isrisingforsomeretailers.Thepracticestendto spikeduringtheholidaysorduringtimesofhighinflation.
About 90% of the companies polled in Riskified’s study said offering generous refunds, return policies and promotions to drive sales and increase customer loyalty are important to their overall business strategies. However, the misuse of such policies is proving to be a major drain on profits, forcing some to think twice aboutofferingsuchfreebiesasretailerslooktoprotecttheirmarginswhiletheyfacehighcosts,risingshrink andaslowdownindiscretionaryspending.
In one example analyzed by Riskified, a company identified 137,000 fake accounts created by just 4,000 abusive customers looking to take advantage of a steep 35% discount promotion for first-time customers. Itcostthecompanymorethan$14millionannually.Inothercases,fraudstersclaimtheyneverreceivedan orderwhentheyactuallydid,sothey canreceivearefundandgettheitemsforfree.
Souce:
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/14/retailers-are-losing-100-billion-a-year-from-fraud-riskified.html