The fate of user favorite TikTok remains in the balance. The deadline for selling the company to a US buyer imposed by President Trump is tomorrow; should TikTok fail to meet it, it will no longer be available to US customers. But with 24 hours or so until the deadline, Oracle has stepped in to become TikTok’s “partner” in the United States. According to preliminary reports, Oracle will not be buying TikTok, which should satisfy the Chinese authorities, but it will ensure the safety of data in the United States, which is the concern Trump stated. However, if either the US or China disagrees with the deal, TikTok will still face a US ban.
After last week AstraZeneca raised concerns about its vaccine against the coronavirus due to someone getting sick during the clinical trial, Pfizer is now raising investors’ hopes that its own answer to Covid-19 will be more successful. Pfizer stated that its trials are going well and that it could seek FDA approval based on the results next month, to hopefully provide the vaccine to the wider public before the year’s end.
As for the AstraZeneca vaccine, the issue has been investigated and the clinical trial will resume. Thus, there may be two different vaccines available in 2020.
Speaking of the coronavirus, the total number of cases worldwide has surpassed 29.2 million. The United States has stabilized, though it remains the most affected region with a total of 6.7 million confirmed infections. India has 4.8 million cases but is still reporting numbers higher than even the American daily records, so the situation there remains serious. Latin America, as well as Western Europe are also highly affected at the moment.
Thanks to the positive news about the development of Covid-19 vaccines, the stock markets are performing well today. The S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq 100 are all on the rise today. Companies to pay attention to today include Microsoft and Amazon.
