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Markets Fret Over Halt to Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

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Shares were down after health officials paused use of the shot over safety fears.
Federal health officials have called for an immediate halt in using Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, after recipients in the U.S. suffered blood clots within two weeks of vaccination. It could mark a hurdle for America’s inoculation efforts. Six women between age 18 to 48 developed a rare disorder involving blood clots. One died and another is hospitalized in critical care. Over all, nearly seven million people in the U.S. have received the J.&J. one-shot vaccine, and nine million more doses have been shipped to states. The move follows several countries’ limiting the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine after similar reports of blood clotting. Both shots are based on the same viral vector technology; vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna haven’t been associated with such risks. J&J’s share price fell nearly 3 percent in premarket trading and U.S. market futures turned negative on the news. It’s unclear how much the J.&J. halt will hurt the Biden administration’s goals, with the White House aiming to have enough vaccines to inoculate all adults in the country by the end of May. F.D.A. officials plan to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Eastern, and you can listen here. More businesses take action against efforts to limit voting rights. Will Smith is pulling a forthcoming film production, backed by Apple, out of Georgia following its passage of voting restrictions. And a group of law firms, including Paul Weiss, Skadden and Cravath, plans to “challenge voter suppression legislation.” President Biden declares semiconductors as infrastructure. At a meeting with tech executives yesterday, Mr. Biden addressed a global chip shortage that has hurt manufacturers, tying the issue to his $2.3 trillion infrastructure spending plans. Britain’s Parliament will investigate David Cameron’s role advising Greensill. The former prime minister will face an independent inquiry into his work lobbying top government officials on behalf of the now-insolvent lender. Mr. Cameron has denied violating lobbying rules. Uber shows a strong rebound from the pandemic. The company reported a record number of bookings last month as Covid-19 vaccination rates rose and pandemic lockdowns lifted. But the company still has a problem: a dearth of drivers. Bitcoin sets a record, again. The cryptocurrency was trading at more than $62,000 this morning, continuing a weeklong run-up. That’s good for Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange whose shares are set to begin trading tomorrow at a potential valuation of more than $100 billion. Grab — a ride-hailing company, bank and food delivery business all rolled into one — is set to make its debut on the Nasdaq, in the largest offering by a Southeast Asian company on a U.S. stock exchange. The deal announced today values Grab at $39.6 billion, the largest SPAC deal to date by some distance. It includes an additional investment of more than $4 billion, from investors including BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Temasek.

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