Space Race for Insurers

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Richard Branson planned to fly into suborbital space this sunday, nine days in advance similar journey a billionaire by Jeff Bezos. These first flights for the space giants will also begin without liability insurance.

Brokers say neither Virgin Galactic nor Branson has purchased insurance coverage Should the British businessman be hurt, or worse? (The craft is likely covered.) The same goes for Bezos and his company, Blue Origin. Virgin, Branson and Blue Origin declined or did not respond to requests for comment.

Liability coverage is required on international flights. However, Virgin’s ship, VSS Unity, launches and lands in the same place. Therefore, Branson’s flight is technically considered domestic travel, even though it went all the way to the edge of space at 2,400 miles per hour. Virgin said passengers will eventually have to sign a contract agreeing to be fully responsible for their own safety, but American law makes it nearly impossible to delegate full responsibility in the event of personal injury or loss of life.

Insurance providers say it’s very likely that regulators will require liability policies soon. There aren’t many options for casual space travelers right now, but some insurers are interested in developing such policies. German insurance giant Allianz first began designing space tourism policies in 2012, although there is no evidence of it being sold. (Allianz did not request a comment.) And while space tourism is new, insurance experts say there is now more than enough data on rocket launches to know how to price those policies.

Space tourism can create a much greater demand for coverage. “The big question for the insurance industry is whether it’s more like aviation insurance or current space policies,” said Neil Stevens, senior vice president of space products at insurance broker Marsh. “There has never been a situation where insurance markets have not accelerated.”

But for now, space travel begins without an insurance net for passengers.

Developing these policies is another small step that is probably needed for space travel to make the leap into a fully functioning tourism market.

Markets are turning upside down as investors fear an economic recovery. S&P 500 fell by 1.6 percent and 10-year Treasury yields fell after weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected. Supporters of the Biden administration’s economic plan have argued that this is one reason to keep government support in place during the pandemic.

Pfizer is pushing for Covid-19 booster shots. The company said it plans to seek emergency approval from the FDA. third dose of vaccineand he said he’s working on a shot that provides more protection against the Delta variant. However, shortly after Pfizer’s announcement, the FDA and CDC said people are generally fully vaccinated. didn’t need boosters – still.

The fallout from China’s tech pressure is growing. As Beijing tightens its scrutiny of Chinese tech giants with overseas stock listings, powerful new supervisor for effort – US-listed Chinese stock index dived. And as Chinese medical data company LinkDoc reports halted plans to go public on Nasdaq.

FDA restricts access to an expensive new Alzheimer’s drug. Agency Limit the use of Aduhelm It greatly narrows patients with early-stage symptoms of the disease who can receive treatment at $56,000 per year. The move will save Medicare billions and comes after the FDA was criticized for initially approving Aduhelm for all Alzheimer’s patients.

Toyota has stopped donations to Republicans who objected to President Biden’s win. The move comes after criticism from an advertising campaign, most recently Project Lincoln. While Toyota has previously defended these donations, yesterday’s support for those who objected to the election was “disturbed some stakeholders”

President Biden to sign comprehensive executive order today it targets the power of big companies. According to his management, it’s the latest move to encourage competition, thwarted by corporate giants and deals. The order itself will not create a spur-of-the-moment change that will be largely left to the regulators, but it will stimulate activity in a number of industries.

The order targets Big Tech:

  • encourages the FTC write a rule Limiting the way tech giants use consumer data, in response to criticism that companies like Amazon are leveraging what they know about users to compete unfairly with competitors.

  • He also says the FTC should establish rules on how much “sensitive personal information” tech companies must collect in the first place.

  • He urges regulators to step up their scrutiny of “lethal buys”, where companies buy smaller brands to push them off the market.

It also targets monopoly risks in other areas:

  • Non-compete clauses. order encourage prohibit or limit agreements that prevent workers from accepting jobs at competing firms, and restrict employers’ ability to share information about workers’ pay with each other in collusive ways. This may impress start-ups who are worried about investing in recruiting, but lose them to competitors.

  • Drug prices. order is also directly federal agencies will work with provinces to import drugs from Canada, where they are sold at lower prices. And it will encourage the FTC to ban pharmaceutical companies from paying manufacturers to delay the introduction of lower-priced generics. (Expect this to be revealed in a Senate Judgment next week hearing.)

  • Ocean carriers and railroads. The Order will require the Federal Maritime Commission and the Surface Transport Board to: take on consolidation and aggressive pricing. Shares of Kansas City Southern and Canadian National, which are seeking approval for a $33.6 billion merger, fell on the news.

  • In-flight baggage fees, bank switching costs, meat labeling practices and much more. You can read the summary of our colleagues at morning newsletter.

Confidence busters have marching orders. Biden’s executive order relies heavily on the FTC and the Justice Department to “strongly” enforce antitrust laws. However, the highest antitrust enforcement point in the Department of Justice reportedly remains vacant due to opposition to the law. suggested contestants. However, the partition is not fully active: This just sued to prevent the merger of insurance giants Aon and Willis Towers Watson. And Lina Khan is a Big Tech Enemy, has just been appointed chairman of the FTC, where he is already expanding the scope of the commission. competition control. The FTC is also challenging the vertical merger of biotech companies Illumina and Grail, which antitrust lawyers see as another sign. Contractors will face difficulties in the coming years.

—Senator Elizabeth Warren advocates tighter regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges in a letter To SEC chairman Gary Gensler.

Although Martin Shkreli has been behind bars for years price increase “Pharma Bro” disgrace – he still has influence over the pharmaceutical manufacturer he once directed, now known as Phoenixus. But a group of investors, including a former ally, is trying to seize control, Michael de la Merced of DealBook news in The Times.

Shkreli is still making his voice heard. He was scolded after it was revealed that he used a contraband cell phone to do business while in prison. But even now, imprisoned in a Pennsylvania prison, he continues to reach out by making pay-calls, and federal officials accuse him of using associates to convey his wishes.

Shareholders will vote on Monday whether to dismiss the board of directors. A group of activist investors, including Kevin Mulleady, a former Shkreli ally, is urging shareholders to cut the company’s ties with Shkreli.

  • His cases include both moral and pragmatic arguments. “Martin Shkreli is a disaster in this industry,” said Jason Aryeh, the hedge fund manager who led the activist campaign. The group argues that the company’s business struggles have worsened with Shkreli’s continued presence.

The company’s board of directors is contesting the allegations. In a letter to investors, current executives said Shkreli’s only influence is his 44 percent stake in the company, and he has no further say in how the drugmaker is managed. They specifically targeted Mulleady, who previously served on Phoenixus’ board of directors and served as CEO until he was sacked (at Shkreli’s insistence) in December. Mulleady is a co-defendant with Shkreli in several lawsuits, including an antitrust lawsuit filed by the FTC and the State of New York.

Regardless, Shkreli’s days on Phoenixus may be numbered. Last week, the judge in a creditor’s case against Shkreli granted a request to appoint a buyer to take his shares in order to sell them to pay off his debts. So even if the activist group loses Monday’s vote, Shkreli could equally lose his influence in the company, Mulleady said: “Martin is a bit nervous and dry here.”

Read the full story here.

Opportunities

  • Arianna Huffington’s wellness startup Thrive Global has raised new money with a valuation of over $700 million. (Bloomberg)

  • It has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to manage the IPO of Noom, a popular weight loss app (Reuters)

  • Automaker Stellantis, which owns brands such as Chrysler, Fiat and Jeep, plans to invest $35.5 billion to accelerate the development of electric vehicles. (NYT)

Policy

  • Two US senators urged the SEC to investigate whether Didi Chuxing misled American investors in her interactions with Chinese regulators prior to the IPO.FT)

  • How Kaseya ransomware attack took a small Maryland town offline. (WaPo)

best of the rest

  • Most Black senior executives at Walmart said in an internal survey that they did not recommend working there. (Bloomberg)

  • Instacart has hired Fidji Simo, head of Facebook’s namesake app, as its new CEO.CNBC)

  • How the Sackler family “extracted” $4.5 billion. (New York Magazine)

  • Reading this story will only make you procrastinate on what you really need to do. (Atlantic Ocean)

  • can you spell winning word Scripps National Spelling Bee? try while you’re at it The Times’ own spelling game. (NYT)

We want your feedback! Please email your thoughts and suggestions. dealbook@nytimes.com.

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