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 The global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed to 12.3 million on Friday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, with the U.S. leading the way by far with 3.12 million cases. The number of deaths grew to 555,324, while the number of people who have recovered reached 6.8 million. The U.S. death toll is 133,291. Within the U.S., infections have climbed in 39 states and regions over the past 14 days, according to a New York Times tracker, with California, Texas and Florida leading the way. Brazil is second to the U.S. with 1.76 million cases and 69,184 deaths. India is third measured by cases at 793,802, followed by Russia with 712,863 and Peru with 316,448. The U.K. has 44,687 fatalities, the highest in Europe and third highest in the world. China, where the illness was first reported late last year, has 84,992 cases and 4,641 fatalities.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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BioNTech, which has partnered with Pfizer to develop a coronavirus vaccine, is confident it will be ready to seek regulatory approval by the end of the year, its chief executive said. Several hundred million doses could be produced even before approval, and over 1 billion by the end of 2021.
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Clothing retailer Express Inc.'s shares jumped 13% in premarket trade Friday, after the company said same-store sales and traffic are improving as most of its stores have reopened after being closed for the coronavirus pandemic. The Columbus, Ohio-based company said about 95% of its stores are now open and the rest are expected to do so in the coming weeks. "With each successive wave of store openings, sales and traffic improved steadily week over week through the third week in June, with sales outpacing traffic due to higher conversion levels," the company said in a statement. Same-store sales have improved to negative 15% in the third week of June from negative 50% in early May. However, same-store sales and traffic declined in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas in late June, as COVID-19 cases began to spike. The company has buy online and pick up in store capabilities at more than 275 stores and plans to have all stores enabled by the end of the third quarter. "Results in stores have been negatively impacted by multiple factors, including reduced mall traffic due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of June and July product, the latter causing the assortments to not yet be fully reflective of the Company's new vision but deemed prudent in order to effectively manage liquidity," said the company. Shares have fallen 69% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 2.4%.
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Global oil supply fell by 2.4m barrels a day in June to a nine-year low
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday predicted slightly improved global oil demand for 2020, but said much hinges on the progression of the pandemic. "The recent increase in Covid-19 cases and the introduction of partial lockdowns introduces more uncertainty to the forecast," the global energy authority said in its July report. The IEA estimates that global oil demand this year will average 92.1 million barrels per day, down by 7.9 million barrels per day versus 2019, a slightly smaller decline than forecast in the last report. "This is mainly because the decline in 2Q20 was less severe than expected," it said. For 2021, demand will be 97.4 mb/d; but due to the improved outlook for 2020 the recovery next year is lower at 5.3 mb/d. Crude prices remained under pressure, with West Texas Intermediate crude down 1.7% to $38.93 a barrel and Brent crude, the international benchmark, off 1.3% to $41.77 a barrel.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Even top banks found themselves on the bottom during the first half of the year.
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 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) reported a $1.71 billion quarterly loss and announced 4,000 jobs cuts due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic sending shares down 8%.The stock dropped to $39.01 at the close on Thursday after the drugstore chain operator announced that it will also suspend its share repurchase program and will need to take a non-cash impairment charge of $2 billion mainly as result of the COVID-19 impact on its Boots UK business. As part of a restructuring plan to cut costs, Walgreens said it will close 48 of its Boots opticians stores and lay off 4,000 employees, or 7% of its workforce.Net loss was $1.71 billion, or $1.95 per share, in the three months ended May 31, versus a profit of $1.03 billion, or $1.13 per share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts on average had expected adjusted earnings of $1.19 per share. Revenue rose 0.1% to $34.6 billion."Prior to the pandemic our financial performance for fiscal 2020 was on track with our expectations. However, this unprecedented global crisis led to a loss in the quarter as stay-at-home orders affected all of our markets," Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina said. "Shopping patterns are evolving more rapidly than ever as consumers further embrace digital options, spurring us to accelerate our ongoing investments in digital transformation and neighborhood health destinations."Walgreens total digitally initiated sales rose 22.7% in the third quarter, compared with the same period last year. The drugstore
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 The surge in stocks has investors hoping that the general bullish market sentiment we've experienced since the end of March may still be with us; there was some worry in June as the markets appeared to hit a plateau. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks, as the S&P tests its 3,200 resistance levels.The best advice for stock pickers right now: stay selective. There are still compelling investing opportunities out there if you know where to look. Investors can find interesting stock choices by following some of Wall Street's top analysts. These are the analysts with the sharpest stock picking ability — and we can use their price targets as a key indication of how far these stocks can climb in the coming months.With this in mind, we've used the TipRanks database to highlight two such stocks; each has received ‘top pick' status from a 5-star analyst. Here are the details.Avid Technology (AVID)We start in the technology sector, with Avid, a Massachusetts-based multimedia tech company specializing in digital non-linear editing systems for audio and video. The company's video and audio editing software are held in high regard, as are its music notation products. The company's flagship product is Media Composer, which got its start in the Apple Mac segment. Avid has expanded since then, and in May announced a five-year working agreement with Microsoft Azure.Avid tackled the coronavirus economic crisis head-on, with a $40 million cost savings plan put in place to help mitigate the business effects of the pandemic. The company wa
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Working from home could be about to get a major upgrade, as Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has said her government is considering letting visitors stay and work remotely from the island for a year.
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