Top Stories Tuesday, Mar. 21: Elon Musk Wants Interest Rate Cut, Moderna Wants $130 Per COVID-19 Vaccine Dose - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Reuters

Moderna Inc MRNA expects to charge $130 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine as purchases move to the private sector from the government.
"There are different customers negotiating different prices right now, which is why it's a little bit complicated," the company's president Stephen Hoge said in an interview ahead of a Congressional hearing run by Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Moderna's pricing plans.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Mercedes Benz Group MBGYY should pay compensation for unauthorized shutoff devices in diesel cars if the buyer has been damaged.
The case was brought to a court in Ravensburg, Germany, by the purchaser of a used Mercedes whose exhaust gas recirculation system operated within a temperature range but reduced recirculation in lower temperatures, leading to raised nitrogen oxide emissions.
The German court had asked ECJ if the purchaser had a right to compensation under EU law.

Bloomberg

Ferrari NV's RACE Italian subsidiary Ferrari SpA suffered a ransomware attack. Ferrari informed its clients and customers of the potential data exposure and the nature of the incident.
Ferrari immediately started an investigation by tapping a leading global third-party cybersecurity firm. Ferrari also informed the relevant authorities.
"Certain data relating to our clients were exposed, including names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers," CEO Benedetto Vigna stated on Monday.

After discovering malware in unsanctioned software versions, Alphabet Inc's Google has suspended PDD Holdings Inc's PDD main Chinese shopping app, Pinduoduo.
On Tuesday, Google said it is analyzing the matter and suspended downloads of the Play Store version of Pinduoduo as a security precaution.
Google warned users Tuesday to uninstall off-store versions of Pinduoduo.

Morgan Stanley Chief U.S. Equity Strategist and CIO Mike Wilson reportedly said the bond market is effectively pricing some sort of a recession while the equity market is still in denial.
"When the yield curve goes negative, it has high predictability that a recession will come within twelve months. But 12 months is a long time. The real trouble starts when the yield curve re-steepens. Because that's essentially the bond market saying the Fed will have to be cutting here at some point," Wilson told Bloomberg TV.

Washington Post

The Joe Biden administration is reportedly expected to greenlight California's latest regulations to reduce tailpipe emissions and eliminate the sale of trucks that run on diesel fuel.
According to three individuals briefed on the matter, the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, intends to let California implement stricter environmental rules that have received the approval of state regulators.
The Clean Air Act allows California to seek an exemption from the preemption that prohibits states from enacting emission regulations for new motor vehicles. However, the EPA must grant a waiver to enforce the rules.

Benzinga

The Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy-setting arm of the central bank, is scheduled to kickstart a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Ahead of the meeting, Pershing Square's Bill Ackman commented on what the Fed should be doing after the recent adverse developments.
Systemic Shocks And Liquidity Crunch: The Fed should pause on Wednesday, given several shocks to the system, Ackman tweeted, tagging the central bank. He said three U.S. banks have closed in a week, wiping out equity and bondholders, referring to the collapses of the Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank.
Also, Credit Suisse ceased to exist, and its junior bondholders were left in a lurch without access to their money, the hedge fund manager said.
Elon Mush reacted to the tweet and said the Fed needs to drop the rate by at least 50bps Wednesday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned against a very uncommon and fatal fungal infection called Candida auris, or C. auris.
The national public health agency said the fungal infection is spreading rapidly throughout the country.
Health officials said the fungal infection mainly affects older adults and those with weak immune systems. "In general, C. auris is not a threat to healthy people," said CDC, adding, "People who are very sick, have invasive medical devices, or have long or frequent stays in healthcare facilities are at increased risk for acquiring C. auris."

Tesla Inc TSLA has commenced its first remote test drive hub in Europe, in Sweden.
"Our first remote test drive hub in Europe is now open in Örebro, Sweden," Tesla Europe tweeted.
Once you book an appointment online, you can go to the hub, call up Tesla and have them remotely unlock the vehicle for you and walk you through the basics, Tesla explained. The test drive is for half an hour, and the prospective customer can drop the vehicle back at the hub.

Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google Pixel Watch has released its March update — and it has several exciting features, including Fall Detection and a new Digital Clock update that works even when the device is "powered down."
All Google Pixel Watches running Wear OS 3.5 can now avail of the latest software updates, including "numerous bug fixes and improvements" and features highlighted in the March Feature Drop post.

FleetCor Technologies Inc FLT has entered into a cooperation agreement with one of its long-term shareholders, the D. E. Shaw group.
As per the agreement, FleetCor elected Rahul Gupta, former CEO of RevSpring, to its Board of Directors. The company also consented to appoint a second director and agreed to create an ad hoc Strategy Review Committee.
These new appointments come after the January appointment of Annabelle Bexiga, a technology executive. It is anticipated that after the appointment of the second new director, one of FLT's longer-tenured directors will retire.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Moderna Wants $130 Per COVID-19 Vaccine Dose, US Health Authorities Warn Of Incurable Deadly Fungal Infection, Elon Musk Wants Interest Rate Cut: Today's Top Stories