Closing summary
The Danish maker of the weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic is to cut 9,000 jobs as it slashed its profit forecast again, amid fierce competition from its US rival Eli Lilly.
Novo Nordisk’s decision to cut 11% of its global workforce of 78,400 is an attempt by the new chief executive, Mike Doustdar, to revive its fortunes.
Sales of its blockbuster injection Wegovy have slowed sharply as it has lost ground to Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro jabs, as well as cheaper versions by generic drugmakers, while the pharmaceutical sector faces the threat of targeted US tariffs.
The drugmaker said that 5,000 of the job losses would be in its home country of Denmark. The share price rose by 2.1% by Wednesday afternoon as investors were cheered by the cost savings
Booming sales of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs in recent years had helped Novo Nordisk rise to become Europe’s most valuable company, but it lost the title in March, only briefly regaining it in June.
Studies have shown that Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is more effective than Wegovy in reducing weight. Both can be prescribed by NHS doctors to patients with high clinical need. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic injection is also available on the NHS, as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. It can be prescribed by private doctors “off label” for weight loss.
Donald Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China as part of an effort to force the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war in Ukraine, according to reports.
The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times, BBC and Bloomberg, who cited sources familiar with the discussions.
One US official reportedly said that Trump administration was “ready to go, ready to go right now, but we are only going to do this if our European partners step up with us”.
Trump’s proposal comes amid his frustration at brokering a peace deal, including at a high-profile summit with Putin in Alaska, and amid Russia’s increasing drone attacks, including its largest ever air attack on Ukraine last week.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for a suspension of trade with Israel, as she spoke of Europe’s “painful” inability to respond to the war on Gaza and ensuing humanitarian disaster.
In her most extended condemnation yet of the Israeli government, von der Leyen criticised plans for illegal settlements that would split the occupied West Bank in half, as well as incitement of violence by extremist Israeli ministers, as a “clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution”.
She made the remarks during her annual “state of the union” speech to the European parliament in Strasbourg, in which she depicted a turbulent world where battle lines “are being drawn” and “dependencies are ruthlessly weaponised”.
In response to Russia’s overnight violations of Polish airspace, she said Europe “stands in full solidarity with Poland”, a line prompting MEPs to their feet applauding in support. Von der Leyen continued, calling for Europe to exert more pressure on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to come to the negotiating table.
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Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow with the latest news. Take care – JK
Wall Street indices hit record highs after jump in Oracle shares, producer price data
Wall Street indices have hit record highs after a jump in Oracle shares, and weaker-than-expected producer price inflation data cemented expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.
The S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both rose to intra-day all-time highs.
The Oracle share price surged by 37% to a record high of $339.69, and was set for its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1992, after the company announced that it expected booked revenue at its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business to exceed half a trillion dollars.
Some chipmakers also rose on the news, with Nvidia climbing by 3.8%, Advanced Micro Devices up 3.3% and Broadcom adding 8.9%.
