The daily business briefing: June 13, 2022

1. FDA staff says Pfizer vaccine is effective in kids under 5

Food and Drug Administration staff said Sunday that the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children under age 5 is safe and 80.4 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19. The release of the analysis by FDA scientists came ahead of a Wednesday meeting of a panel of independent experts, who will make a recommendation on whether to authorize the vaccine for use in young children, the only age group not yet eligible for a coronavirus vaccine in the United States. The FDA's advisory panel will also consider a request to authorize Moderna's vaccine for children under age 6; FDA staff on Friday said Moderna's shot is also safe and effective in infants and young children.

The Washington Post

2. Iconic Moscow McDonald's reopens with new name and owner

A famous former McDonald's restaurant in Moscow's Pushkin Square reopened on Sunday under a Russian owner and a new name, three months after McDonald's halted operations in Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine. Last month, McDonald's announced it was leaving Russia altogether, and it subsequently sold its 850 restaurants in the country to Alexander Govor, who had 25 franchises in Siberia. Govor is hurrying to reopen the shuttered fast-food restaurants under the name Vkusno-i Tochka ("Tasty-period" or "Tasty and that's it"). The Russian owner pushed to reopen 15 former McDonald's outlets on Sunday with a goal of opening 200 by the end of June. The Pushkin Square location opened in 1990, providing Russians a taste of the U.S. as the Soviet Union slowly opened to the world.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Associated Press

3. Stock futures plunge after biggest consumer-price increase in 40 years

U.S. stock futures fell sharply early Monday, pointing to further losses after one of Wall Street's worst weeks of the year. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down by 1.9 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were down 2.9 percent. The Dow and S&P 500 dropped by 4.6 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, last week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 5.6 percent. This week, investors are digesting the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Friday report that the consumer price index jumped 8.6 percent last month compared to a year earlier, the biggest increase for the key inflation gauge since December 1981. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by a half-percent to help fight rising prices when it concludes a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

CNBC

4. Google agrees to $118 million discrimination settlement

Google has agreed to pay $118 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the internet giant of underpaying women and discriminating against them in promotions. Three female former employees initiated the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court, accusing Google of giving them lower-level jobs than men with similar qualifications, and denying them promotions or work with better opportunities for advancement. The settlement covers 15,500 women who worked at Google in California after September 2013. Google admits no wrongdoing under the settlement, which still requires a judge's approval.

The Verge The Wall Street Journal

5. 'Jurassic World Dominion' leads domestic box office

Jurassic World Dominion knocked Top Gun: Maverick out of the top spot at the domestic box office, earning $143.4 million in North America in its opening weekend, according to estimates released Sunday by measurement firm Comscore. The latest film in the Jurassic franchise also hauled in $176.6 million internationally, bringing its total to $389.1 million despite weak reviews. Top Gun: Maverick came in second, adding an estimated $50 million in its third weekend to bring its North American total to more than $393.3 million. Jurassic World Dominion's big debut provided the latest sign of a recovery for movie theaters, driven by blockbusters like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Top Gun: Maverick, and The Batman.

Los Angeles Times