Author: Vitaliy Dadalyan

Tesla cuts starting price for China-made Model 3 cars by 8%

U.S. electric car maker Tesla cut the starting price of its Chinese-made Model 3 sedans on Thursday by about 8% to 249,900 yuan ($36,805), once Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles are taken into account, according to its China website. Previously, the starting price for Model 3 sedans made in Tesla's Shanghai factory with a standard driving range was 271,550 yuan, after state purchase subsidies. Tesla did not disclose what batteries the cheaper version uses....

Datadog Spikes 12% On Partnership With Microsoft Azure; Stock Up 171% YTD

Shares in Datadog spiked 12% after the cloud security network announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft’s cloud computing service Azure.As part of the tie-up, Datadog (DDOG) will be available in the Azure console as a first-class service. This means that Azure customers will be able to implement Datadog as a monitoring solution for their cloud workloads through new streamlined workflows that cover everything from procurement to configuration. Datadog represents a first-of-its-kind integration of a third-party service into Azure.As a result, the partnership will offer more of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Azure customers the ability to deploy Datadog's observability platform to upgrade their cloud applications and workload migration initiatives. Microsoft shares rose 1.5% on Wednesday.“Azure is the first cloud to enable a seamless configuration and management experience for customers to use partner solutions like Datadog,” said Microsoft Azure’s Corey Sanders. “Together with Datadog, we are enabling customers to use this experience to monitor their Azure workloads...

American Airlines To Furlough 19K Thursday When Federal Payroll Support Expires

American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ: AAL) said in a letter to employees Wednesday that 19,000 will be furloughed starting Thursday after the federal Payroll Support Program expires.Airline Layoffs Underway As Stimulus Talks Continue: Talks on extending the relief program under the Coronovirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security -- CARES -- Act are ongoing between the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said in the letter, citing a conversation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Senate and the House of Representatives are also deliberating the extension of payroll support an alternative to the broader relief package, he said. If the grant is approved in the coming days, American Airlines will reverse the furloughs, Parker said. United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UAL) is also prepared to furlough 13,000 staff Thursday, Reuters. The figure does not include any pilots.If the larger economic relief bill passes, the airline industry...

Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine unlikely to be ready before U.S. election – FT

Stéphane Bancel told FT that he did not expect to have full approval to distribute the drug to all sections of the U.S. population until next spring. Moderna did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Moderna will not be ready to seek emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration before Nov. 25 at the earliest, the report said, citing Bancel....

U.S. Blocks Palm Oil Imports From One of the Top Producers

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has blocked imports of palm oil and palm oil products from Malaysia’s FGV Holdings Bhd., one of the world’s largest producers.Shipments from the company and its subsidiaries will be held back at all ports of entry effective Wednesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. The order is based on what American authorities say is information that “reasonably indicates” the use of forced labor.The move is the latest blow to the palm oil industry after the spread of the coronavirus shuttered restaurants, curbing demand for cooking oil. Malaysia, the second-biggest shipper of palm oil to the U.S. and the world’s second-largest producer, is also grappling with a chronic worker shortage after the pandemic restricted travel.The order is the result of a yearlong investigation that revealed labor abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, intimidation and physical and sexual violence, according to the customs...

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Delays May Worsen As FDA Widens Investigation

AstraZeneca Plc's (NYSE: AZN) coronavirus vaccine development program could hit by further delays, as the Food and Drug Administration has widened the scope of its probe into the halted trial, Reuters reported Wednesday.What Happened: The federal agency is inquiring whether side effects similar to the one seen in the COVID-19 vaccine trial -- transverse myelitis -- also emerged in trials of other vaccines designed by Oxford University, AstraZeneca's partner, Reuters said, citing people familiar with the matter. The vaccines reportedly under review use a modified adenovirus as a vector and target illnesses such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and the flu.Oxford's vaccines use a chimpanzee adenovirus, ChAdOx1, unlike other vaccine developers that use a human variant. A review of research papers by Reuters found that in one trial, a serious side effect event cited by researchers was classified as unrelated to the vaccine.Another complication that may affect the trial: the...