Thinking about it, this certainly does appear to be a purchase based on self-interest.  The company that manufactured a product, potentially creating long-term issues with blood disorders (ie clotting), now purchases the company that specializes in the treatment of blood disorders.

Am I the only one that sees this as sketchy?

Aug 8 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc on Monday agreed to pay $5.4 billion in cash for Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT.O), as it looks to capitalize on a surge in revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.

Pfizer will pay $68.50 per GBT share, which represents a 7.3% premium to its Friday closing price. The deal is at a more than 40% premium where GBT was trading before the Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer was in advanced talks to buy it on Thursday.

Pfizer’s 2021 revenue of $81.3 billion was nearly double the mark from the previous year, due to COVID-19 vaccine sales. With the addition of its COVID-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid, Pfizer is expected to generate around $100 billion in revenue this year, but sales from both products are expected to decline going forward.

Pfizer has been on the lookout for acquisitions that could bring in billions in annual sales by the end of the decade. (read more)

Aamir Malik, Pfizer’s top dealmaker, said the company was focused on improving growth for the second half of the decade. “We think that there are opportunities across all therapeutic areas that we’re active in,” Malik said.

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Most casual political observers have absolutely no idea how McConnell works.  However, for over a decade CTH has been trying –mostly failing– to awaken the base of commonsense voters.  In 2010, 2011 and 2012 the #1 priority for McConnell was to destroy the threat represented by the Tea Party.  In 2022 we are seeing an exact replay of the same intents and purposes, only this time the target is President Trump’s MAGA movement.

During a recent interview on Fox News, Mitch McConnell was asked about the future of the Senate against the backdrop of the midterm election.  Mitch McConnell’s team literally scrubbed his response from their own copy of this interview [SEE HERE]. This is a familiar tactic from the DeceptiCon group who always cover their tracks. However, the segment lasts on the internet [06:45 prompted] WATCH:

https://youtu.be/qAJgD3FZ-js?t=405

Mitch McConnell essentially says the Senate is too close to call and the democrats may be “up slightly” because the wrong kind of republican candidates have been nominated in the GOP primary process in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Arizona.  Once again, the elitist UniParty view of DC Mitch McConnell shines through.

Keep in mind this is the same Mitch McConnell who was challenged by the audience during a 2017 Rotary Club meeting in Kentucky, about why he refused to support the election priorities of President Trump.  McConnell responded, “I’d ask for a show of hands, but I know everybody’s saying, ‘been there, haven’t done anything,’ which I find extremely irritating — and I’m going to tell you why.”

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As each batch of ballots is counted in Washington State’s 3rd congressional district, MAGA candidate Joe Kent has gained significant ground.

Republican Joe Kent is now within striking distance of primarying Jaime Herrera Beutler, with approximately 30,000 ballots remaining to be counted.

[New York Times Link]

Jamie Herrera Beutler, who voted to impeach President Trump and is one of the MAGA targets for 2022, now has 41,603 votes.  Trump-endorsed Joe Kent has moved from a several thousand vote deficit, into the latest result of 41,346 votes.  The difference is now down to 257 votes.

Washington State has that jungle primary voting system where the top two candidate’s face-off in the general election. According to Kent on Twitter, there are 30,000 ballots left to be counted.  Prayers up!!  Joe Kent might just pull off this victory.

If the next batch of 30,000 ballots, carries the same ratio as today’s batch of 22,000 ballots, Joe Kent will take the lead.

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President Trump travels to Waukesha, Wisconsin tonight for a MAGA rally to support Tim Michels for Governor and all of the down ballot republican candidates.  With the overwhelming MAGA victories in Michigan, Arizona and Missouri this week, there is a lot for President Trump to celebrate.

The scheduled start time is 7:00pm CT / 8:00pm ET.  Rumble Livestream Links Below:

RSBN Rumble Livestream – Trump Campaign Rumble Livestream – Alternate Rumble Livestream

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A Texas jury has delivered a financial verdict against Alex Jones, awarding two parents of the Sandy Hook elementary school victim, 4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages.  However, Texas limits punitive damages at $750,000.  The verdict comes after a civil lawsuit against Alex Jones for defamation relating to his comments around the Sandy Hook school shooting, and his claims of a hoax.

During the trial Mr. Jones admitted his statements were false and accepted the events were horrific, resulting in the deaths of 26 students and teachers in the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut attack. Mr Jones and his media company, Free Speech Systems, were sued his false statements about the mass shooting.

(Via MSM) – […] “Alex Jones is patient zero for our society’s inability to speak without lies,” plaintiff attorney Wesley Ball told the jurors on Friday as he pleaded for them to “take him out of this discourse of this misinformation, of this peddling of lies and make sure he can’t do it again.”

Jones’ defense attorney, F. Andino Reynal, asked the jury on Friday to return a verdict that is “fair and proportionate,” which he suggested was $270,000. He previously asked the jury to award no more than $8 in compensatory damages.

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McDonalds has announced they are dropping their program testing plant-based meats because people didn’t like it.

As noted by the Washington Times, “other trials at Panda Express and Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut) have also ended without a subsequent product launch. Beyond Meat products at Dunkin’, Hardee’s, and A&W have been discontinued after launching.”

Apparently, American consumers do not want to eat fake meat; at least not fake meat made from plants.

Next up….  Bug meat.

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The good news is that gasoline prices have dropped in the past several weeks to an average of $4.13/gal.  However, the bad news is that most of the drop in price is related to gasoline demand dropping to the same level as July 2020 during the pandemic lockdown phase.

Obviously, $4.13/gal is still a very high price for gasoline, and that is leading to fewer people purchasing gasoline.

(Via Fox) – […] New data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that gas demand dropped from 9.25 million barrels per day to 8.54 million per day last week. That’s 1.24 million barrels per day lower than last year and “in line with demand at the end of July 2020,” when there were widespread virus-related restrictions and fewer people were hitting the road, according to AAA. 

The latest demand figures bolster a recent AAA survey that revealed 64% of drivers had changed their driving habits or lifestyle since March to offset the high prices at the pump. (read more)

If you think about the position of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC or OPEC+), it makes sense for them to recognize the intentions of the western leaders to shrink the western industrial economies and respond accordingly.

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A few days ago, we were discussing the disconnect within the economy as it relates to corporate valuations.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics report today [DATA HERE] highlights another economic disconnect, this time with labor.  According to the BLS survey 528,000 jobs were added to the economy in July, the unemployment rate drops to 3.5%.

The household data [Table A] shows the number of eligible workers unemployed dropped 242,000; however, the number of eligible workers no longer in the workforce increased by 239,000.  The total labor force is shrinking as unemployment drops.

Keep in mind the previous BLS survey of job openings (JOLTS report) showed available jobs dropped 605,000 in July.  “On the last business day of June, the number and rate of job openings decreased to 10.7 million (-605,000) and 6.6 percent, respectively. The largest decreases in job openings were in retail trade (-343,000), wholesale trade (-82,000), and in state and local government education (-62,000).” [JOLTS survey]

Going back to today’s release, 303,000 part-time jobs were added in July; these are workers working part-time for economic reasons.  The Household Data shows that within the leisure and hospitality sector [Table B-1] restaurants and bars added 74,000 jobs.

If we combine both BLS surveys two days apart is: 605,000 job openings cancelled, and 528,000 new jobs gained.

Of the 528,000 new jobs gained, 303,000 were part time jobs with the largest growth in the jobs in restaurants and bars.

Again, blending data from both reports and focusing on retail.  The retail sector cancelled 343,000 job openings in July, and the retail sector added 21,600 jobs in July.  Within the retail sector (table B-1), jobs at automotive dealers, furniture stores and clothing/apparel stores dropped by a combined 7,200 jobs.

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Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced her support for the senate climate change spending and tax proposal after some modifications to the new taxation.

To support the hedge fund donors, Senator Sinema insisted the carried interest loophole tax provision be removed and instead replaced with a corporate tax on stock buybacks.  Any time a corporation wants to buy back their own shares of stock, they will now pay the U.S. government a tax for doing so; at least that’s the ¹intent.

[¹Note: taxing shares of company stock will never work, because that’s exactly what shell companies were designed to avoid.  Set up a child shell company to purchase the stock and the parent company doesn’t pay taxes on the child’s purchase.  It’s a shell game]

Additionally, according to reports, there is some kind of agreement to modify the 15% corporate minimum tax.  Details unknown.  Bottom line, Senator Sinema now supports the $700 billion climate change spending and tax proposal.

“We have agreed to remove the carried interest tax provision, protect advanced manufacturing, and boost our clean energy economy in the Senate’s budget reconciliation legislation,” Sinema said, signaling that she plans to vote to begin debate on the bill.  “Subject to the parliamentarian’s review, I’ll move forward,” she said.  (link)

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Tucker Carlson used his opening monologue tonight to discuss George Soros and the efforts of the Soros foundation to fund activist state prosecutors who will not enforce laws. The Soros agenda is an end-run around the U.S. constitution that empowers We The People to enact laws and rules of society through legislative representation.

By selecting prosecutors who will not enforce laws against criminal behavior, the Soros initiative subverts the voice of the people.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the first governor to use his state constitutional authority to remove an activist prosecutor.  Tucker Carlson interviewed him immediately after the monologue. {Direct Rumble Link} WATCH:

The monologue that preceded the interview is below.

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