Medicare Drug List; Auto Industry Soars; Bitcoin ETF Approved.

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Biden’s “New Deal for Patients”

The US has released a list of 10 prescription medications that will be subject to price negotiations under Medicare, among them widely used drugs such as blood thinner from Bristol Myers Squibb [BMY] and Pfizer [PFE]. President Joe Biden said that the move constitutes “the start of a new deal for patients”. US regulators also have their eye on the online sale of unapproved medications: the Food and Drug Administration threatened Amazon [AMZN] with legal action for selling such products on its platform.

The Rise and Rise of the Global Auto Industry

Automotive sales in the EU rose by 17% in July, capping a year of upwards expansion as supply chain constraints eased. Chinese automaker BYD [BYDDY] registered growth, revealing a 145% rise in profits in the second quarter (Q2), and expressed confidence that it will sell 3 million clean cars by the end of the year. Toyota Motor Corp [TM] has also performed well, with global production up 10% in July.

Apple to Release New Devices

Apple [AAPL] set a September 12 release for its upcoming iPhone 15 and smartwatches, after sales dropped for three straight quarters this year. The devices will feature several upgrades, including faster chips. HP [HPQ] has also seen headwinds, with reduced profit lowering its full-year cash flow as demand for personal computers remained muted. Both firms are facing lower demand as consumer purchasing power is constrained by inflation.

OpenAI Set for $1bn in Annual Sales

Artificial intelligence (AI) leader OpenAI is set to reach $1bn in sales this year, with more and more businesses adopting generative AI in their operations. This follows the launch this month of ChatGPT Enterprise, the corporate version of its bot designed to attract customers from the wider business community. The company, backed by Microsoft [MSFT], has reported revenue of around $80m a month.

US Court Rules in Favour of Bitcoin ETF

Shares in Graystone Bitcoin Trust [GBTC] rose 17% following a ruling that could allow the trust to become an ETF. This opens the possibility for Greyscale — as well as entities such as BlackRock [BLK] which have released similar proposals — to issue bitcoin ETFs. The first spot bitcoin ETF in Europe kicked off trading in August. Also in the crypto space, Robinhood Markets [HOOD] terminated its crypto partnership with market maker Jump Tradings.