“The desire for more, the fear of missing out (FOMO), the tendency to compare against others, the influence of the crowd and the dream of the sure thing—these factors are near universal. Thus they have a profound collective impact on most investors and most markets. The result is mistakes, and those mistakes are frequent, widespread and recurring.”
― Howard Marks
1. Covid-19 Drug Remdesivir to Cost $3,120 — Gilead disclosed its pricing plans as it prepares to begin charging for the drug in July. The U.S. has been distributing remdesivir donated by Gilead since the drug was authorized for emergency use in May. it will charge U.S. hospitals $3,120 for a typical patient. Remdesivir is the first antiviral drug shown to be effective at treating Covid-19 in a major clinical trial, reducing patients’ recovery times by four days compared with the placebo group in a large study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
2. U.S. Daily Coronavirus-Case Count Crosses 50,000 — new coronavirus cases in the U.S. passed 50,000 for the first time to reach a single-day record, as some cities and businesses reversed course on reopenings ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend. Cases and hospitalizations have jumped in a number of areas. In Texas, 6,904 Covid-19 patients were in hospitals, according to the state’s Department of Health. For most of April and May, that number hovered between 1,100 and 1,800. It broke the 2,000 mark on June 8. The percentage of occupied intensive-care-unit beds in Arizona, another hot spot, remained at a high of 89% for a second day. On Thursday, the state reported nearly 3,300 new cases, for a total of 87,425. More than 10% of its daily tests were positive.
In California, where hospitalizations are up more than 40% from two weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsomannounced new restrictions, including the mandatory closure of bars, indoor restaurants, movie theaters, zoos and museums in 19 counties where 70% of the state’s population lives.
3. U.S. Stocks Finish Best Quarter in More Than 20 Years — The S&P 500 finished the second quarter up 515.70 points, or 20%, to 3100.29, its biggest percentage gain since the last three months of 1998. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 3895.72 points, or 18%, to 25812.88, its best quarter since 1987. The rally has cut the indexes’ losses for the year to 4% and 9.6%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite up 31% in the past three months and 12% for this year. The stock market’s performance in the months ahead of the election could have a big impact on the outcome of the race. Data going back to 1928 show the incumbent party has won the contest 87% of the time if the S&P 500 is positive over the three months ahead of the election and lost it when it is negative.
4. Uber in Talks to Buy Postmates for About $2.6 Billion — A combination would augment Uber’s food-delivery arm, Uber Eats, which already has an international footprint and the second-largest market share in the U.S. after DoorDash Inc. Its competitor includes Grubhub Inc. agreed this month to be bought by Just Eat Takeaway.com NV for more than $7 billion, besting a bid from Uber, which had been in talks to combine with Grubhub for months.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: