general news

Pfizer Inc. PFE 2.13% agreed to buy the rest of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. BHVN 70.70% for about $11.6 billion, deploying its pile of cash earned from Covid-19 sales to acquire a new migraine drug. Pfizer said it would pay $148.50 a share in cash for the Biohaven shares that it doesn’t already own, a nearly 79% premium to Monday’s closing price of $83.14 for the New Haven,…

College students and their families should keep an eye on the Treasury Department’s government-bond auction this week. It could influence their finances for years to come.The auction, scheduled for Wednesday, will be the main determinant of the interest rate on new federal student loans. Because bond yields have soared this year, that rate is likely to be much higher than the last time these student-loan rates were set a year ago. The higher cost is an example of how a surge in interest rates is hitting every corner of…

U.S. health authorities and researchers are investigating why some people who appeared to recover from Covid-19 after taking Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral pill developed symptoms again soon after. Paxlovid is supposed to treat the newly infected, keeping them out of the hospital. Within two weeks of appearing to get better, however, some users experienced cold-like symptoms such as sore throat and cough, according to physicians and published case reports. The rebound cases haven’t resulted in…

TOKYO— Sony SONY -3.37% Group Corp. and Nintendo Co. NTDOY -3.33% said their flagship videogame machines are likely to be in short supply all year owing to component shortages, extending a problem that has plagued both companies. “There’s no end in sight to the semiconductor shortage at this point,” said Nintendo’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa.…

HONG KONG—Car sales in China declined 36% in April from a year earlier, the worst fall in more than two years, as weekslong anti-Covid lockdowns in parts of the country shutter factories, disrupt supply chains and keep car buyers at home. Passenger-car sales in April tumbled to 1.04 million vehicles, the China Passenger Car Association said Tuesday, while production fell even more sharply, by 41%, to 969,000 vehicles. Among those hardest hit were Tesla Inc., Volkswagen AG…

Americans itching to travel this summer after navigating Covid-19 for the past two years face a new disruption to plans: the rising cost of travel.Inflation rose to 8.5% in March compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the Labor Department’s consumer-price index—the highest rate in four decades. Gas prices are up about 50% from a year ago. Hotel costs jumped nearly 30%, and airline fares rose 24%, while vehicle-rental costs jumped nearly 14%. April figures set to be released on Wednesday aren’t expected…

Chinese companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA -5.79% are embracing buybacks and one-off dividends, handing cash to shareholders as they seek to shore up their battered stock prices and signal confidence in the long-term outlook. The dividend payouts and stock repurchases could help support a market that has been rattled by a series of challenges, which range from the economic impact of Beijing’s Covid-19 policies and sweeping regulatory crackdowns to concerns…

WASHINGTON—Americans can earn guaranteed 4% interest when money-market funds and savings accounts aren’t paying even half that. The catch: The IRS has to be sitting on your tax refund. That 4% rate for individuals took effect in April—up a percentage point from the prior quarter. The rate for large corporate refunds is 1.5%, up from 0.5%. Generally, the Internal Revenue Service has 45 days to process a tax return and pay a refund. After that, interest starts accruing in amounts tied to federal…

BEIJING—Before the pandemic, Apple Inc. AAPL -3.03% sent hundreds of U.S. engineers each month to China to oversee the contract manufacturers that build most of its products.Now, in a shift, the global technology giant relies more on local engineers. Most U.S.-based Apple engineers have been shut out of China for the past two years by rigid border controls intended to keep the Covid-19 virus at bay. New iPhone models in 2020 were delayed, but since then Apple has largely…

BEIJING—Fast-growing car maker BYD Co. 1211 -4.11% is being investigated by local authorities in the central Chinese city of Changsha, after people living near one of the company’s biggest factories raised concerns about its emissions and complained of health problems.The city’s government said Sunday that it has formed a team to look into gas emissions from BYD’s plant, “in response to the public’s feedback.” It has roped in third-party testing agencies and other…