Market Beats | Novo’s New Weight Loss Drug Falls Short of Expectations; EU Approves Nvidia’s Acquisition of Run:ai; Biden Cancels $4.3 Billion in Student Loans; Carnival Cruise Bookings Surge; Tencent and Honor Form Strategic Partnership

1. Novo’s new weight loss drug falls short of expectations

2. EU approves Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:ai

3. US consumer sentiment rises for the fifth straight month

4. Biden cancels $4.3 billion in public worker student debt

5. Carnival cruise bookings surge amid strong travel demand

6. Trump threatens EU with tariffs over energy trade imbalance

7. Tencent and Honor form strategic partnership

1. Novo’s new weight loss drug falls short of expectations

Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk reported disappointing clinical trial results for its experimental weight loss drug CagriSema. Patients lost an average of 20.4% of their body weight over 68 weeks, falling short of Novo’s repeatedly stated target of 25%, but performing similarly to competitor Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

Due to the underwhelming trial results for its next-generation product, Novo’s stock plummeted by as much as 27% today, marking its largest single-day decline in history and bringing its year-to-date loss to 15%.

Eli Lilly is also developing a next-generation weight loss drug, retatrutide, which achieved an average weight loss of 24% in mid-stage trials last year.

CagriSema’s trial performance should be sufficient to secure regulatory approval, but its market competitiveness may be affected.

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2. EU approves Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:ai

Today, the European Commission (EC) announced its unconditional approval of Nvidia’s acquisition of Israeli startup Run:ai, which develops software for managing AI computing resources.

The EC stated that while Nvidia is a dominant player in AI hardware, the acquisition would not hinder market competition, as other software that supports Nvidia hardware would still be available for sale.

Founded in 2018, Run:ai has maintained a close partnership with Nvidia since 2020. Nvidia announced its acquisition of Run:ai in April, though the financial terms were not disclosed at the time.

In 2020, Nvidia acquired Israeli company Mellanox Technologies for $7 billion.

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3. US consumer sentiment rises for the fifth straight month

This month, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose from 71.8 to 74, slightly below economists’ forecast of 74.2, but marking the fifth consecutive monthly increase.

Consumers expect the inflation rate to reach 2.8% over the next year and an annualized rate of 3% over the next five to ten years.

However, persistently high prices have affected consumers for years, and with Trump’s proposed tariffs and other economic policies, inflation could worsen.

Optimism about personal financial situations has climbed to a seven-month high.

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4. Biden cancels $4.3 billion in public worker student debt

Today, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the cancellation of federal student loans for 55,000 government employees, totaling approximately $4.3 billion. Since taking office, Biden has forgiven a total of $180 billion in student debt, benefiting nearly 500,000 people.

Biden stated that from his first day in office, he promised to ensure that higher education would no longer be a burden on the middle class but rather a ticket to opportunity. He added that millions of Americans can now start their own businesses, save for retirement, or pursue their life goals.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Biden’s proposal to cancel student debt for 40 million borrowers.

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5. Carnival cruise bookings surge amid strong travel demand

Cruise operator Carnival stated in a press release that its net profit for 2025 is expected to reach $2.3 billion, a 20% increase from 2024, though slightly below analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion.

This year’s strong travel demand has helped Carnival reach record-high revenues, with no signs of slowing down. Bookings for next year’s cruises have already set a new historical high for the same period, with some customers even booking into 2026.

CEO Josh Weinstein revealed that nearly two-thirds of 2025 itineraries have already been booked.

Following today’s announcement, the stock prices of multiple cruise lines rose, with Carnival gaining 4.9%.

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6. Trump threatens EU with tariffs over energy trade imbalance

Former U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that if EU member states do not purchase more American natural gas and crude oil, they will face hefty tariffs.

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil producer and the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The EU and Vietnam have already stated that they will buy more energy from the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

According to trade data, the U.S.-EU trade deficit reached $131.3 billion in 2022. Trump has taken a hardline stance, demanding that the EU increase its purchases to reduce this trade imbalance.

Germany’s foreign minister stated that if the U.S. implements an “America First” policy, EU members will unite in retaliation.

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7. Tencent and Honor form strategic partnership

According to a statement released today, Tencent and Honor Device have established a long-term strategic partnership and will collaborate on AI and cloud technology development.

Tencent, China’s most valuable company, will help Honor, which is also based in Shenzhen, build cloud infrastructure to support its online services.

As one of China’s leading device manufacturers, Honor is a major customer of Tencent Cloud services. The company will use Tencent’s big data analytics and search tools to assist its software engineers.

Honor was spun off from Huawei in 2020 and plans to go public independently in the future.

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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.