Malaria vaccine gets green light, US shooting and “massive institutional failure”

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

The world’s first malaria vaccine has been given the green light by European regulators after 28 years of development by GlaxoSmithKline and heavy investment from US billionaire Bill Gates.

The positive view from the European Medicines Agency could clear the way for a WHO recommendation and the vaccine’s eventual adoption in sub-Saharan Africa and other affected regions.

In the news:

US shooting

Multiple injuries and at least two fatalities have been reported in Lafayette, Louisiana, after a gunman opened fire at a movie theatre. The shooting comes just hours after US president Barack Obama conceded that his inability to pass “common sense gun safety laws” was the greatest frustration of his presidency. (Reuters, BBC)

Co-operation in conflict

In a major policy shift, Ankara has agreed to allow US forces to launch air and drone strikes on Isis positions from within Turkey’s border. The move comes as Turkish troops clashed with Isis forces across the Syrian border in an escalation of Ankara’s response to the Islamist militants. (FT)

Reaching for the Starbucks

Global coffee chain Starbucks reported one of the “strongest, most remarkable” quarters in its 23-year history as profits rose more than 20 per cent year-on-year. The growth was fuelled by a strong increase in customer traffic, suggesting that the ubiquitous brand is increasingly capturing the world’s caffeine cravings. (NYT)

A moment in retail

Amazon eclipsed Walmart to become the largest US retailer by market capitalisation after posting an unexpected quarterly profit and revenues that easily surpassed Wall Street expectations. The Seattle-based online retail pioneer was valued as high as $267bn after a 19 per cent share price surge in after-hours trading. (FT)

Naive, fleeced and bamboozled

All words used to greet US secretary of state John Kerry when he tried to persuade a sceptical Congress to get behind the Iran nuclear deal. “To be able to walk away from this and say that this is a good deal is ludicrous,” said Republican senator James Risch in comments that echoed the sentiment of many of his GOP colleagues. (FT)

Earth 2.0

The most Earthlike planet has been detected by the American Kepler satellite, orbiting a Sun-like star 1,400 light-years away. Nasa scientists said the discovery of planet Kepler-452b marked a milestone in the journey to finding another “Earth”. (FT)

It’s a big day for:

The Chinese economy which performed worse than expected in July according to a PMI survey released today that showed the country’s manufacturing sector remained in contraction mode for the fifth month running. (fastFT)

Barack Obama who arrives today in his ancestral homeland in Kenya for a global entrepreneurship summit. After stepping off Air Force One in Nairobi, he will become the firstsitting US president to visit the east African nation. (Time)

Food for thought:

Thoughts for fast food

McDonald’s sales and profits tumbled in the second quarter, underlining the challenges facing the global fast food brand as it attempts to rekindle consumers’ love for its burgers and fries. The company is facing intense competition from an array of new outlets, including Mexican food chain Chipotle and burger joint Shake Shack, which have captured the millennial demographic. (FT)

Thinking twice about Trump

Republicans are facing a potential nightmare scenario: billionaire businessman and presidential hopeful Donald Trump has threatened a third-party run if the GOP does not treat him “fairly”. Such a situation could pull votes from the right and leave more mainstream nominees open to attack. (The Hill, CNN)

“Massive institutional failure”

A Pentagon investigation found that the inadequate destruction and testing of anthrax samples was among the main reasons why a US army labmistakenly shipped live spores to dozens of labs within the US and abroad for a decade. (USA Today)

Red scare

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has labelled China “the most dominant threat” to US companies. The FBI said it believed the country was behind a 53 per cent jump in economic espionage cases its agents are investigating. (FT)

Chemo questioned

A new study by doctors in the US found that last-ditch chemotherapy sessions, even among stronger patients, would only make things worse. Rather than easing discomfort or buying time, such procedures would likely worsen the quality of life for the terminally-ill. (NYT)

Video of the day:

Sale of FT Group

Pearson, the UK-based publishing and education group that has owned the Financial Times for 58 years, has sold the FT Group to Nikkei, Japan’s largest media company. John Fallon, Pearson’s chief executive, explains why to the FT’s John Gapper.

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: Vaccines are placed on a tray. REUTERS/Nicky Loh.