S&P Inches Closer to a Record High, Putin Claims Russia Has Registered the First Coronavirus Vaccine, Uber & Lyft: Classifying Drivers

Jim Cramer and David Faber discuss the boost in stocks as the S&P 500 closes in on a record high. Russia says it has approved a COVID-19 vaccine. President Putin saying, “as far as I know, this morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against a new coronavirus infection has been registered.” It’s important to note that no data has been published by the researchers and that it has only been injected into a few dozen people so far and that a Phase III trial is due to begin later this month. On the therapeutics front, BioNTech says its first trial results may come as early as October. Novavax says its manufacturing capacity will be sufficient to meet demand for its COVID-19 vaccine and it expects to begin a phase 3 trail as soon as late September. Plus, Inovio Pharmaceuticals announcing it expects its vaccine candidate to enter a mid-to-late stage study in September. Plus, news on the ride-hailing front as a California judge granted a preliminary injunction requiring Uber & Lyft to stop classifying their drivers as independent contractors pending further action by the court.