Monday, October 6, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Concern in the vaccine industry after Kennedy’s nomination

Published 16 November 2024
– By Editorial Staff
RFK and Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Arizona.
2 minute read

Share prices for a range of vaccine manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies around the world fell sharply on Friday.

The reason is widespread concern about what Trump’s nomination of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health could mean for the historically lucrative sector.

Kennedy has vowed to crack down on Big Pharma and wants vaccines to be voluntary, safe and properly tested – and to fight corruption and powerful special interests in US public health.

Today, he says, no one knows exactly how dangerous vaccines are or whether they even prevent more problems than they cause. Kennedy also believes that not a single vaccine in the US vaccine program has been tested thoroughly enough to safely assess its risks and benefits.

The news that Trump has nominated RFK as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services was thus not received positively by industry players and in the US, shares in Pfizer fell by more than 4%, Moderna by about 7% and Astra Zeneca and GSK by more than 3% on Friday.

 

According to Russ Mould, director at investment platform AJ Bell, the election has “spooked” many of the pharmaceutical companies’ shareholders and led to concerns about the future of the companies if Kennedy’s nomination goes through.

– The impact on the sector is hard to judge fully at this stage but, at the very least, it will cause a good deal of uncertainty, he says.

Wants to see a number of changes

If Kennedy becomes the new health secretary, he would head a large and well-resourced agency that oversees everything from food safety to medical research and national health programs including mass vaccination programs.

Kennedy has also called for more restrictions and bans on chemicals and dyes in food, the removal of ultra-processed foods from school lunches, and for pharmaceutical companies to be forced to be more transparent and share more information about their products than they do today.

The pharmaceutical industry is also concerned that with Trump as president, there will be less money to be made in the US market as the president-elect wants to make it easier to import medicines from Canada.

“Have to wait and see”

Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic’s shares fell more than 15% on Friday but its CEO Paul Chaplin is urging shareholders to wait and see what changes Trump’s presidency will bring to the industry.

He points out that during Donald Trump’s first term, the company’s smallpox and monkeypox vaccine business actually benefited and that it’s hard to say what will happen this time.

– It is too early to say and we have to wait and see how things develop.

Danish Novo Nordisk and French Sanofi also fell sharply on Friday, with their shares dropping by just over five percent and just over three percent respectively.

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Bitcoin reaches new record – surpasses $125,000 in value

Alternative economic systems

Published today 13:21
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

The world’s leading cryptocurrency continues its rise and hit a new all-time high on Sunday, driven by dollar weakness and strong inflows to bitcoin ETFs.

Bitcoin rose to $125,689 on Sunday, once again reaching new record levels. The previous record was set in mid-August when the cryptocurrency reached $124,480.

The rise comes after eight straight days of gains, supported by positive developments in US stock markets and increasing investments in bitcoin ETFs – exchange-traded funds that allow investors to gain exposure to bitcoin without having to buy and store the cryptocurrency themselves. Meanwhile, the US dollar has weakened against most major currencies, partly due to uncertainty surrounding a possible US government shutdown.

Joshua Lim, analyst at crypto broker Falcon X, sees a clear connection:

With many assets at record levels, it’s not surprising that bitcoin is benefiting from dollar weakness.

Since the beginning of the year, bitcoin has risen over 30 percent, benefiting from more crypto-friendly policies under President Donald Trump’s administration and increased institutional interest in digital assets.

Gold prices at record levels

Published 29 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Experts worry about the soaring price of gold.
1 minute read

During the summer and fall of this year, gold prices have risen by over 40 percent, leading to trading near $3,800 per ounce. The sharp increase has raised concerns among economists and investors.

One of the primary factors behind the price increase is US President Donald Trump’s policy, which aims to reduce America’s national debt. As part of this strategy, Trump hopes to weaken the dollar, making gold more attractive as a safe haven asset.

A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for investors in other currencies, further driving up demand. Currently, one US dollar costs approximately €0.85, which represents a notable depreciation in just a few months.

Several major banks have raised their forecasts for gold prices. Goldman Sachs predicts that prices could rise to over $4,000 per ounce within a year, provided that central banks continue buying gold and investors increase their gold positions.

Despite the positive development, there are also warnings. Experts point out that gold prices can become volatile and that a sudden interest rate hike or improved global economic stability could lead to a rapid price decline.

Investors are therefore advised to be cautious and not put all their assets in gold.

The rapid price increase in gold reflects a world in economic uncertainty, where pressure on US finances and its currency policy could have far-reaching consequences worldwide.

China plans fully AI-controlled economy by 2035

The modern China

Published 26 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
By 2035, AI is planned to have "completely reworked Chinese society" and implemented a new phase of economic and social production.
2 minute read

The Chinese government has presented an ambitious ten-year plan where artificial intelligence will permeate all sectors of society by 2035 and become the “main engine for economic growth”.

China’s State Council has published a comprehensive plan aimed at making the country the world’s first fully AI-driven economy within eleven years. According to the government document presented at the end of August, artificial intelligence will have transformed Chinese society by 2035 and become the foundation for what is described as “a new phase of development in intelligent economy and intelligent society”.

The plan, which spans ten years, encompasses six central societal sectors that will be permeated by AI technology by 2027. These include science and technology, citizen welfare, industrial development, consumer goods, governance, and international relations.

The goal: 90 percent usage by 2030

According to the timeline, AI technology should reach a 90 percent usage rate by 2030 and practically become a new type of infrastructure. At this point, the technology is expected to have developed into a “significant growth engine for China’s economy”.

The strategy resembles the country’s previous “internet plus” initiative, which successfully integrated the internet as a central component in the Chinese economy.

By 2035, AI should according to the plan have “completely reworked Chinese society” and implemented a new phase of economic and social production. This is an ambitious goal with significant consequences, not only for the People’s Republic but for the entire world.

International cooperation in focus

The State Council emphasizes that AI should be treated as an “international public good that benefits humanity”. The plan highlights the importance of developing open source AI, supporting developing countries in building their own technology sectors, and the UN’s role as a leader in AI regulation.

Although China’s AI industry is growing rapidly, as exemplified by the open AI platform DeepSeek’s successes earlier this year, Chinese models still lag several months behind their American counterparts in terms of average performance. This is largely due to restrictions and barriers that Western countries have imposed.

However, the gap is steadily narrowing. At the end of 2023, American AI models performed better than Chinese ones in 13 percent of general reasoning tests. By the same time in 2024, this figure had dropped to 8.1 percent. In certain AI applications, China is already a world leader and has invested heavily in offering its services at low prices and in many cases completely free as open source.

The State Council’s ten-year plan aims to further reduce the lead by strengthening key areas such as fundamental model performance, security measures, data access, and energy management.

Whether Beijing can deliver on its massive goals with the help of sometimes unreliable technology remains to be seen. However, if other nationally coordinated plans are any indication, the country may face a comprehensive transformation.

Chinese EVs outsell Tesla

Published 26 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
From unchallenged market leader to pressured giant – Tesla faces intensifying competition from China.
1 minute read

Chinese electric vehicle company BYD has increased its sales in Europe by over 200 percent. Meanwhile, Tesla’s electric vehicle sales in Europe decreased compared to last year.

For the eighth consecutive month, sales are declining for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla in Europe, according to industry organization ACEA. In July, Tesla sold a total of 8,220 electric vehicles, which is 36 percent less than the same month last year.

Meanwhile, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, sold 9,130 electric vehicles in July, representing an increase of 201 percent compared to July last year.

Looking at this year’s figures, Tesla has lost 43 percent in the European market, while BYD has increased by 244 percent.

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