Category: 3. Business

  • US dollar slips as trade optimism boosts risk appetite

    US dollar slips as trade optimism boosts risk appetite

    By Karen Brettell

    (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar weakened against the euro, Chinese yuan and Australian dollar on Monday as optimism over a possible U.S.-China trade deal boosted risk appetite and reduced demand for the greenback.

    Overall moves in the currency markets were relatively muted as traders also waited on several key central bank meetings this week.

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States and China were set to “come away” with a trade deal. Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in South Korea.

    “The market’s kind of euphoric,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York, noting strong gains in global stock markets while gold fell.

    The markets are cheered by three main developments, Chandler said.

    “It looks like the U.S. and China moved away from the brink. The U.S. struck foreign trade deals or frameworks with some East Asian countries, and Milei did better in Argentina,” Chandler said, referring to the president of the South American country.

    Argentine President Javier Milei’s party cruised to victory in midterm legislative elections as voters handed him a mandate to keep pushing through his overhaul of the economy.

    The dollar index was last down 0.11% at 98.84, with the euro up 0.15% at $1.1643.

    Central banks may dominate market direction later this week, with the Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada expected to cut rates on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan on Thursday are likely to leave rates unchanged.

    With a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut long priced in, markets will closely watch for any signs that the central bank may be preparing to wind down its quantitative tightening program.

    The Chinese yuan was also boosted by the People’s Bank of China setting the official yuan midpoint rate higher than expected. Prior to the market open, it set the official yuan midpoint rate at 7.0881 per dollar, the strongest since October 15, 2024, and above a Reuters estimate of 7.1146.

    Chris Turner, global head of forex research at ING, said in a report that the move may be a gesture of goodwill ahead of Thursday’s Trump-Xi meeting, or a sign that China wants to boost its domestic demand.

    “Either way, a stronger renminbi is normally supportive for global EM (emerging market) currencies and a mild dollar negative,” Turner said.

    The Chinese offshore yuan rose to a more than one-month high against the dollar of 7.1015.

    The Australian dollar was last up 0.63% versus the greenback at $0.6554. The Australian currency was also boosted by relatively hawkish comments from the country’s central bank head.

    Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock said on Monday a rise in core inflation of 0.9% in the third quarter would be a “material miss” to forecasts that would have to be weighed by the board when judging whether to cut interest rates next week.

    Traders are also focused on a meeting on Tuesday between Trump and Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, where the two leaders will discuss trade issues.

    The Japanese currency has weakened in recent weeks on concerns that Takaichi will implement more expansionary fiscal policies.

    Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was roughly flat on the day at 152.92 yen.

    Investors are further watching for any indication on when the U.S. federal government will reopen, with the U.S. economy expected to take a bigger hit the longer the shutdown goes on.

    Air travel turmoil deepened with more than 2,700 flights delayed nationwide on Monday and more than 8,600 delays on Sunday, with air traffic controller absences surging amid a federal government shutdown now in its 27th day.

    In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 1.82% to $115,454.

    (Reporting by Karen Brettell; Additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo. Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Mark Potter, Will Dunham, Andrew Heavens and Aurora Ellis)

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  • Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts

    Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts

    Amazon logo on brick office building facade with windows, San Francisco, California, Aug. 29, 2025.

    Smith Collection | Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images

    Amazon is planning to cut as many as 30,000 corporate jobs beginning Tuesday, as the company works to pare expenses and compensate for overhiring during the peak demand of the pandemic, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

    The figure represents a small percentage of Amazon’s 1.55 million total employees, but nearly 10% of the company’s roughly 350,000 corporate employees. This would represent the largest job cut at Amazon since around 27,000 jobs were eliminated starting in late 2022.

    An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment to Reuters.

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  • AI is driving huge productivity gains for large companies while small companies get left behind

    AI is driving huge productivity gains for large companies while small companies get left behind

    Amazon Proteus robots demonstrate autonomous navigation using barcodes on the floor during the Delivering the Future event at the Amazon Robotics Innovation Hub in Westborough, Massachusetts, US, on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. 

    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Artificial intelligence is widening the productivity gap between large and small companies, lifting up bigger firms that are able to effectively scale the technology and cut costs tie to human workers.

    Large-cap companies are seeing steady AI-related productivity gains since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT model in 2022 in terms of their real revenue per worker, according to Wells Fargo analysis. Small-cap names are witnessing a decline over the same period, meanwhile, the firm found.

    “While productivity for the S&P 500 has soared 5.5% since ChatGPT, it’s down 12.3% for the Russell 2000,” Wells Fargo equity strategist Ohsung Kwon wrote in recent note to clients. “We see other examples of diverging trends in consumer, industrial, and financial markets.”

    Wells Fargo analysis comparing real revenue per worker between Russell 2000 and S&P 500 indices

    Wells Fargo

    Breakthrough advancements in AI this year have led major corporations like Amazon to notably go all-in on the technology, finding ways to eliminate human roles that can be replaced by AI machines.

    The performance of the S&P 500 versus the Russell 2000 small-cap index reflect this divergence in productivity gains. The broad market index is up 74% since ChatGPT’s 2022 launch, while the Russell is only up 39%.

    The biggest U.S. companies have been internally deploying AI tools over the past few years to improve their productivity, supply chains and, in some cases, cut headcount. A World Economic Forum survey published at the start of 2025 found that roughly 40% of companies around the world expect to reduce their workforces over the next five years in roles where AI can automate tasks.

    Layoffs this year have been on the rise with several big-name companies, including Target, Meta, Starbucks, Oracle, Microsoft and UPS, having announced significant, and sometimes historic, cuts to their total headcount. Companies have mostly cited efforts to streamline operations and growth strategy as reasons for cuts, but many are nodding to AI as part of the reason that human worker roles can be axed now or in the future.

    For one, Amazon has been a leader in robot deployment across its facilities, which the e-commerce giant has said is improving costs and delivery times. The New York Times reported in October that Amazon executives believe the company is on track to replace more than half a million jobs with robots, which they believe will save about 30 cents on each item Amazon selects, packs and delivers to customers. Morgan Stanley believes Amazon’s robotics efforts can save the company between $2 billion and $4 billion by 2027.

    Klarna, which has been among the most transparent in how AI is affecting its headcount, has shrunk its workforce by about 40%, in part due to its AI investments. CrowdStrike in May announced cuts to 5% of the company’s global workforce, citing AI efficiencies and saying that the technology “flattens our hiring curve.” IBM’s CEO has forecasted 30% of non-customer-facing roles to be cut by 2028 and told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that AI chatbots have replaced 200 HR employees, freeing up investments to hire more people in sales and programming.

    Palo Alto Networks, Walmart and McDonald’s are other companies that have notably been leveraging AI in ways that analysts expect will improve margins, we previously reported.

    A September Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights survey of 5,000 small businesses in US, Canada, the UK, and Australia revealed that 68% of businesses have integrated AI into their daily operations, with roughly two-thirds reporting an increase in productivity.

    “The numbers don’t lie,” Wells Fargo’s Kwon said in his report.

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  • New AI-powered anti-scam tool wins praise from UK fraud minister | Scams

    New AI-powered anti-scam tool wins praise from UK fraud minister | Scams

    A new AI-powered tool that lets online shoppers “be their own detective” and spot the warning signs of scams has won praise from the UK’s fraud minister.

    Scam Intelligence lets customers of the digital bank Starling upload images of items and ads on online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Vinted and Etsy, which it analyses for signs of fraud before serving up personalised advice “in seconds”.

    Lord Hanson, the UK’s minister for fraud, told the Guardian that the “UK-first” tool launched by the bank was “a brilliant example of how industry can deploy AI to help us stay one step ahead of fraudsters”.

    Scam Intelligence was built using Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, in collaboration with Google Cloud, and was due to be unveiled at a fintech event in Las Vegas on Monday.

    During testing it increased the rate at which customers cancelled payments by 300% – suggesting it has encouraged customers to pause and reflect before making a purchase.

    The launch comes days after official figures revealed that the amounts of money lost to purchase scams have hit their highest level since the banking body UK Finance started collecting data in 2020.

    With these scams, the victim pays in advance for goods or services – ranging from concert tickets and cars to mobile phones and holidays – that either do not exist or never arrive. This type of fraud usually involves the victim using an online platform such as an auction website or responding to a social media advert, said UK Finance.

    Using Scam Intelligence, people can upload listings and messages from sellers on online marketplaces as well as images of items for sale. The tool can also analyse screenshots of texts and messages from potential scammers that are asking customers to transfer money.

    If someone is trying to buy a bike on Facebook Marketplace, the tool might inform them that “we found some risks” – which might be that the price looks too good to be true, the photos are “generic or low-quality”, which means they could be stolen or fake, or the bank account details do not match the seller’s details. If a customer is trying to buy a guitar on eBay, it might flag the seller’s refusal to use eBay’s secure payment features. Similarly, if customers receive requests to transfer money before seeing an item in person, the tool could detect “pressure and urgency tactics”.

    Armed with this intelligence, customers can then decide whether to continue with the purchase or not.

    Harriet Rees, the chief information officer at Starling, said its new tool would help people “to spot the signs of scams themselves” and “be their own detective and investigator”.

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    The bank indicated it believed the tool would be able to spot 90% of the “scam indicators” in an image.

    It said that during testing, customers had tended to use it most for lower-value online marketplace items such as event tickets and trainers.

    Starling said this was the first time a UK bank had offered an AI-powered scam detection tool in its app.

    Customers have to opt in to take advantage of Scam Intelligence, and use of the tool is not mandatory.

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  • EVX-01 Plus Pembrolizumab Drives Durable Disease Control, T-Cell Responses in Advanced Melanoma

    EVX-01 Plus Pembrolizumab Drives Durable Disease Control, T-Cell Responses in Advanced Melanoma

    Treatment with the combination of the personalized peptide-based neoantigen vaccine EVX-01 and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) led to T-cell responses and generated durable disease control in patients with previously untreated, stage III or IV unresectable melanoma, according to 2-year follow-up data from a phase 2 trial (NCT05309421).1

    Data presented at the 2025 ESMO Congress demonstrated that evaluable patients (n = 16) achieved an overall response rate (ORR) of 75%. At 24 months of follow-up, responses persisted in 11 of the 12 responders. Four patients had discontinued the study, including 3 patients with progressive disease and 1 partial responder who experienced intracranial hemorrhage. Notably, deepened responses were reported in 7 of 13 evaluable patients, translating to a conversion rate of 54%.

    The Investigation of EVX-01 in Advanced Melanoma

    • EVX-01 is a personalized peptide-based neoantigen vaccine EVX-01.
    • Findings from a phase 2 study showed EVX-01 plus pembrolizumab induced an ORR of 75% in evaluable patients with stage III/IV unresectable melanoma, along with potent and sustained T-cell responses.
    • The combination of EVX-01 and melanoma previously received fast track designation from the FDA.

    Potent, specific T-cell responses were reported in all patients. The AI Immunology platform successfully predicted T-cell responses at a rate of 81%, based on immunogenic vaccine neoantigens (n = 85) and non-immunogenic vaccine neoantigens (n = 20) detected. T-cell responses were induced during the priming of EVX-01 and were sustained over the first 2 years of the study, according to lead study author Adnan Khattak, MBBS, FRACP, PhD.

    “These findings support the ongoing development of [EVX-01 plus pembrolizumab], and further discussions are ongoing with sponsors and regulatory authorities,” Khattak said during the presentation. Khattak is a professor, a specialist physician in medical oncology, and director at the Fiona Stanley Hospital Cancer Clinical Trials Unit at Hollywood Private Hospital of Ramay Health Care in Nedlands, Western Australia.

    Why Is EVX-01 Being Investigated in Advanced Melanoma?

    Although the incorporation of immunotherapy-based regimens has led to improved outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma, Khattak explained that an unmet need remains in this setting.

    To create the personalized neoantigen vaccine EVX-01, DNA and RNA sequencing is conducted on patient blood and tumor samples. After the AI Immunology platform identifies 7 to 10 patient-specific antigens that are optimal for each individual, peptide formulation and EVX-01 formulation is completed.

    In January 2023, the FDA granted fast track designation to EVX-01 plus pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma.2

    How Was the Phase 2 Trial of EVX-01 Plus Pembrolizumab Designed?

    The phase 2 study enrolled patients at least 18 years of age with histologically confirmed metastatic or unresectable stage III/IV melanoma who were not amenable to local therapy.3 Those with uveal or ocular melanoma were excluded, and prior treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor was not allowed. BRAF mutation testing was required prior to enrollment and prior BRAF-targeted therapy was permitted as first-line therapy. Those harboring BRAF V600E mutations were allowed to enroll without prior treatment with a BRAF inhibitor if they had a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level below the local upper level of normal, had no clinically significant tumor-related symptoms per investigator discretion, and did not have rapidly progressing metastatic melanoma.

    Other key inclusion criteria for all patients comprised measurable disease per RECIST 1.1 criteria and an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1.

    All enrolled patients received pembrolizumab at 400 mg once every 6 weeks from week 0 through week 102.1 After EVX-01 manufacturing in week 0, priming doses of the neoantigen vaccine were administered at weeks 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22, followed by boosting doses at weeks 30, 42, 54, and 78. Notably, the manufacturing success rate for EVX-01 was 100%.

    The study’s primary end points were ORR, duration of response, and conversion rate, defined as patients who converted from stable disease to a response, or a partial response to a complete response per RECIST 1.1 criteria.

    All enrolled patients were White, and the majority were male (69%), at least 65 years of age (56%), had an ECOG performance status of 0 (94%), had stage IV disease (87.5%), and had normal LDH levels (63%). Patients had a mean of 2.1 target lesions (range, 1-5) and 1.1 non-target lesions (range, 0-4). Half of patients had a PD-L1 expression of more than 5%, 25% had a PD-L1 expression of less than 5%, and 25% had unknown PD-L1 status. Half of patients also harbored BRAF mutations; 38% and 13% had negative and unknown BRAF statuses, respectively.

    What Safety Data Were Reported for EVX-01 Plus Pembrolizumab at 2 Years of Follow-Up?

    Regarding toxicities specific to EVX-01, no grade 3 or higher adverse effects (AEs) were reported. Two grade 2 AEs related to the vaccine occurred, along with 18 grade 1 AEs. The combination therapy was linked to grade 3 pancreatitis and grade 4 diabetic ketoacidosis in 1 patient.

    Disclosures: Khattak reported receiving research grants from the Raine Foundation Translational Research Fellowship, NHMRC, Spinnaker Health Research Foundation, MSD, and Cancer Council WA; receiving travel sponsorship from BMS, MSD, Roche, Merck, Amgen, Evaxion, and Moderna; receiving speaker honoraria from Merck Serono, BMS, and MSD; and serving on an advisory board for BMS, MSD, and OCR.

    References

    1. Khattak A, Ascierto P, Cimminiello C, et al. EVX-01, a personalized cancer vaccine, induces potent T-cell responses and durable disease control in advanced melanoma: 2-year follow-up. Presented at: 2025 ESMO Congress; October 17-21, 2025; Berlin, Germany. Abstract 1516MO.
    2. Evaxion receives FDA fast-track designation for personalized cancer immunotherapy. News release. Evaxion Biotech. January 19, 2023. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://evaxion.ai/investors/press-releases/?press_release_id=7481
    3. A single arm trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of EVX-01 in combination with pembrolizumab in adults with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated September 22, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05309421

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  • British Columbia introduces new extended leave for serious illness or injury under Employment Standards Act

    At a glance

    • The Government of British Columbia is proposing to expand job-protected leave entitlements.
    • Qualifying employees could receive up to 27 weeks’ leave within a 52-week period if they are unable to work due to a serious personal injury or illness.
    • If enacted, BC employers will have to update leave policies / practices to provide extended job-protected leave for serious illness or injury. 

    On October 20, 2025, the Government of British Columbia introduced Bill 30, the Employment Standards (Serious Illness or Injury Leave) Amendment Act, 2025. This Bill proposes to expand job-protected leave entitlements under the BC Employment Standards Act (ESA). 

    In its current form, Bill 30 would provide qualified employees up to 27 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within a 52-week period if they are unable to work due to a serious personal injury or illness. The proposed extended leave is intended to assist employees with long-term medical treatment and recovery, bringing BC’s employment standards protections in line with several other Canadian jurisdictions and the federal Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits program.

    Employees wishing to qualify for this leave would be required to present a certificate from a health practitioner setting out that the employee is unable to work due to a medical condition, as well as the start and end dates of the leave. This medical certificate requirement differs from short-term sick leave. The new rules under the ESA regarding short-term sick leave expressly prohibit BC employers from requiring proof of illness from employees, as we discussed in a previous post. These rules have received royal assent but are yet to come into force.

    The proposed extended leave must be taken in increments of at least one week. If the full 27 weeks of leave are not used within 52 weeks from the leave start date, the remaining entitlement may be resumed or extended within that same period, provided the medical requirements are met. 

    If an employee on the leave returns to work but becomes unable to continue working because of the same medical condition, the proposed amendments provide for additional leave without a new certificate, provided the 27 weeks of leave have not been exhausted within the 52-week period.  

    Takeaways for employers

    If enacted, Bill 30 will require BC employers to update their leave policies and practices to provide extended job-protected leave for serious illness or injury pursuant to the ESA. We encourage employers to begin reviewing policy language and ensuring HR teams are aware of the proposed changes. 

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  • Ed Miliband says £1.1bn a year to be set aside for new offshore wind projects | Wind power

    Ed Miliband says £1.1bn a year to be set aside for new offshore wind projects | Wind power

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has set aside £1.1bn a year for offshore wind power developers investing in new projects, in the latest funding round aimed at meeting the UK’s green electricity targets.

    The government’s energy department said today it had budgeted £900m to pay developers of fixed wind turbines at sea, with another £180m for floating platforms.

    Renewables provided about half of the UK’s electricity during 2024, with wind accounting for 30% of generation for the first time – overtaking gas power stations. Further huge investments in wind and solar would be necessary to meet the target of completely removing carbon emissions from British electricity supplies by 2030.

    Government sources have previously said ministers might consider abandoning the 2030 target – long seen as hugely ambitious by experts – if it were to add too much to household bills. The Labour government’s clean electricity target is opposed by the Conservative party and Reform, who say they would ditch net zero policies.

    A government source disputed that the 2030 target was in question, saying the initial budget for offshore wind showed “big backing by the Treasury”.

    Wind power developers, expected to include the energy companies SSE, RWE and ScottishPower, will be invited to bid to build offshore wind projects, which would be eligible to receive the new funds.

    In a change from previous years, the final budget could rise higher if ministers considered enough projects provided value for money – potentially surpassing the £1.1bn allocated to offshore wind last year. The contracts would also last 20 years, rather than 15, in order to try to attract lower prices.

    However, RenewableUK, an industry lobby group, said the budget would cover only about a quarter of the 20 gigawatts of projects that have planning permission and would be eligible. Ana Musat, the group’s executive director of policy, said: “The budget announced today will not maximise investment in new offshore windfarms.”

    Chris Stark, the civil servant who leads the UK’s clean power efforts under Miliband, said he expected the bids to exceed the funding allocated for fixed offshore wind. The government was prepared to “contract more offshore wind generation if we see value for money for the consumer”, he said in a social media post.

    Michael Shanks, minister of state for energy, said: “This auction is another step towards delivering the clean power this country needs to end our reliance on volatile global gas prices, ensuring our energy security and bringing down bills for good.

    “Our competitive new auction process will allow us to buy the right amount of clean power at the right price on behalf of the British people, so we can take back control of our energy.”

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    The budget allocated by the government may not all be spent, but rather represents the “worst case” cost under the “contracts for difference” (CfD) scheme, which reduces the risk for developers investing in clean power generation.

    Under the scheme, the government sets a bar for electricity prices generated from the projects. If prices are below that bar, called a strike price, the government tops up the difference, while generators must pay back the government for any earnings above that price. The whole budget would be spent only if energy prices were to stay lower than expected for a sustained period of time.

    Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a thinktank, said: “Every bit of free wind and sun power that we harness means we need to buy less foreign gas from abroad, boosting our energy security.”

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  • Correction to chromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs Rotterdam price assessment, rationale on October 24

    Correction to chromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs Rotterdam price assessment, rationale on October 24

    MB-CR-0001 Chromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs Rotterdam, $/tonne was published in error at $8,800-9,200 per tonne. It has been corrected to $8,800-9,476 per tonne.

    Fastmarkets’ pricing database and the relevant rationale has been updated to reflect this change.

    This price is part of the Fastmarkets minor metals package.

    For more information or to provide feedback on this correction notice, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price assessment, please contact pricing@fastmarkets.com and minormetals@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “re: chromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs Rotterdam.“

    Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

    To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents, go to the Fastmarkets methodology page.

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  • Serial ctDNA Testing Holds Potential to Further Personalize MIBC Management

    Serial ctDNA Testing Holds Potential to Further Personalize MIBC Management

    Results from the phase 3 IMvigor011 trial (NCT04660344) evaluating adjuvant atezolizumab (Tecentriq) showed that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing could refine muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) management by guiding adjuvant immunotherapy decisions, although further research is needed to enhance treatment precision across disease stages and regimens, according to Joaquim Bellmunt, MD, PhD.

    In an interview with OncLive®, Bellmunt highlighted ways that ctDNA testing could augment bladder cancer treatment standards, the need for data from ongoing trials to determine the optimal use of ctDNA test results in various clinical scenarios, and the promise of ctDNA results for identifying patients likely to benefit from immunotherapy. He discussed the IMvigor011 trial results in more detail in another portion of the interview.

    Bellmunt is director of the Bladder Cancer Center and a senior physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, Massachusetts.

    OncLive: What do the IMvigor011 data indicate about the potential role for ctDNA in bladder cancer detection and management? What additional data are needed to help determine how to incorporate this information into clinical decision-making strategies?

    Bellmunt: [ctDNA analyses are] happening in [many] diseases. Sometimes we are lagging behind in how the [urothelial cancer treatment paradigm] is evolving. Nowadays, for example, since [IMvigor11] was designed in [2020], we have had several positive trials. We have had the phase 3 NIAGARA trial [NCT03732677], where patients [with MIBC] received neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy followed by surgery, and then adjuvant durvalumab [Imfinzi] for 8 cycles, independent of their pathological response after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.

    At the 2025 ESMO Congress, we also heard the outstanding results on the use [of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev)] in patients [with MIBC] who are unfit for platinum[-based chemotherapy]; [this regimen is] 3 cycles [of the combination] before surgery, and then after surgery, patients receive 6 additional cycles [of the combination] and then maintenance immunotherapy [with pembrolizumab alone]. This phase 3 KEYNOTE-905/EV-303 [trial (NCT03924895) regimen] is likely a new standard of care because for the first time, we have seen a survival benefit in patients receiving neoadjuvant enfortumab vedotin/pembrolizumab, followed by adjuvant [treatment with the combination, followed by pembrolizumab alone]. We have seen a [57.1% (95% CI, 49.3%-64.6%)] pathologic complete response [(pCR) rate with this regimen].1 Those are outstandingly good results never seen before.

    IMvigor011 Trial: Key Takeaways

    • Adjuvant atezolizumab significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS; HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47-0.87; P = .0047) and overall survival (OS; HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39-0.90; P = .0131) compared with placebo in patients with ctDNA-positive MIBC.
    • Patients who persistently tested ctDNA negative had a low risk of recurrence and death, with only 10.9% of patients experiencing a DFS event and 3.9% of patients experiencing an OS event in the no-treatment population after a median follow-up of 21.8 months from cystectomy.
    • Subgroup analysis for DFS revealed a particularly strong benefit with atezolizumab in patients with high PD-L1 status (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.19-0.58) and those who tested ctDNA positive earlier following cystectomy (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.36-0.74).

    The question is: How are we going to use ctDNA in other trials? The results of IMvigor011 [were] based on the decision to give adjuvant treatment in patients who were ctDNA positive. Is [ctDNA] going to be used in other settings? Those are questions that unless we get results from these ongoing or completed trials, we cannot start extrapolating.

    What [should we] do in patients who have a pCR? Do we need to give, for example, 8 cycles of adjuvant immunotherapy? Data from the breast cancer [field are] telling that, yes, despite the pCRs, still there is benefit [with additional immunotherapy]. However, if the patient’s getting a CR after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy, maybe they will not be willing to receive adjuvant treatment.

    These are good questions. The paradigm is evolving, so [there will be] new treatment options for patients. We’ll see how [these new data are] going to [affect it] in the end.

    What are the next steps for the IMvigor011 investigation?

    [We presented] the initial results [at ESMO 2025].2 We are analyzing the cohort of patients with more granularity. For example, [we are investigating] how the ctDNA affects or correlates with staging before receiving neoadjuvant therapy or at the time of surgery; this might give us [more] prognostic data.

    We know that ctDNA is prognostic. Patients who have high ctDNA levels do worse than patients who are ctDNA negative. [However, there may be] correlations made in this trial, [such as] correlations between staging, response to prior treatment, and patient outcomes.

    How do the IMvigor011 results open the door for a new treatment paradigm for patients with bladder cancer who are positive for recurrence on a molecular level without evidence of disease progression or recurrence on imaging?

    [IMvigor011] formed the basis for other trials that are already ongoing. For example, we have the phase 2/3 MODERN trial [NCT05987241], where patients with [urothelial cancer with] ctDNA positivity are assigned to receive immunotherapy. That trial is asking an additional question: Can we optimize adjuvant therapy? For example, in the MODERN trial, patients who are ctDNA positive are randomly assigned to receive nivolumab [Opdivo] or nivolumab plus a LAG-3 inhibitor—another immunotherapy compound. This could potentially end up [showing that patients] can obtain further benefit if they are adding immunotherapy compounds to an immunotherapy [backbone] in patients who are ctDNA positive.

    [ctDNA analysis] is a dynamic test. In [the phase 3] IMvigor010 [trial (NCT02450331)], we only had baseline [testing for] determination of ctDNA [status]. [In IMvigor011], we had sequential checking of ctDNA for up to 1 year. In patients who are [ctDNA] negative after 1 year, the likelihood of recurrence was only [11.6% at 24 months without adjuvant treatment].

    References

    1. Vulsteke C, Kaimakliotis HZ, Danchaivijitr P, et al. Perioperative enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab in participants with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are cisplatin-ineligible: phase 3 KEYNOTE-905 study. Presented at: 2025 ESMO Congress; October 17-21, 2025; Berlin, Germany. Abstract LBA2.
    2. Powles T, Kann AG, Castellano D, et al. IMvigor011: a phase 3 trial of circulating tumour (ct)DNA-guided adjuvant atezolizumab vs placebo in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Presented at: 2025 ESMO Congress; October 17-21, 2025; Berlin, Germany. Abstract LBA8.

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  • Clarification of methodology for Turkey domestic long steel assessments

    Clarification of methodology for Turkey domestic long steel assessments

    The assessments are for MB-STE-0784 steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey and MB-STE-0785 steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, exw Turkey.

    Previously, both assessments stated that an 18% value-added tax (VAT) was included in the assessed price. Fastmarkets wishes to clarify the specifications to show the correct figure, which is 20%, as dictated by Turkish tax rules.

    Turkey changed its VAT rate from 18% to 20% in July 2023. The specifications of affected prices were not updated at the time, but prices have been assessed in line with the VAT change.

    The clarified specifications are:

    MB-STE-0784 Steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey, lira/tonne
    Quality: Diameter 12-32mm
    Quantity: Minimum 100 tonnes
    Location: Ex-works
    Timing: Up to 6 weeks
    Unit: TRY/tonne including 20% VAT
    Payment terms: LC, Bank transfer, cash upon order, deferred payment
    Publication: Weekly. Thursday, 2-3pm London time

    MB-STE-0785 Steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, exw Turkey, lira/tonne
    Quality: Standard diameter 5.5-32mm
    Quantity: Standard 100 tonnes
    Location: Ex-works
    Timing: Prompt to 6 weeks
    Unit: TRY/tonne including 20% VAT
    Payment terms: LC, Bank transfer, cash upon order, deferred payment
    Publication: Weekly. Thursday, 2-3pm London time

    You can find the updated methodology for ferrous products here: https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology/.

    To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents, go to the Fastmarkets methodology page.

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