Category: 3. Business

(Bloomberg) — A rally in several big techs spurred a rebound in stocks, with Nvidia Corp. briefly hitting $4 trillion. Treasuries climbed after a solid $39 billion sale. Brazil’s real tumbled as President Donald Trump said the US will impose a 50% tariff on imports from the South American nation.

Equity traders brushed off trade angst to send the S&P 500 just a few points away from its record high. The CNN Fear & Greed Index is now signaling “extreme greed,” an indication of the market’s bullish momentum. A gauge of megacaps added 1.1%, with Nvidia extending this year’s surge to more than 20%. In another sign of risk appetite, Bitcoin topped $112,000 for the first time.

Trump unveiled a new round of tariff demand letters on Wednesday, with Brazil’s rate being one of the highest so far announced for the levies which are set to hit in August. He cited the treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro in his letter to the nation, calling on authorities to drop charges against him over an alleged coup attempt.

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“Markets have moved into a period of calm despite a wave of trade headlines,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide. “As the market reaction to the ebb and flow of tariff news has become muted, the next catalyst is earnings season. This handoff may come with some choppiness given the dramatic rally since April, the elevated expectations of investors, and the likely need for a period of consolidation.”

The Treasury market snapped a five-day selloff, with 10-year yields down six basis points to 4.34%. A sale of the bonds drew a yield of 4.362%, slightly lower than indicated by pre-auction trading just before the bidding deadline, indicating demand exceeded expectations. A $22 billion offering of 30-year debt is set for Thursday.

The emerging divide among Federal Reserve officials over the outlook for interest rates is being driven largely by differing expectations for how tariffs might affect inflation, a record of policymakers’ most recent meeting showed.

“While a few participants noted that tariffs would lead to a one-time increase in prices and would not affect longer-term inflation expectations, most participants noted the risk that tariffs could have more persistent effects on inflation,” the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s June 17-18 meeting said.

While concern about the inflationary impacts of tariffs is one reason why the Fed has continued to postpone lowering rates, Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management doesn’t believe this changes the dynamics in the bull market.

“Most investors believe that the economy is strong, corporate profits will be resilient and are eager to buy stocks, however, we believe more caution is warranted because we haven’t yet seen the impact of tariffs on corporate profits and consumer spending, because there have been so many delays in implementing them,” he said.

With the S&P 500 back at cycle-high valuations, the market seems to be signaling a robust appetite for risk, according to Hackett at Nationwide. This heightened sentiment likely reflects positive interpretation of recent data as supportive, he said.

The S&P 500 has repaired some of its technical damage, bolstered by impressive market leadership from industrials, financials, and the technology sectors, Hackett noted. 

“Nvidia’s march today as the first company to surpass a $4 trillion market cap is only the latest example of this,” he said.

Nvidia’s surge to the new milestone marked a stunning rebound following a rough start to the year, when spending fears sparked by China’s DeepSeek, along with Trump’s trade war, weighed on risk sentiment. The stock is up more than 1,000% since the beginning of 2023. Nvidia now accounts for 7.5% of the S&P 500, near its highest influence on record.

“Historically, megacaps have tended to continue their rallies after reaching various $1 trillion market cap thresholds,” according to Bespoke Investment Group strategists.

Fast-money investors are edging their way back into US stocks after sitting out a furious rally, bolstering the case for equities to extend their advance further into uncharted territory.

A BNP Paribas measure of equity positioning among investors including commodity-trading advisors, volatility-target funds and hedge funds has been steadily rising and now sits at just above neutral. That follows a monthslong rally that saw the S&P 500 rebound to new highs from the precipice of a bear market. The last time institutions were this light on stocks in the midst of a sharp recovery was in 2023, according to the bank.

“We believe the setup for equity markets looks bullish, even in light of renewed trade-war jitters,” said Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler. “While equities may come under some near-term pressure, investors are increasingly becoming numb to the tariff headlines and instead focusing on the trendlines.”

Just this week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists raised their outlook for US stocks, citing among other factors the continued strength in the largest US companies as reasons why stocks are likely to keep heading higher.

“If the script goes as planned and economic activity remains firm, corporate profitability remains solid (especially across tech), and the inevitable unexpected speed bumps in the road don’t throw the market off track too much, stocks have an opportunity to grind higher through year-end,” said Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise. 

Yet Saglimbene remarks there’s now an elevated risk of disappointment, “especially after seeing how quickly the overall investment narrative can change based on the constant barrage of White House announcements.”

Corporate Highlights:

• Microsoft Corp. was upgraded at Oppenheimer on Wednesday, adding to a growing consensus on Wall Street that the software giant is in a strong position within artificial intelligence.
• Apple Inc. thinks it is “too big to tariff, in some sense, and it’s used that line,” White House trade counselor Peter Navarro told Fox Business.
• France’s antitrust regulator said it notified Meta Platforms Inc. of a potential violation of competition rules relating to the online advertising sector.
• Merck & Co. agreed to buy respiratory drugmaker Verona Pharma Plc for around $10 billion as part of its ongoing search for ways to fill the Keytruda-sized hole that will emerge over the next few years.
• Meta Platforms Inc. bought a minority stake in the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer, EssilorLuxottica SA, deepening the US tech giant’s commitment to the fast-growing smart glasses industry, according to people familiar with the matter.
• Autodesk Inc. is weighing an acquisition of rival engineering-software provider PTC Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. PTC rose as much as 19% on the news.
• UnitedHealth Group Inc. promoted a new leader for the company’s Medicaid insurance segment, filling a role that was vacant after recent executive changes.
• Starbucks Corp. has received proposals from prospective investors in its China business, most of whom are eyeing a controlling stake in the operation, said people familiar with the matter.
• AES Corp., which provides renewable power to tech giants such as Microsoft Corp., is exploring options including a potential sale amid takeover interest, people with knowledge of the matter said.
• Samsung Electronics Co. introduced three new foldable smartphones in an effort to cement its grip on the category and broaden mainstream appeal before Apple Inc. debuts its first version next year.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
• The MSCI World Index rose 0.7%
• Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.1%
• The Russell 2000 Index rose 1.1%
• Nvidia rose 1.8%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.1718
• The British pound was little changed at $1.3594
• The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 146.35 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 2.9% to $111,832.69
• Ether rose 6.2% to $2,760.5

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 4.34%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.67%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.61%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
• Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,315.09 an ounce

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Senior officials from three of OPEC’s core producer nations — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait — lined up on Wednesday to say that the super-sized addition of supply by the producer club at the weekend was needed by the global market.

Oil prices eked out gains this week, a sign that the market has largely shrugged off the larger-than-expected output hike announced on Saturday by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies. Despite the current tightness, forecasters are pointing out that supply growth is at risk of outpacing demand later in the year.

A disabled BMW worker was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed after bosses authorised covert surveillance on him, believing he was exaggerating his back pain, a tribunal has found.

Mohamed Kerita, who worked in the firm’s manufacturing factory, suffered with back pain from 2017, the tribunal in Reading heard.

In March 2023, a physiotherapist emailed the absence manager Richard Darvill to say that Kerita had been signed off work by his GP for two months.

The physiotherapist said he could not explain the level of pain Kerita was experiencing and why he remained unfit for work, the tribunal heard.

Darvill and the HR manager Akhil Patel instructed the security firm G4S to carry out surveillance of the claimant, which the employment judge, Emma Jane Hawksworth, said was a “highly unusual step”.

A G4S surveillance operative followed Kerita and filmed him from behind walking about three miles in about one and a half hours, even though the claimant never said he could not walk, the tribunal heard.

In a report, they said that there was “no indication whatsoever that the claimant had lower back, leg or shoulder pain or was experiencing sickness or dizziness”, despite not filming Kerita’s face.

Darvill later approached a senior manager to get more funding for further surveillance to ensure a “robust outcome”, the tribunal heard.

In May 2023, Kerita was dismissed for gross misconduct, including a fraudulent claim of company sick pay and unacceptable levels of absence.

During a disciplinary meeting, he had said that he was in the wrong area and needed light duties but his managers told him there were none and sent him home, the tribunal heard.

The tribunal found that Kerita’s back pain met the definition of a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

Judge Hawksworth said it could be inferred that managers “had a level of distrust or hostility towards associates with back conditions, and were unwilling to take their word for it that they had a back problem, or were quick to conclude that a person with a back condition was not being honest about their symptoms”.

The judge added: “We have found that the respondent made assumptions about what the claimant had told them about his ability to walk and about the G4S surveillance film.”

Kerita’s claims of failure to make reasonable adjustments, disability discrimination and unfair dismissal succeeded.

Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke was indicted on a federal criminal conspiracy charge related to allegedly rigging a bid to develop, manage, and operate the University of Texas’ basketball and entertainment arena in Austin, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Oak View Group, which will pay $15 million in penalties in connection with the allegations, later Wednesday said that Leiweke “will transition from the position of CEO to” vice chairman of the entertainment venue giant’s board of directors, and remain a shareholder.

Leiweke, 68, is accused in the indictment of conspiring with another would-be bidder on UT’s $338 million Moody Center arena project to induce that second company in February 2018 to drop out of the competition with Oak View Group in exchange for receiving lucrative subcontracts at the 15,000-seat arena.

CNBC has been told the second company was Legends Hospitality, a New York-based venue services company that is majority-owned by Sixth Street Partners, and whose minority owners include the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys.

The indictment in U.S. District Court in Austin says that Leiweke later reneged on that promise to the second company after it dropped its effort to bid on the entire project.

“The arena opened to the public in April 2022, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the project to date,” the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Leiweke “rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, in a statement.

Leweike, in a 2022 interview with CNBC, said that the Moody Center was one of his company’s “two most successful arenas.”

The DOJ also said Wednesday that Oak View Group and Legends agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in penalties “in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment against Leiweke.”

Oak View Group’s website says that the company manages 400 sports, entertainment and other venues.

Lewieke, who is charged with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade, is the former CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Before that, he served as CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group.

A spokesman for Leiweke, in a statement to CNBC, said, “Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity.”

“The Antitrust Division’s allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought,” the spokesman said. “The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal.”

“These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize common teaming efforts that are proven to enhance competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as it has resulted in substantial and sustained benefits to the University of Texas and the City of Austin.”

Leiweke, in his own statement, said, “While I’m pleased the company has resolved its Department of Justice Antitrust Division inquiry without any charges filed or admission of wrongdoing, the last thing I want to do is distract from the accomplishments of the team or draw focus away from executing for our partners, so the Board and I decided that now is the right time to implement the succession plan that was already underway and transition out of the CEO role.

Oak View Group, in a statement, said, “Oak View Group cooperated fully with the Antitrust Division’s inquiry and is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing.”

“We support all efforts to ensure a fair and competitive environment in our industry and are committed to upholding industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices,” Oak View Group said.

CNBC has requested comment from Legends.

Chris Granger, who was president of Oak View Group’s division OVG360, has been appointed as interim CEO of Oak View Group by the company’s board.

Granger previously was group president for sports and entertainment of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, and president and chief operating officer of the Sacramento Kings.

The global impact of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is not uniform, with 2021 data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showing wide variances in patient treatment and outcomes in connection with rates of age-standardized incidence (ASIR), mortality (ASMR), and disability-adjusted life-years (ASDR). Prevention, management, and health equity strategies to help alleviate this burden need to be better as a result, experts warn.

New data published in Frontiers in Public Health¹ show that globally, PAH cases rose 85.6% in the 32 years (1990-2021) leading up to the study, and they highlight the urgency of optimizing public health strategies to meet the needs of all stakeholders involved.

“Despite notable advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in recent years,” the study authors wrote, “there remains a critical need for a deeper comprehension of the global disease burden of PAH to better understand its specific impact on public health.”

The data are telling. In 1990, all-age cases of PAH totaled 23,301 (95% UI, 19,037-27,809), but by 2021, this had risen to 43,251 (95% UI, 34,705-52,441) cases. Per 100,000 population, the corresponding ASIR rose from 0.5 (95% UI, 0.4-0.6) to 0.52 (95% UI, 0.42-0.62). Further, there were similar trends in ASMR. From 1990 to 2021, global deaths from PAH rose from 14,842 (95% UI, 12,370-17,485) to 22,021 (95% UI, 18,239-25,352); however, there was a drop in ASMR for this, from 0.35 (95% UI, 0.29-0.42) to 0.27 (95% UI, 0.23-0.32). By 2021, there were 642,104 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to PAH, which broke down to 8.24 (95% UI, 7.14-9.39) per 100,000 population and an estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) of –1.31 (95% CI, –1.43 to –1.19).

Disparities were evident when the authors considered socio-demographic index (SDI) at the regional level. For example, the greatest ASIR decrease—from 0.78 (95% UI, 0.64-0.93) to 0.71 (95% UI, 0.58-0.85) per 100,000, translating to EAPC of –0.03 (95% CI, −0.36% to −0.25%)—was seen in areas with the lowest SDI, while areas considered to have a high-middle SDI saw one of the highest increases: from an ASIR of 0.43 (95% UI, 0.35-0.52) to 0.46 (95% UI, 0.37-0.55), for an EAPC of 0.03 (95% CI, –0.05 to 0.12).

For mortality, middle-SDI regions had the highest ASMR per 100,000, at 0.33 (95% UI, 0.22-0.39), whereas high-SDI regions had an ASMR of 0.22 (95% UI, 0.19-0.23). The ASDRs in regions with a higher SDI reflected these results: in high-middle SDI regions, the ASDR was 9.3 (95% UI, 6.08-13.2) compared with 6.16 (95% UI, 5.76-6.49) in high-SDI regions.

Drilling down to more specific regions, sub-Saharan Africa demonstrated the highest incidence of PAH of 0.92 (95% UI, 0.75-1.09) per 100,000 population, while western sub-Saharan Africa had the greatest ASIR EAPC decline of –1.15 (95% UI, –1.27 to –1.02). However, between 1990 and 2021, the EAPC for ASMR from PAH rose the most in Central Asia (0.3; 95% UI, 0.06-0.53), while it decreased the most in Eastern Europe (–3.78; 95% UI, –4.18 to –3.37). Central Asia was the only region, the authors wrote, to demonstrate an increasing trend. In addition, the highest ASDRs were seen in North Africa and the Middle East (14.81 per 100,000; 95% UI, 10.76-17.95) and Central Asia (12.91 per 100,000; 95% UI, 10.61-15.60).

The authors also looked at the impact of such influences as age and sex, and they saw that regions with a lower SDI had especially high incidence rates in children younger than 5 years whereas there were more cases in adults 50 years and older in high- and high-middle SDI regions. By 2021, the mortality rates overall had improved for children younger than 5, but not so for adults older than 65 years, for whom mortality rates increased in high SDI regions.

Highlighting the power of their results, the present study authors note that although previous studies have attempted to quantify PAH trends, those analyses primarily focused on specific regions or countries.^2,3 These, they caution, “may suffer from methodological limitations that compromise their precision,” while the GBD study’s approach “provides more comprehensive and accurate estimates of the disease burden.”

Their wider-reaching investigation was able to better show the persistent threat of PAH, that it remains a significant public health concern, and that interventions to head off the impact of PAH need to be tailored on the preventive and therapeutic fronts to better meet population-specific needs.

References

1. Liu Z, Mo L, Cao W, et al. Global, regional, and national trends in pulmonary arterial hypertension burden, 1990–2021: findings from the global burden of disease study 2021. Front Public Health. 2025:13:1516365. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1516365
2. Humbert M, Sitbon O, Chaouat A, et al. Pulmonary arterial hypertension in France: results from a national registry. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;173(9):1023-1030. doi:10.1164/rccm.200510-1668OC
3. McGoon MD, Benza RL, Escribano-Subias P, et al. Pulmonary arterial hypertension: epidemiology and registries. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013;62(suppl 25):D51-D59. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2013.10.023

Treatment with a single infusion of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel; Carvykti) has demonstrated “quite remarkable” long-term remission and survival outcomes in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, indicating the curative potential of this agent, according to Peter Voorhees, MD.

Five-year follow-up data from the phase 1b/2 CARTITUDE-1 trial (NCT03548207) were presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, and showed that 33% of patients who received cilta-cel were treatment- and progression-free at 5 years or longer.¹ Notably, patients enrolled onto the trial had previously received 3 or more lines of therapy.²

“Now that we have a median follow-up that extends just beyond 5 years, the median overall survival [OS] in this group of patients is [60.7 months], which is really quite remarkable,” Voorhees emphasized during an interview with OncLive®. “In the LocoMMotion study [NCT04035226]…the median OS was 12.4 months [in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma treated with cilta-cel].³ To extend that out to 5 years [in CARTITUDE-1] is [significant], and is 5 times longer than we would have expected in this patient population.”

In the interview, Voorhees discussed the background and rationale for evaluating the 5-year remission and survival after cilta-cel infusion, key efficacy and safety data from this analysis, and the clinical implications of these data for cilta-cel use in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Voorhees is a member of the Hematology Department at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute and a professor of cancer medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Charlotte, North Carolina.

OncLive: What was the background and rationale for evaluating the long-term remission and survival rates following cilta-cel administration in heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma?

Voorhees: CARTITUDE-1 was a phase 1b/2, study that evaluated the safety and efficacy of the BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapy, cilta-cel, for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. This was specifically for patients who were triple-class exposed, in other words, they’d been treated previously with CD38 antibodies, PIs, and IMiDs. They had to have had 3 or more prior lines of therapy, or less than that, if they were double refractory. As far as previous data from this study, the original publication demonstrated a 98% overall response rate [ORR]. Most of those responses were complete responses [CRs], and most of those CRs were minimal residual disease [MRD]–negative with longer follow-up.

We established a median PFS from this study of nearly 3 years now. To put that into some perspective, the LocoMMotion study was a prospective registry trial that evaluated expected outcomes in the modern era in this similar group of patients who were triple class exposed to 3 or more prior lines of therapy. In that registry study, the median PFS was only 4.6 months. To achieve a median PFS of 36 months is really quite remarkable. With this long-term follow-up, what we really wanted to [identify] for those patients who are still responding was how durable those responses are, and what the median OS looks like at this time.

What were the baseline patient characteristics?

Regarding the baseline characteristics, patients had triple class–exposed multiple myeloma and had previous exposure to CD38 antibodies, PIs, and IMiDs. They had to have had 3 or more prior lines of therapy or be double refractory to an IMiD and a PI. This was a single-arm study. Patients [underwent] leukapheresis and then went on to receive cilta-cel infusion after 3 days of lymphodepleting chemotherapy with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. For this long-term follow-up [analysis], patients on this particular CARTITUDE program segued into this CARTITUDE study to track durability of PFS, and, just as importantly, OS, and any long-term potential adverse effects [AEs] that we might see.

What were the key efficacy findings?

Ninety-seven patients were treated with cilta-cel in this particular study. Remarkably, at 5 years and beyond, 33% of those 97 patients are still alive and progression-free. In one of the centers that enrolled a particularly high number of patients, they were doing annual MRD assessments and PET/CTs on their patients who had achieved a stringent CR [sCR]. Of these 12 patients, all of them were MRD-negative at 5 years and beyond and in a complete metabolic response by PET/CT. This raises the question as to whether some of these patients may be cured after a single infusion of cilta-cel. Whether you want to use the word cure or not, everyone would be very comfortable in saying that these are unprecedented remissions.

Was there anything to note about the safety profile of cilta-cel with the long-term follow-up?

Fortunately, there were no new safety signals observed in this particular study with long-term follow-up. We observed no new cases of the movement and neurocognitive toxicities that had been seen previously [with cilta-cel]. This is a Parkinson-like AE that is of concern. We did not see any new cases of cranial nerve palsies or demyelinating polyneuropathies. There were no new cases of secondary hematologic malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia, or CAR T-cell lymphomas. There were 2 additional secondary primary malignancies seen: one adenocarcinoma of the lung and one squamous cell carcinoma of the anus. [These] were felt not to be cilta-cel–related. There were several higher-grade infections that were seen, [although] none were attributed to cilta-cel.

What are the implications of these data for the use of cilta-cel clinical practice?

The data speak for themselves as far as achieving an unprecedented durability of remission in this patient population. What was exciting about this study was that, from a correlative perspective, when we evaluated the CAR T-cell [therapy] itself, there was an increased proportion of naive T cells in the product of the patients who had more durable remissions. When we [assessed this] post–cilta-cel infusion, [there was] a higher effector-to-target ratio; this was associated with better outcomes. Interestingly, the expansion of central memory T cells looks to be associated with these longer remissions, which does seem to make some biologic sense. That’s exciting because we would imagine and expect that the T cell fitness of patients who have been less heavily pretreated is going to be better [than those who were heavily pretreated.] Not only that, but we can more effectively control the effector-to-target ratio, and we can [decrease] the burden of target with more effective therapy in earlier lines of therapy.

[Overall,] the initial data from the CARTITUDE-4 study [NCT04181827], a randomized study that evaluated cilta-cel vs the standard of care for patients who had 1 to 3 prior lines of therapy, [showed] remarkable PFS curves, particularly in the standard-risk patient population. Also, CARTITUDE-5 [NCT04923893] and CARTITUDE-6 [NCT05257083] are randomized phase 3 studies investigating cilta-cel in newly diagnosed patients who are either transplant ineligible or eligible, respectively. We’ll see if we’re achieving long-term remissions and possibly more cures when we’re using cilta-cel.

References

1. Jagannath S, Martin TG, Lin Y, et al. Long-term (≥5-year) remission and survival after treatment with ciltacelcabtagene autoleucel in CARTITUDE-1 patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. J Clin Oncol. Published online June 3, 2025. doi: 10.1200/JCO-25-00760
2. Carvykti is the first and only BCMA-targeted treatment approved by the U.S. FDA for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior line of therapy. News release. Johnson & Johnson. Updated April 6, 2025. Accessed July 9, 2025. https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/carvykti-is-the-first-and-only-bcma-targeted-treatment-approved-by-the-u-s-fda-for-patients-with-relapsed-or-refractory-multiple-myeloma-who-have-received-at-least-one-prior-line-of-therapy

Internship company name and location: Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio
Hometown: Edison, New Jersey
Pronouns: she/her/hers
The SOM classes you’re using on the job: YCCI Discovery Projects, Customer, Executive, and Competitor
Go-to work lunch: Currito
After-work routine: Running or playing pickleball with fellow interns!
Favorite thing about internship city: The sense of community—we’re always hanging out together and bump into each other at various events!

Prior to Yale SOM, I worked as a software engineer, but I’ve always been drawn to consumer psychology and tangible products that people use every day. I hadn’t heard of brand management before coming to SOM, but when I learned about the internship opportunity at Procter & Gamble (P&G), I was immediately intrigued. What attracted me most was P&G’s culture of developing leaders; the opportunity to work at the intersection of functions including finance, marketing, media, analytics, and supply chain; and the chance to contribute to meaningful, high-impact projects from day one. Plus, I’d be working with iconic brands I’ve grown up with.

When I received my internship offer, I knew I wanted to make the most of it, especially since I had no formal background in marketing. That’s why I joined the Yale Center for Customer Insights (YCCI) Discovery Projects: to build a foundation in real-world consumer insight work before my first day at P&G.

Through the course, I worked with the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association (LPGA) on a project aimed at increasing viewership and attendance among Asian American audiences. We conducted online ethnography by digging into social media platforms, performed competitive patterning, interviewed consumers to uncover beliefs and goals, and tested creative hypotheses by developing ads and social posts ourselves. It was a crash course in insight generation, strategy, and storytelling.

Those skills transferred directly into my summer on the Olay Body team at P&G, where I’m focused on understanding trends in body wash routines and how Olay can meet consumers’ evolving needs. I used the same toolkit I developed through YCCI: conducting online ethnography to analyze bath-related trends, identifying consumer sentiment around Olay and competitors, defining a clear target segment, and conducting interviews to learn more about people’s shower routines. I was even able to synthesize insights from past interviews conducted by my team, quickly spotting patterns and unmet market needs.

As with the LPGA project, I sought inspiration from outside sources. In this case, I studied competitors in the bath and body space and what Olay could learn from their approaches. As the summer progressed, I applied frameworks from core courses Customer, Executive, and Competitor to shape a go-to-market plan that brings those insights to life.

This internship has been so much more than just a summer project. I’ve been able to meet amazing peers from MBA programs across the country while sharpening my brand strategy skills and exploring Cincinnati, where the intern community is strong, social, and supportive.

I’m incredibly grateful to the team at P&G, SOM, and YCCI for preparing me so well for this experience—and for making this summer so meaningful and fun.