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More than 40% of couples commit “financial infidelity”: here’s what you need to know

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

You think you know your partner like the back of your hand. They know his hopes and dreams, his favorite foods and movies. After so many years together, you can practically read each other's minds… Except when it comes to money.

Financial infidelity is common among couples and is damaging to relationships. More than four in 10 American adults in couples admit to keeping a financial secret from their partner, according to a new Bankrate survey.

Of these couples, 28% say hiding financial information from their partner is just as serious as physical infidelity, and 7% say it is even worse.

So what is financial infidelity and how can you avoid it with your partner?

What is financial infidelity?

Financial infidelity occurs when a couple lies to each other about money. This type of infidelity can come in different forms.

This could be a partner who makes secret purchases, accumulates debts, or engages in financial deception.

A partner may also open secret credit cards, maintain side accounts, lie about purchases, refuse to discuss their finances, or engage in other questionable financial behavior without the other's knowledge.

Even if a couple hasn't pooled their finances, lying about how much they owe or hiding certain major expenses can be a form of financial infidelity.

The most common forms

According to the same Bankrate survey, the most common forms of financial infidelity include spending more than your partner would accept (30%) and accumulating debt without your partner's knowledge (23%).

Here are the other biggest financial infidelities:

-A secret savings account (19%)

-A secret credit card (18%)

-A secret checking account (17%)

Although financial infidelity occurs in different age groups, younger couples are more likely to keep money secrets.

The same survey found that 67% of Generation Z and 57% of Millennials say they have kept at least one financial secret from their partner.

In comparison, only 34% of Generation X and 33% of Baby Boomers report financial infidelity.

The study also shows that the lower the household income, the more likely financial infidelity is.

Nearly half of people whose household income is less than $50,000 reported financial infidelity, compared to 34% of those whose household income is $100,000 or more.

Why do people cheat financially?

Financial infidelity can have several reasons.

“People may hide financial information out of fear of judgment or conflict, embarrassment about their spending habits or debt, or a desire for control or independence in the relationship,” says Taylor Kovar, certified financial planner.

More than a third (37%) of people who have hidden financial information from their partner admit they want to maintain their privacy and control their finances.

One in three cite a lack of communication (the topic of money was simply never discussed).

Additionally, 28% of respondents said they were embarrassed by the way they handled their money, which is why they kept it a secret.

People who secretly go into debt or lie about money often feel ashamed, guilty, and anxious.

Money secrets harm the couple

For many, financial infidelity is just as serious as physical infidelity. Lies and deception can undermine the trust and transparency on which a relationship is built.

Since money influences almost every aspect of our lives, money fraud can impact a couple's plans.

“Financial infidelity can seriously damage the trust that is the cornerstone of every relationship,” Taylor Kovar, a certified financial planner, tells the New York Post.

“It can lead to feelings of betrayal, hurt and a breakdown in communication. The financial impact can also be significant, potentially impacting the couple's credit score, savings and overall financial stability.

Another survey found that 38% of couples cited financial problems as the cause of their divorce.

How to deal with money secrets

The best way to deal with financial infidelity is to talk about it openly.

“It is possible to repair the relationship, but it will take a lot of work,” Regina McCann Hess, a certified divorce financial analyst, told the New York Post.

“Both sides must agree on ground rules for the future and commit to taking the necessary steps toward healing. One or both parties may need to meet with a therapist to get to the bottom of the issue,” she advises.

Here are more tips for dealing with financial infidelity:

– Speak as quickly as possible

– Present facts, not accusations

-Disclose everything: amounts, accounts, debts

– Express what you think about this infidelity

– Demand financial transparency for the future

-Seek out neutral financial advice together

-Strengthen financial transparency within a couple

Whether you are a new couple or have been together for many years, there are ways to create or restore financial transparency.

“A good way to incorporate financial transparency into a relationship is to hold monthly or quarterly meetings to review the family's finances,” says Hess.

“It’s a financial report. To make training less stressful, I suggest having breakfast on a Saturday morning, then coming home and having a conversation at the kitchen table,” she suggests.

Review your bank statements, investments, retirement accounts, etc. According to Ms. Hess, doing it together makes both partners feel included and participate in the conversations. This is also a good time to talk about financial goals.

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You can't live in it

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

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exclusive

By Jennifer Gould

Published March 3, 2024, 2:38 p.m. ET

Oops, he did it again.

Harry Macklowe, one of New York's boldest developers, has put his Hamptons home overlooking the exclusive Georgica Pond – with neighbors including Steven Spielberg – up for sale for $38 million.

There's just one catch. It is uninhabitable.

Property developer Harry Macklowe has put his uninhabitable home up for sale for $38 million. Doug Kuntz

This is because the villa does not have a certificate of occupancy and the new owners are not legally allowed to move in.

According to East Hampton Village officials, Macklowe illegally cleared land on the property and built additions without permits, endangering the wetlands and racking up fines for more than 21 violations that have not been paid in five years.

The unofficial renovations to his Hamptons home are reminiscent of his 1985 move to hire a Mafia-run company to blow up four buildings on West 44th Street in the middle of the night without city permission, hours before the city was due to do so Enforcing a ban began with the destruction of single-room buildings.

The destruction put people's lives at risk, officials said at the time. Macklowe paid a $2 million fine but avoided prosecution because “criminal intent” could not be proven, the Manhattan district attorney said at the time.

“This is crazy. He ripped out decks and did whatever he wanted. He cleared land illegally and built without permits – just like he did on West 44th Street,” an inside source said.

The construction of the Hamptons House reminds many of Macklowe's illegal demolition of buildings on W 44th Street in New York. Doug Kuntz

“Plus, the house is in debt to the max,” the source added. “There is no justification for asking for $38 million. The house is fraught with legal complications and isn't even on the pond. “

The insider estimated: “It's worth no more than $12 to $15 million.”

The East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals refused to retroactively approve Macklowe's illegal actions, so Macklowe sued them. The case is not yet closed.

For now, East Hampton Village building inspector Thomas Preiato confirmed to the Post that Macklowe “can sell the house, but no one can live in it.”

The house can be sold, but since there is no certificate of occupancy, no one can move in. Doug Kuntz

“He already had a certificate of occupancy for the house in 2017. However, this is no longer valid due to the many fines he has not paid,” said Preiato.

The inspector added: “He has put the wetlands at risk. There is a reason we have a wetlands code. It’s worrying.”

In 2019, The Post reported that officials said Macklowe had built on the property illegally and failed to pay subsequent fines.

Macklowe declined to comment when reached by The Post at this time. He also declined to comment on the sale of the home.

His former spokesman said he no longer has a full-time job: “He hires them on a project basis.”

Top broker Paul Brennan of Douglas Elliman, who shares the Macklowe listing with Martha Gundersen of Elliman, declined to comment.

The four-bedroom home features a pool and sits on 2.7 acres at 64 West End Ave. in East Hampton. It is surrounded by protected land, the listing says.

Macklowe paid $10.35 million for the home in 2017 and then began clearing land and building too close to wetlands — all without permission, village officials say.

The land was cleared and the house was built without permission. Steven Hirsch

At the time, he was living there with Patricia Landeau, his now wife, while he was in the middle of a terrible divorce from Linda Macklowe, who still lives across the pond – so close that the exes are from each other's homes can see.

While being close to an ex might make some people uncomfortable, Macklowe is not one of those people. He also taped a 42-foot photo of himself with Landeau to the supertall building 432 Park Avenue, which he helped develop — but for which he never agreed on a unit.

(He recently avoided foreclosure on his units there, at least temporarily, by allowing a company he controlled to file for bankruptcy.)

The Post reported back in 2019 that Macklowe admitted to the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals that he didn't have the permits he needed to build and clear the wetlands, but did it anyway.

Richard Whalen, Macklowe's solicitor at the time, told the planning authority: 'The majority of the improvements we are submitting to you for approval have already been carried out. They were built without the benefit of any planning permission or variances or wetland permit from this authority.”

The house violates zoning regulations because it was built too close to wetlands. Doug Kuntz

According to a report in the East Hampton Star, the work was carried out within 150 feet of wetlands in violation of regulations.

“More than 21 charges have been filed several times since 2019, and a stop-work order was issued starting February 11, 2019, but by that time it had already been resolved. They got what they wanted,” Preiato said.

“It's difficult. It's been going on for a while. Someone feels like they have some kind of entitlement, like they're not subject to the regulations, but when you affect water bodies, it's more serious than a terrace that's too close is on the border.”

Macklowe also had a dispute with former neighbor Martha Stewart over planting on her property in the 1990s.

— Additional reporting by Doug Kuntz

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BlackRock and Fidelity Benefit from Bitcoin ETF Mania FOMO

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin's rapid rally drove record inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs — solidifying investor favorites in this new asset class.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and several OPEC+ producers are extending voluntary cuts in crude oil supplies until the end of June

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Saudi Arabia will extend its voluntary cut in crude oil production by one million barrels per day until the end of the second quarter, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday, citing an official source at the country's energy ministry.

Riyadh's crude oil production will be about 9 million barrels per day by the end of June, the announcement said.

Russia will reduce its production and export shipments by a total of 471,000 barrels per day by the end of June, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, according to a Google-translated report from Russian state agency Tass. Moscow had agreed to reduce its deliveries by just over 500,000 barrels per day in the first quarter.

OPEC's main producers Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will also extend their voluntary production cuts of 220,000 barrels per day and 163,000 barrels per day, respectively, until the end of the second quarter, according to Google-translated updates from their state news agencies INA and WAM.

Back in November, the OPEC+ countries had already adopted a formal policy of collectively reducing their production by 2 million barrels per day by the end of 2024. Separate from the group's official strategy, several OPEC+ producers, including heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced they would voluntarily reduce their supplies by a total of 2.2 million barrels per day by the end of the first quarter of this year .

The latest production cut announcement comes against the backdrop of weakening oil prices, which have largely fallen in a narrow range of $75 to $85 per barrel since the start of the year, despite OPEC+ supply cuts, continued Houthi naval attacks on the key Red Sea route, etc continued risk of spillover from Israel's war against the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In the near term, some of this price support will be offset by lower demand due to upcoming seasonal refinery maintenance in the world's largest crude oil importer, China, which typically worsens in the second quarter.

Unlike formal policy changes, voluntary cuts do not require the group's unanimous approval during an official meeting and bypass the need to distribute production cuts or increases among OPEC+ members. As a rule, extracurricular production adjustments are not contested by OPEC+ countries as long as they are consistent with the spirit of existing policies – currently the additional cuts are based on existing OPEC+ cuts.

The group's next political negotiations will take place in June. At this point, independent third-party data providers will have completed their assessments of group members' production capacity baselines – the levels to which each country's quota is assigned. A higher output value is highly desirable and results in a higher production frontier, allowing producers to benefit from higher revenues in a high price environment.

In a shock move, Saudi-controlled OPEC chief Aramco announced in late January that it would suspend its long-standing plans to increase its crude oil production capacity from 12 million barrels per day to 13 million barrels per day by 2027, the Saudi energy minister told Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman later justified the decision with the green transition.

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Waymo gets the green light to expand robotaxis to LA and San Mateo counties

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Autonomous driving technology company Waymo just received the green light to expand its service to Los Angeles and San Mateo counties

The California Public Utility Commission said it received 81 letters in support of expanding driverless taxi service outside San Francisco and five objections.

Waymo, formerly known as Google's self-driving car project, is a subsidiary of technology company Alphabet, Google's parent company.

Despite the CPUC's green light, it's unclear when robotaxis will be available in Los Angeles.

Waymo has been conducting driverless test rides in San Francisco since 2018 and in August was just one of two companies offering paid rides in the city. The company began testing its driverless white Jaguars in Los Angeles last year, giving residents the chance to try out the service as part of an invitation-only period.

Robot axis: Self-driving taxis have 24-hour access in San Francisco. What the historic vote means for the city.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Waymo said the company plans to “take a careful and phased approach to expansion by continuing to work closely with city officials, local communities and our partners to ensure we provide service that is safe.” “, accessible and valuable.” to our drivers.”

Lawmakers have safety concerns

Waymo's expansion of self-driving taxis has sparked some backlash and concern from local lawmakers.

“This was an irresponsible decision by the PUC,” San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Canepa told KTVU.

Car set on fire: Waymo self-driving car set on fire in San Francisco: “Let out a little anger”

Canepa told the outlet that the county is concerned about safety and wants more communication with Waymo to address local stakeholders' concerns.

L.A. County Manager Janice Hahn called the CPUC's decision to expand Waymo “dangerous.”

“These robotaxis are far too untested and Angelenos should not be Big Tech’s guinea pigs. Decisions like this should be made by cities and not based on city objections,” Hahn said in a post on X.

Sarah Al-Arshani covers breaking and breaking news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected].

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Keep in mind that the AI stock bubble will periodically inflate and deflate

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

This is the conclusion of today's Morning Brief, which you can read Log in Delivered to your inbox every morning, along with:

Imagine being enclosed in a bubble.

Depending on the conditions outside the bubble, the bubble would inflate or deflate every second.

This is the environment we could find ourselves in as investors take a closer look at the hot AI trade. Not every day will be an inflationary day for the bubble.

And make no mistake: Investors should scrutinize everything related to AI stocks based on a few bullet points in this week's bubble that deserve more attention than they've received.

“Obviously we've been living in a very hyped environment, and at some point this has to be more rational,” Antonio Neri, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) (video above), told me on Yahoo Finance Live.

Neri was just hours away from surprising some investors with a 14% year-over-year quarterly sales decline. (We thank him for still being there and answering the tough questions!). Its full-fiscal revenue forecast was cut despite HPE facing a billion-dollar AI backlog.

So what is there?

Neri tells me that companies are struggling to implement the AI technology they acquire – problems that range from the need to find new energy sources to securing the physical space to house the devices.

The other problem: persistent undersupply of powerful AI chips. No chips, no way to serve orders. Simple equation.

HPE shares fell 14% in after-hours trading on Thursday after reporting earnings. The comment and the quarter hour were like a punch in the stomach from Jean-Claude Van Damme.

But the stock rebounded after Neri made bullish comments to me about the margin outlook and HPE's completion of its acquisition of Juniper (JNPR) later this year or in early 2025.

Still, HPE gave investors new reasons to worry about the AI hype.

The story goes on

Likewise, PC maker HP Inc (HPQ) was hesitant to include strong demand for upcoming AI PCs in its current full-year forecasts. Find out more here in my chat with HP CEO Enrique Lores.

Meanwhile, Yahoo Finance trending ticker site favorite SoundHound AI (SOUN) suffered a nearly 20% decline on Friday. The company's profits fell short of estimates and, oh yeah, it lost a net $88 million last year.

“The Mag-7 is measured to be somewhat foamy, but not in a complete bubble. Valuations are a bit high given current and forecast earnings, sentiment is bullish but doesn't look excessive, and we don't see excessive leverage or.” “A flood of new and naive buyers,” billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio warned in a new LinkedIn blog post.

“However, one could still imagine a significant correction to these names if generative AI fails to live up to the priced-in impact,” he continued.

Quote by Antonio Neri

There were some inflationary moments for the AI bubble this week too.

Shares of Dell (DELL) rose 26% as investors forgot that the company made personal computers and latched on to bullish AI comments during its earnings release.

AMD's (AMD) market cap broke $300 billion for the first time on AI hopes, capping another victory for CEO Lisa Su.

And shares of C3.ai (AI) rose 24% on Thursday after the company reported earnings the previous day. Tom Siebel, CEO of Tech OG and C3.ai, told Seana Smith, Brad Smith and you on Yahoo Finance Live that we are in the early days of the AI cycle.

This could be seen in C3.ai's sales to the government in the fourth quarter.

Anyway, another week of ups and downs in the AI bubble.

Brian Sozzi is Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email [email protected].

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More fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in New York in two months than in all of 2019: FDNY chief

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

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By Ronny Reyes

Published March 3, 2024, 7:32 am ET

Lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and other electronic mobility devices are now a leading cause of fires in New York City after their popularity surged during the pandemic delivery boom, according to FDNY officials.

FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn told The Post that the number of fires related to lithium-ion batteries has increased nearly nine-fold since the pandemic, with more fires related to the batteries occurring in the last two months than in the last two months entire year 2019.

“It's because of the proliferation of these electronic devices on our streets, there are a lot more of them now than ever before,” Flynn said.

The FDNY warns that poorly manufactured and maintained lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes and scooters have become a leading cause of fires in New York City. FDNY The fires caused by these batteries are violent because each energy cell can reignite even days after the initial fire. FDNY

The fire chief attributed the popularity of e-bikes and scooters to the “gig economy” boom in 2020, which saw people buy the devices cheaply in droves to complete delivery jobs.

He added that the vehicles are also popular with commuters.

“People bought these devices about three years ago, and now they are aging,” he said, pointing out that many are unaware of the dangers posed by the wear and tear of the batteries’ power cells.

“We have seen people trying to repair or modify it themselves, going to unauthorized vendors' shops or taking it into their own hands to replace the old batteries,” he added. “We tell people not to choose the cheapest option and go directly to the manufacturer.”

According to the FDNY, it is this improper maintenance and defects in older models that have caused a number of lithium-ion battery-related fires to skyrocket.

While there were only 30 fires related to the batteries in 2019, the number has more than tripled by 2021 with 104 fires reported. There were also four fatalities this year, while no one reportedly died from the fires in 2019 and 2020.

The number of battery-related fires more than doubled the following year, with 220 fires reported and six deaths confirmed. Last year, the FDNY reported 268 lithium-ion battery fires, 150 injuries and 18 deaths.

The FDNY continues to crack down on illegal businesses that sell and repair e-bikes and scooters without following new safety standards. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post The fires caused by lithium-ion batteries have placed additional strain on the FDNY and its hazardous materials division, which handles the disposal of the power cells. William Farrington

As of February 26, according to official information, there were 31 fires related to the batteries, as well as 26 injuries and one death.

The most recent death was that of Indian journalist Fazil Khan, who died in a fire in Harlem on February 23 after a lithium-ion battery caught fire in a six-story apartment building.

To combat the presence of faulty batteries in the city, the FDNY's Lithium-Ion Task Force conducts inspections in all five boroughs.

A lithium-ion battery fire killed one person in a Harlem building on February 23, with firefighters conducting a courageous rescue of three residents. Peter Gerber

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh vowed in February to continue cracking down on companies that offer to replace individual battery cells with old ones – a violation of fire codes that leads to so-called “Frankenstein batteries.”

“They kill people, they have killed people and they will kill more people if companies continue to operate this way,” Kavanagh said.

But while New York has pushed companies and consumers to comply with new UL standards for the batteries, Flynn noted there is little the city can do about older devices from other states that don't require such regulations.

However, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) is pushing for a nationwide standard to end the “unprecedented fire safety crisis.”

“Poorly manufactured and poorly handled lithium-ion batteries are ticking time bombs in American homes and businesses,” Torres said during a congressional hearing in mid-February in which he called for passage of the law setting consumer standards for lithium-ion batteries.

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Viking Therapeutics appears as a competitor

Business News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Cr | Istock | Getty Images

Viking's drug could become a strong rival. Some Wall Street analysts said the experimental obesity treatment may be “best in class.” In a mid-term study, an injectable version of Viking's drug appeared to promote even greater weight loss than Eli Lilly's Zepbound.

Viking gave its first look at the data from that study on Tuesday, and its shares rose 120%. The promising results make the company a formidable potential player in a market that will likely have room for additional entrants in the coming years.

Goldman Sachs predicts that between 10 and 70 million Americans will be taking weight loss medications by 2028. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk also struggled to provide a sufficient supply of treatments, giving other companies a chance to gain market share.

The new data also makes Viking a more attractive contract target for larger companies looking to enter the field or expand their obesity treatment offerings.

It's too early to tell whether Viking's drug might have an advantage over existing or developing weight-loss treatments. It is difficult to compare therapies without pitting them against each other in the same clinical trial.

Viking also needs to conduct a late-stage study of its drug and probably won't bring the shot to market until the end of the decade. The small company faces hurdles in entering the market, such as producing sufficient quantities of the drug to meet booming demand. However, an acquisition by a larger company could help resolve some of these issues.

Viking's Phase 2 trial followed more than 170 overweight or obese patients. They received different doses of the injectable drug or a placebo.

The study did not directly compare Viking's treatment with other medications. Still, many analysts compared Viking's injection to Eli Lilly's Zepbound, primarily because they work in the same way.

An injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly's weight loss drug, is on display in New York City on December 11, 2023.

Brendan Mcdermid | Portal

Both drugs target two naturally produced gut hormones called GLP-1 and GIP. The combination is said to slow stomach emptying, keep you feeling full for longer, and suppress appetite by slowing hunger signals in the brain. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk's weight loss shot Wegovy only targets GLP-1.

Analysts were particularly impressed by patients' weight loss after taking the highest dose of Viking's drug. Those who received a weekly 15-milligram dose of the treatment lost an average of 13.1% of their body weight after 13 weeks compared to those who took the placebo.

Viking's drug data shows a “best-in-class profile” among both approved and experimental weight-loss drugs with Phase 2 trials, William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh wrote in a note on Tuesday. Eli Lilly's Zepbound resulted in about 7% weight loss after 12 weeks compared to a placebo in a Phase III clinical trial, Hsieh noted.

Viking's drug also appears to be outperforming Novo Nordisk's weight-loss shot Wegovy, according to a separate note from BTIG analysts on Tuesday.

Based on chart data from a Phase III trial, analysts estimated that Wegovy resulted in about 5% weight loss compared to a placebo after 13 weeks.

Meanwhile, several analysts estimated that some doses of Eli Lilly's experimental shot, retatrutide, caused weight loss of between 9% and 13% compared with a placebo after 13 weeks, based on chart data from a mid-stage trial.

Most adverse side effects experienced by patients after starting to take Viking's medication were mild or moderate. Many of these cases were gastrointestinal in nature, which is the case with all weight loss treatments and diabetes.

About 20% of patients taking the 15-milligram version of Viking's drug stopped treatment at the start of the study. In comparison, about 14% of those taking the placebo dropped out at the start of the study.

However, Jefferies analyst Akash Tewari wrote in a note on Tuesday that the Viking study used faster “titration” in patients, which refers to increasing the dose size a patient takes over time until they reach a target dose reached.

He said that in a future study, Viking may be able to make its drug easier for patients to tolerate through slower titration, which could potentially reduce the treatment's effectiveness.

Despite the compelling data, Viking still has a long way to go before it can compete in the weight loss drug market.

The company plans to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this year to discuss a clinical development plan for the treatment.

Viking CEO Brian Lian told investors in a call Tuesday that the company will likely conduct another Phase 2 trial, which could last six to nine months.

Jefferies' Tewari estimates Viking's treatment won't come to market until 2029 or later. A late-stage study of the drug could be lengthy. Eli Lilly's Phase 3 study of Zepbound lasted two and a half to three years.

The Viking drug's late entry into the market is one reason Tewari doesn't believe the company will intervene in Eli Lilly's market.

The pharmaceutical giant could also launch a number of other weight loss treatments in the next few years that may have advantages over Zepbound, whether they provide more weight loss or comfort. These include Eli Lilly's experimental pill orforglipron and the widely touted retatrutide, which mimics three gut hormones instead of two.

An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing facility is pictured March 5, 2021 in Branchburg, New Jersey.

Mike Segar | Portal

Analysts at Deutsche Bank added in a note on Tuesday that producing the treatments “at scale to meet outsized demand” has proven no easy task, giving Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk a “moat of defense” against rivals provided.

Viking acknowledged that hurdle on Tuesday's call. Lian said the company has enough supplies of the drug to support its clinical trials, but its production capacity is insufficient for commercial launch.

But Lian noted that the company “spends a lot of time” evaluating multiple manufacturing processes to understand “what is fastest, what has the highest yield, what is cheapest and what is most scalable.”

Viking's impressive data could make it an attractive target for an acquisition or partnership with a major pharmaceutical company. This would give Viking the commercial and manufacturing capabilities it needs to compete in the weight loss drug market.

William Blair's Hsieh added that big pharmaceutical companies can maximize the value of the Viking treatment because they can better navigate the discount and reimbursement landscape for weight-loss drugs.

Some analysts believe that other companies are very interested in Viking.

“This could well be on the shopping list of any major pharma or biotech company that wants to enter the obesity market but does not currently have a drug. There are a lot of them,” Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson told CNBC.

He added that a company “could pay a fairly high premium for Viking and buy it … at a relatively low price compared to the potential that exists for a drug like this.” As of Friday, Viking had a market cap of more than 8 .5 billion US dollars.

In this photo, injection pens of Novo Nordisk's weight loss drug Wegovy are seen on November 21, 2023 in Oslo, Norway.

Victoria Klesty | Portal

Viking is an attractive contract target not only because of the new data. Wall Street expects the company to release early trial results on an oral version of its weight-loss treatment this quarter.

The BTIG analysts noted that intellectual property protection for both versions of the drug extends beyond 2040, which is “a good sign” for potential partnership discussions.

Viking is also developing other drugs, including an oral treatment for a specific form of liver disease. Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and other drugmakers are also fighting over whether their drugs can treat the same condition.

Viking has not disclosed details of its discussions with potential partners. But the company has “always been open to discussions with partners from day one, so we're always opportunistically evaluating everything that's presented to us,” Lian said last month during Viking's fourth-quarter earnings call.

Other drugmakers have struck deals in the past year to carve out a place in the weight-loss drug market.

Swiss company Roche announced it would buy private US obesity drug maker Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion. AstraZeneca has signed a licensing agreement with Chinese biotech company Eccogene to develop an obesity pill.

Even Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have snapped up smaller obesity drug companies this year to assert their dominance in the market.

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