Costco sales surged last month

Costco Wholesale surged the most since March 2020 after improving December sales soothed investor concerns about a slowdown in November.

U.S. comparable sales, excluding the impact of changes in gasoline prices, climbed 6.4% last month, topping the 5% average of analyst estimates compiled by Consensus Metrix.

In November, the closely followed sales gauge only rose 4.6%, the smallest gain since April 2020.

“This is the first major retailer to provide an indication of December results, and the rebound versus November to better-than-expected comps endorses the theory that holiday sales came late in 2022 after a slow start in November,” Michael Baker, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co., said in a note to clients.

Costco is benefiting from resilient demand as customers spend heavily on food while also buying sporting goods and tires.

Vaccine makers plan trials

GSK and CureVac are planning further patient trials of their messenger RNA vaccines for flu and COVID-19 after promising early results, though the partners still lag behind rivals in the race to expand use of mRNA technology.

The partners’ second-generation vaccine candidates showed promising abilities to spur the immune system in early-stage trials, CureVac said on Friday.

The companies plan to start a midstage trial of the coronavirus vaccine later this year, targeting the most relevant variant, while a seasonal flu study to target four different strains should begin around midyear, CureVac said.

The results will enable CureVac to “turn the page and enter 2023 as a competitive player in the development of mRNA therapies,” chief executive Franz-Werner Haas said in a statement.

From wire reports