Ray Blanco:

FDA Approves First New Type of Pain Medication in 25 Years

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration signed off on the first new type of pain reliever to be approved in more than two decades. The drug, suzetrigine, is a 50-milligram prescription pill that’s taken every 12 hours after a larger starter dose. Its brand name is Journavx.

Unlike opioid medications, which dull the sensation of pain in the brain, suzetrigine works by preventing pain-signaling nerves around the body from firing in the first place. And crucially, suzetrigine creates no euphoria or high like opioids sometimes can, so doctors believe there’s no potential for it to create addiction or dependence in people who use it.

The medication was discovered after researchers learned about a family of fire walkers in Pakistan and discovered that they lacked a gene allowing pain signals to fire in their skin. Members of this family could walk over hot coals without flinching.

Suzetrigine works by closing one sodium channel that conducts only pain signals. There have been many false starts along the way to finding a drug that could block one specific channel. Suzetrigine’s approval means other drugs that could work even better are likely to follow.

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Ari Goldschmidt:

Musk Having ‘Great Difficulty’ Running Businesses Amid DOGE Obligations, Tesla Stock Slide

Elon Musk admitted he is having “great difficulty” running his various businesses as he juggles an advisory role in the Trump administration and leads the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) efforts to overhaul the federal workforce, all while Tesla stocks fall.

Musk made the admission during a rare interview Monday night on Fox Business with former Trump administration official Larry Kudlow. The host asked him about the billionaire’s “call to action” within the administration and how he’s managing to keep his companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and social platform X up and running.

Musk’s interview coincided with a large drop in Tesla shares. His role as a key White House adviser, primarily his work to cut federal spending alongside the DOGE, is largely seen as the reason the electric vehicle (EV) company’s stock is falling.

The interview also came as X was reportedly targeted in a “massive cyberattack” that Musk said was traced back to the “Ukraine area.” Thousands of users experienced outages, and the X owner said the attack was “done with a lot of resources.”

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Greg Guenthner:

Good Morning, Vietnam!

Investors can’t sell U.S. stocks fast enough. The herd is growing impatient over Trump’s tariff games as the averages fall out of bed to kick off the new trading week. But you'll find far more favorable conditions outside U.S. markets. In fact, there’s one group of stocks poised to rip.

Not too long ago, Chinese stocks were off-limits. They were toxic, stumbling below their 2020 lows with no floor in sight. But the winds began to change last spring. Following a bullish momentum reading, Chinese equities found their feet. And buyers slowly re-entered the market.

Three-year highs don’t lie: Chinese stocks are ripping. FXI is hitting its highest level since the FOMC began hiking interest rates in 2022 and almost doubling since the beginning of last year. BABA has fared even better – up 55% year-to-date.

But China isn’t the only Asian market waking up to fresh highs. The VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM) is registering multi-month highs and its first overbought momentum reading in over a year, just like Chinese equities last spring. I like taking a chance on Vietnam at these levels.

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