Latest news with #Wolk
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
J&J may take a softer tariff hit after US-China pause, CFO says
This story was originally published on MedTech Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily MedTech Dive newsletter. Johnson & Johnson CFO Joseph Wolk, at the Bernstein investor conference last week, tempered the company's expectation that it would suffer a $400 million tariff impact this year. Wolk gave the update after the U.S. and China reached a temporary agreement to pause escalating tariff rates between the two countries for 90 days. Weeks before the pause, J&J had predicted on an April's earnings call that it would incur tariff-related costs of about $400 million this year, primarily affecting its medtech business. But Wolk, at the Bernstein conference, suggested the forecasted tariff hit could change in the future. 'Just based on the retaliatory China tariffs that we had in our $400 million assessment, that probably cuts the $400 million down to $200 million,' Wolk said, responding to a question about the shifting tariffs landscape. That does not include any impact that could result from the Trump administration's Section 232 investigations, he said. The Trump administration has launched special investigations into the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries that could lead to tariffs. In addition, Wolk noted, tariffs between the U.S. and Europe remain in flux. J&J will provide its 'best and latest estimate in a transparent way' when it reports second-quarter earnings on July 16, the CFO said. 'It's a moving target,' he added. 'Johnson & Johnson has not changed its 2025 guidance that it provided during the Company's Q1 2025 earnings call on [April 15, 2025,] which included the $400 million allocated for the potential impact of tariffs,' a J&J spokesperson told MedTech Dive in an email. The U.S. on May 12 paused the 34% tariff on imports from China that President Donald Trump announced on April 2 and removed further duties that raised the combined tariff burden on goods from China to at least 145%. China also paused its matching 34% tariff on U.S. goods and rescinded all other levies enacted since April 2. Both countries are instead charging 10% baseline duties. On Monday, China accused the U.S. of undermining the May 12 agreement, after Trump on Friday said Beijing was violating the plan. J&J CEO Joaquin Duato, speaking at the Bernstein conference, said the company was "particularly confident' about its ability to meet its earnings-per-share guidance of about 5% to 7% growth from 2025 to 2030. In its medtech business, J&J already has a dual-source manufacturing footprint that allows the company to work with two separate supply chains, Duato noted. Boston Scientific, which also presented at the Bernstein conference, plans to update its $200 million tariff impact forecast to reflect changes since it provided the outlook, CEO Mike Mahoney told investors last week. Recommended Reading Boston Scientific plans changes to expected $200M tariff hit as situation shifts Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Boston Globe
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Lauren Wolk's new middle grade novel offers an escape to ‘Candle Island' in the 1960s
Lucretia befriends Bastian — who secretly sings opera and wants to learn Italian — and his cousin Murdock, who lost both her parents and secretly writes (impressive) poetry. Its plot-pace a gentle cantor, a main story line involves Lucretia caring for a baby osprey and quietly grieving the (off-screen) death of her father. High dramas include sharing each other's art or poetry without consent, and dealing with the snobbery and pranks of the summer resident kids. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The island feels tinged in sepia-toned nostalgia — no computers, no cellphones. There's plenty of pie-baking, and grilled cheese sandwiches with apples. The novel never spells out what year it is, so I found myself searching for clues: When mom ends a phone call, Lucretia notes mom 'put down the receiver' — obsolete vernacular for 12-year-olds in the last decade. Advertisement 'I think it's probably around 1967, but I can't be completely certain,' Wolk, 65, tells me with a laugh in a phone interview from her Centerville home. 'I wanted it to feel a little timeless.' Advertisement Toward the end of the book, it feels like her thesis when one adult comments: 'Are all the kids on this island creative geniuses?' and Lucretia replies: 'Yes. All the kids in the world are…' And if Lucretia and her pals seem older than 12? Wolk is aware. 'Sometimes people say, 'Your characters are way too mature. That's not realistic.' Well, that's balderdash. I spend a lot of time with kids. I was a kid. There are a lot of very wise and intellectually curious kids,' she tells me. 'Those kids inspire me, and they end up in my books. And if they're not typical? Well, good.' I called Wolk ahead of two Cape events — Q. So what sparked 'Candle Island'? A. I'm involved with Advertisement Q. Is Candle Island inspired by a particular island? A. Probably Q. Lucretia tells us she's named after Nantucket Quaker/feminist activist Lucretia Mott. Why A. [laughs] This is like true confessions: I do very little research even though I write historical fiction, because I find research steers the story too much. I just research when I have a question, and often, as I'm researching this or that, I uncover fascinating things that influence the flavor of the book. I'm a pantser — I don't write with a map. I thought of [the name] Lucretia and looked for historical people named Lucretia. I'd heard of Lucretia Mott, but I didn't know much about her. I thought it was a lovely association. So many things in my books come from stumbling over information that lights me up. Q. You said you think this takes place in 1967. A. I can't be completely certain … but it's interesting. When you go out to those little islands, it's like a time-machine. They have computers, cellphones — but it's old-world, too. Strong families where, generation after generation after generation, they fish, lobster. You feel this sense of timelessness. I wanted to capture that. Q. There is plenty of old-school charm here. Like Lucretia biking to the library to look up a quote. A. Exactly. I always put my own childhood into things. Growing up on the Cape in the summertime, we went everywhere on our bikes. Advertisement Q. Bastian secretly sings opera by the cove. What inspired that? A. I don't know. [laughs] When I say I'm a pantser, I mean it. I shock myself all the time. I'm like: I have a first line. I have a setting. I have one character. Let's see what happens. Oh! There's a bluff. Let's take Lucretia to the edge. The wind is blowing. What's that she's hearing? I'm not an opera buff, but all of a sudden, Lucretia and I are hearing this singing. … I have faith in my characters to lead me somewhere interesting. Q. You say you're a pantser — but do you have any idea of plot? Did you know she was a painter? A. I spend a lot of time in my head before I start writing, just watching my character living. She'll do something that reveals who she is. In this case, she quickly revealed herself as somebody who loves to paint, and loves color. She's got — I don't call it synesthesia, but the way she interacts with the world is influenced by color. I knew she'd encounter other kids who were also secretive about their creativity. Q. You get into class differences, by having the summer residents versus the year-round kids. A. I think it was on my mind because of how the Cape works. When I was a kid, I was one of the summer people. We weren't rich summer people — I worked as a waitress. The way people treated me was eye-opening. So even though I'm a very lucky, privileged person compared to most, I am very aware of class differences and I find them upsetting. Advertisement Q. Did you always want to be a middle-grade writer? It never occurred to me. In fact, I wrote 'Wolf Hollow' for adults. My agent said, 'Oh no, this is a coming-of age story. This is middle grade.' I thought, 'OK, I can see that.' I really don't write for middle grades. I just write books that happen to have 12-year-old protagonists. Q. What were you like as a kid? A. I was a weird kid. I'm still a weird kid. An introvert desperately trying to be an extrovert. The things I was most shy about, I now love best about myself. I'm always telling kids: 'The stuff you're hiding, that's what you'll want to highlight later.' I was a highly sensitive kid, very attuned to everything around me, which can be painful. But it's a great way to feed your creative soul. Q. What were you trying to hide that you now highlight? A. Pretty much the way I see the world. It's hard. You're there with your friends, and all they're talking about is boys, all they want to do is go out. I would've been much happier just being alone. Some kids are loners. It's hard to be a kid and be alone. You're supposed to be figuring out the world. The best way to do that, in a lot of ways, is with companions. But I was and still am— boy, there's like a therapy session — most comfortable alone. Q. I feel that. For kids like us, there's something really relatable in this book. A. Yes. And it doesn't mean she doesn't want friends — it just means she knows who she is and what she wants, and it's hard to find those things when you're with other people. Advertisement Q. What do you want kids to get out of this book? A. That they should be their own authentic selves. Stand up for what they believe in. Express themselves in any way that feels right for them. They should be proud of who they are. Interview was edited and condensed. Lauren Daley can be reached at
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
J&J sees tariff impact from exports to China more than global imports: CFO
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported a beat on first quarter earnings Tuesday, even as concerns linger about how President Trump's tariffs will impact its medical device business, as well as a newly launched probe into how pharmaceutical tariffs will impact its business. J&J reported first quarter revenue of $21.9 billion, beating Wall Street estimates by 1.4%. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.69, beating Wall Street by 6.7%. Despite the beat, J&J's stock traded down less than 1% Tuesday. The company raised its 2025 sales guidance Tuesday by $700 million, putting the new target at 3.3% to 4.3% growth, or a midpoint of $92 billion. That is despite a decline in sales after the patent expiry of Stelara, the company's blockbuster inflammatory condition treatment, this year. On an earnings call Tuesday, executives said that China, Canada, and Mexico are where the company has the most exposure on tariffs. CFO Joe Wolk estimated about $400 million in tariff impact, saying it would primarily hit the medical devices business. "It would include, to some small degree, some of the steel and aluminum tariffs that impact some of our products. It includes the China tariffs, as well as the China retaliatory tariffs — and that is probably the most substantial out of all the tariffs," Wolk said. The hit from tariffs is being taken on as cost of goods and will "sit on the balance sheet ... in future periods," Wolk added. The industry is bracing for the impact of the investigation into pharmaceutical tariffs, which the Trump administration announced Monday. However, CEO Joaquin Duato said, "It is also important that companies in healthcare partner with the administration to look to mitigate some of the vulnerabilities that exist today in our healthcare supply chain so as to avoid any continuity of supply effect." J&J has also faced some of the same industry pressures as its peers in recent years, including the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare price negotiations. But it is also pressured by the ongoing talc litigation and recently faced a major setback in the courts, with a judge rejecting a potential $10 billion settlement. J&J has since returned about $7 billion from the intended settlement amount back to the company's coffers and is pursuing a different legal avenue that should play out in the second half of the year, according to analysts. "Although JNJ's effort to resolve talc litigation through Red River Talc bankruptcy failed, the company will return to the tort system to challenge plaintiffs' experts via Daubert motions. JNJ expects important Daubert hearings and rulings within 6 months (by the end of Oct 2025)," wrote Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger in a note to clients Tuesday. Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest health industry news and events impacting stock prices Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
05-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Philadelphia plane crash investigation could take longer as NTSB consults Mexican authorities
It's been five days since a medical plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead. CBS News Philadelphia found out Jet Rescue Air Ambulance had another plane crash 15 months ago in Mexico. The Mexico-based company confirmed it had another Learjet crash in 2023 as the aircraft was making a landing. This information could be useful to the NTSB as the agency conducts its investigation in the U.S., according to a federal official. The Learjet 55 that crashed into a busy neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia left behind death and destruction. CBS News Philadelphia learned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not have direct oversight over foreign companies. Instead, they rely on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Both the United States and Mexico are ICAO-member countries. "They rely on the membership for aircraft certification for the oversight that the foreign country does on the aircraft owner and the pilots who fly it," said Arthur Wolk, an aviation plaintiffs' attorney and pilot of more than 50 years. Wolk said the NTSB investigation should reveal a lot of crucial information. "Hopefully, this investigation will include a thorough examination of the aircraft log books, which include two log books, one for each engine and one for the airframe, will include an examination of the pilot credentials, their records, their flying records, recent flight experience and qualifications to fly the Lear-55," Wolk said. Because it's a foreign company, the Philadelphia investigation could be a bit more challenging for the NTSB. "I would expect that the maintenance records are in Spanish," Wolk said, "so they're going to have to be interpreted and translated by someone who not only is Spanish speaking but also speaks aviation in Spanish." The NTSB says there's little difference in an investigation involving foreign aircraft and pilots, but Mexican aviation authorities will contribute maintenance information and accident history. This could add 30-60 days to the investigative process. CBS News Philadelphia learned the company had another Learjet crash in 2023 as the plane was making a landing. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said Mexican investigators have not yet issued an accident report from the 2023 crash. Meanwhile, attorney Tom Bosworth says he's representing a victim of the plane crash in Philadelphia and has started looking into the case. "Was this a pilot error or some sort of mistake made by the crew, or are we looking at a catastrophic engine failure or mechanical issue," Bosworth said. A spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said they adhere to FAA mandates, saying, "We conform with the manufacturer's maintenance directions and with regulatory requirements in Mexico, which are largely the same as in the USA."
CBS News
30-01-2025
- General
- CBS News
Longtime Philadelphia pilot and aviation expert says Reagan Airport crash should have been prevented
Various government agencies will be involved in the investigation to determine what led up to the midair collision Wednesday night at Reagan National Airport. Experienced pilot and aviation attorney Arthur Wolk told CBS News Philadelphia we don't have midair crashes often in this country because the whole aviation system works in a meticulous fashion, from technology to communication. He knows from experience how challenging it is to fly around Reagan National Airport simply because of how busy it is. "When you see all these conflicting lights, you don't know whether these are the landing lights from that airplane you're supposed to go behind. Are they the landing lights from another airplane? Are they not even on an airplane because in Washington, I can't begin to tell you how many billion lights that are out there that are conflicting with your instructions," Wolk said. He explained that midair crashes are so uncommon thanks in part to TCAS, which stands for Traffic Collision Avoidance System. That system continuously alerts pilots about the whereabouts of surrounding aircraft and directs them to climb or descend, however, it shuts off at 1,000 feet. Air traffic controllers take over from there and direct takeoffs and landings. In this situation, air traffic control changed the plane's runway, a common practice for a smaller jet like the one involved. However, Wolk says that change could have made the visual harder on the helicopter pilot. "When there is a runway change, the helicopter pilot, who is looking for a certain sight picture — the landing lights of an approaching aircraft, now may instead not see them anymore because the airplane has now turned perpendicular to him." The FAA, NTSB and the United States Army will all investigate this incident. "I don't believe VFR, Visual Flight Rules aircraft or helicopters ought to be flying in the same airspace around major terminals crossing over approach paths to runways. I think that's wrong and that's a recipe for disaster," Wolk told CBS News Philadelphia. The Department of Defense said it was a "fairly experienced crew" in the helicopter and they were wearing night vision goggles. Wolk said night vision goggles may have actually made it harder to see the plane in the sky because of how lighting can become distorted.
