Category: Breaking News

Merck-Moderna mRNA melanoma vaccine hits Phase 3 RFS and DMFS

By Patrick Lancier

TL;DR — On Wednesday 19 August 2026 Merck and Moderna said an experimental individualized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA met late-stage endpoints in resected advanced melanoma. Merck, at 6:45 a.m. EDT, named the trial: Phase 3 INTerpath-001, intismeran autogene (V940 / mRNA-4157), 1,137 patients randomised 2:1, completely resected stage IIB-IV disease, NCT05933577. Primary recurrence-free survival and key secondary distant metastasis-free survival were met at a pre-specified interim analysis. France 24 / AFP, at 14:11, quotes the joint statement as the first positive Phase 3 readout for an mRNA-based cancer therapy, and stresses that no numerical data were published. The study continues for overall survival. This is not an approval. It is not a cure. It is not a Phase 3 hazard ratio.

What INTerpath-001 met — and what Wednesday did not quantify

Merck’s wording is specific. The combination met the primary RFS endpoint and the key secondary DMFS endpoint. It is described as the first positive Phase 3 for an individualized neoantigen therapy and for an mRNA-based cancer therapy, and as the first Phase 3 with a clinically meaningful improvement over KEYTRUDA alone in adjuvant resected melanoma. Safety was called consistent, with no new signals. AFP, relaying the same announcement, says the KEYTRUDA combination improved recurrence-free survival statistically significantly versus KEYTRUDA alone, in more than 1,100 people, without a table. Those two registers — clinically meaningful, statistically significant — are not a hazard ratio. No Phase 3 HR, median, or death count from the trial appears in these sources. None is invented here.

The 49% reduction in recurrence or death (HR=0.51; 95% CI 0.294-0.887) and the 59% reduction in distant metastasis or death (HR=0.411; 95% CI 0.200-0.843) sit in the same Merck release under a different heading: KEYNOTE-942, Phase 2b, five-year data at ASCO 2026. They are not INTerpath-001. Treating 49 and 59 as Wednesday’s Phase 3 result would mis-assign the year. Epidemiology in the same file is also not a trial event: labs, via AFP, put melanoma at more than 330,000 new cases worldwide in 2022; Merck estimates about 112,000 US cases and over 8,500 deaths in 2026; CNBC notes melanoma is about 1% of skin cancers but the large majority of skin-cancer deaths.

Regulators, overall survival, and what is not an approval

AFP says the companies will present the data at a medical congress and start steps with authorities toward approval. That is an intention, not a licence. CNBC writes that it is unclear when they plan to submit US applications. Dean Li, Merck Research Labs, told Squawk Box they will likely start talking to regulators about treatment and safety in the next few months. Bancel called it a big moment for medicine, a big moment for patients. A big moment is a quote. It is not a marketing authorization. Merck and CNBC both say the study continues for overall survival. An OS curve is not what Wednesday published.

The patient population in these pieces is adjuvant: surgery already done, stage IIB-IV, vaccine plus KEYTRUDA versus KEYTRUDA alone. It is not described here as a substitute for KEYTRUDA, and not as a first-line unresectable metastatic trial. Wednesday’s public file is a dual endpoint met at interim, a safety line with no new signals, and an OS follow-up that is still running.

Two market prints — premarket Reuters and the CNBC session — not one close

Reuters, via Boursier at 15:06 on 19 August 2026, is labelled here as premarket only: Moderna +60% to $103.60, Merck +7.5% before the open. CNBC’s session figures are different objects: Moderna soared about 177%, Merck climbed more than 12% Wednesday. CNBC also places market caps entering Wednesday at around $333 billion for Merck and near $25 billion for Moderna. Those caps are entry figures, not a close. No source in this file publishes a single closing price that reconciles 60% with 177%. This article does not mint one. The $103.60 print belongs to Reuters premarket. It does not belong, in these pieces, to CNBC’s about-177% session move.

The equity reaction is a reaction to a qualitative Phase 3 hit — RFS and DMFS met, no public Phase 3 HR, OS still open. Mixing the two prints, or pasting KEYNOTE-942’s 49/59 onto INTerpath-001, or calling Wednesday an approval, would be a sourcing error. The English record of 19 August 2026 stops before those steps. So does this article.

FAQ

Did the companies publish Phase 3 numbers on Wednesday?

No. France 24 / AFP says the joint statement reported a statistically significant RFS improvement versus KEYTRUDA alone without numerical data. This article does not invent a Phase 3 hazard ratio.

What did INTerpath-001 meet?

Merck: primary recurrence-free survival (RFS) and key secondary distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) at a pre-specified interim analysis. 1,137 patients randomised 2:1, NCT05933577, completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma.

Are the 49% and 59% figures from Phase 3?

No. Merck attaches them to KEYNOTE-942, a Phase 2b five-year update at ASCO 2026: 49% reduction in recurrence or death (HR=0.51; 95% CI 0.294-0.887) and 59% in distant metastasis or death (HR=0.411; 95% CI 0.200-0.843).

Is this an approval, or a cure?

No. AFP: the companies will present data at a medical congress and start steps with authorities toward approval. CNBC: unclear when they plan to submit US applications. Dean Li told Squawk Box they will likely start talking to regulators about treatment and safety in the next few months. The study continues for OS.

How should the two stock prints be read?

Separately. Reuters via Boursier, 19 August 2026 15:06, is premarket only: Moderna +60% to $103.60, Merck +7.5% before the open. CNBC session: Moderna soared about 177%, Merck climbed more than 12% Wednesday. Caps entering Wednesday: Merck around $333 billion, Moderna near $25 billion. No single close reconciling 60% and 177% is published here.

Sources

• Merck, 19 August 2026, 6:45 a.m. EDT — INTerpath-001, intismeran autogene (V940 / mRNA-4157) + KEYTRUDA, 1,137 patients, RFS and DMFS, OS ongoing, KEYNOTE-942 Phase 2b 49%/59%
• France 24 / AFP, 19 August 2026, 14:11 — first positive Phase 3 readout for an mRNA-based cancer therapy, no numerical data, more than 1,100 people, 330,000 cases in 2022
• CNBC, 19 August 2026 — session: Moderna about +177%, Merck more than +12%; caps about $333bn vs about $25bn; Dean Li, Bancel; OS ongoing; US filing undated
• Reuters via Boursier, 19 August 2026, 15:06 — PREMARKET only: Moderna +60% to $103.60, Merck +7.5% before the open

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By Patrick Lancier

US debt tops $40 trillion for the first time, Treasury says

“By Patrick Lancier”

TL;DR — France 24, citing AFP, reports that US Treasury debt reached $40.047 trillion after Tuesday’s bill sale. The figures were published Wednesday, 19 August, by the Treasury. It is the first time the $40 trillion mark has been crossed. The Congressional Budget Office had expected $39.4 trillion by year-end. Tuesday’s 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since 2007. Wednesday, Treasury said it would enlarge long-term bond buybacks from September; France 24 writes that investors were reassured and yields eased. No yield print is in the dispatch. This piece does not invent one. This is not a default.

What is $40.047 trillion, and what is $39.4 trillion?

The first number is an outstanding stock after Tuesday’s issuance, published Wednesday. The second is a CBO year-end forecast. France 24 says the rise has been faster than expected. It does not subtract 647 billion as a “miss.” Drivers named: borrowing tied to health care and Social Security, and interest costs. The same article links higher borrowing costs to inflation, Middle East conflict and energy prices. Tuesday: 30-year at a 2007 high. Wednesday: larger long-term buybacks from September. France 24: investors reassured, rates eased. No buyback size is published.

Riedl and Quakenbush: quotes, not a rating action

Jessica Riedl, Brookings Institution, to France 24: “It is well known that the federal government has a deficit pace that is not sustainable.” She puts deficits around 6% to 7% of GDP, versus 3% to 4% that used to worry markets. “That has made markets more nervous.” Caleb Quakenbush, Bipartisan Policy Center, to AFP: the path has not been addressed by Congress or administrations in a “significant or lasting” way, which could pose serious challenges in a new crisis. France 24: debt has more than doubled since 2008 and stands near 125% of GDP. Analysts note there is no debt-to-GDP level that automatically triggers a crisis, and that debt held by the public — excluding intra-governmental holdings — is the most watched gauge. Riedl: psychological thresholds alert markets.

Donald Trump promised in both terms to cut spending and shrink the annual deficit. Scott Bessent’s goal, France 24 says, was a deficit of 3% of GDP. The deficit widened in recent months, including because of tariff refunds to firms after the Supreme Court struck the tariffs down in February. Tax cuts and military spending, especially tied to the Iran conflict, “also swallowed many billions of dollars.” France 24 gives no Iran total. This article adds none.

FAQ

What is the exact Treasury figure?

$40.047 trillion after Tuesday’s sale, published Wednesday 19 August, according to France 24 / AFP.

Did CBO expect $40 trillion this year?

No. It expected $39.4 trillion by year-end.

Is a 30-year yield printed?

No. Only “highest since 2007,” Tuesday.

Is this a default?

No. A stock threshold, high yields, and larger buybacks from September.

Is 125% of GDP debt held by the public?

France 24 gives about 125% for “the country’s debt,” and separately says debt held by the public is the most watched indicator. Do not merge them.

Sources

• France 24, 20 August 2026, with AFP — $40.047tn, CBO, 30-year, Riedl, Bessent
• La Presse, 19 August 2026 — same AFP wire, $40.047tn / CBO $39.4tn

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“By Patrick Lancier”

AUSTRAC’s Operation Claw flags coordinated liar loans across 10 major banks

By Patrick Lancier

TL;DR — AUSTRAC, on 19 August 2026, uncovered coordinated mortgage fraud that ABC News (Daniel Ziffer) puts at “hundreds of millions of dollars” across 10 major banks. The operation is called Claw. The properties are mostly in Sydney. CEO Brendan Thomas calls it a “wake-up call” for every lender. No bank is named. There is no verdict and no finding of widespread money laundering. AML Intelligence writes “potentially hundreds of millions”.

How did AUSTRAC describe the liar-loan pattern?

The mechanism, as AUSTRAC describes it, is not a new product. Incomes are inflated. Employment is misstated. A business activity is fabricated, or made impossible to verify. Those three levers are enough to push through a file that, read against responsible-lending rules, should not have passed. ABC files them under “liar loans”: loans whose paperwork lies, in whole or in part, about the borrower’s capacity to repay.

Sometimes the lie does not stop at the income page. Offshore funds, or money paid by a third party, are used to complete the purchase and to meet the repayments. The agency says false income flows and complex structures can wash money through Australian property. That is not a finding against a named borrower. It is the pattern the financial-intelligence agency says it has seen, repeatedly, at lenders that together cover the vast majority of the country’s mortgage market.

AUSTRAC: why are the properties mostly in Sydney?

ABC locates most of the purchases in Sydney. That is not local colour. It is the country’s most expensive market, the one where a file that looks a little too good opens the door to a large ticket. Operation Claw, the same article says, has exposed coordinated mortgage fraud and “systemic weaknesses” in lending. The purchases do not meet the rules meant to guarantee a responsible loan and to limit cash-sale entry.

Thomas puts it without ornament: “The same warning signs were found across banks that together cover the vast majority of Australia’s mortgage market.” The project did not target a single boutique. It looked at lenders large enough that the same flag, seen ten times, stops being an anecdote. AML Intelligence adds that the activity “was not confined to one lender or borrower group”. Not one bank. Not one borrower profile.

What exactly is Brendan Thomas asking lenders to do?

“The scale of this activity should be a wake-up call for every lender.” The sentence is in ABC, attributed to AUSTRAC’s chief executive. It names no one. It addresses the whole market. Thomas adds that the most effective way to stop mortgage fraud is before the loan is approved. Once the credit is in place and the funds are gone, recovery becomes “significantly harder”.

He has already referred files. The partners named are the banks themselves, the ATO, NSW Police, the NSW Crime Commission, ACIC, APRA and ASIC. That is not a conviction. It is a referral queue. AUSTRAC has named none of the 10 banks. A reader looking for a league table will not find one here. The instruction, as Ziffer reports it, is three verbs: look at the signs, strengthen controls, report suspicious activity. The project “did not identify evidence of widespread money laundering”. Thomas adds that the weaknesses exposed could be exploited by criminals. Both sentences stay on the record.

Have banks already cut ties — and what does the ABA want?

AML Intelligence writes that some banks have already “ended” relationships, and that AUSTRAC expects further action. That is not a public disqualification. It is a lender-side exit after potentially fraudulent loans were identified. It is a risk signal, not a criminal finding. The same piece says the same brokers, accountants and law firms appear across multiple applications, and that names of individuals and entities potentially involved in false documents have already gone to the ATO and the Tax Practitioners Board.

Simon Birmingham, for the Australian Banking Association, welcomes AUSTRAC’s action. The industry says it already shares through Fintel Alliance — AUSTRAC’s public-private partnership page, not a Claw press release on austrac.gov.au. Banks want secure access to ATO income data, “a single, trusted source of truth”. ABC does not say Canberra has granted that access. On 19 August it is still an industry ask, attached to a regulatory wake-up.

How should earlier UBS and RAMS figures be read — separately from Claw?

The subject did not begin on 19 August. ABC says so, and the figures must be kept apart. In 2021 UBS surveyed about 900 people: 41% of files were not entirely accurate. The most common gaps were living costs (34%), commitments (28%) and income (22%). Broker-originated files were inaccurate at 44%, against 29% written direct to the bank. That is not a Claw number. It is five-year-old survey context.

Other context, clearly separated: ASIC sued RAMS, then a Westpac subsidiary, over systemic loan-arrangement failures, including fake payslips. In October the Federal Court imposed a A$20 million penalty after an admission of “widespread compliance failures”. This month the RAMS book was sold to Pepper Money for A$15.4 billion. None of that is an Operation Claw result. ABC offers it to show the market already knows the doctored file. Claw itself is a 2026 coordinated-fraud alert, with no bank named and no verdict.

FAQ

What is Operation Claw, according to ABC?

An AUSTRAC operation that uncovered coordinated mortgage fraud, “worth hundreds of millions of dollars”, at 10 major banks, with “systemic weaknesses” in lending. The properties are mostly in Sydney. No bank is named.

Has AUSTRAC named the 10 banks?

No. Neither ABC nor AML Intelligence publishes their names. Thomas says only that the same signs were found at banks that together cover the vast majority of Australia’s mortgage market.

Is there evidence of widespread money laundering?

No. Thomas says the project “did not identify evidence of widespread money laundering”. He adds that the weaknesses exposed could be exploited by criminals. That is not a verdict.

What is a “liar loan” in this file?

A loan whose paperwork, according to AUSTRAC, rests on inflated income, misstated employment, or a fabricated or unverifiable business. Sometimes offshore or third-party funds are used for the balance and the repayments.

Do the UBS and RAMS figures belong to Claw?

No. The 2021 UBS survey (about 900 people, 41% of files not entirely accurate) and the A$20 million RAMS penalty are ABC context, clearly separated. They are not Operation Claw results.

Sources

• ABC News, Daniel Ziffer, 19 August 2026 — Operation Claw, liar loans, 10 banks
• AML Intelligence, 19 August 2026 — AUSTRAC quotes, ended relationships, ATO / Tax Practitioners Board
• AUSTRAC, Fintel Alliance page — public-private partnership (not a Claw press release)

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By Patrick Lancier

Fake ABC News stories used to sell investment scams, money trail points to Sapphire network

By Patrick Lancier

TL;DR — On 20 August 2026, ABC News reported that near-perfect clones of its own stories have been used to push investment scams. The money trail, the outlet says, leads to a network known as Sapphire, with headquarters in Israel and call centres in Tel Aviv, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Cyprus, Macedonia and Israel. More than 4,000 Australians were targeted. Five victims were interviewed. Named companies and Shefi Goldberg deny fraud. ABC does not say Trigo XO ran the fake articles or the calls.

How did fake ABC pages draw Australian victims in?

Julian Fell’s Story Lab investigation describes pages that copy ABC News so closely that a reader would not, at a glance, see a counterfeit. The copy sells a broker, a trading “course” or an immigration service. The first debit is often about $350. Once that payment clears, a caller takes over. Trades in oil or gold are discussed. Then come the familiar holds: a frozen account, a liquidity problem, fees required to release funds.

Five Australians sat for interviews. Their bank statements were lined up against leaked internal spreadsheets. Rodger paid about $125,000 in June 2024 on a platform called The FBTC, presented as a Swiss broker, then met the freeze-and-fees script. Toby — a pseudonym — was pulled in by a cloned ABC story in early 2026 and lost more than $500,000 on trades the investigation treats as fictitious. A fake debt followed. Pressure was applied to borrow against his house and his business. Susan, in New South Wales, paid $378.50 to Finterex Capital, a name later added to the MoneySmart watchlist. She was refunded after she disputed the charge. Anna made two payments that match the spreadsheet, through Ambit Capital.

What money trail did ABC follow to Sapphire?

ABC traces the cash to Sapphire, active since at least 2021. Headquarters: Israel. Call centres: Tel Aviv, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Cyprus, Macedonia and Israel. More than 4,000 Australians appear as targets. The OCCRP estimates Sapphire extracted “hundreds of millions of dollars”, through investment scams alone.

The documents did not start at ABC. They were leaked to Swedish public broadcaster SVT (Joachim Dyfvermark) and shared with OCCRP in 2025 under the Scam Empire project. ABC names Qurium (Tord Lundstrom) and amaBhungane (Dewald Van Rensburg) as partners. OCCRP’s FAQ treats two groups as distinct — it does not say they are the same. The Israeli-European operation: more than $247 million paid by nearly 27,000 people in more than 30 countries, January 2021 to December 2024. A.K. Group, Georgia: $35.3 million and more than 6,179 clients, May 2022 to February 2025. Sapphire Tower in Ramat Gan was used until April 2024. Headcount in August 2023: 480. Platforms on the Israeli-European side: 79. OCCRP says the founders and ultimate beneficiaries of that side remain unknown.

What do the named companies and Goldberg say?

Toby’s first payment landed at Trigo XO, a Melbourne firm in Toorak. ABC found three “course” sites and a broken checkout. Another Australian paid $365 and received a 35-page leadership PDF. The firm’s accountant reported the matter to AUSTRAC. An AUSTRAC spokesperson declined to comment. After ABC made contact, the firm, its director and its sole shareholder cut ties. The director said the real owner would be in Israel and described a call with Shefi Goldberg.

ABC’s wording is narrow. The company “appeared to be used to launder payments”. The outlet does not suggest that Trigo XO, or anyone associated with it, was actively defrauding people through fake articles or phone calls. Goldberg said: “We didn’t have any fraudulent activity.” In a statement to Qurium he denied any ownership, control or involvement with Trigo XO Pty Ltd. On Susan: “Sorry but I have no clue about any of this.” GoBe Marketing, where he is a co-director, lists call centres in Israel, Cyprus, South Africa, Spain and the Philippines, and visas for the United States and Canada. MSG Marketing, GoBe’s South African subsidiary, was the subject of a 2021 South African judgment about processing investment-scam payments dressed up as immigration. Goldberg: “I was never involved in processing any of such payments.” USC Market Place, an Israeli company whose director is a GoBe employee, received Australian victim payments in 2024.

How does the SVT-OCCRP leak sit alongside ABC’s reporting?

The leak is 1.9 terabytes. SVT received it. OCCRP and about 30 partners worked it in 2025. ABC’s 2026 story is the Australian cut: cloned public-media pages, local victims, local payment vehicles. Smart Pay / Allegiant Holdings Ltd — Cyprus, not the UK namesake — appears as a processor in leaked videos. The email cited is info@smart-pay.biz. Goldberg is the sole shareholder. He first denied owning entities in Cyprus, then said the company was “used for the provision of services”, that he is “merely registered” and “not involved in the management or day-to-day operation”.

None of that is a court finding in Australia. OCCRP still cannot name the Israeli-European founders. The two groups in the leak are presented as separate. This dispatch does not merge their totals, and it does not add deaths, seizures or verdicts that the cited outlets did not publish.

What did ABC stop short of claiming?

The limit is explicit. ABC does not accuse Trigo XO of writing the clones or staffing the phones. It describes an apparent use of the firm to move an entry payment. Goldberg’s denials are on the record, in several registers, and they are part of the story. A watchlist entry for Finterex Capital on MoneySmart is also on the record — after Susan’s $378.50 payment, not before. AUSTRAC is on the record only as having been notified, and as offering no comment.

What the 20 August investigation does establish is narrower and still specific: fake ABC pages used to sell investments; a Sapphire money trail; more than 4,000 Australians in the files; five interviewed victims whose statements match leaked spreadsheets; named vehicles in Melbourne, Israel and Cyprus; and a set of denials. That is the file. It is not a verdict.

FAQ

What did ABC report on 20 August 2026?

That near-perfect clones of ABC News stories have been used to sell investment scams, and that the money trail leads to the Sapphire network, headquartered in Israel, with call centres in several countries. More than 4,000 Australians were targeted.

How many Australians were targeted?

More than 4,000, according to ABC, with names and payments appearing in leaked Sapphire spreadsheets. Five victims were interviewed and their bank records were cross-checked.

What did Goldberg say?

He denied fraudulent activity, denied ownership or control of Trigo XO Pty Ltd, said he had “no clue” about Susan’s payment, denied processing the South African immigration-style payments, and said he is merely registered on the Cypriot entity and not involved in day-to-day operations.

Does ABC say Trigo XO ran the fake articles?

No. ABC says the company “appeared to be used to launder payments”. It does not suggest that Trigo XO, or anyone associated with it, was actively defrauding people through fake articles or calls.

What does OCCRP say about the two groups?

They are treated as distinct. The Israeli-European operation accounts for more than $247 million from nearly 27,000 people. A.K. Group in Georgia accounts for $35.3 million and more than 6,179 clients. OCCRP says it has no proof the groups are the same, and that the Israeli-European founders remain unknown.

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By Patrick Lancier

The essentials. French prosecutors have widened their investigation into an alleged fraud involving about €14 billion of Hermès shares, according to the Financial Times and Reuters. At its heart: heir Nicolas Puech, who says six million Hermès shares held in his name vanished. Everyone named is entitled to the presumption of innocence; no conviction has been handed down.

It is one of the most spectacular financial sagas of the moment, spanning luxury, Swiss wealth management and the French courts. Nothing here is presented as established fact: these are complaints, an ongoing investigation and denials.

Six million shares gone

Nicolas Puech, 82, a fifth-generation Hermès heir and long the group’s largest individual shareholder, is said to have discovered around 2022 that six million Hermès shares he believed were held in his name had disappeared. On the group’s current valuation, the stake is worth roughly €14 billion (about $16 billion).

“Massive fraud,” the heir alleges

Mr Puech accuses his longtime wealth manager, Eric Freymond, of “massive fraud,” and has filed complaints in both Switzerland and France. According to his lawyers, his shares were moved without his knowledge as LVMH built a stake in the maker of the Birkin bag more than a decade ago. Eric Freymond died in July, struck by a train in Switzerland; he was, at this stage, the only person under criminal investigation in France.

A civil claim targeting LVMH and Bernard Arnault

On the civil side, Nicolas Puech has also sued in Paris LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, along with two of the group’s family offices (Agache and Financière Agache) and several Swiss entities linked to the late manager, claiming he was unlawfully stripped of his Hermès shares. These are allegations made in civil proceedings; they carry no finding of guilt.

LVMH’s denial. LVMH firmly disputes the claims, stating it has “never misappropriated the heir’s shares.” The presumption of innocence fully applies to all parties named.

Why it is in the public interest

A multibillion fortune vanishing from an heir’s accounts, a widening French criminal probe, a civil battle targeting one of the world’s richest men: the case raises questions about the traceability of great fortunes, the role of managers and family offices, and the robustness of controls. Reporting it — without distorting it or prejudging — is what the right to inform is for.

Sources and references

“French justice widens probe into alleged €14 billion Hermès shares fraud” (Financial Times / Reuters, via Zonebourse). Robb Report; Forbes; The Fashion Law; MarketScreener (LVMH denial). Facts reported conditionally; proceedings ongoing, presumption of innocence.

By Patrick Lancier