P2JW366000-6-A00100-17FFFF5178F ****** THURSDAY,DECEMBER 31,2020~VOL. CCLXXVI NO.154 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 30409.56 À 73.89 0.2% NASDAQ 12870.00 À 0.2% STOXX 600 400.25 g 0.3% 10-YR. TREAS. À 3/32 , yield 0.926% OIL $48.40 À $0.40 GOLD $1,891.00 À $10.50 EURO $1.2300 YEN 103.21 Deadly Attack at Airport Targets New Yemen Government U.S. IPO What’s News Market Reaches Business&Finance Record nvestorspiled into IPOs Iat a record rate in 2020, with companies raising Total $167.2 billion via 454 of- ferings on U.S. exchanges this year through Dec. 24. Few see signs of letup Few expect the euphoria after companies raise to wear off soon. A1 more than $167 billion Detenteisending in the global fight over tech taxes, despite pandemic with Franceresuming collec- tion of itsdigital-services tax BY MAUREEN FARRELL and the U.S. poised to retali- atewith tariffs.Other coun- Defying expectations,inves- tries areset to join the fray. A1 S tors piled intoinitial public of- China finished 2020 PRES feringsatarecordrateiN with a 10th consecutive TED 2020, and few expect the eu- month of expansion in its CIA phoria to wear off soon. manufacturing sector. A7 SO Companies raised $167.2 AS TheEUand China agreed TENSIONS HIGH: People fled after an explosion Wednesday at the airport in Aden, Yemen, moments after members of the billion through 454 offerings in principle on an invest- country’s newly sworn-in cabinet arrived. At least 22 people were killed, but all the members of the cabinet were safe. A16 on U.S. exchanges this year ment accord that has sowed through Dec.24, compared concern in Washington. A16 with the previous full-year re- cord of $107.9 billion at the Alden Global Capital,the height of the dot-com boom in largest shareholder in Trib- 1999, according to Dealogic. une Publishing,isseeking AstraZeneca-Oxford Vaccine Thepandemic turned the to buy the newspaper chain, typical rhythm of the IPO mar- which has amarket value of ketonits head, with $67.3 bil- roughly $470 million. B1 lion raised in the fourth quar- SoftBank agreed to invest Approved for Use in the U.K. ter. That amount is roughly six $200 million more to bail times the totalfor the first out Katerra, a construction three months of the year. startup that ranintofinancial As aresult of the scramble, problems as it tried to shake BY JOSEPH WALKER inoculationstoreach more billion doses available in Advancemarket stalwartsofthe 21st-century up the building industry. B1 AND JENNY STRASBURG people morequickly as the 2021—morethan anyother commitments of vaccine economyincluding Airbnb variant pushes newcases to Covid-19 vaccine maker—and Inc., DoorDash Inc.and Palan- TheDow rose 0.2%, doses by countryincome LONDON—TheU.K.autho- recordsand hospitalizations at acheaper price. TheU.K. tir Technologies Inc. are now clinching its13th record rized aCovid-19 vaccine devel- soar. companysays it won’t profit 3.0 billion publicly traded, accessible to close of the year.The S&P COVAX* oped by the University of Ox- Thegreen light represents from the shot during the pan- the average investor. 500 and Nasdaq added 0.1% ford and AstraZenecaPLC, thethirdemergency-use ap- demic,oreverinthe case of 2.5 Low- or medium- When the pandemic began and 0.2%, respectively. B9 income country opening the door fordistribut- proval of aWestern-devel- poorer countries. 2.0 shutting down swaths of the Amazon said it agreed to ing millions of doses in acoun- oped vaccine this month and Thevaccine canbetrans- High-income U.S. economyinMarch and country acquirepodcast producer trywhereamoreinfectious comes as cases rise sharply in ported and stored for months 1.5 the stockmarket swooned, Wondery, the online retail variant of the coronavirus has Europe and the U.S.,which re- with normal refrigeration, veteranIPO watchersbraced giant’slatestmovetobeef contributed to surging cases. ported itsfirst confirmed case making it easier to distribute 1.0 foranother disappointing year up itsaudio offerings. B1 British health officials also of the variant Tuesday. The where people and health-care 0.5 afteractivity in 2019 fell short recommended adelayofas Pfizer-BioNTech shot and one networks aresparse or under- of expectations. World-Wide long as three months between developed by Moderna Inc. funded. Thetwo other West- 0 Following abrief pause, both doses of the vaccine, have been cleared in the U.S. PleaseturntopageA6 AstraZeneca/ Pfizer/ Moderna new-issue activity resumed in guidancethat applies to the TheOxford-AstraZeneca Oxford BioNTech late Mayafter the Federal Re- shot developed by Pfizer Inc. vaccine stands out on price, New variant of virus pops up servesignaled it would take The U.K. authorized a *A global buying club comprising both high- Covid-19 vaccine developed and BioNTech SE that the U.K. convenience and global ambi- in California, Colorado........... A3 and low-income countries extraordinarymeasures to by the University of Oxford authorized earlier in the tion.AstraZenecahas prom- China gives green light to Note:DataasofDec. 18 shoreupthe economy, and the and AstraZeneca, opening month.The delaywill allow ised to makeasmanyasthree Covid-19 vaccine....................... A7 Source:DukeGlobal Health Innovation Center stock market rebounded. the door for the rollout of Several stocks that made millions of doses. But the their debutsaround then clearancecomes afterstum- soared, setting the stagefor a bles that have sown public Rocky Partnership Hobbles Rollout race to the public marketsthat doubt about the shot and afterabrief holidaypause is strained the partnership. A1 expected to pick up again in California became the BY JENNY STRASBURG cine watchdogsinthe U.S. and to showtothe Food and Drug tious project. In lateNovem- the new year. second state in the U.S. to elsewhere that their missteps Administration by February, ber,they unveiled late-stage TheIPO market gotaboost confirm the presence of LONDON—TheU.K.’sautho- arebehind them and that their said aperson familiar with the trial resultsthat showeda from asurprising surge in spe- the fast-spreading corona- rization of a Covid-19 vaccine vaccine,while not as effective trial. Thepartnershope for wide range of efficacy levels, cial-purpose acquisition com- virus variant that was first developed by the University of as shotsfromtwo rivals al- authorization acrossEurope varying by dose and age panies,orSPACs,empty vehi- identified in the U.K. A3 Oxfordand AstraZenecaPLC ready rolling out, canplaya by February, and agreen light group.The presentation de- cles that raise money through marks ahome-turfvictoryfor meaningfulrole in curbing the in Australia could come soon, scribed an unusual and unex- listingsand then look forbusi- Theprospect of quick Sen- the two British institutions pandemic. this person said. AstraZeneca’s pected half dose given to some nesses to merge with. They ateapproval of $2,000 stimu- but comes afterstumbles that Thepartnershavepromised manufacturing partner in In- subjectsthat wasn’t fully ex- represent a bet that a yet-un- lus checks dimmed further, have sown public doubt about to distributetheir vaccine in dia has asked forregulatory plained, sowing confusion and known business will generate with the chamber focused on the shot and strained the part- hugequantities and sell it authorization there. All de- skepticism about the vaccine. steepreturns and typifythe overriding Trump’s defense- nership itself. cheaply throughout the pan- pend on regulatory sign-off. U.K. regulatorsonWednes- risk appetite that is fueling bill veto and GOP leaders After clearing regulatorsat demic.Inthe U.S.,AstraZen- Complicating those plans daypraised the vaccine’s new issues and markets. opposing astand-alone vote home,the partnersfacethe ecaexpectstohavedatafrom aredoubtsseeded by the part- promise to help end the pan- Nearly half of all fundrais- on the largerpayments. A4 challengeofconvincing medi- a large American clinical trial ners’ handling of their ambi- PleaseturntopageA6 PleaseturntopageA2 Nashville policesaid that they repeatedly tried to reach the suspect in the city’s The Optimists Christmas Day bombing INSIDE FranceRevives Fight soon afterbeing told in 2019 that he wasmaking bombs Plan Their inside an RV at hishome. A3 Over Digital Taxes AChinese court sentenced Vacations to prison 10 Hong Kong ac- iii BY SAM SCHECHNER Other countries,including Italy tivistswho were caught AND PAUl HANNON and the U.K.,whose similar fleeing the city on aspeed- Cabin fever taxeswent intoeffect this year, boat, acase that has drawN Detenteisending in the arealso set to begin collection international attention. A8 inspires big travel global fight over tech taxes. in coming months. LawmakersinArgentina Earlier this year, France TheU.S., meanwhile,isset approved a bill to legalize dreams for 2021 agreed to suspend collection of on Jan. 6 to impose tariffs on abortion, making it the /REUTERS atax on digital revenue from $1.3 billion of French imports, BY ALINA DIZIK /NETFLIX largetechnologycompanies including cosmetics and hand- AY first large Latin American LANG BR country to ditch stringent ES such as Facebook Inc., Ama- bags. Washingtonalso has Jocelyn Kung hasn’t gotten zon.comInc.and Alphabet pending investigations that JAM antiabortion regulations. A16 PHIL the Covid-19 vaccine yet, but Inc.’sGoogle.Meanwhile,the could lead to similar tariffs on Died: Howard Rubenstein, she already is planning fora SPORTS BUSINESS&FINANCE U.S. delayedthe application of 10 other countries,including 88,influential publicist. B1 grand getaway onceshe does. Alabama, Clemson, The streaming wars tariffs it wasputting on French the U.K.,Italy,India and Spain. The62-year-old executive Ohio Stateand Notre of 2020 turned goods in retaliation forthe tax. At issue in the disputeis coach from SanFranciscosays But nowFrancehas re- PleaseturntopageA4 NOTICE TO READERS she is splurging on athree- Dame continue to into afeast as sumed collecting what is WSJ.comand WSJmobile week,seven-stop“transforma- dominate. A12 subscriberssoared. B1 known as itsdigital-services European companies seek apps will publish tional experience” in Vietnam tax, aFrench official said.