Moderna Inc. said its experimental flu shot met its goal in a late-stage trial, clearing the path for its broader strategy of selling combination vaccines.

The shot’s efficacy was 27% higher than a licensed influenza vaccine in adults 50 years and older, the company said in a statement Monday. The trial enrolled more than 40,000 adults across 11 countries.

The results set the stage for Moderna to offer a single shot that protects against COVID and flu. U.S. regulators recently told the company that it needed to produce flu vaccine efficacy data — and not just data on the immune response — delaying a potential approval for a combination shot until next year.

Moderna believes packaging the two immunizations together will lead to higher uptake of COVID vaccines. Nearly half of American adults get an annual flu shot, while only about 23% got the latest COVID vaccine.

— Bloomberg

BANGKOK >> Chinese factory activity improved somewhat in June after President Donald Trump agreed to delay imposing higher tariffs on imports from China for 90 days, but overall activity was still contracting, according to a survey released Monday.

The purchasing managers index, which reflects new orders and other measures, rose to 49.7 from 49.5 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. That’s on a scale of 0 to 100 where 50 and above shows expansion.

Other reports showed similar trends in Japan and Korea.

Trump has said he’s not planning to extend the 90-day pause on tariffs on most nations beyond July 9 (see story at right). The delay for imposing much higher tariffs on China, agreed to in early May, expires about a month later.

— The Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Apple has its first box-office hit.

“F1 The Movie” debuted with $55.6 million in North American theaters and $144 million globally over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing the tech company easily its biggest opening yet.

Though Apple Original Films has had some notable successes in its six years in Hollywood — including the 2021 Oscar-winner “CODA” — its theatrical results have been decidedly mixed.

Misfires like “Argylle” and “Fly Me to the Moon” and big-budget awards plays like Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” have been better at driving viewers to Apple TV+ than movie theaters.

But “F1” was Apple’s first foray into summer blockbuster territory.

— The Associated Press

Home Depot is buying specialty building products distributor GMS Inc. in a deal valued at approximately $4.3 billion.

The Atlanta home improvement chain said Monday the transaction will help strengthen Home Depot’s relationship with professional contractors.

GMS of Tucker, Georgia, is a distributor of specialty building products including drywall, ceilings, steel framing and other complementary products related to construction and remodeling projects in residential and commercial end markets.

As part of the deal, a subsidiary of Home Depot’s SRS Distribution Inc. will start a cash tender offer to buy all outstanding shares of GMS for $110 per share. The total equity value of the transaction is approximately $4.3 billion.

The new deal is worth about $5.5 billion, including debt.

— The Associated Press

Last year, Home Depot purchased SRS Distribution, a materials provider for professionals, in a deal valued at approximately $18.25 billion including debt. SRS provides materials for professionals like roofers, landscapers and pool contractors.

The GMS transaction is expected to close by the end of fiscal 2025. Shares of the company jumped 11% in premarket trading. Home Depot shares slipped less than 1%.

A trade group representing those companies last week estimated that the tax, which would apply to revenue earned from social media services and online marketplaces involving Canadian users, would collectively cost U.S. firms as much as $2.3 billion annually.

The tax has long drawn opposition from Washington. The Biden administration argued that it discriminated against U.S. companies. Canadian business groups have also criticized the levy, in part because they believed it could strain U.S.-Canada ties and imperil a key trade relationship.

On Friday, it appeared their worst fears were confirmed. Trump said he would suspend trade talks over the tax, plunging U.S.-Canada relations into deeper turmoil.

Ties between the neighbors have been under severe strain since Trump returned to the Oval Office and put Canada in his crosshairs. He has imposed several sets of tariffs on Canadian goods, questioned Canada’s viability as a country and threatened to use “economic force” to make it the 51st state. Canada sends more than three-quarters of its exports to the U.S., and the tariffs are weighing on its economy.

“Economically, we have such power over Canada,” Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office after he announced the suspension of trade negotiations in a social media post. “I’d rather not use it, but they did something with our tech companies … We have all the cards.”

Two days later, Canada bowed to his demands to scrap the tax in a bid to salvage the trade negotiations. In its statement Sunday, the Canadian government said it would soon introduce legislation in Parliament to cancel the tax.

Carney, who swept to power in a federal election in April by casting himself as the person best placed to handle Trump, appeared to have a more cordial relationship with the U.S. president than his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Trump and Carney had agreed to accelerate talks to reach a new trade agreement at the Group of Seven summit that Canada hosted earlier this month.

“Prime Minister Carney has been clear that Canada will take as long as necessary, but no longer, to achieve that deal,” the government said in the statement.