Morning Report: National drug shortage spikes

The factors driving the shortage

A new Senate Report finds that shortages of critical prescription drugs spiked by nearly 30% between 2021 and 2022, marking a five-year high. The report cites an over-reliance on China for ingredients as the biggest concern. This dependence poses a national security risk, leaving millions of Americans vulnerable. Shortages of prescription drugs have been caused by economic drivers, reliance on foreign sources, and poor visibility of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

A Bloomberg report finds that nearly half of U.S. employees have a “side hustle” or source of supplemental income. They cited new data from LendingClub and PYMNTS.com. The extra earnings, which come from activities including selling used items online and accepting gigs via apps like TaskRabbit, amount to more than $50 billion monthly. Much of the income from these side hustles is going untaxed.

Higher interest rates hit stocks Tuesday. Tech stocks were especially affected.
The NASDAQ was down the most, losing nearly a half percent.

A former FDA official says the baby formula supply is still vulnerable. Frank Viannas told lawmakers there is dysfunction within the FDA that he believes exacerbated the shortage. Viannas pointed to structural and cultural issues within the agency. The result is failure to monitor the food supply chain and inadequate public health surveillance of the fatal bacteria.

U.S. Home prices logged a seventh-straight monthly decline in January as rising interest rates continue to pressure home prices and the housing market overall. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index fell a half percent in January compared to the previous month.