The Syrian government decided to increase prices of drugs by 50%, the head of the pharmacies syndicate in Damascus said Tuesday, as the Syrian pound hit new a low in recent days.

Hassan Derwan did not give a reason for the price hike in his interview with the pro-government daily Al-Watan. Earlier this year, prices were raised by between 50% and 80%.

Syrian pharmaceutical companies mainly import raw materials in hard currencies which makes them susceptible to changes in the price of the Syrian pound. The companies have recently demanded to increase the price of their products to cope with the tumbling pound.

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Since Syria’s conflict erupted 12 years ago — killing nearly half a million people and displacing about 6.8 million others — the country’s currency has lost much of its value and now the vast majority of Syrians live in poverty.

Back in 2011, a dollar was valued at 47 pounds. Last week, the dollar was valued at about 13,000 pounds on the parallel market while the official rate stood at 9,900. At the start of the year, the dollar was worth about 7,000 pounds.

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The minimum monthly wage in Syria is 130,000 pounds or about $12.

Syria’s economy has been hard hit by the war, Western sanctions, widespread corruption and the historic economic meltdown in neighboring Lebanon that started in October 2019.

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Americans are increasingly turning to their credit cards to cover everyday expenses, with debt surpassing $1 trillion for the first time at the end of June, according to a New York Federal Reserve report published Tuesday. 

In the three-month period from April to June, total credit card debt surged to $1.03 trillion, an increase of $45 billion, or 4.6% from the previous quarter. It marks the highest level on record in Fed data dating back to 2003.

The rise in credit card usage and debt is particularly concerning because interest rates are astronomically high right now. The average credit card annual percentage rate, or APR, hit a new record of 20.33% last week, according to a Bankrate database that goes back to 1985. The previous record was 19% in July 1991.

CREDIT CARD DEBT RISING IN DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR THE ECONOMY

If people are carrying debt to compensate for steeper prices, they could end up paying more for items in the long run. For instance, if you owe $5,000 in debt – which the average American does – current APR levels would mean it would take about 277 months and $7,723 in interest to pay off the debt making the minimum payments. 

“One trillion dollars in credit card debt is staggering,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. “Unfortunately, it is likely only going to keep growing from here.”

The increase in the credit card category helped to push total household debt to a staggering $17.06 billion, a 0.1% increase from the first three months of 2023. Balances are now $2.9 trillion higher than they were at the end of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

A FED PAUSE LIKELY WON’T HELP STRUGGLING CONSUMERS

Auto loan balances also contributed to the uptick, climbing by $20 billion or 4.3% over the course of the second quarter. Student loan debt, meanwhile, declined by $35 billion while mortgage balances remained largely unchanged at $12 trillion, despite an uptick in mortgage originations.

While delinquency rates remain relatively small, there was an uptick in borrowers who are struggling with credit card and auto loan payments. As of June, about 2.7% of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, up slightly from the 2.6% recorded the previous quarter. That remains 2 percentage points lower than the pre-pandemic level. 

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But the fact that there is any semblance of delinquency rates rising during such a strong labor market is concerning. Experts have warned the rate may begin to climb higher as student loan payments resume in the fall after the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s forgiveness plan. 

“Even as inflation has lingered and interest rates have risen, pushing card debt to record levels, Americans have generally done a good job paying their credit card bills on time,” Schulz said.

“That may not last, however. The resumption of student loan payments will be a huge test for many cardholders, shrinking the amount they have to devote to paying off card debt and leaving some people simply unable to make minimum payments at all.”

The rise in balances comes in the midst of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate-hike campaign as it tries to crush stubborn inflation and cool the economy. 

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Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said Tuesday that results from a recent drug trial demonstrated that its highly sought weight loss drug Wegovy also reduces the risk of heart disease. 

Novo said the results from the late-stage drug trial showed patients taking the weekly injection of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, had a 20% lower risk of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease compared to those taking a placebo.

The company’s stock jumped Tuesday after the results beat analyst expectations. Investors and analysts previously projected that the drug would reduce the risk of heart disease by 15%-17%, according to Reuters. 

The goal of the company’s large drug trial, which involved over 17,600 adults, was to assess whether Wegovy has a medical benefit and can reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events like strokes or heart attacks in addition to helping people lose weight. 

WEGOVY, OZEMPIC: THE BARRIERS TO ACCESSING THESE WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved Wegovy in 2021 for chronic weight management in adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally with an estimated 17.9 million people dying from such diseases in 2019. Of those deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke, according to WHO. 

“People living with obesity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease but, to date, there are no approved weight management medications proven to deliver effective weight management while also reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death,” Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for development at Novo Nordisk, said in a statement. 

DIABETES-RELATED WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS FACING SUPPLY ISSUES AMID VIRAL TREND

The company expects to file for regulatory approvals of a label indication expansion for Wegovy in the U.S. and the European Union this year. Details from the drug trial will be presented at a scientific conference later this year, according to Novo. 

Novo also manufactures Ozempic, which is the same medication as Wegovy but has different dosages and FDA-approved intended uses.

Ozempic was approved by federal health officials in 2017 and marketed for medical use in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes “with weight loss as a secondary effect of the drug’s effects and mechanism of action.”

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Weogvy and Ozempic surged in popularity after high-profile figures touted their weight loss effects. The demand surged so much that it prompted a temporary shortage. 

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