US stocks ended the week hitting new record highs driven by strong corporate earnings. The S&P 500 jumped 1.7% and the Dow edged up 0.1% for the week. Internationally, both Japan and Europe rose 0.9% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up over the week to finish at 2.08%.
Congress and the White House reached an agreement to raise federal spending and the government’s borrowing limit through July 2021.
The Justice Dept is opening an antitrust review into whether large tech companies are unfairly holding back competition.
US home sales fell 1.7% in June from May and are down 2.2% from a year earlier – the 16th straight month of annual declines.
The ruling conservative party voted strong Brexit supporter Boris Johnson to become the next Prime Minister of the UK setting up the possibility of a no deal Brexit.
The ECB said it will be cutting short term interest rates for the first time since 2016 and restart its bond-buying program. It said it expected to keep its key interest rate at -0.4% or lower through the first half of 2020. The changes are expected to be announced at their next policy meeting in September.
The first reading of second-quarter GDP showed the US grew at a better than expected 2.1%. While slowing from earlier int eh year the pace was still at a solid clip driven by consumer spending.
Facebook posted strong second-quarter earnings despite a $5M fine by the FTC.
138 S&P companies have reported earnings to date and 77% have topped analysts’ estimates.
Nissan announced it is cutting 9% of its workforce after struggling with its operations.
Amazon’s streak of record profits ended in the second quarter with a 3.6% gain, missing expectations.
The Justice Dept. approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint after they agreed to sell assets to satellite TV provider Dish Network. The move combined the nation’s number 3 and 4 wireless carriers.