All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
Greece’s decision to put the bailout terms to a referendum and default on an IMF loan weighed on world stock markets. The S&P 500 and Dow sank 1.2% for the week. Internationally, Japan eased 0.8% and Europe plunged 3.4%. Investors sought safe havens as fear of the unknown with Greece drove the 10 year Treasury yield to fall to 2.39% down .10 percentage points from a week earlier. Article
Greece announced it was imposing limits on ATM withdrawals and closing banks and its stock market until a referendum vote on July 5th. Greece became the first ever developed country to default on a loan to the IMF when it missed a $1.7 billion payment on 6/30. Article
US pending home sales rose 0.9% in May to the highest level in over 9 years. While slightly below expectations, the trend shows a strengthening housing market.
The purchasing managers index edged up signaling expanded US manufacturing. The reading reached its highest level since January.
The June jobs report showed solid growth in line with expectations with 233,000 new hires. The unemployment rate fell to 5.3% the lowest level since April of 2008. However, wage growth continues to be weak and the labor force participation rate fell driving the unemployment rate drop. Article
Willis Group and Towers Watson announced plan to merge to create an $18 billion professional services firm with business lines from insurance and reinsurance to retirement planning and health care consulting.
Insurer ACE agreed to buy Chubb for $28.3 billion in the largest ever deal in the insurance industry.
Aetna agreed to purchase Humana for $34 billion to create one of the largest health insurers.
BP agreed to pay $18.7 billion to settle all federal and state claims from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
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