All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US stocks rose on a news heavy week driven by positive economic and corporate news and despite Hurricane Harvey and tensions with North Korea. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Dow gained 0.8% for the week. The Nasdaq had its best week of the year gaining 2.7%. Internationally, Europe gained 0.6% and Japan increased 1.2% for the week. The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond was flat ending the week at 2.16%. Gas prices jumped 13% over the week, the largest surge in over 5 years, as a result of Harvey. Gold also jumped gaining 2.5% over the week to finish at $1,324.50 an ounce. Article
The August jobs report missed expectations with 156,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.4%. June and July were revised down by 41,000 positions. Wage rates have not accelerated with earnings up 2.5% from a year ago. Article
US auto sales fell 1.9% in August. The sales pace for the year is down from last year and below analysts’ expectations.
Hurricane Harvey has severely crippled Texas’ oil output with taking offline roughly 30% of US refining capacity.
US 2nd quarter GDP was revised up to 3.0%. It’s the highest growth rate in over two years. Article
Inflation grew 0.1% in July from a month earlier and is up 1.4% over the past year, well below the Fed’s 2% target level.
In July US personal spending rose at its fastest pace since April and personal income posted its biggest jump since February.
Uber chose Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to be its new CEO.
Gilead Sciences purchased Kite Pharma, a specialist in a new type of cancer therapy, for $11 billion. Article
United Technologies agreed to buy aircraft equipment manufacturer Rockwell Collins for over $20 billion.
Wells Fargo revealed that its sales practice scandal covered many more accounts than previously believed, increasing the total to 3.5 million accounts from the 2.1 million previously estimated.
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