All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US stocks had their first down week in a month on concerns that the Fed may begin to reduce its bond buying program this summer. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and Dow dropped 0.3% for the week. Europe fell 1.9% on global growth concerns and Japan sank 3.5% over the week driven largely by the midweek sell off were the index plummeted 7.3%. The 10 year Treasury yield rose over the week to finish at 2.01% its highest week ending level since mid March as bonds sank. Article
In testimony before congress Bernanke said the Fed could potentially begin to take steps to curtail its bond buying program in the “next few meetings.” However, the minutes released from the Fed’s early May meeting showed that some members wanted to start cutting down bond purchases as early as June. Article
Previously owned home sales rose 0.6% to the highest level in three years and new home prices hit a record high in April as builders limit the supply on the market.
Chinese manufacturing moved into contraction territory in May, the lowest level in seven months.
Yahoo agreed to purchase blogging site tumblr for $1.1 billion as Yahoo attempts to improve growth and move into the social media fray. Article
A senate investigation has found that Apple has paid no corporate income taxes on over $74 billion in revenue earned over the past four years that are held in subsidiaries in Ireland. Article
HP’s earnings and revenue sank in the quarter ended April 30th as sales of personal computer continue to dip, but it was able to cut costs and raised its full year free cash flow forecast.
Eye care company Bausch and Lomb agreed to sell itself to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $9 billion. The firm is owned by private equity groups led by Warburg Pincus, and the sale marks a strong gain from the $3.7 billion the firm paid to take the company private.
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