Berkshire Hathaway share price sets record high

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -Berkshire Hathaway’s share price hit a record high on Monday, reflecting investors’ confidence in Warren Buffett’s company, which is often regarded as a microcosm of the broader American economy. The price of Berkshire’s Class A shares rose 1.5% to $649,000 in late morning trading, surpassing the $647,039 price reached on Feb. 26. Berkshire’s more widely held Class B shares are worth about 1/1,500th as much. Monday’s gain boosted the market value … Read more…

Fed’s Powell touts progress on inflation

(Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday the three U.S. inflation readings over the second quarter of this year do “add somewhat to confidence” that the pace of price increases is returning to the Fed’s target in a sustainable fashion, remarks that suggest a turn to interest rate cuts may not be far off. “In the second quarter, actually, we did make some more progress” on taming inflation, Powell said at an … Read more…

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Wall Street closes higher on bets for Fed rate cut

By Noel Randewich and Medha Singh (Reuters) -Wall Street closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting intraday record highs, on bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, while big banks fell after reporting mixed results. Some of the market’s most valuable companies bounced back after dipping in the previous session. Apple and Nvidia each climbed more than 1%. The S&P 500 and Dow … Read more…

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Meta to roll back some restrictions on Trump’s Facebook, Instagram accounts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Meta said on Friday it was rolling back some restrictions that had applied to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. The social media company indefinitely suspended Trump’s accounts following his praise of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The company then reinstated his accounts in early 2023, saying it would monitor Trump’s posts for further violations that could result in another suspension of between one month … Read more…

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Musk donates to group working to elect Trump, Bloomberg reports

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk has donated to a political group working to elect former U.S. President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources. The report did not indicate how much Musk donated but added it was “a sizable amount” given to a group called America PAC. Bloomberg reported that the PAC – a group that can receive unlimited contributions for political activity – is next required to disclose its list of donors on … Read more…

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Take Five: Cancel Summer?

LONDON (Reuters) – Pressure on Joe Biden to step out of the U.S. presidential election race, mounting expectations of a September Fed rate cut, Q2 earnings, an ECB meeting and Britain’s king unveiling the legislative programme of the new Labour Government. Don’t race off for that summer break just yet. Here’s what to expect in the week ahead for world markets from Ira Iosebashvili in New York, Yoruk Bahceli in Amsterdam, Li Gu in Shanghai, … Read more…

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No End In Sight – by Justin Vaughn

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) Jobs data released on Friday was just what the market needed, 206,000 jobs, more than the 195,000 economists had expected. With the jobs market running hot and wages holding firm, even a slight edge up in unemployment to 4.1% was good news. Both hot indexes, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were again higher, closing the week up 2% and 3.5% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced … Read more…

Bain Capital to buy financial software vendor Envestnet in $4.5 billion deal

(Reuters) -Private equity firm Bain Capital will buy Envestnet in a $4.5 billion deal, with backing from a cohort of investors, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, the financial software vendor said on Thursday. Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based Envestnet offers software for wealth managers and data for financial institutions and investment research firms. Its clients include 16 of the 20 biggest U.S. banks and 48 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms. Reuters exclusively reported earlier … Read more…

US FTC to delay decision on Chevron-Hess deal during Exxon arbitration, Bloomberg reports

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission plans to delay its decision whether to block Chevron’s $53 billion takeover of Hess until after an arbitration case with Exxon Mobil is settled, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The signal from the U.S. regulator is another hurdle for Chevron’s proposed acquisition of Hess. The deal, which was initially planned to close in the first half of the year, stalled after Exxon in March filed for arbitration, claiming … Read more…

Ukraine gets new $225 million US military aid after Biden meets Zelenskiy

By Jeff Mason and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday announced a new security package for Ukraine worth $225 million, which includes a Patriot missile battery, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems and missiles, among other items. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Washington, Ukraine’s biggest supporter, has provided more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022 when the Russian invasion began. But U.S. military aid was delayed in Congress for months over … Read more…

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