Stocks were little changed on Friday.
The Dow finished virtually unchanged, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dipped into the red.
First up, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 21,364.69, +4.79, (+0.02%) S&P 500: 2,430.05, -2.41, (-0.09%) Nasdaq: 6,144.63, -17.60, (-0.27%) US 10-year yield: 2.157%, -0.005 WTI crude oil: $44.72, +0.26, +0.58%
1. Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. The online-retail giant said Friday it was buying the high-end grocer for $42 a share in an all-cash deal, valuing the company at $13.7 billion. Shares of the grocer were trading at $33.06 before the deal was announced, so the deal represents a 27% premium on its Thursday closing price.
2. The US oil-rig count rises for the 22nd straight week. The US oil-rig count rose by six to 747, while the gas-rig count increased by one to 186, and miscellaneous rigs dropped by one to zero, making the total rig count 933.
3. Russia cut rates by 25 basis points to 9.00%. The bank also emphasized that mid-term risks to inflation "remain elevated," and noted that oil prices "began to take shape at a lower level than expected" after the agreement by OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cut output.
4. Traders betting against Snap have made a killing since its IPO. They've reaped some big gains, to the tune of $195 million, according to data compiled by financial analytics firm S3 Partners. That includes Thursday's 4% share decline in Snap, which went public in early March.
5. McDonald's just signaled the end of the Olympics as we know them. It has ended its longtime partnership with the Olympics. McDonald's has been a sponsor for the US Olympic Committee since 1976.
ADDITIONALLY:
KASHKARI: The Fed is repeating its mistakes of the 1970s - but in reverse.
The US economy looks a lot like the period before the tech bubble.