US Stocks rallied on Friday led higher by health care and financial stocks, which helped stocks notch a 5th  straight week of gains and push the S&P 500 into positive territory for 2016.

The Cleveland based Sherwin-Williams said yesterday that they have reached a deal to acquire paint-industry rival Valspar in a deal valued at $11.3 Billion.  Sherwin-Williams said they would pay $113/share in cash for each share of Valspar which is a 35% premium over Valspar’s closing stock price on Friday.

Starwood hotels has signed an agreement to manage 3 prominent hotels in Havana Cuba, marking the first time since the 1959 revolution that a US based company has been allowed to operate in Cuba.  Starwood got authorization from the US Treasury to operate in Cuba, something that would have been prohibited under the economic embargo.

Google announced they will go ahead with plans to build a $600mm data center in the Dalles.  Google got tax breaks as an incentive to build the server farm in Oregon.  The data center business is booming as companies and individuals move more of their lives to the internet.  Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple all have data facilities in Eastern and Central Oregon drawn by low energy prices and tax incentives.