>>Stocks Close Higher, S&P 500 Hits Fresh Record
(New York, NY) -- Wall Street closed higher Tuesday with the S&P 500 finishing above 55-hundred for the first time. Stocks rose after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted progress on inflation. In remarks to a European banking forum, Powell also cautioned the central bank needs to be "more confident" before cutting interest rates. Markets close early on Wednesday and remain closed for the Fourth of July. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 162 points to 39-331. The S&P 500 rose 33 points to 55-09. The Nasdaq climbed 149 points to 18-028
>>Powell: Progress Made On Inflation But More Needs To Be Done
(Washington, DC) -- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the U.S. is making progress on inflation. During a panel discussion at a conference in Portugal, Powell expressed satisfaction with the progress on inflation over the past year but said he wants to see more before cutting interest rates. He said cutting rates too soon could set the central bank back from its goal to bringing inflation down to two-percent.
>>FDA Approves Eli Lilly Alzheimer's Drug
(Washington, DC) -- The FDA has approved a new Alzheimer's drug. The new treatment by Eli Lilly will be sold under the brand name Kisunla, and was approved Tuesday by the FDA after outside experts said the benefits of the drug outweighed its risks. The drug is designed to clear the brain of an Alzheimer's-related protein called beta amyloid. In a late-stage trial, the drug slowed the progression of memory problems by 29% compared with a placebo. Lilly is charging about 700-dollars a vial for the drug, or 32-thousand dollars for a 12-month treatment.
>>Report: A.I Start-Ups Are Booming
(New York, NY) -- A new report says investors are pouring billions into A.I. start-ups. PitchBook is a platform that keeps track of new tech companies, and says while many have gone out of business over the past two years, the A.I. boom is stronger than ever. It says investors poured over 27-billion dollars into American A.I. start-ups from April to June, accounting for nearly half of all U.S. start-up funding for that period.
>>GM Reports Best Quarterly Sales Since 2020
(Detroit, MI) -- General Motors is reporting its best quarterly sales since 2020. The Detroit automaker said today sales of full-size pickup trucks led the way with all electric vehicles also showing a notable increase. GM reported total sales of more than 696-thousand vehicles during the second quarter. Still, sales through the first half of the year were down slightly compared to last year.
>>Skydance Reaches Tentative Deal To Merge With Paramount
(Undated) -- Skydance Media has reached a tentative agreement to merge with National Amusements, the parent company of Paramount. Skydance has been pursuing the deal for months, however discussions seemed to abruptly end in mid-June after the owner of National Amusements refused to sell her controlling stake. However, on Tuesday it was announced Skydance has made preliminary agreements to buy the company, and the new deal has been given to a Paramount special committee for review.
>>Financial Experts Advise Planning Ahead And Sticking To A Budget To Save Money While On Vacation
(New York, NY) -- Americans are traveling this summer and accumulating debt in order to do it. According to Bankrate, 36-percent of Americans say they plan to take on debt in order to travel this summer. Twenty-six-percent of those summer travelers say they intend to use a credit card to pay for the vacation over multiple billing cycles. With the average credit card charging over 20-percent interest at the moment, this is worrisome to many financial experts, as it represents a lot of people taking on expensive debt. Millennials and Gen Z-er's are the demographics most likely to say they plan to go into debt to pay for vacation.
