Daily Updates

Management consulting firm AON(AON) said on Wednesday that it would buy middle-market insurance broker NFP in a cash and stock deal worth $13.4 billion to tap the middle-market segment of insurance brokerage, wealth management, and retirement plan advisory.  The deal will be funded by $7 billion cash and $6.4 billion of Aon stock. Aon said…

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet(GOOGL) soared and hit a 52-week high after reports that it would restructure its ad sales unit to focus more on Artificial Intelligence.  Sean Downey, who leads Google’s ad business in North America and South America, said in a department-wide meeting that the company’s 30,000-person ad sales unit would be reorganized, according…

Shares of Affirm Holdings(AFRM) rose 15% on Tuesday after the company announced that it has expanded its buy now, pay later(BNPL) relationship with Walmart(WMT).  In a press release, Affirm announced it has expanded its services with Walmart to enable customers to select its pay-over-time options at self-checkout stands at more than 4500 Walmart stores. The…

While inflation might be gradually going down, we probably won’t ever see those pre-pandemic prices at grocery stores and department stores.  That’s because prices on average generally rise up over time and only fall when something is wrong with the economy. Officials at the Federal Reserve who are responsible for setting the nation’s monetary policy…

Boeing(BA) shares moved higher after the planemaker secured an order for single-aisle planes from Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG.  Lufthansa ordered 80 planes from Boeing and Airbus and agreed to future purchasing options for a total value of $9 billion. The deal states that 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8 Planes and 40 Airbus A220-300s are to…

According to the National Association of Home Builders, Homebuilder’s optimism improved in December as mortgage rates continued to fall.  Homebuilder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose for the first time in four months, climbing to 37 on the index, as mortgage rates and improved economic data reassured the builders moving into 2024. …

Oil stocks rose to the highest in two weeks as the price of crude oil soared amidst supply concerns following an attack on a tanker in the Red Sea that led to the rerouting of some tankers and shipments.  The Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 were all higher.  Valero Energy's (VLO) stock price was…

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares took a hit after the company said on Monday that it would halt sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States after this week, as the tech giant struggles with patent disputes regarding the technology that enables the blood oxygen feature on the devices.  The Apple…

Regional bank indexes soared this week after the Fed signaled it would potentially cut interest rates next year. This is a significant moment for an industry recovering from one of the worst years since the 2008 economic crisis.  Regional Bank ETFs are back to their levels before the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank. The…