All the news you need in one place. Updated throughout the day.
August 6
U.S. stocks took a dive Thursday, riding on the dragging coattails of media companies. Nadaq fell 1.62%, thanks in part to Viacom tanking 14%. The Dow fell 0.69%, and the S&P500 was down 0.78%. Disney dipped 1.8% Thursday, after its 9.2% fall Wednesday. Greenhouse Mountain got slaughtered Thursday, dropping almost 30% after it announced layoffs. Tesla had a rough day too, dropping 8.88%. Oil hit even lower-lows than Wednesday, bottoming at $44.80, the lowest in six years. Jon Stewart won’t be on hand after the GOP Republican debate Thursday evening to do his dance of sarcasm and wit. The funnyman is taping his final show before the debate even kicks off, the NYT notes. We will just have to imagine what he would say about Donald Trump, central stage, among the 10 contenders. And get ready- the jobs report is out Friday.
Legionnaires’ disease spreads in NYC. New York is suffering its worst outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. More than 100 people have been infected and 10 have died. Leionnaires is a bacterial disease spread through contaminated water mist. Officials are investigating water towers in the city to prevent further contamination. ABC
Small shippers look hot. Mutual fund managers are investing in small-scale shipping companies including Stamps.com and Pitney Bowes. Amazon has gotten too expensive for many firms that still want access to the e-commerce market. Reuters
Migrant boat sinks. More than 200 migrants are feared drowned after a boat wrecked in the Mediterranean. Most the the 600 passengers on the fishing boat were fleeing Syria. Reuters
Dems up next. CNN will host the first Democratic primary debate in Nevada October 13. The Democratic debate won’t be such an elite event as the candidate pool is significantly smaller than the Republican’s. There are currently five Democrats in the running, but that number could expand before October. CNN
Japan marks anniversary of bombing. Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima Thursday. The mayor of the city that was once decimated called for an end of nuclear weapons as “the absolute evil and ultimate inhumanity.” The 1945 bombing was a move by the U.S. to end WWII in the Pacific more quickly. About 140,000 people were killed in the bombing, and even more were killed three days later in Nagasaki. USA Today
Activist Bill Ackman takes $5.5 billion stake in Oreo cookie-maker. The Pershing Square founder says he now has a 7.5% stake in Brazil’s Mondelez. “‘We welcome Pershing Square as investors in our company,’ Mondelez spokeswoman Valerie Moens said.” Yeah, right. Reuters
Tsipras optimistic on Greek bailout. Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras recently said that they’re “in the final stretch” of the multi-billion euro bailout talks, adding “despite the difficulties we are facing we hope this agreement can end uncertainty on the future of Greece.” Debt relief – arguably the biggest issue here – seems to have not been mentioned though. Reuters
You won’t believe this:
Microsoft extends parental leave. Microsoft will offer new moms in the U.S. 20 weeks paid leave and non-birth parents 12 weeks paid leave beginning in November. That’s an additional eight weeks for both parents beyond what the company previously offered. Parents can slowly come back to work part time, or split the leave time in two. CNN Money
Don’t take pictures while breaking the law. Police officers are tech savvy too. San Francisco has an “Instagram Officer.” Officer Eduard Ochoa scans social media looking for criminals dumb enough to brag about breaking the law. Ochoa has nabbed people for illegal firearm possession, or people violating probation. Yes, Instagram photos can be used as evidence in court. #GetSmart MarketWatch
Chris Farley was supposed to be Shrek. The kind-hearted ogre was almost completely voiced by Farley before he died of a drug overdose in 1997. Shrek was released in 2001, and ended up being voiced by Mike Myers. Check out some clips of Farley and Eddie Murphy’s banter. Vulture
Kim Jong-un to receive peace prize. Yes, you read that correctly. Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, is set to receive the statesmanship award from The Sukarno Education Foundation, an award that celebrates “peace, justice and humanity.” He can now count himself among previous awardees such as Mahatma Gandhi and Aung San Suu Kyi. Huffington Post
Photo: DonkeyHotey