Good morning, everyone.
Stocks rallied again Thursday, helping shut down some worries from earlier in the week. The Dow climbed all day, gaining 2.3% by close. The S&P 500 grew 2.4% and the Nasdaq added 2.5% after steady gains all day. Even oil had a better day, climbing more than 10% and staying above $42/barrel. The Jackson Hole monetary camp began Thursday and at least half of the policymakers from the Federal Reserve will be a no-show, including Janet Yellen. NY Fed President William Dudley is playing coy, and won’t say whether he will show up at the gathering. On Saturday, vice chair Stanley Fischer will take to the podium and is likely to talk inflation. Did we say Thursday? Then it must be jobless claims day. This week, claims fell 6,000 to 271,000, a level that suggests unemployment remains low. The pending home sales index edged up 0.5% in July, less than expected.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Carl Icahn nabs stake in miner company. Icahn is part of a group that holds a 8.46% stake in Freeport-McMoRan. Icahn says the share are undervalued, and he plans to put his activism to work in the company. Freeport-McMoRan announced plans early Thursday to cut capital spending next year by 29%. Wall Street Journal
Tiffany profits drop. The little blue box’s company reported a 15% drop in profits last quarter, thanks to the strong dollar making Tiffany’s products more expensive abroad. Tiffany’s cut its earnings outlook for the year. Wall Street Journal
Died: NBA star Darryl Dawkins. “Chocolate Thunder,” as Dawkins was affectionately known, passed away at age 58. The cause of death is unknown. Dawkins was a star basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers, and known for his slam dunking ability. Bleacher Report
Noah and Emma will be taking over playgrounds in four years. The two topped the list of most popular baby names in the U.S. in 2014. Oliver and Amelia won in England and Wales for the second consecutive year. CNN
Dozens of refugees dead in truck in Austria. Police discovered more than 50 refugees dead in a parked truck near the Austrian-Hungarian border Thursday. The grizzly scene draws more attention to the immigration problems Europe is currently facing. The E.U. is looking at new regulations and solutions. Reuters
GDP revised to up 3.7% in 2Q from 2.3%. Analysts had expected a more modest revision up. The Commerce Department reported strong consumer activity plus business investment was much stronger than anticipated. The downside: inventories are up which could detract from third quarter growth. In September, Commerce reports the third and final revision to GDP. MarketWatch
Obama visits NoLa. The president is visiting New Orleans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. A decade after the storm destroyed the city, leaving people homeless and broken, New Orleans is still in trouble. Obama campaigned on promises of getting the city back on its feet, but problems are prevalent. New York Times (paywall)
Violence in Louisiana. A police officer was fatally shot and a woman was fatally stabbed Wednesday afternoon. Two other women are hospitalized with stab wounds. The suspect has been apprehended. CNN
Vice President Joe Biden confirms he may run for presidential nomination. In an interview with CNN the veep says he must decide if he can give it his all — no easy task after the recent death of his son Beau Biden from a brain tumor. The Guardian
Super Mario might need to be extra super. A lot has changed since Mario Draghi unleashed his $68 billion-a-month stimulus plan. China is in doldrums and the Fed’s liftoff schedule is now all screwy, leaving the EU’s economy – as well as its inflation rate – way off their targets. Should Mario open the QE tap a little bit more? Wall Street Journal (paywall)
You won’t believe this…
Your Ashley Madison lady-friend was a bot. Sorry dudes, but the exposure of Ashley Madison’s customers has also revealed that most of the women weren’t real. Gizmodo editor-in-chief Annalee Newitz did some data digging and found that of the 5 million women’s accounts exposed (compared to 31 million men), the bulk were test accounts or internally monitored accounts. So the cheating men were wasting their time? Too bad. Business Insider
Photo: Neil Kremer