Good evening and happy Friday,
The Nasdaq keeps going up. The index climbed 0.9% Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% and the S&P 500 gained 0.1%. …Google’s share prices went out with a bang Friday, crossing the $700 threshold for the first time ever before closing just under that mark. …China hasn’t gotten its stock market under control. Despite the desperate attempts by the government, the Shanghai Composite Index finished the week 500 points lower than the target level, a 23% drop from its June high. …European stocks were up 4.3% this week. The Athens stock exchange extended it’s closure through Sunday, since being shut since June 29. …The reason behind the shooting of Marines in Tennessee remains fuzzy. U.S. authorities are looking into a trip to Jordan by the alleged shooter last year.
Lloyd Blankfein joins billionaires’ club. Goldman Sachs CEO Blankfein has tied J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon in the billionaires club with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Blankfein was in a senior position at Goldman before it went public, one of the last senior financiers to be in such a position. Goldman’s share has more than quadrupled since 1999, making Blankfein’s stake worth almost $500 million. ValueWalk
Ex-NY congressman going to jail. Former congressman and FBI agent Michael Grimm was sentenced to eight months in prison for tax evasion. Part of his crime included the exploitation of immigrant laborers. NBC
Thousands of gallons of oil spilled in Montana. A train derailed in rural Montana Friday, spilling 35,000 gallons of crude oil. The train was owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The area was evacuated and no injuries were reported. Reuters
Families remember MH17 plane crash. Victims were commemorated during the first anniversary of the MH17 plane crash over eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian rebels are believed to have shot the plane carrying 298 people out of the sky. BBC
OMG, I can’t even. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have joined Taylor Swift’s dream team. The British “X-Men” stars recorded dramatic readings of T-Swifts hit songs “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood.” It’s like if Shakespeare was written by teenage girls. People
Eid celebrations began Friday. Muslims worldwide began celebrating Eid al-Fitr Friday morning. The three day festival makes the end of the fasting season of Ramadan. TIME
Photo: Preston Rhea