Good evening,
Stocks were up Wednesday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 both up 0.7%. The Nasdaq rose 0.4%. …The Fed surprised no one, leaving interest rates near zero after their two day meeting wrapped up. Chair Janet Yellen still didn’t clarify when rates will rise. September is still on the table. …Oil scraped its way up 81 cents to $48.79 a barrel Wednesday.
Everybody likes Facebook’s earnings. Facebook beat estimates for the second quarter, reporting 50 cents per share on $4.04 billion in revenue. Analysts had predicted 47 cents per share on $3.99 billion in revenue. Daily average users also topped estimates at 968 million, above the expected 960 million. Nonetheless shares fell 4% in after hours trading, following the announcement. CNBC
Apollo hit with profit losses. Apollo Global Management reported a 21% drop in profits Wednesday, hitting $56.4 million, or 30 cents a Class A share. Profits were $71.7 million, or 33 cents a share, this time last year. Wall Street Journal
Carlyle Group reports profit jump. Wednesday morning Carlyle reported a 55% profit increase in the second quarter, jumping to $31 million or 34 cents a share from $20 million or 27 cents a share last year. Assets under management for the firm were down to $192.8 billion from $202.7 billion a year before. The report comes just after Cliffwater advised its clients to pull out of Carlyle’s hedge fund.
MasterCard revenue disappoints. MasterCard’s profit was about on point with expectations for the second quarter, but revenue growth was weaker than expected. The company reported earnings of $921 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with $931 million, or 80 cents a share, from the second quarter last year. Wall Street Journal
Taliban leader dead. Afghanistan has confirmed that Taliban leader Mullah Omar died of health problems in Pakistan two years ago. Pakistan has not commented on the announcement, and has always denied Omar’s presence in their country. BBC
Pieces of missing flight may have been found. Wreckage of a plane washed ashore the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. While not yet confirmed, an expert thinks it’s likely the wreckage could be that of MH370, the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in March 2014. The Telegraph
Officer indicted for killing of unarmed man. Former University of Cincinnati police Officer Ray Tensing was indicted Wednesday for fatally shooting Samuel DuBose during a traffic stop. Body camera footage from Tensing and another officer at the scene shows Tensing shooting the unarmed man, but Tensing says he thought DuBose was going to run him over. CNN
Philly rep charged with racketeering. U.S. Represenative Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia has been indicted on 29 counts of bribery, fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. The crimes were allegedly committed by Fattah and four associates in 2007 during his unsuccessful run for mayor of Philly. Reuters
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