The Economy
Senate Tax Bill Receives Further Republican Backing
Two more U.S. senators have given their support for the Republican tax bill. However, the party is still holding out due to concerns over the tax bill’s impact on the federal deficit, health care, and property taxes. Senators were originally hoping to pass a bill this week, and are now looking at options to get more Republican members on board.
The Markets
Wall Street Slumps On Report Michael Flynn Will Testify Against Trump
The U.S. stock market slumped on Friday on a report that former national security adviser Michael Flynn is prepared to testify against President Donald Trump in the special counsel’s ongoing Russian probe. Earlier today, Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about meetings with Russia’s ambassador before Trump became president.
Bitcoin Reaches $10,500 As U.S. Regulator Approves Bitcoin Futures
Bitcoin rebounded to the $10,500 mark on Friday as the U.S. derivatives regulator said it would allow CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) and CBOE Global Markets to list bitcoin futures. Following approval, CME and CBOE will become the first traditional U.S. regulated exchanges to launch trading in bitcoin-related financial contracts.
On Friday, CME announced that it will launch its bitcoin futures contract on December 18.
BlackBerry Loses Contract Dispute With Nokia
BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) has been ordered by the International Court of Arbitration to pay $137 million to Nokia in order to settle a payment dispute related to a patent license contract. Despite this ruling, BlackBerry will continue to pursue a separate patent infringement case against the Finnish firm.
Top Active Stocks
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) was up 0.6% on Friday as the social media company’s price target was recently raised to $21.50 from $18.00 by MKM Partners. Twitter is up nearly 30% year to date, on pace for its best full year.
Shares of Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL) went up 4.4% on Friday as the Food and Drug Administration approved Mylan’s application for a generic version of Heparin Sodium, an injected anticoagulant. It is also reported that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is in talks with Mylan ahead of Amazon’s potential entry into pharmaceuticals.
The FDA has also approved Foundation Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ:FMI)’s FoundationOne CDx, the company’s diagnostic test for solid tumors. Its shares soared to an all-time high on Friday, up 17.7% to $62.60 a share.
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 2.3% as the company said it does not plan to increase its $70-a-share offer for Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM). Broadcom feels there is strong support for the merger from Qualcomm shareholders.
Featured Image: DepositPhotos/ ulchik74
