- Markets: US stocks ended the week higher.
- Going public: Pinterest and Zoom both popped in their trading debuts.
- Gold dipped to its lowest level since December.
- Blackstone (BX) changed business models. Here's why.
The satellite suffered some type of damage on April 7, causing a propellant leak and some service outages. While working to restore the satellite, something else went wrong and the satellite was lost. The companies are investigating what happened.
The Boeing-built satellite was part of a fleet of about 50 that make up Intelsat's network — but it was one of the newer additions. The satellite was supposed to keep working until mid-2031.
Intelsat executives reportedly said in 2016, when the satellite launched, that it cost between $400 million and $450 million.
The US trading day is over and traders are ready for the weekend.
US stocks ended the short week higher, with industrial and technology shares doing the heavy lifting.
US and European stock markets will be closed for Good Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to introduce legislation that would raise the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21. The news is sending related stocks sliding:
The bill covers all tobacco products, including vaping devices, that are growing in popularity. A similar measure has bipartisan support in the House.
More than a dozen states have already adopted an over-21 rule for tobacco purchases. So a nation-wide law could make it easier for corporations to navigate regulations.
Altria CEO Howard Willard's statement:
"Altria strongly supports raising the legal age of purchase for all tobacco products, including e-vapor, to 21. This is the most effective action to reverse rising underage e- vapor usage rates."
Reynolds American Inc., the nation's second-largest tobacco company, said in a statement:
"We support Senator McConnell’s efforts to raise the national minimum purchase age to 21 as an effective means of keeping tobacco products out of middle and high school."
Gold and the greenback have an inverse relationship, when one goes up, the other goes down. The dollar has had a strong run, gaining all of last year thanks to government stimulus like tax reform and rising interest rates.
Gold futures settled at $1,276 per ounce, their lowest level since late December.
Meanwhile, two companies rallied during their public debuts.
The videoconferencing company priced its IPO at $36 per share.
One euro bought $1.1239. That's down 0.5% to a two-week low.
A preliminary read of the composite purchasing managers index for April, which comprises the services and manufacturing sectors, came in slightly lower than expected, dragged down by a weaker services sector.
The PMI measures economic activity -- above 50 denotes growth and below 50 means a contraction. The composite PMI for April was 51.3, growing just so. Manufacturing has been particularly weak, especially in Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse where it only read 44.5 in April.
At its IPO price, Pinterest was valued at $12.66 billion, about half as much as Twitter and slightly less than Snapchat's parent company.