First, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 15,431.5, +5.8, +0.0%
- S&P 500: 1,689.4, -1.8, -0.1%
- NASDAQ: 3,669.1, +9.0, +0.2%
And now, the top stories:
- The one notable economic announcement of the day was the Treasury Department's monthly budget statement. The U.S. posted a deficit of $97.6 billion in July, which was a bit wider than the $96.0 billion expected. Spending of $297.0 billion more than offset receipts of $200.0 billion. This is up from $79.6 billion in July 2013. "Some payments that would normally have been made in July 2012 were instead shifted into June 2012 for calendar reasons, lowering the July 2012 deficit by $36B," said UBS's Maury Harris. Adjusted for this, the July deficit was actually narrower by around $8 billion.
- Shares of BlackBerry surged today. Before the markets opened, BlackBerry's board of directors announced it would be considering strategic alternatives for the company including joint ventures, partnerships, and even the outright sale of the company.
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