Cyberspace Investment News Report For July 10

Good evening, this is Laura Speizman, Cyberspace Investment News with the Friday July 10th report.
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both closed lower for the fourth straight week in a row, while Nasdaq closed lower for the third of the last four weeks. Energy prices slumped as crude oil prices lost 10% of their value this week to close under $60 a barrel. While GM emerged from bankruptcy, consumer sentiment fell to 64.6%, lower than anticipated.
This week saw some heavy debt and merger related offerings. Debt highlights included Oracle Corp’s $4.5 billion bond offering, retailer Toys R Us’ $950 million bond offering, and Petroleo Brasileiro’s $1.25 billion bond offering. Merger highlights included: Partner Re, the insurer, acquiring competitor Paris Re for $2 billion, Validus Holdings acquiring IPC Holdings for $1.65 billion, Liberty International acquiring Pearl Group for 834 million Euros, and Ball Corp acquiring Metal Container’s assets for $577 million.
While equity was a bit slower this week, IPO activity has been gaining ground especially amongst financial companies. Colony Capital and FourSquare Capital both launched $500 million IPO’s, while Genworth Financial priced its IPO at $19 per share.
This has been the Friday report, Good night.