Dow back above 22,000 despite Trump, CEO chaos; another bump up for Freeport-McMoRan

Stocks edged up today as U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and disbanded two CEO councils after executives resigned from the posts over his response to the alt-right protests and violence that left a woman dead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed back over the 22,000 mark. The blue chip stock index closed at 22,024.87 up 25.88 points. The 30-stock Dow passed the 22,000 mark for the first time ever earlier this month but dipped lower last week after Trump promised North Korea “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued increased aggression toward the U.S. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also edged up even as the CEOs of 3M (NYSE: MMM), Intel Corp.

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  Wal-Mart CEO says Trump missed 'critical opportunity' to bring America together

  CNBC.com
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  Factbox: Trump's manufacturing panel CEOs, companies comment on Charlottesville

  Reuters

Stocks Open Higher; Home Depot, Target Lead Retail Rebound

Stocks opened on the advance Wednesday, despite some weak early housing data, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 looked to revive their rebounds stalled on Tuesday. XAutoplay: On | Off The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500perked up 0.3% at the starting bell. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.2% above fair value. Housing starts and building permits fell off sharply in July, the Commerce Department reported, with starts slipping to an annualized rate of 1.155 million in the normally busy summer season, down from a rate of 1.215 million in June and disappointing forecasts for an increase to 1.225 million. Building permit activity slowed to an annualized rate of 1.223 million, vs. June's 1.254 million

AT&T's (T) DirecTV Receives $3.95B Fine for Deceptive Ad Suit

U.S. telecom behemoth AT&T Inc.’s T DirecTV deceptive advertising lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Mar 2015, is currently on trial in the federal court. The trial became functional from this Monday with opening arguments in U.S. District Court in Oakland, CA, and is scheduled to last 20 days. FTC lawyer Jacob A. Snow clearly pointed out that 33 consumers were deceived by the company during the span of 2007-2015.  As a result of sign-ups and deceptive practices, DirecTV is estimated to have made $3.95 billion.

• Trial for AT&T's $3.95B Deceptive Ad Fine Starts (revised)

  Zacks
• Federal Prosecutor: DirecTV Owes Customers Nearly $4 Billion For Deceptive Ads

  Benzinga