The U.S. dollar gained the most since September against a measure of six other major currencies.
The U.S. dollar’s strength today is evidenced by the PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: UUP) which is up about 0.75% so far this afternoon. The question will be whether both the stock market and the dollar can move up together in the days ahead. (For more stories on currency ETFs, please visit our currency ETFs category).
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is little changed today, after surging yesterday on the news that they paid $13.75 billion in cash and assets to take control of NBC Universal from General Electric (NYSE: GE). Comcast paid $13.75 billion in cash and assets to gain 51% control of a joint venture that will own two broadcast networks, more than a dozen cable networks, a major movie studio and theme parks. (For more stories on the media industry, please see our media category).
Comcast now faces numerous challenges ahead of them, writes Nat Worden and Sam Schechner for The Wall Street Journal. These challenges include regulatory hurdles, cost pressures and the poor performance of the NBC network. The deal has pushed media stocks higher. The PowerShares Dynamic Media ETF (NYSE: PBS) is up nearly 2% today; Comcast is 5%.