Plunge in Chinese markets sends global stocks lower

Plunge in Chinese markets sends global stocks lower

NEW YORK

The worst drop in China’s stock market in eight years helped drag down other markets around the world Monday.

The tough day follows declines in U.S. markets last week, when the three major indexes fell more than 2 percent as a number of big companies reported disappointing earnings.

Faced with a drop in stock prices in Asia, Europe and the U.S., investors moved into traditional safe havens. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.22 percent from 2.26 percent on Friday. The price of gold rose 1 percent.

Dividend-heavy stocks, like utilities, also gained. Investors favor high-dividend companies during times of volatility because they provide a reliable income stream.

Orders for US durable goods jump 3.4 percent in June

WASHINGTON

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a sizable gain in June, but the advance was fueled by higher demand for commercial aircraft. Outside of this volatile category, a key category that represents business investment rose by a far more modest amount.

Orders for durable goods jumped 3.4 percent in June from May, when orders had fallen 2.1 percent, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The gain was the best result since March. However, the jump was driven by aircraft orders booked by Boeing at the Paris air show.

Teva buys Allergan generic drug unit for $40.5 billion

LOS ANGELES

Pharmaceutical company Allergan has agreed to sell its generic drug unit to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of Israel for $40.5 billion, a move that will allow the Ireland-based company to focus on branded drugs, including blockbuster wrinkle treatment Botox.

The acquisition is the latest in a series of pharmaceutical-industry mergers and acquisitions, and latest reconfiguration of Actavis, the Ireland drug company that bought Allergan in November and took over its name.

Work starts on 1st US offshore wind farm

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.

Construction has begun off Rhode Island’s coast on the nation’s first offshore wind farm, a milestone that federal and state officials say will help the fledgling U.S. industry surge ahead.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said Monday that lenders, regulators and stakeholders can now see a path forward.

“It’s great to witness a pioneering moment in U.S. history,” she said during a boat tour of the site. “We are learning from this in what we do elsewhere. I think it will help the country understand the potential that exists here.”

Deepwater Wind is building a five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, R.I., which it expects to power 17,000 homes as early as next year. It began attaching the first of the steel foundations to the ocean floor Sunday.

Wire services