The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow climbing 102 points to 20,726. Nasdaq rose 20 points to 5,859.
Restaurant Brands International will pay a premium of approximately $1.8 billion in cash to acquire Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Popeyes has more than 2,000 fried chicken restaurants in the United States and 25 other countries. Restaurant Brands International owns Burger King and the doughnut chain Tim Hortons.
WhatsApp upgraded its Status feature to allow photos and videos to be shared with friends. The photos and videos will be encrypted like all text messages that are sent through the messaging app. Users can edit the photos with stickers and drawings, just like to Snapchat.
Verizon discounted its offer to acquire Yahoo by $350 million to $4.48 billion after weeks of discussions. The proposed acquisition was threatened when two massive cyber attacks against Yahoo was revealed. Verizon discovered that the data breaches had minimal impact on the reputation on Yahoo and therefore moved forward to renegotiate terms of the deal.
The broader S&P 500 index climbed 12 points to 2,363. Bitcoin soared $46 to $1,097.
