The retreated from early morning highs but continued trading in positive territory with the Dow rising 36 points to 20,088. Nasdaq added 10 points to 5,674.
General Motors will be issuing bonus checks of up to $12,000 to its hourly workers. The profit sharing plan that United Auto Workers negotiated in 2011 provides approximately $1,000 to each worker for each $1 billion in pre-tax profit in North America. GM reported an impressive pre-tax profit of $12 billion in North America in 2016.
BMW will pay approximately $477.7 million to settle a class action lawsuit. Owners of model years 2004 to 2010 BMW 5 Series cars claimed that sensitive electronic components in vehicle trunks were damages by water. Approximately 318,000 owners of vehicles covered by the settlement will receive up to $1,500 to cover prior repairs.
YouTube expanded its live mobile streaming feature so that it is now available on channels with over 10,000 subscribers. Viewers who pay a fee will be able to chat live with streamers using the Super Chat feature. YouTube video creators will be offered a lucrative 55%-45% split on advertising revenue.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index edged up a fraction to 2,293. Bitcoin soared $23 to $1,038.
