The markets traded flat during the midday with the Dow edging up a fraction to 19,891. Nasdaq lost 7 points to 5,634.
Struggling department store Macy's may be exploring a possible sale. After a disappointing holiday season capped a year of falling revenue, shareholder Starboard Value began advocating for change and is seeking seats on Macy's board. While potential buyers have said that they have been contacted about a sale, Macy's has not commented on the rumors.
A Dallas jury sided with ZeniMax in its lawsuit against Facebook over the technology that powers the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggle that Facebook bought for $2 billion in 2014. ZeniMax claimed that Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and chief technology officer John Carmack stole ZeniMax's intellectual property to develop Oculus. ZeniMax will receive a total of $500 million with $300 million coming from Oculus, $50 million from Luckey and $150 million from Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe.
Amazon will spend $1.49 billion to build an air cargo hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The online retailing giant expects to schedule at least 200 departures and landings each day in order efficiently to deliver packages to its clients. Amazon plans to hire 10,000 workers for the facility.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 4 on the NYSE while decliners edged out advancers by 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index held steady at 2,279. Bitcoin soared $16 to $992.
