A number of huge acquisitions coupled with a strong earning report from Loews Corporation has allowed share prices to soar.

Pride International Incorporation has managed to gain 16% after Ensco PLC an oil rig operator based in London announced that it would acquire offshore driller for a whooping $7.3 billion.

Beckman Coulter also jumped 16% after Danaher Corporation announced that it was planning to acquire the company for $ 5.8 billion. Beckman Coulter Manufacturers medical diagnostic test equipment.

Lowes 2Q Results

Hot weather was a help and a hindrance to Lowes sales in early summer. The big home-improvement retailer reported that heat probably boosted sales for outdoor grills and air conditioners, helping to increase 2Q net income by 10 percent. However, the heat kept away other customers as well as the continued anemic economic recovery.

The observations by Lowes, the second largest home improvement chain in the nation, echo the attitude of a great many companies who are not seeing any signs that create any expectation of dramatic increases in consumer spending. The company has adjusted its annual revenue projections because of the troubling lack of progress in the nation's economic recovery.