The daily business briefing: August 12, 2016

1. U.S. stock benchmarks set records on same day for first time since 1999

All three benchmark U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs on Thursday, boosted by strong gains by energy companies and retailers. The rally came as upbeat economic data eased concerns about the economy, and oil prices rallied close to three-week highs after Saudi Arabia's energy minister said oil producers might act jointly in an effort to stabilize crude oil prices. It was the first time the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 had all hit record highs on the same day since Dec 31, 1999.

Time MarketWatch

2. Arianna Huffington says she's leaving The Huffington Post for new venture

Arianna Huffington is leaving The Huffington Post, the website she co-founded 11 years ago, to run a health and wellness startup, Thrive Global, that is launching soon. Huffington, 66, announced Thursday that she would step down as editor in chief at the website, which she helped build from scratch into a media property with nearly 200 million unique visitors a month worldwide. Under her leadership, The Huffington Post grew from a forum for unpaid bloggers into a powerhouse with 850 global employees with numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, under its belt.

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The Huffington Post The Wall Street Journal

3. Macy's announces plan to close 100 stores, helping to boost its stock

Macy's announced Thursday that it plans to close another 100 of its 728 department stores in early 2017 as it struggles to compete with discounters and rival retailers online. The news came as Macy's and Kohl's both posted quarterly profit and sales that beat analysts' forecasts, the latest signal that U.S. consumers are going strong despite worrying recent sales reports from such companies as automaker Ford and fast-food chain McDonald's. Macy's shares jumped by nearly 17 percent, although they are still 42 percent below the stock's 52-week high.

The New York Times

4. Oil prices rise by 4 percent overnight

Oil prices extended their gains early Friday after rallying a day earlier when Saudi Arabia's energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said major oil producers would make a fresh effort to work together on stabilizing prices. Crude oil prices rose by four percent overnight, hitting three-week highs. Earlier in the week oil prices had fallen after Saudi Arabia reported record output as demand showed signs of softening, threatening to worsen oversupply problems. "This has most likely caused some investors to close out their recent bearish bets, pushing prices higher," ANZ Research said.

MarketWatch

5. Germany's better-than-expected growth boosts eurozone

Germany's economy grew by 0.4 percent in the second quarter, slowing a bit after a first-quarter spurt of 0.7 percent growth, but still beating economists' forecasts of just 0.2 percent growth. Germany is Europe's leading economy, and its strength helped the 19-country eurozone grow by 0.3 percent in the quarter, according to figures released Friday. Other countries continued to struggle. Italy, the eurozone's No. 3 economy, showed no increase in its economic output in April through June. Economists said Brexit fallout remains a threat to investment needed for further growth in the region in coming months.

The Associated Press