European markets ended similar to the US, if not slightly lower, with the Stoxx Europe down -0.4%. In other european news, Greece is reported to have contracted 6.2% in the second quarter and is expected to lose near 7% of its GDP year over year.
In corporate news, Sears (SHLD) gained 5.72% after Barron’s reported that their proposed asset sales could boost the company’s share price after faltering in national prominence over the last decade. Google also gained 2.81% after they announced that they will be buying the Frommer’s travel guide brand from John Wiley & Sons (JWB) and will be cutting employees to reduce Motorola’s Mobility’s workforce to 20%, or nearly 4,000 jobs.