Superman's Super Weekend, So Far

It may be an extended weekend holiday for pretty much the whole nation, but we're not taking the weekend off. We've got good news from Wall Street to bring to you. Plus, how is Superman Returns faring at the box office? We figured you would want to know the answer to that question, plus, we'll bring you up-to-date on what's happening on the Twin Institutes, Delta and Epsilon. This. Is. The Weekend Recap.

We finally, finally had all three stock markets gain points this week. The Dow Jones even gained over 150 points. The markets rallied on Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised rates by a quarter of a percent and seemingly moderated its interest rate policy statement. For the month of June, the Dow gained 2.38%, the S&P gained 0.01%, and the NASDAQ lost 0.31%. For Q2, the Dow was up 0.37%, the S&P was down 1.90%, and the NASDAQ lost 7.17%. Without further ado, here now is your weekly stock report.

(Source: Yahoo! Finance)

"You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying for one." - Superman, Superman Returns

Superman may hear the people crying out for a hero to save the box office, but he may not necessarily be the one to do the job. From Friday to Sunday, the action movie pulled in an estimated $52.1 million. (Since Wednesday, the film has pulled in an estimated $84.2 million) Meanwhile, The Devil Wears Prada came *this* close to matching our prediction by pulling in an estimated $27 million. The weekend according to the calendar may be done, but as far as Hollywood goes, it's just passed the halfway mark. Due to July 4 falling on a Tuesday, the box office weekend has been extended. As a result, expect a special mid-week "At the Box Office" during The Weekend Preview, which is usually published Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

(Source: BoxOfficeMojo)

The Delta Institute Newsblog:
Consumer confidence is up, but spending is expected to be kept to a minimum over the summer. (Read)
On the Weekend Preview, we compared Meryl Streep's Prada character to Cruella De Vil. Hopefully we don't think of a Disney character to compare Johnny Depp to for next week's edition. (Read)
The re-designed Freedom Tower was unveiled, and it's even shinier than before! Though we can't help but wonder how much Windex it will take to clean the building each year. (Read)
We took at look at the Annie E. Casey Foundation report on safety for American children, and the findings are incredible. (Read)
French lawmakers approved a law against Apple's iTunes, sparking even more debate in the digital rights movement. (Read)
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are now legally single. Don't worry if you find yourself weeping in public; we're all trying to move past this. (Read)
It's a chocolate factory, but without Willy Wonka! And no plans to include Oompa-Loompa's! Be... excited? (Read)

The Epsilon Institute:
The Spider-Man 3 teaser goes live, but if you haven't watched it yet, don't worry; you have a full year to watch it before the film comes out. (Read)
We set up a poll asking for viewer input concerning the future direction of the Institute. Here at the Delta Institute Newsblog, not only did we give the site new graphics (ie, "fresh paint"), but we also widened the site in order to fill out most browsers. (Sorry, 800x600'ers...) So while I'm trying to find the right art scheme for Epsilon, please send in your input! Trust me, it'll help. (Read)

And that's it for this week's edition of The Weekend Recap. Thanks for clicking on, and come back throughout the week for more updates on news, stocks, entertainment, sociological studies, and more!