Today's pre-market trading report, March 12, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.41%, closing at 16,351.25. The Nasdaq slipped 0.63% to close at 4,307.19. The S&P 500 dropped 0.51% to finish at 1,867.63.
Here are the top five stories to watch today and how they're moving markets:
Five Biggest Stories in Today's Stock Market, March 12, 2014
So Long, New Jersey: The world's hottest auto company is leaving the Garden State. Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) announced it will stop selling cars in New Jersey after the state's Motor Vehicle Commission banned the company's strategy of direct-to-consumer sales. This is the third state (Arizona, Texas) demanding the company sell cars through "dealerships." Tesla refuses to follow the order and aims to pull out of the market on April 1. This means Tesla won't directly access one of country's most lucrative luxury automobile markets. Tesla stock is down in premarket trading by more than 1%.
Road Safety Concerns: On Tuesday, shares of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) cratered by more than 5% after Congress and the U.S. Justice Department increased a probe into the company's 1.6-million-vehicle recall. The government has demanded years of documents and incident reports from ignition switch problems that have dogged the company for a decade and caused 12 deaths. Congress has given GM CEO Mary Barra and David Friedman, the current head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, just two weeks to reply to the request.
You're Gonna Like the Way This Looks: After months of drama over the right deal in men's clothing, Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) announced plans to buy Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.(Nasdaq: JOSB)in a deal worth nearly $1.8 billion. Jos. A. Bank will receive $65 per share, a 5% premium to its most recent closing price. As part of the deal, Jos. A. Bank will terminate its plan to buy outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer.
"Executives" Getting a Raise: The New York Times reports that President Obama aims to require American companies to pay more overtime to U.S. workers in an effort to address wage stagnation at a time of soaring corporate profits. According to the report, Obama will direct the Labor Department on Thursday to overhaul regulations that require increased "overtime pay for several million additional fast-food managers, loan officers, computer technicians, and others whom many businesses currently classify as 'executive or professional' employees to avoid paying them overtime."
The S&P 500... and One: Standard & Poor's will revise policies to address the pending stock split of Google Inc.(Nasdaq: GOOG) into two classes of stock. In a reversal of its June 20 decision, Google can now keep both stock classes on the S&P index. Historically, the exchange has only allowed companies to have only one share type in its market indicators. However, the coming split of Google stock will allow the company to have more than one representation. The S&P 500 will still have 500 companies, but more than 500 stocks on the index.
Note:The Fed's 2014 taper means volatility ahead. So we've outlined how to find profits in a volatile market - like triple-digit gains in just days - if you start with this strategy...
U.S. Economic Calendar March 12, 2014
MBA Purchase Applications at 7 a.m.
Quarterly Services Survey at 10 a.m.
EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.
10-Yr Note Auction at 1 p.m.
Treasury Budget at 2 p.m.
Key Companies Reporting Earnings March 12, 2014
Consensus earnings per share for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is $0.13.
Consensus earnings per share for Dresser-Rand Group Inc. (NYSE: DRC) is $1.29.
Consensus earnings per share for Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) is $0.59.
Consensus earnings per share for Raven Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: RAVN) is $0.32.
Consensus earnings per share for Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (Nasdaq: AXAS) is $0.04.
Consensus earnings per share for Broadwind Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: BWEN) is $-0.16.
Others Reporting Earnings
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM), Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN), CHC Group Ltd. (CHC), Taomee Holdings Limited (TAOM), Amedisys Inc. (AMED)
This stock has a huge profit opportunity ahead of it, and you're going to want to buy shares now... before Google does.
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.