Dow Jones Industrial Average Gains 146 Points; Here's Your Top News

Garrett Baldwin

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146 points to finish at 16,173.24. The Nasdaq increased by 22 points to finish at 4,022.69, while the S&P 500 added 14 points to end the day at 1,830.61.

The U.S. markets jumped on Monday, after stronger than expected retail data overshadowed concerns about geopolitical problems in Ukraine. U.S. retail sales ticked up 1.1% in March to a seasonally adjusted $433.9 billion, according to the Commerce Department. This was the largest monthly gain in retail sales since September 2012.

Here's a recap of today's major stories.

1. Citi Shines: Despite intensifying regulatory concerns, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported a jump in net income for the first quarter of 4%, roughly $3.9 billion, or $1.23 a share. Analysts expected $1.14 per share. Citigroup said that its international businesses helped contribute to its earnings report, although its Mexico affiliate is now under an intensive fraud investigation. Today's announcement is the start of a very busy reporting week that includes notable companies like The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO).
2. The Verdict Is In: Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) zoomed 14% today after a court ruling stopped its competitor Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) from selling its CoreValve System in the United States. The court found that the CoreValve System, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this year, infringed on Edwards Lifesciences' patents. Both companies are rivals in a $3 billion per year market for heart valves that can be installed without open-heart surgery.
3. Deficit Disorder: What's a half a trillion in deficits? This morning, theCongressional Budget Office trimmed its deficit estimate for the fiscal year by $23 billion. Despite the minor haircut, the United States will still run a deficit of $492 billion. The CBO also said that public debt held by the U.S. public will increase to 78% of gross domestic product by 2024, up from 72% in 2013. In 2013, the U.S. yearly deficit hit $680 billion.

Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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