GSK, YHOO, DE, and NFLX Are Today's Pre-Market Movers

Pre-market movers today, May 14, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a new closing record on Tuesday of 16,715.44. The S&P 500 hit a record intraday high, touching over 1,900 for the first time ever.

Here's what to know about the stock market today to make your Wednesday profitable:

  • Bribery Accusations: This morning, China's Ministry of Public Security accused GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) of an extensive bribery scheme to drive sales across the nation. Mark Reiley, who runs the company's sales operation in China, has been accused of earning billions of dollars by bribing doctors and healthcare organizations. Details of the alleged scheme will likely come into greater focus this afternoon.
  • The New Cable Giant: According to reports, Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) has purchased Blink, an instant messaging app that allows users to destroy messages. Though no terms of the detail are available, Blink provides Yahoo a strategic entry into the mobile phone sector.
  • Premarket Movers

  • Today's Economic Calendar: Another light calendar day features inflation expectations at 10 a.m. and the petroleum status reports in the afternoon.
  • Employment Conditions Improving: The Office of National Statistics in London announced that the U.K. unemployment rate has struck a five-year low. The unemployment rate fell to 6.8% in the first quarter, down from 6.9% in February.
  • Deere Downer: This morning, Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) announced that its fiscal second-quarter profits slipped by 9.5%. The company said that its equipment sales fell, and it might not improve anytime soon. The company expects international agricultural-equipment sales to fall by at least 4% this quarter. Shares of Deere are down by a little more than 1% in early morning trading.
  • The Boom Continues: U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced that the federal government could curb regulations that ban the export of crude oil. Due to the surge in oil production from major shale fields, a glut of oil has pushed many oil executives to lobby Congress for the right to export fuels. With West Texas Intermediate prices trading at a discount to Brent Crude, domestic prices would likely rise if the export ban is lifted

  • Privacy Problems: According to the Associated Press, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) continues to drive the largest share of data usage by Americans. Over the first four months of 2014, the company again increased its share of fixed-line Internet traffic in North America and now accounts for 34% of all customer data during peak hours. This is an increase from 32% over the second half of 2013.
  • Eastern Expansion: Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been pulled into a legal mess. A federal judge ruled that Geithner must hand over notes and documents to Standard and Poor's. The ratings agency claims that the federal government sued it for civil fraud in 2013 in retaliation for downgrading the nation's debt for the first time ever.
  • Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), Pinnacle Foods Inc. (NYSE: PF), InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC), GasLog Ltd. (NYSE: GLOG), Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG), and SodaStream International Ltd. (Nasdaq: SODA).

Full U.S. Economic Calendar May 14, 2014

  • MBA Purchase Applications at 7 a.m.
  • PPI-FD at 8:30 a.m.
  • Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations at 10 a.m.
  • EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.

Now: This 13th century tool can make you serious money today...

About the Author

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.

Read full bio