Dow Jones Industrial Average Rises Today on These Top Stories

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up on Monday despite the fact that a megadeal between the world’s leading drug companies has fallen through. Tech and small-cap stocks saw the strongest performances on the day.

Here are today’s closing numbers from the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,511.86, +0.12%
S&P 500: 1,885.08, +0.38%
Nasdaq: 4,125.81, +0.86%

Now here are the top stories from the stock market today: 

• The Deal Finally Dies: Shares of AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE ADR: AZN) slumped more than 11.5% after the British pharmaceutical company rejected Pfizer Inc.’s (NYSE: PFE) final offer of $118 billion. Despite Pfizer’s steep proposal hike over the weekend, AstraZeneca still believes the offer undervalues its operations, assets, and drug pipeline.

• It’s Still a Coin Toss: Despite news that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has confirmed its purchase of DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) for $86 billion, there’s still one sticking point that could sink the deal. According to the regulatory filing, AT&T has an opt-out clause that it can execute in the event that the satellite company is unable to renew its deal with the National Football League. The contract for the highly popular NFL Sunday Ticket feature of DirecTV expires at the end of the 2014-2015 season. DirecTV has paid more than $700 million per year to provide exclusive access to football games. This opt-out clause offers the NFL leverage in coming negotiations.

• Rates Set to Rise: San Francisco Fed President John Williams told an audience at the George W. Bush Presidential Center today that the central bank will aim to normalize U.S. monetary policy in the near future. Williams said he expects the Fed to raise interest rates sometime in 2015. “We're thinking seriously about, the time is coming, probably over the next year or so, when we are going to start raising interest rates,” Williams said.

• Buying Binge: The tech consolidation continues. Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL) announced plans to purchase Divide, a digital startup that allows companies to manage employee mobile devices. Terms of the deal are still pending, and no comment was offered by Google except for confirmation of the agreement. The Wall Street Journal also reported on Sunday that Google is in talks to acquire video-streaming service Twitch.

• Put Money in Your Pocket… And Send Wall Street on the Run: Most Main Street investors lack the knowledge to "decode" reports that favor banks and Washington insiders, so they also lack the power to respond in a constructive manner. Instead, most of us just react - panic, really – to the truth after it trickles out. Here's a better idea that will lead to profits...

• The Wolf Repays His Debts: Reuters reports that Jordan Belfort, author of the trading memoir “The Wolf of Wall Street,” could earn up to $100 million this year. Following the release of his book and its subsequent adaptation into a Martin Scorsese film, the Wolf said he expects to make more money in 2014 than any year he worked as a stockbroker. Belfort will use the money he earned to repay victims of his fraudulent schemes.

• You Can Make Money in Stocks (Especially These Three) No Matter What Rates Do: The three companies our Chief Investment Strategist is going to show you today can actually benefit from rising rates. So, let's take an "Econ 101" look with Keith Fitz-Gerald at the impact interest rates can have on stocks, especially when rates start rising... and how you can profit from this knowledge…

• This Energy Play Has Warren Buffett Playing Catch-Up. One of Buffett's newest forays has taken his Berkshire investment vehicle into the energy sector. But he wasn't the first to get there. We were. And it's paying off in a big way... This is a company you need to know…