Dow Jones Kicks Off Short Week Sailing on U.S. Home Sales' High and These Stories

Garrett Baldwin

Welcome back from vacation.

The Dow Jones jumped Friday after new home sales in the United States surged to a three-and-a-half-year high. The S&P 500 closed above 1,900 for the first time ever.

Here's what you should know in Dow Jones and other market news to make your Tuesday profitable:

• The Biggest Prize of 2014: Leaders of the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are attempting to court Alibaba Inc. executives to gain the company's listing rights ahead of its pending initial public offering. Speculators believe the NYSE leads the deliberations, while the Nasdaq is still reeling from concerns created by the $15 billion Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) IPO, which faced technical difficulties during its opening.

• The Mega Energy Deal: The Financial Times reports that China instructed its state-owned companies to sever links with American consulting firms like The Boston Consulting Group (NYSE: BCG) and McKinsey & Company. The announcement comes days after the United States charged five Chinese military officers with cyber hacking U.S. companies. Chinese leaders surmise that these companies may have given trade secrets to the U.S. government.

• The Deal Finally Dies: On Monday, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) walked away from its final offer to purchase AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) for $118 billion. This officially ends the company's long goal of merging with the British pharmaceutical giant. Pfizer said it likely will not make another offer.

• House of the Future: Keeping up with the boom in the "Internet of Things," Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is planning to offer software that will turn its iPhone into a remote control to use around the home. The software would provide users with control over lights, appliance, air conditioning, and security systems. AAPL will unveil its plans at its Worldwide Developer Conference next week, according to The Financial Times.

• Undercutting Its Rival: In an attempt to appease French regulators, Siemens AG (OTC: SIEGY) will likely offer roughly 7 billion euros and its rail assets in exchange for Alstom's energy division. Reuters reports that the offer places a value higher than its rival General Electric's (NYSE: GE) bid and offers strategic assets in the deal, along with cash.

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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