Stock market today, June 9, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another record on Monday, while the S&P 500 rose even closer to the 2,000 level. Markets are still reacting positively to last week's jobs report and expected stimulus measures by the European Central Bank.
Here's the scorecard from today's trading session:
Hastings' Job Is Safe: Shareholders of Netflix Inc.(Nasdaq: NFLX) voted against a resolution that would split the chairman of the board and chief executive officer positions in the company. Many shareholders have complained about the company's ability to manage corporate governance. Company Founder Reed Hastings has held both positions since the company launched in 2002.
The Student Loan Bailout: With the United States now facing more than $1 trillion in student loan debt, U.S. President Barack Obama will issue an executive order tonight that will cap students' federal loan payments. In an effort to make it easier for Americans to repay their debts, loans can be capped at 10% of monthly income. The plan will affect 5 million borrowers and will go into effect in December 2015.
Poisonous Planning: In an effort to prevent a hostile takeover, Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) adopted a one-year "poison pill," also known as a shareholder rights plan. The announcement comes two days after Carl Icahn officially reported that he had taken a 9.39% stake in the discount retailer. Icahn is now the company's largest shareholder and has publicly stated that he might push for a merger with its primary competitor Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG). Shares of Dollar General soared more than 7% on the day.
A Frothy Ride: Shares of McDonald's Corp.(NYSE: MCD) slipped marginally on news that the company saw another month of weak sales in the U.S. markets. Despite some growth in Europe and China, sales slipped by nearly 1% in May.
An Apple a Day: Shares of Apple Inc.(Nasdaq: AAPL) opened this morning under $100 for the first time since 2009, after the company issued a 7-for-1 stock split. The stock raised nearly 2% today on very heavy volume. This was the company's first stock split in more than nine years.
Now our experts share some of the most important investment moves to make based on today's market trading - for Money Morning Members only:
Profit Massively from This "Margin Call" on American Homeowners: Get ready. There's more trouble ahead for home buyers, home builders, and especially homeowners who took out home-equity lines of credit before the housing crisis. Here's your chance to protect yourself today...
This "Boring" George Soros Play Could Double (Again): Good investing is boring. But "boring" is also the best strategy to ensure low risk with high upside if you're willing to put your money to work and just wait it out. That's why we believe this stock could be a big, big winner...
This Is Like Investing in China... In 1980: A potential sea change is underway in India. And with a new, impressive prime minister and a burgeoning consumer population, they're setting up as the next economic miracle... Here's how to make big profits from this nation's coming surge...
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.