Today's Stock Market News Led by GM, AMZN, and AGN

Garrett Baldwin

Stock market news, June 10, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at another record high – its 10th of the year – today after adding 2.82 points. The Dow was down most of the day, but rallied in the last hour. U.S. crude oil futures flirted with $105 per barrel.

Here's the scorecard from today's trading session:

Dow Jones: 16,945.92, +2.82 (0.02%)
S&P 500: 1,950.80, -0.47 (0.02%)
Nasdaq: 4,338.00, +1.75 (0.04%)

Here's what topped today's stock market news:

• Another Amazon Play: In an effort to take on Angie's List Inc. (Nasdaq: ANGI) and Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) will be launching its own marketplace for local products and services, according to Reuters. Amazon users will be able to obtain babysitters, handymen, and other home services. The move parallels the company's local grocery service, Amazon Fresh, which expanded across the West Coast this year after market testing.
• The Deal That Isn't: Shares of Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) slipped marginally after the company rejected another takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) and activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management.
• Recall Problems Continue: Mary Barra, the chief executive officer of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), announced today that the total number of auto accidents and fatalities could rise in its defective ignition switch investigation. The company is currently awaiting the results of an independent compensation plan. The CEO spoke to just 29 shareholders today at its annual Detroit meeting, where Barra explained her decision to remove 15 employees over the ignition switch problems.
• Millionaires Club: According to Boston Consulting Group, the U.S. Federal Reserve stimulus package did a lot more than just reduce the U.S. unemployment rate. The world also added 2.6 million new millionaire households in 2013, which represents a 19% increase. With the S&P 500 rising by 30%, new wealth boomed.
• The Snapchat Killer: Select iPhone users in Russia and New Zealand accidentally received Facebook Inc.'s (NYSE: FB) new photo application. The new application, nicknamed Slingshot, was developed to directly counter Snapchat. Facebook developed the new app after Snapchat rejected a $3 billion offer for the company last November. Facebook has not announced when it will officially release the new application.
• Tax Trouble: Irish state broadcaster RTE reports that the European Commission plans to launch an investigation this week into Ireland and Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) tax agreements. This is the second investigation of Apple's tax arrangement. Last year, a U.S. Senate committee discovered that Apple has been able to reduce its tax bill in the billions by registering its operations in the Irish city of Cork.

Now our experts share some of the most important investment moves to make based on today's market trading – for Money Morning Members only:

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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