Dow Jones Industrial Average today, June 17, 2014: The stock market close on Monday found the Dow Jones Industrial Average in positive territory after a late rally pushed stocks higher. The markets had been trading down through midday, as concerns over the crisis in Iraq continued to mount.
Now here are the top stories to know to make your Tuesday profitable:
The FOMC Meeting Kicks Off: The Federal Open Market Committee kicks off its fourth annual meeting today. Though the greater focus for the last year has centered on the Central Bank's efforts to taper its stimulus program, investors are now looking for any hint at when the Fed will raise interest rates.
Elsewhere on the Hill: The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing today on the impact of high-frequency trading on the financial markets. The hearing will feature a number of star witnesses, including Bradley Katsuyama, president and chief executive officer of IEX Group. Katsuyama was a central protagonist in Michael Lewis's book "Flash Boys," which stirred controversy this year after arguing that high-frequency trading rigs the markets.
Gold and Oil Prices: Gold and oil prices slipped this morning on news that the United States is working with Iran to address the Sunni insurrection in Iraq. The news is a rare sign of cooperation between the two nations. The announcement comes while the two nations are about to launch a new round of nuclear negotiations in Vienna this week. Our energy expert Dr. Kent Moors gave readers a complete analysis of what the events out of Iraq mean for U.S. consumers and investors - get that insight here.
France Wants More: The French government has demanded a higher price and greater employment concessions from any potential suitor of the nation's largest engineering company Alstom SA(EPA: ALO). The government has urged bidding companies like General Electric Co.(NYSE: GE) and Siemens AG (OTCMKTS ADR: SIEGY) to produce stronger offers, including guarantees protecting jobs in France. Siemens has presented a joint offer with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that values Alstom's power business at 14.2 billion euros ($19.3 billion). General Electric's current offer sits at 12.4 billion euros ($16.8 billion).
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South American Slump: The Argentine stock market crashed by 12% on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case on the nation's sovereign debts to hedge fund managers. The case dates back to the nation's 2001-2002 default. At the time, a number of hedge funds that owned Argentine debt refused to take a haircut when the debts were refinanced between 2005 and 2010. After a lower court in the United States decided that Argentina had to pay every dollar on the holdouts' debts, the country appealed to the U.S. Supreme court. The decision by the Court to deny a hearing affirms the lower court ruling, which sent shockwaves through the nation's economy and led to a stock market decline of more than 10% yesterday.
It's Settled: Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) are up in pre-market trading on news that the company finally reached a legal settlement after the company allegedly overcharged its e-book customers by more than $280 million. Terms of the agreement are sealed, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, the agreement is much lower than the original $840 million sought by the plaintiffs, who argued the company should pay a penalty equal to three times the overcharge.
Another Day, Another Recall: In 2014, General Motors Co.(NYSE: GM) has recalled 20 million cars. To put that into perspective, that amount is higher than the total number of vehicles sold in 2013 in the entire U.S. auto industry. And on Monday, it just got worse for the automaker. GM recalled another 3.36 million cars for problems related to ignition switch malfunctions that have factored in the deaths of at least 13 people. This move doubles the number of cars affected by the recall pertaining to this malfunction.
Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Adobe Systems Inc.(Nasdaq: ADBE), FactSet Research Systems Inc.(NYSE: FDS), and La-Z-Boy Inc.(NYSE: LZB).
Today's Economic Calendar: Today's schedule features Housing Starts, the Redbook, and the ICSC Goldman Store Sales update.
Full U.S. Economic Calendar June 17, 2014
ICSC-Goldman Store Sales at 7:45 a.m.
Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m.
Housing Starts at 8:30 a.m.
Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
4-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
Even though the government is telling us that inflation is low, product prices continue to rise at an inexorable rate. And this "hidden" inflation could wipe out your small returns...
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.