Dow Jones Today: Energy and Pharma Mergers Top News

Garrett Baldwin

Dow Jones today, July 14, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied late on Friday after a surge by tech stocks overshadowed growing banking concerns in Portugal. This week, earnings season kicks into high gear with a handful of the nation's largest banks reporting. The markets are also highly anticipating a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday, as we continue to watch for signs that the central bank will increase interest rates.

Here are the top stories that will be impacting the Dow Jones today:

• Bakken Boom: In a deal that will make the company the Bakken's largest energy producer, Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) announced plans to purchase Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: KOG) for $3.8 billion in stock and roughly $2.2 billion in debt. The $6 billion deal will create a company that produces roughly 107,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent.

• Banks Behaving Badly: Reports indicate that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) agreed to pay $7 billion in a settlement with U.S. regulators over mortgage-backed securities it sold prior to the 2008 financial crisis. The company's deal requires approximately $2.5 billion in consumer relief, a payment of $4 billion to the Justice Department, nearly $300 million to state attorneys general and about $200 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The company will announce its quarterly earnings today.

• Merger Mania: The New York Times reports that the board of Irish drug maker Shire Plc. (NYSE ADR: SHPG) will likely approve an improved takeover bid of more than $53 billion from AbbVie Inc. (Nasdaq: ABBV).

• Deal Day: Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) were up more than 2% in premarket hours on news that the company would sell its branded generics pharmaceuticals business to Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL) for $5.3 billion. The deal would create a newly traded public company in which Abbott would obtain ownership of roughly 21%.

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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