DJIA Today Moving on GE, MS, MCD, and YUM News

Garrett Baldwin

DJIA today, July 21, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back on Friday, up more than 100 points following Thursday's 161-point drop. Geopolitical tensions remain high following the attack on a Malaysian jet airliner over Ukrainian skies Thursday morning and Israel's tactical launch inside Gaza.

The rebound on Friday suggests that investors are paying more attention to second-quarter earnings than events in Ukraine and Gaza.

Here's the news moving the DJIA today:

• Spin-Off Plans: Investors are ramping up interest in General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) pending initial public offering spin-off for its private-label credit card division. However, it's unclear whether investors will invest in a sector so closely linked to the tepid recovery in consumer spending. The IPO will sell roughly 15% of shares in GE's Synchrony and could raise up to $3.1 billion. Such a level would outpace the IPO of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) as the largest IPO in the financial sector for 2014.

• Commodities Return: Reuters reports that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) will restock its commodity trading units this summer. This comes less than two years after the company reduced its exposure and pulled away from commodity categories. According to reports, the investment bank will hire nearly a dozen traders and sales professionals to rebuild its commodity business.

• IPO of the Year: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) announced it would engage its initial public offering after the September 1st Labor Day holiday. MarketWatch reports that an insider said the company didn't want to rush its launch in August, a period when IPO activity and market news slows. The IPO is expected to reach $20 billion, making it the largest tech IPO deal ever.

• Health Concerns: Two American fast food chains are facing public relations crises after both allegedly sold products that used expired meat from a processor at locations in China. The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) froze operations of Shanghai Husi Food Co., a processor that is suspected of selling expired meat to McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) locations and Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) KFC and Pizza Hut stores.

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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