Dow today, July 30, 2014: U.S. markets were mixed Tuesday, with Europe and the United States expanding sanctions against Russian interests, and sales of new single-family homes dipping in May. Investors anxiously await the conclusion of the two-day Fed Open Market Committee meeting later this afternoon, as the central bank could provide some insight into plans on interest rates and updates on the conclusion of stimulus efforts.
Here's what you should know to make your Wednesday profitable:
Earnings Bonanza: Shares of Twitter Inc.(NYSE: TWTR) soared 26% on Tuesday evening and in premarket hours after the company surprised Wall Street and beat second-quarter earnings estimates. The company can thank the 2014 World Cup for a strong quarter, but growth concerns remain central moving forward. The microblogging site showed revenues of $312.2 million, or $0.02 per share. That beat expectations of $283 million, and a per-share loss of $0.01.
Dollar Dissolving: After earning more than $175 million in just a few short weeks, activist investor Carl Icahn slashed his stake in Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) after the company announced it would be purchased by its rival Dollar Tree Inc. (Nasdaq: DLTR) for $8.5 billion. Icahn, who adamantly pushed for the merger, said he would take money off the table now instead of waiting for the merger to close.
Indian E-Com: In one of the world's most interesting emerging market profit races, Amazon.com Inc.(Nasdaq: AMZN) announced plans to invest $2 billion in India this year. The decision comes as domestic competition is on the rise from players like SnapDeal and Flipkart. The announcement comes the day after Flipkart announced it had raised $1 billion from investors, prompting Amazon to make a statement by upping the ante. The Indian e-commerce market is currently growing each year by 50%, according to Crisil Research, creating a gold rush for e-com companies eager to tap into the emerging market potential.
Game Changer: In a deal that The New York Times suggested could pave the way for fast-food unions, the National Labor Relations Board announced that fast-food chain McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is responsible for the working conditions of its franchisees. The board's decision states that even though the company's structure consists of 90% contractor franchise stores, they can be held liable for any violations in U.S. labor laws. The decision raises the stakes for companies that use subcontractors or temporary employees to deflect liability in agency relationships.
Slash and Cash Out: Shares of bio-pharmaceutical firm Amgen Inc.(Nasdaq: AMGN) popped more than 4.5% in premarket hours after the company announced during a conference call that it will slash its U.S. workforce by 15%. The company said it will fire up to 2,400 employees and close two Western plants in an effort to reduce $700 million from its operating costs.
Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Phillips 66(NYSE: PSX), Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D), Southern Co.(NYSE: SO), Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI), Sprint Corp.(NYSE: S), Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), Cenovus Energy Inc.(NYSE: CVE), Lorillard Inc.(NYSE: LO), Carlyle Group LP(NYSE: CG), Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), Kraft Foods Group Inc.(Nasdaq: KRFT), and Yelp Inc.(NYSE: YELP).
Today's Economic Calendar: Today's schedule includes the initial second-quarter GDP report, the ADP jobs report, and the FOMC announcement after the completion of this month's meeting.
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.