Stock Market Today Readies Itself for Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) IPO

Stock market today, September 2, 2014: U.S. markets closed on Friday in the black. The S&P 500 sustained its gains last week, finishing the day above the vaunted 2,000 level. With U.S. markets closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day, investors will look forward to a heavy week of economic data, including the all-important August jobs report.

On the global front, geopolitical problems continue to evolve in Ukraine as Russian troops entered through the eastern border last week. New reports have placed Kazakhstan on high alert of future Russian pressure, heightening tensions between the Kremlin and the West. On Monday, investors placed a greater emphasis on actions of the European Central Bank (ECB) and whether Mario Draghi and his cohorts will begin an unprecedented stimulus program to stave off threats of regional deflation. Asian stocks dipped while the Euro fell to a near 12-month low.

Here's what you should know to make your Tuesday profitable:

• The IPO of the Year: The Wall Street Journal reports that the initial public offering process of the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) could launch as soon as next week. The newspaper reports that public trading on the New York Stock Exchange could begin by Sept. 18 or 19. The Chinese e-commerce company is likely to carry a market cap as high as $130 billion. Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), which owns a 24% share in the company, are up 0.8% this morning as the IPO approaches.

• NFC Growth: Reuters reports that tech giant Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) will be partnering with several major credit-card processors to enable the iPhone as a primary source of payment for users. It has been a long path for near-field communications, but the iPhone 6 is gearing up to be an important tool for retail purchases and banking. The report indicates that Apple will partner with American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA), and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V).

• The Electric Boom: Shares of electric car manufacturer Telsa Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) hit a new intraday high last week on news the company has forged an agreement to build 400 charging stations in China. The company is working with China United Network to build the stations in 120 Chinese cities at the outlets of China Telecom. The news is a boost for the market, where concerns over a lack of charging stations has affected the company's sales forecasts in the nation.

• Merger Mania: Shares of Iliad SA (OTCMKTS: ILIAY) are poised to slide downward today on news that the company is working with U.S. buyout firms and sovereign wealth funds to put together another bid for the U.S.'s fourth-largest telecommunications firm T-Mobile U.S. Inc. (NYSE: TMUS). The French telecom company had offered $35 per share, but the proposal was rejected. An offer is now expected between $35 and $40 if Iliad is able to put together a team to bid on the telecom target.

• Sneaker Wars: The battle between Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) and Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) over the endorsement rights of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant has ended, with a decisive win for Nike. Over the weekend, Durant and Nike announced an 11th-hour agreement worth up to $300 million over the next 10 years. Nike matched Under Armour's $265 million to $285 million offer, and added a number of incentives that keeps Durant as part of Nike's key endorsers for the next decade.

• Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Sparton Corp. (NYSE: SPA), Pike Corp. (NYSE: PIKE), Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE:  GWRE), Box Ships Inc. (NYSE:  TEU) and Conn's Inc. (Nasdaq: CONN).
• Today's Economic Calendar: Today's schedule features the ISM Manufacturing Index, Global Manufacturing PMI, an update on U.S. construction spending, and the Gallup U.S. Consumer Spending Measure.

Full U.S. Economic Calendar September 2, 2014:

• Gallup US Consumer Spending Measure at 8:30 a.m.
• PMI Manufacturing Index at 9:45 a.m.
• ISM Manufacturing Index at 10 a.m.
• Construction Spending at 10 a.m.
• Global Manufacturing PMI at 11 a.m.
• 4-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
• 3-Month Bill Auction at 11 a.m.
• 6-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
• Gallup US ECI at 1 p.m.

Now: Our country is no longer a free market, capitalist republic. America has devolved into a socialist plutocracy as a result of the "financialization" of the economy. There's only one way out of this downward spiral...

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