Stock market today, Sept. 8, 2014: U.S. stock markets rallied Friday to end the week on a high note, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both logging their fifth consecutive weekly gains.
Although a lackluster jobs report indicates that hiring slowed in August, with the economy adding a meager 142,000 jobs, investors saw a silver lining in the eight-month hiring low: The structural weakness in the jobs sector likely means the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off on raising interest rates in the near term. The hiring markets received a boost over the weekend after supermarket giant Kroger Inc. (NYSE: KR) announced plans to hire more than 20,000 full-time employees.
On the international front, the United States and European nations plan to expand the sanctions against Russian companies to include three state-owned oil and gas firms, adding to a list set back in July. According to The Wall Street Journal, the sanctions will prevent these companies from raising capital of longer than 30-days maturity in Europe's capital markets. The sanctions will target oil transportation giant Transneft (OTCMKTS: TRNFF), the oil-production and refining arm of Gazprom OAO (OTCMKTS ADR: OGZPY), and Rosneft Oil Co. (OTCMKTS: RNFTF).
Here's what else you should know to make your Monday profitable:
- The IPO of the Year: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Inc. (NYSE: BABA) could unleash the largest initial public offering in market history on Sept. 19 as the company has officially filed its initial price range per share. Its filing with the Securities Exchange Commission reveals a price range between $60 and $66 per share - setting a likely target of cash raised to roughly $20 billion, while its market cap at the high-end would be roughly $166 billion. The company will officially kickoff its road show today. As part of an agreement, tech giant Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) plans to reduce its holdings in Alibaba from 22.4% to 16.3% when the Chinese tech giant goes public. The Alibaba IPO has drawn a lot of comparisons to Facebook Inc.'s (Nasdaq: FB) $16 billion IPO in 2012, but there's one clear winner between the two...
- Vroom Vroom: The future of driving will be safer and more interconnected than ever. Over the weekend, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra announced the company would begin producing its first vehicle with the ability to communicate with other cars on the road, in turn reducing traffic congestion and auto accidents. The company is also working to roll out technology that facilitates hands-free driving, at the same time the industry boosts usage of sensors, radar, and onboard cameras to improve driving conditions.
- The Big Reveal: Tech giant Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is looking to put last week's slump behind it and wow investors on Tuesday afternoon during a scheduled company event. Speculation is running rampant right now, but the company is expected to release details on the highly anticipated iPhone 6, the iWatch, and possibly a new retail payments strategy that could help the stock rebound from last week's slump. The company is still reeling from a highly publicized breach of its iCloud that led to the release of private photos of a number of Hollywood A-list stars.
- Merger Mania: The New York Times reports that Swedish household appliance manufacturer Electrolux AB (OTCMKTS ADR: ELUXY) will acquire the appliance business of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) for roughly $3.3 billion. Last month, General Electric said it was selling its appliance division in order to focus its strategy on industrial products like jet engines. According to terms of the deal, Electrolux will still manufacture products under the G.E. Appliances name, which is iconic for producing the first of certain household products like the toaster oven and the laundry washer and dryer.
- Another Big Deal: Shares of Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) were up more than 7% this morning on rumors that the company may be acquired by landline phone provider CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL). Terms of the deal have not been widely discussed, but Reuters reports that CenturyLink is looking to expand its presence in cloud computing.
- Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. (NYSE: PNY), FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL), and General Finance Corp. (Nasdaq: GFN).
- Today's Economic Calendar: Today's schedule features the consumer credit report and the TD Ameritrade IMX.
Full U.S. Economic Calendar Sept. 8, 2014
- 4-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 3-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- 6-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- TD Ameritrade IMX at 12:30 p.m.
- Consumer Credit at 3 p.m.
NOW: It's impossible not to recognize that there is a new energy crisis quickly developing in other parts of the world. Here's why the lack of energy shapes the world... And moves the markets.
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About the Author
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.