Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Climbs as Yellen Floats "High-Pressure Economy"

Garrett Baldwin

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed higher after a slate of earnings reports from prominent financial firms and traders absorbed statements from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The Fed leader argued that the central bank could allow inflation to run uncontrolled for a little while, stating that the central bank may want to consider operating a "high-pressure economy."

The statement came on the same day that two other Fed officials offered little insight into the timing of an interest rate hike.

Let's look at the final numbers on Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones: 18,138.38; +39.44; +0.22%

S&P 500: 2,132.98; +0.43; +0.02%

Nasdaq: 5,214.16; +0.83; +0.02%

Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Monday's economic calendar.

DJIA Today: Dow Gains After Janet Yellen Speech

The Dow Jones rallied today after Fed Chair Janet Yellen made no statements on the timing of the next interest rate hike in a speech featuring 25 uses of the word "recession."

In today's speech, Yellen discussed the possibility of more unconventional tools to prevent an economic downturn (translation: "We're throwing everything at the wall.").

Trending: When Is the Next Fed Meeting on Interest Rates?

It's no surprise, given that the Fed and other central banks around the globe are creating immense threats that are staring every investor in the eye, but too many are choosing to ignore them. When the dust settles, only one currency will be worth owning, and there's never been a better time to own it than right now. Read all about this global currency and start profiting – and protecting yourself – right away.

The price of crude oil today pushed lower after Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) reported another increase in the U.S. rig count. This is the 15th week out of 16 weeks that U.S. production platforms have increased. The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.7%, while the Brent crude oil price dipped 0.7%.

But the big story today was the blood-letting at Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB). According to Reuters, the firm's CFO informed his staff a few weeks ago that DB could double its layoff figures. Last month, the firm said it will let go of 10,000 employees. Now, the total could top 20,000. Wall Street liked the announcement, as DB stock added 0.52%. Despite the recent optimism about the firm's capital and plans to bolster its defenses against a run on the bank, Money Morning advises investors to steer clear.

Top Stock Market News Today, Oct. 14, 2016

• It was another brutal day for microblogging giant Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR). Shares tumbled more than 6.5% on a report that Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) has decided it will not purchase the company.
• Shares of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) were off roughly 0.75% despite news that it will team with VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) to improve its standing in the competitive cloud-based server business. Despite the small downturn today, this is just the latest sign of the company's continued dominance in an ultra-lucrative space. Here's where AMZN stock is heading next.
• Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) fell more than 4% on news that the company is boosting its workforce reduction plans. The hardware manufacturer says it will slash at least 3,000 jobs and up to 4,000 over the next three years. The decision is part of a larger restructuring effort to reverse its struggling operations and address falling PC sales.
• Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) are struggling as the company reported quarterly earnings this morning. The WFC stock price fell 0.09% after reporting a small profit decline. The report comes just two days after the resignation of CEO John Stumpf, who has been replaced by COO Timothy Sloan. Despite the change of guard, the problems plaguing the company's culture still remain. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani weighs in on the problems with Wells Fargo, right here.
• Meanwhile, investment rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reported earnings this morning, and announced a huge jump in fixed-income revenue. The bank led by Jamie Dimon crushed expectations of earnings per share (EPS) of $1.40 on top of $23.97 billion in revenue. The firm reported $1.58 on $25.51 billion in revenue. JPM shares climbed 1.8%. The firm said its fixed-income revenue surged by 48%.
• Finally, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) traded higher again on positive news about its iPhone 7 launch, while its competitor Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: SSNLF) continues to slide. But it's not Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 problem that's fueling the AAPL stock rally or why it's going to hit $250 in the future – it's because of this one trend that investors are ignoring. Learn all about Apple's massive profit trend, right here.

Tuesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)

• Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 a.m.
• Industrial Production at 9:15 a.m.
• 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.
• Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer Speaks at 12 p.m.

Up Next: Get the Best Investing Research Today to Grow Your Money

Follow Money Morning on Facebook and Twitter

Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

Browse Garrett's articles | View Garrett's research services

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.

… Read full bio