Janet Yellen Fed Nomination Calms Markets
By JOHN KAPETANEAS
President Obama will nominate Janet Yellen for Fed chairman. The announcement, set to come at 3 p.m., is sending a positive vibe throughout the markets. Dow, S&P and NASDAQ futures were all positive early Wednesday. Yellen, who served as Ben Bernanke's vice chairman, has popularly been viewed as the originator of the Fed's unprecedented stimulus program. She would be the first female chairman in Fed history.
US stocks continued to fall on Tuesday, as the government shutdown enters day 9. More than 800,000 workers remained furloughed for the second straight week. The Dow tumbled 159 points by Tuesday's close, its largest single-day drop since the shutdown began. Gold fell 1 percent to $1,311 an ounce. Crude oil remained unchanged at $103. Meanwhile, European and Asian markets have shown mixed reactions. Markets in Japan and Shanghai were positive Wednesday, while markets in the UK and Hong Kong fell into the red.
Men's retailer Jos A. Bank bids for Men's Warehouse. A non-binding offer of $48 per share places a $2.3 billion price tag on the company. Men's Warehouse famously ousted its founder George Zimmer this past June; Zimmer was the longtime commercial face of the company.
Aluminum giant Alcoa beat earnings estimates Tuesday, marking a positive start for the earnings season. Other companies releasing reports this week: Costco (Wed), Marriott (Thur), Safeway (Thur), JP Morgan Chase (Fri), & Wells Fargo (Fri).