Janet Yellen took the podium at a press conference yesterday, where she said that interest rates could increase six months after the Fed finishes tapering down its quantitative easing program. At the current tapering rate, that would mean increased interest rates in early-to-mid 2015. The market promptly fell 1.3% on the news.
In today's installment of Investor Beat, host Alison Southwick and Motley Fool analyst Tim Hanson break down the press conference and the reaction, and discuss why this is all likely more market madness, that long-term Foolish investors can safely ignore.
Then, a look at two stocks making moves on the market today. FedEx is down today after the company announced quarterly earnings. The the CEO stated, among other things, that some of the blame for the quarter was on online retailers, who were sloppy and didn't attach labels correctly. Meanwhile, Tesla Motors is making progress when it comes to battling states for the right to sell directly to customers. An Arizona senate panel voted to allow the company to bypass dealers and sell directly to customers. The decision may be partly motivated by Arizona's desire to become the home of Tesla's new multi-billion dollar "gigabattery" facility.
And finally, in today's earnings report from Nike, it may become official that Nike has finally edged Adidas out of the No. 1 spot in European market share. Tim discusses why he'll be watching today's earnings report from Nike closely, and why he thinks it should be a great report.
