Hawkish Federal Reserve chair contender and former Clinton Treasury chief Larry Summers withdrew his name from the race to succeed Ben Bernanke yesterday, and markets worldwide have been doing the happy dance ever since. With current Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen looking more like a shoe-in, fears of an immediate "tapering" of easy-money policies are fading fast on the eve of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting.
By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Index (^DJI 0.67%) had jumped 160 points, while the S&P 500 logged a more than 15-point rise.
Aerospace soars
Boeing (BA 0.39%) continues its flight skyward as it grows ever closer to that nearly $8 billion fighter-jet contract with South Korea. Another problem with the company's Dreamliner cropped up last night, when a Norwegian Air Shuttle was delayed due to hydraulic pump issues, causing 70 passengers to lose their spots on the flight as concerns surfaced regarding flying at full weight.
Still, Boeing scored a note from Sterne Agee earlier this morning, as the analyst firm confirmed its "buy" rating, with a price target hike thrown in based on the company's impressive backlog.
Financials in the green -- for now
Both Bank of America (BAC 2.06%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 1.94%) are looking bubbly today despite some distressing news in the mergers-and-acquisition realm. The two banks, along with soon-to-debut Dow component Goldman Sachs, are watching the Rue21 buyout deal crumble as the $1.1 billion in debt gets snubbed by investors.
Apparently, poor retail apparel sales spooked buyers of the debt, and the banks might get stuck with it -- besides losing out on lucrative fees. The buyout deal of the teen apparel retailer doesn't close until Oct. 14, but according to the New York Post, a successful outcome for the big banks looks doubtful.
