The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.17%) has begun to sink into the red an hour or so before noon, despite some pretty good economic reports and a moderate tone on the Federal Reserve's QE3 taper plans by the president of the St. Louis Fed.
James Bullard spoke about the taper this morning on CNBC, reiterating the Fed's position that tapering of the open-ended bond-buying program known as QE3 would be dependent upon economic data considered by the Federal Open Markets Committee at its scheduled meetings. Bullard pooh-poohed fears that the monetary easing program will cause a spike in inflation, and said that the Fed can afford to be patient concerning the timing of the taper.
The market seemed soothed for a short time after this interview, and perked up a bit more when the Census Bureau announced that September's factory orders increased 1.7%, after falling for two months in a row. The effect didn't last, however, and the Dow sunk by 0.12% by late morning.
Big banks up -- and down
The Dow big bank components are mixed today, as Goldman Sachs (GS -1.00%) enjoys some investor love while JPMorgan Chase (JPM -1.14%) pulls a pout.
Although both banks are involved in the Twitter initial public offering, Goldman's 38.5% cut of the IPO proceeds makes the share offering price hike sweet, indeed. The original price of $17 to $20 per share has been increased to $23 to $25, giving the social site a valuation of up to $13.6 billion, and the prospects of raising around $1.75 billion, according to Bloomberg. JPMorgan would see its payday increase as well, but, at only 15% of the take, certainly not to the same extent as Goldman Sachs'.
In other news, The Financial Times reported over the weekend that JPMorgan Chase is feeling pressured again -- though this time it is by investors, not regulators. The bank's JPMorgan Asset Management division is rejiggering its fee structure, after international investors griped about performance fees on funds that did not outperform benchmarks. A bank spokesman noted that the unit will now account for volatility in its funds by charging fees on a three-year basis, which will take periods of subpar performance into account.
