The decision of Lawrence Summers, the former National Council Economic Director, to withdraw his name among the list of individuals under consideration by the White House to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, propelled the stock markets in the United States to trade higher.
In his letter to President Barack Obama, Summers wrote, “I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interests of the Federal Reserve, the administration or ultimately, the interests of the nation’s ongoing economic recovery.”
President Barack Obama said his administration accepted Summers’ decision. He emphasized that Summers was a critical member of his team as the country faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. President Obama said, ”…his expertise, wisdom and leadership…wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today.” During the first term of Pres. Obama, Summers supervised the government’s response to the economic and financial crisis.
Meanwhile, President Obama criticized the Republicans for ignoring their responsibility to ensure economic growth and instead focusing on cutting government spending while the deficit is decreasing. In a speech, Pres Obama said, “Congress’s most fundamental job is passing a budget. And Congress needs to get it done without triggering another crisis, without shutting down our government, or worse, threatening not to pay this country’s bills.” He urged the Republican lawmakers to stop the sequestration or across-the-board automatic spending cuts.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- 15,494 (+0.77%)
- S&P 500- 1,697 (+0.57%)
- NASDAQ- 3,717 (+0.12%)
- Russell 2000- 1,055 (+0.17%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 2, 894 (-0.06%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,622 (+0.59%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 8,613 (+1.22%)
Asia Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 14, 404 (+0.12%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23, 252 (+1.47%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2, 478 (-0.42%)
Stocks In Focus
The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) gained nearly 4 percent to as much as $115.89 per share after Sternee Agee analyst Peter Arment said the shares of the aircraft manufacturer is a “must-own stock” and raised his price target from $120 to $164 per share. The company also announced that its Dreamliner 787-9, with tighter designs and manufacturing controls is ready to take off this week.
The stock price of Boise Inc. (NYSE:BZ) climbed by 26 percent to $12.55 per share after the company agreed to acquired by Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG) for $1.9995 billion including its outstanding liabilities worth $714 million. The shares of Packaging Corp also rose by nearly 11 percent to $60.41 per share due to the announcement.
Analysts at JP Morgan Securities upgraded their rating for the shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) from neutral to overweight, and raised their price target to $52 a share. According to the analysts, the maker of the Eliquis blood thinner is expected to grow at an average rate of 13 percent until 2020. The stock surged by almost 4 percent to $45.14 per share.
Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ:OMER) climbed by more than 68 percent to $8.56 per share after analysts at Wedbush increased their price target for the stock from $18 to $28 per share. This happened after their conversation with a high-volume cataract surgeon regarding the changing regulatory environment and the potential use of the company’s OMS302 topical solution. In addition, the company also reported that the Phase 1 clinical trial result of its OMS824 is positive.
