Stocks Spring on Tech Bounce-Back

Summary of business headlines: Stocks inch higher; $ menu pays for McDonalds; Honeywell warns; Ingersoll-Rand spin-off; Strauss-Kahn settlement.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

Finance

Topics

United States, World

People

Dominique Strauss Kahn, Max Wolff, Carl Icahn

Places

United States of America, France, Germany, Italy, Europe, United Kingdom

Companies

McDonald's Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Ingersoll Rand, Intermec

Transcript

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL U.S. stocks inched higher on Monday- thanks to a move up in technology shares- including Cisco systems and Hewlett Packard. There are rumors activist investor Carl Icahn is building a stake in the PC maker. But overall stock market gains were minimal- and will remain in check according to Max Wolff of Greencrest Capital: SOUNDBITE: MAX WOLFF, CHIEF ECONOMIST, GREENCREST CAPITAL (ENGLISH) SAYING: "What's driving markets I think are fears about the fiscal cliff especially as the date approaches without any major breakthrough to say the least. And I think a lot of rebalancing, a lot of decisions being made in light of next year's likely higher tax rates. " A rise in McDonald's shares helped lift the Dow after the fast food giant posted strong sales results. A new focus on low-priced menu options helped the company bounce back from a decline in October. Honeywell delivered a weaker than expected 2013 profit forecast. The company also announced it's buying mobile computing device maker Intermec for $600 million dollars. Ingersoll-Rand says it will spin off its security business to form a new stand-alone company. It also is buying back two billion dollars of its own shares. Filling up the car won't drain your wallet as much. The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. fell 10 cents over the past three weeks to a national average of $3.38 a gallon according to the latest Lundberg Survey. The drop being attributed to a decline in crude oil prices as refineries boost output. Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assualt at a New York hotel settled a civil lawsuit. Terms of the deal remain confidential. The accusation resulted in his resignation from the IMF and ended his hopes of running for President of his native France. In Europe, shares closed higher in Germany, France and the UK after political turmoil in Italy prompted a flight to safety.