Last year, the mere mention of less stimulus dollars from the Federal Reserve had the power to send markets into fits of wailing and hand-wringing. On Wednesday, however, and despite GDP data suggesting that the US economy barely grew during the first quarter, the US central bank pressed ahead with cuts to its Treasury spending program, slicing off another $10 billion for the fourth consecutive month to $45 billion, a reduction that cuts the Quantitative Easing program to nearly half of what it was back in December.
The Dow edged to a new all-time finish by the closing bell with the help of 3M Co. (MMM) , Goldman Sachs (GS) , and oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM) addings around one percent each, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were bolstered by tech stocks.
Results for Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Standard & Poor’s 500: +0.30 percent to 1,883.95
NASDAQ: +0.27 percent to 4,114.56
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.27 percent to 16,580.84
Our Top Stories
? Senior Editor Joel Anderson breaks down one of the most basic components of a Western free-market economy in his primer on stocks.
? Thom Calandra reports from Scottsdale Arizona on a presentation by Canadian pipeline services company Synodon ($STD:CA), who has new technology to detect oil and gas leaks.
? For readers curious as to exactly how horizontal drilling works, here is a short collection of five different animated videos that provide the explanation.
? Crowdfunding has been put to work in the service of a 3D printing pen that can draw in the air. If it sounds too good to be true, then just have a look for yourself!
? Senior Editor Jacob Harper argues that an IPO is in the offing for acquisition-resistant messaging service Snapchat.
Stocks
? Joel Anderson has the scoop on the new classification standards at OTC Markets.
? Senior Editor Jacob Harper takes a peek at Russian online payment company Qiwi plc (QIWI) .
? Brachytherapy developer IsoRay (ISR) leapt some 30 percent during the day’s trading after encouraging results from a study were released.
? Chinese copper producerLihua International (LIWA) was in free-fall during the day, with shares dumping half of their price after word got out that itsCEO was being investigated by Chinese authorities as well as Manhattan law firm Rosen.
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