Tuesday Sees Upbeat Results with the Dow’s Biggest Gain Since Sept. 13

Stocks were up for the second day in a row after several strong quarterly earnings reports, news of low September inflation and continuing hopes for a Spanish bailout. Dow industrials saw the biggest gain since September 13 and closed at the highest level in more than one week. Citigroup’s (C) CEO Vikram Pandit announced on Tuesday that he will be stepping down, surprising many investors. In earnings news, Coca-Cola (KO) reported nearly 4% profit increase for the third quarter and tech stocks like Yahoo (YHOO), IBM (IBM) and Intel (INTC) also all saw gains. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) noted a third-quarter drop in profit but beat expectations from Wall Street. The euro rallied to a one-week high against the US dollar while the yen weakened on speculation on more easing from the Bank of Japan.

Word on the Street

• The euro hits a one-week high against the dollar and a four-week peak against the yen.
• Coca-Cola (KO) releases third-quarter earnings, reports a 3.9% profit increase.
• Citigroup (C) CEO Pandit resigns abruptly after months of tension with the board.
• Social Security Administration announces Americans will see a 1.7% increase in benefits in 2013.
• Intel Corp. (INTC) shares drop after quarterly earnings report and readjusts Q4 revenue expectations.
• Battery maker A123 Systems Inc. (AONE) files for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.
• IBM (IBM) reports a decline in sales and misses quarterly expectations.
• Manufacturing rose at US factories in September after a big drop in August.

Interesting Tidbits

•  In the Global Dynamism Index lists the top countries to run a business, the US ranks last.
• The US expects to have an additional five million millionaires by the year 2017.