Dow Climbs Back Above 15,000

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, with the Dow climbed back above 15,000, as upbeat data from China boosted sentiment about the global economy.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 140.62 points, or 0.94%, to 15,063.12. The S&P 500
index gained 16.54 points, or 1.00%, to 1,671.71. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 46.17 points, or 1.26%, to 3,706.18.

Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Monday he would no longer pursue efforts to block founder Michael Dell’s proposed $25 billion buyout of Dell Inc, determining “it would be almost impossible to win.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and a major insurer have agreed to a $300 million settlement to resolve accusations that they forced homeowners into over-priced property insurance and entered into kickback arrangements that inflated the
policies’ prices.

The owners of Neiman Marcus Inc agreed to sell the U.S. luxury department store chain to two private investors for $6 billion, almost $1 billion more than they paid for the company in 2005.

Koch Industries Inc. has agreed to buy electronics components firm Molex Inc. (MOLX) for $7.2 billion in cash, a move that expands the industrial conglomerate’s footprint.