Stocks Ended Down on Fed uncertainty

U.S. stocks declined for a third straight session on Monday as remarks by Federal Reserve officials kept alive uncertainty over the Fed’s next move. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.71 points, or 0.32%, to 15,401.38. The S&P 500 index shed 8.07 points to 1,701.84. The Nasdaq Composite declined 9.44 points, or 0.25%, to 2,765.29.

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that it has signed a letter of intent with a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. to take the smartphone maker private in a deal worth $9 per share.

The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to sue JPMorgan Chase & Co over mortgage bonds it sold in the run-up to the financial crisis, a sign the bank’s legal troubles are not yet behind it.

TD Bank is paying $52.5 million to settle U.S. civil charges after regulators accused the bank of failing to report suspicious activity in accounts linked to a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

An index of national activity turned positive in August, indicating above-trend growth, according to data released by the Chicago Fed Monday. The national activity index rose to +0.14 from -0.43 in July, while the three-month moving average edged up to -0.18 from -0.24 in July.