Stocks Fluctuate, Fed Minutes Due

U.S. stocks fluctuated in the early trading on Wednesday, as White House plans to appoint Janet
Yellen to head the Federal Reserve countered worry about a budget standoff. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average lately fell 1.13 points, or 0.01%, to 14,775.40. The S&P 500 index added 1.16
points, or 0.07%, to 1,656.61. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.11 points, or 0.03%, to 3,695.94.

President Barack Obama will nominate Janet Yellen to replace Ben Bernanke as chairman of the
Federal Reserve, a White House official said Tuesday, in a move that many expect will result in a
continuation of the central bank’s loose monetary policy.

President Barack Obama warned Tuesday of economic chaos if a political stalemate causes the U.S. to
no longer be able to pay its bills, and said he would accept even a short-term increase in the
borrowing limit to give lawmakers time to negotiate.

The cost of insuring one-year U.S.government debt against default rose on Wednesday to their
highest since July 2011, widening the gap over five-year rates. One-year credit default swaps
widened by 7 basis points to 60 bps, according to Markit.

Three U.S. scientists won the Nobel chemistry prize on Wednesday for pioneering work on computer
programs that simulate complex chemical processes and have revolutionised research in areas from
drugs to solar energy. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, awarding the prize of 8 million
crowns ($1.25 million) to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel, said their work had
effectively taken chemistry into cyberspace.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to hold an event on Oct. 22 to showcase its next iPad updates,
according to a report by AllThingsD on Tuesday afternoon.