Stocks Opened Higher Before Yellen Speech

U.S. stocks began on an upbeat note on Monday as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately jumped 113.99 points, or 0.70%, to 16,437.05. The S&P 500 was up 11.51 points, or 0.62%, at 1,869.13. The Nasdaq Composite gained 29.50 points, or 0.71%, at 4,185.26.

The U.S. stock market is rigged to hurt the average investor and benefit high frequency traders, stock exchanges and large Wall Street banks, according to the author of the new book “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Monday it agreed to sell its Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics unit to the Carlyle Group for about $4 billion in a deal expected to close midyear.

Inflation in the euro zone fell to 0.5% on an annual basis in March, down from 0.7% in February, according to a preliminary estimate out Monday. That’s far from the European Central Bank’s target of just under 2%, and economists are plenty worried about deflation in the euro zone.

Global warming is having an impact on human and natural systems world-wide, scientists warned in a report Monday, calling for swift action to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.