NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- All three major stock indices are lower, with the Nasdaq leading the way. TheStreet's Gregg Greenberg is analyzing Monday's top headlines.
Not helping equities is the better-than-expected November factory orders reading of 1.8%, beating economists' expectations of 1.7%. However, the December ISM reading decreased to 53, down from 53.9 last month, Greenberg said.
He added that J.P. Morgan (JPM) is expected to announce that it will pay $2 billion to settle the investigation of its involvement with the Bernie Madoff fraud scheme.
If this is the case, JPM will have paid $20 billion in penalties to settle investigations over the past year.
Turning to Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (JOSB), shares are higher by roughly 5%, after Men's Wearhouse (MW) increased its buyout offer to $57.50 per share, from $55 per share.
Of course, MW is also enjoying a boost in share price, up nearly 3%, Greenberg said.
Finally, he reported that the Senate is expected to confirm Janet Yellen as the Federal Reserve's new chairwoman. She will replace chairman Ben Bernanke, who orchestrated the important quantitative easing programs that helped the U.S. economy recover from its collapse in 2007-08.
-- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich.
