Stocks rallied with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing above 14,000 for the first time in five years after reports on jobs and manufacturing brightened investors’ view of the economic recovery. Payrolls rose 157,000 in January after a revised 196,000 gain in December. The January unemployment rate edged up 0.1% to stand at 7.9%. The University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters index of consumer sentiment for January climbed to 73.8 from 72.9 for December. Dell rose 2.95% after media reports said the co. could announce as early as Monday that it has made a deal to go private. CEO Michael Dell will reportedly own a majority stake in the company, with investment firm Silver Lake Partners and Microsoft signing on as minority partners. However, Netflix lost 0.27% after the co. debuted all 13 episodes of the new series “House of Cards”. Amazon.com lost 0.19% after the firm announced a deal to be the exclusive online video-streaming source for the third season of the PBS series “Downton Abbey” beginning June 18, and will be the only site for any seasons of the show later this year. This week stocks may take a breather as earnings season begins to wind down and as the latest government budget battle heats up. Also, consumer spending data in the form of January sales updates from retailers including Macy’s, Gap, Ross Stores and Walgreen, December factory orders, Q4 productivity report, December consumer-credit reading and weekly jobless claims are on tap. Among the companies expected to report this week are MetLife, Yum Brands, Walt Disney and Visa.
