Stocks Fall on Kerry’s Syria Comments; Student Loans Impacting Parents; Dollar Beats Yen, Euro Despite Disappointing Data

Stocks Fall on Kerry’s Syria Comments (Bloomberg)

Stocks dropped today, with the S&P 500 erasing gains made earlier in the day, after Secretary of State John Kerry said President Obama will hold Syria’s government accountable for the “moral obscenity” of using chemical weapons. “If there’s going to be turmoil and then if there’s going to be some retaliation and affect U.S. assets, people get a little scared,” Frank Ingarra, head trader at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, said. “It’s a bit of a pullback so people are probably taking some risk off the table.”

Student Loans Impacting Parents (CNBC)

Parents pursuing higher education may face a double whammy on their student loans. For some Americans, this temporary problem may develop into a multigenerational effect because parents aren’t able to pay off the debt in their lifetime. However, some experts defend the debts, so long as the borrowers are responsible enough to pay them back. “The return on investment for a college education is very high and it is the best way for middle-aged Americans to get a good job,” said Molly Corbett of the American Council on Education. “I guess the best advice is to use your head when you are making loans and not to go over your head, to think about the job you’re trying to get and whether or not it is going to provide the income that will sustain your family and enable you to repay your loan.”

Dollar Beats Yen, Euro Despite Disappointing Data (Reuters)

The dollar rose against both the yen and the euro today on the news that last month’s U.S. durable goods data was weaker than expected. This data, pointing to a struggling economy, raised doubts as to when the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its stimulus. “While the (durable goods) data is a notoriously volatile indicator, it is difficult to sugar coat the dismal report,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.