Market Minute: Amazon Prepares to Expand Grocery Delivery Service

Home delivery of groceries may be set to expand, and the auto industry plans for future growth. Those items and more are what's in the Market Minute for Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) lost 136 points Monday, the S&P 500 (^GPSC) fell 14, and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) dropped 37 points. The VIX, which measures volatility in the market, jumped 16 percent as concern rose about the possibility of a federal government default.

Amazon (AMZN) may be preparing to expand the grocery delivery service it's been operating in and around its home base of Seattle. The company is now advertising for a quality assurance manager for its warehouse that's located about 60 miles from both San Francisco and San Jose. Walmart (WMT) already offers a grocery delivery service for those two cities.

Ford (F) is looking to increase its global vehicle production by a third over the next few years. The company says it plans to open more plants, especially in developing markets such as China and India.

Meanwhile, Honeywell (HON) has high hopes for the turbo chargers it makes to power smaller automotive engines. The company says demand is being driven by the industry-wide effort to reduce both fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.

%VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks%PHH Corp. (PHH) is reportedly looking at a plan to split up its two main businesses, and then seek buyers for both its mortgage and auto leasing operations. According to Reuters, PHH could be valued at $1.5 billion.

Jamba Juice (JMBA) will feel a big squeeze today. The smoothie maker warns that sales and profit margins will fall short of expectations.

And shares of Tower Group (TWGP) are set to tumble. The insurance company says it needs to increase its loss reserves and take a big charge. That prompted Fitch to lower its ratings on debt issued by the company.

But Talisman Energy (TLM) is set to rally after investor Carl Icahn said he owns 61-million shares of the company. That represents a 6 percent stake. Talisman's results have been hurt by a drop in natural gas prices.

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.