Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
BINANCE BITCOIN FALLOUT
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, agreed to a nearly $4 billion settlement over violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and apparent sanctions programs violations. On top of that, founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO after he pleaded guilty to failing to prevent money laundering. The fallout was immediate for Bitcoin, which fell 5 percent on Tuesday. It clawed back the losses by the end of the week, ending the week up nearly 1 percent. Bitcoin is up nearly 128 percent from where it was a year ago.
BIG EGG SCRAMBLED
A jury found this week that some of the biggest U.S. egg producers were engaged in price-fixing that drove up costs for years. While the price of eggs has made headlines since the pandemic, the complaint was actually filed by manufacturers back in 2011 and the jury found the price-fixing was happening from 2004-2008. Companies like Kraft Foods Global and The Kellogg Company had accused the egg companies of limiting supply in order to drive prices up. Damages will be determined next week. While several of the named organizations are not publicly traded, Cal-Maine Foods' stock dropped on the news, ending the week down 4 percent.
BEST BUY
Even though Black Friday sales have been going on for weeks, the holiday shopping season began in earnest on Friday. Shoppers often head to Best Buy to purchase popular electronics for their loved ones, but this year the retailer doesn't expect a banner season. During its earnings call on Monday, it announced shoppers are pulling back, a trend seen in a number of retailers. The stock dropped off on the news, but came back strong, ending the week up 3 percent.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BIG 3
While the deals struck for autoworkers after a six-week strike will change the lives of thousands of workers, we're beginning to see the repercussions for the companies. GM announced that for the first time in four years it will not advertise during the Super Bowl as it tries to rein in fixed expenses. This week Ford announced it will scale back plans for an electric battery vehicle plant in Michigan due to a change in market conditions. Building was put on hold during the strike.
