From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.

  • FAA EXPECTED APPROVE BOEING’S 737 MAX UPDATES: Boeing’s 737 MAX jet could return to the skies by the end of June, just in time for the summer travel surge, Reuters reported citing anonymous sources. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to approve Boeing’s software updates, which the company says will fix an issue with the plane’s anti-stall system. The 737 MAX planes were grounded in March in the U.S. and in countries around the world following two deadly crashes in less than six months. (Later Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FAA's review of the 737 MAX was expanding, likely leading to more delays in certifying the plane.)

  • FACEBOOK CHANGES POLITICAL AD POLICY: With 2020 presidential campaigns in full swing, Facebook announced this week changes in how it interacts with political campaigns. The company will no longer pay commission to employees who sell political ads in an effort to end the “more-is-better” mentality around ad sales. Facebook has continued to face scrutiny over its role in political manipulation online and Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.

  • TESLA’S ROUGH WEEK: Telsa’s stock dropped for six straight trading sessions this week with shares on Wednesday falling below $200 for the first time since December 2016. Several Wall Street analysts also turned bearish on the stock; most notably Morgan Stanley, which outlined a worst case scenario that saw Tesla shares falling as low as $10 apiece. Share prices rebounded on Friday, however, following the leak of an email from CEO Elon Musk in which he said he is confident the company will beat it’s deliveries record this quarter. See more.

  • OIL PRICES FALL: Oil prices experienced their largest weekly drop of 2019 this week, just head of the travel heavy Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. The national average was $2.86 at the pump on Friday. Prices fell due to increasing inventories of crude oil in the U.S., which rose amid uncertainty on global economic growth and the enduring trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

  • RETAILERS FEEL THE TRADE WAR HEAT: The United State’s escalating trade war with China is impacting the clothing market. Major retail chains such as Nordstrom, JCPenney, and Kohl’s all reported declining sales in their quarterly earnings reports this week. Kohl’s — which imports roughly 20 percent of its goods from China — lowered its guidance for the year, citing increased costs related to rising imports tariffs. See more.

ーby Spencer Feingold