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.
STARBUCKS SHAKE-UP
Starbucks is in the middle of a leadership shake-up, and investors seem okay with that. The stock jumped this week on the news that founder Howard Schultz will once again serve as chief executive, despite current CEO Kevin Johnson's success in steering the company through the pandemic. Some analysts said Schultz's return is a bid for stability, as the company faces plenty of negative press around a wave of unionizations. Eight stores have successfully unionized, and 100 have filed for union elections. The National Labor Relations Board is also looking into a complaint that Starbucks penalized a worker for union activity. So good luck, Schultz.
GAMESTOP DROP AND POP
GameStop investors are no strangers to volatility, but the stock was especially jumpy Friday after the company posted its fourth-quarter earnings. It plunged as much as 10 percent in the morning, surged back into the green in the afternoon, and ended the day up about 3.5 percent. The initial drop was a response to the company reporting a net loss during the holiday quarter and CEO Matt Furlong citing supply chain issues and the omicron variant for the ding. Why the stock then reversed course is unclear, but it looks like a case of meme-stock momentum.
AMC'S GOLD GAMBIT
So AMC (a movie theater company) bought a large stake in Hycroft (a Nevada-based gold and silver mine), and many are wondering what exactly inspired such a random investment. The company said it's a diversification move. Others speculate it's AMC playing "meme-stock kingmaker" in an industry that might not be as responsive to the whims of retail investors. Whatever their motivation, investors approved: The stock is up 10 percent this week.
FEDEX FUMBLES
FedEx's latest quarterly earnings beat revenue expectations but showed a slight miss on earnings per share, causing the stock to slide Friday. The fuel-dependent logistics company didn't, however, blame high energy costs or supply chain issues for its troubles. Most of those costs are passed onto customers in the form of surcharges anyway. Instead, the company pointed to severe labor shortages as the main challenge cutting into its bottom-line.
MORE NICKEL NONSENSE
We mostly cover stocks in this weekly roundup, but nickel is having quite the week, and the impact could ripple across financial markets. The London Metal Exchange reopened on Wednesday after shutting down last week due to an unprecedented surge in nickel prices, spurred by fears of the war in Ukraine cutting off Russian supply. Commodities traders are still working through what happened, but in the meantime, nickel dropped 12 percent on Friday, which once again hit up against the exchange's trading limits. It's all very confusing, but one thing that is clear: This is the most anyone has talked about metals in a long time.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
