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.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
