The Week's Top Stories 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.
BLOOMIN' BOOMING
Stock of Bloomin' Brands jumped on Friday when activist investor Starboard Value acquired a 10 percent stake in the company. Bloomin' Brands, the parent company of chains like Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill, hit a profit in Q2, and investors are clearly interested in what Starboard has to offer. Previously it helped overhaul Papa Johns and Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden, among other brands. Bloomin' Brands ended the week up 11 percent.
WEWORK REVERSE STOCK SPLIT
Last week we told you WeWork is again on the brink of bankruptcy. This Friday the company announced it will do a 1-for-40 reverse stock split after the New York Stock Exchange issued a notice on its low trading. The stock had an average close below a dollar over a 30-day stretch. WeWork stock closed the week down 38 percent.
NEW PAYPAL CEO
On Monday, PayPal announced its new president and CEO. Alex Chriss of Intuit will join the board in September and will take over the digital payments giant at the end of the year after CEO Dan Schuman retires. PayPal ends the week down 4 percent.
AUTO WORKERS VOTE
Next week nearly 150,000 auto workers will vote on whether to authorize a strike. United Auto Workers is pushing to negotiate a new contract with automakers, but the union says it's slow-going with less than a month before the current deals with GM, Ford and Stellanis expire.
COINBASE CRYPTO FUTURES
Coinbase says it has received the go-ahead to trade crypto futures. Earlier this summer, it was sued by the SEC, which alleged it was operating like an unregistered securities exchange. Now Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., says it has approval from the National Futures Association that will bring it into compliance. It was good news for investors; Coinbase stock shot up after the announcement on Wednesday, but still ended the week down 8 percent. Of course this news comes during a week when the granddaddy of all crypto, Bitcoin, hit the skids, losing 10 percent with a valuation of $26,185.90 for a single bitcoin by the close of the week.
YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect.
Lukas Alpert of MarketWatch explores how networks, brands, and ad buyers absorb the shockwaves when late‑night show hosts are suddenly cut — and brought back.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Scott Trench, host of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, explores how recent rate cuts, high borrowing costs, and mortgage rates are reshaping U.S. real estate.
A look into how disruption, AI, and global economic trends are transforming the modern supply chain with Jeremy Jansen, Head of Supply Chain at Wells Fargo.
