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.
CYBERATTACKS
The September cyberattack on MGM Resorts may have cost the company $100 million, but the company reportedly refused to pay the hackers. Caesars was also hit with an online attack, but reports at the time said the company paid the hackers $15 million. The stock was down for the week until Friday, when it announced the company had enough insurance to cover the damages.
Meanwhile, Clorox announced it was the target of a recent cybersecurity attack that caused widespread disruption to its systems. The result will be a 23-28 percent hit to net sales in Q1 of 2024. Clorox stock closed the week down 5 percent.
GOOGLE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The ups and downs of Google's week: On the upside, the tech giant started presales of the new Pixel 8 line, which has gotten positive reviews. On the downside, the tech giant has been accused of being too giant, and the anti-trust case against it opened this week. The star witness against Google was Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who testified that Google's dominance in the world of search engines has stymied Bing from gaining market share. Google stock closed the week up almost 5 percent.
UNITED ORDERS
Boeing and Airbus received big orders from United Airlines this week. The airline will add 110 new aircraft to its fleet by 2031. The new order includes 50 Boeing 787-9s and 60 Airbus A321neos. This comes on top of 100 Boeing 787s it ordered last December and 270 other aircraft ordered in July 2021. "The new planes will hold more passengers than one aircraft that will be retired and it's all part of the company's plan to take full advantage of our growing flying opportunities both internationally and domestically," said CEO Scott Kirby. United Airlines stock closed the week down 1 percent and Boeing and Airbus closed down about 2 percent.
HP HAD A WEEK
HP shares jumped on Tuesday after Bank of America gave it a double upgrade, moving from an underperforming stock to a buy rating. Warren Buffett seemed to pay no mind, though. That day, he sold off shares in a move that was closely watched by investors who like to see what the Oracle of Omaha is doing. He now owns less than 10 percent of the company, so he will no longer need to report his investments as frequently. HP stock ended the week up 1 percent.
JOBS SAVE THE DAY
An unexpectedly strong jobs report pulled up the markets on Friday. The September stats show 336,000 jobs we added last month. It's the largest number we've seen since the beginning of 2023, but even the August number was stronger than expected - it was revised up to 266,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remains at 3.8 percent. Of course, a strong jobs market indicates a strong economy…and that is behind inflation. So the takeaway for the Federal Reserve may be that it's time to raise interest rates.
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.
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