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.
PELOTON + LULULEMON
Two big names in modern fitness are teaming up, and it's making some investors very happy. Peloton cut a deal to become the official digital fitness content provider for fitness apparel retailer Lululemon. Meanwhile, Lululemon cut loose Mirror, the fitness device company it just acquired in 2020. Lululemon stock ended the week pretty stable, but Peloton wrapped up the week up nearly 15 percent.
AMAZON SUED
The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. The company, which seems to do everything, is accused of using its might to stifle competition and inflate prices. This is one of the most significant legal threats in the company's history and comes after years of investigations into its business practices. The company ended the week down nearly 2 percent.
META HICCUP
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg opened the Connect developer conference Wednesday, which didn't rub investors the right way, but by the end of the day, the new Quest 3 reveal brought them back. Zuckerberg opened the event talking about the company's continued push into the world of virtual reality. The upcoming headset hits the market on October 10 and will retail for $499. Meta stock ended the week up more than 1 percent.
'TARGET'ING CRIME
Big box retailer Target announced this week that it will be closing nine stores from coast to coast due to rising crime. Earlier this year, the company announced it could lose more than a billion dollars this year from theft. Plus, violent crime against employees rose 120 percent in the first five months of the year. Target stock ended the week down more than 1 percent.
STRIKE ROUNDUP
A quick rundown of the biggest strike news this week: Autoworkers shut down more factories on Friday as contract negotiations continue with Ford, GM, and Stellantis. Meanwhile, United Airlines staved off a similar fate by striking a deal with its pilots which pegs the union's value at more than $10 billion. Hollywood writers are heading back to work with some late-night shows scheduled to air new episodes on Monday, but the actors' union is still on strike with negotiations set to resume next week. Meanwhile, CVS says it's acting quickly to address workplace issues that have caused pharmacists to walk out twice in as many weeks. Plus, tens of thousands of Las Vegas hospitality workers have voted to allow union leaders to call a strike as their contract negotiations continue.
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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