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.
RATE HIKE READY
At the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. should prepare for more interest rate hikes. The Fed has implemented a pretty steady stream of increases since March 2022 when it was near zero to 5.4 percent, the highest it has been in 22 years. The inflation rate has dropped significantly during that period, from 9.1 percent to 3.2 percent, but it's still too far above the target rate of 2 percent for the Fed. Employment levels have remained strong throughout this period. The real estate seems to have taken the brunt of the impact, with mortgage rates hitting a new 22-year high average of 7.23 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate.
UPS AVOIDS STRIKE
There was good news for online shoppers this week: UPS struck a deal with workers that will avoid a strike. In the five-year deal, the shipping giant has agreed to increase and standardize pay, end forced overtime on drivers' days off, and add air conditioning to more trucks. The same cannot be said for the United Auto Workers union at the moment. This week autoworkers overwhelmingly voted to allow union leaders to call a strike if negotiations with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis don't start making some serious headway before the current contract expires on September 14.
DOLLAR TREE CHALLENGES
Dollar Tree has plenty of work on its hands. Its earnings report released this week beat Wall Street expectations, but the stock sunk as the company reported a difficult economy ahead. The discount store chain, which also owns Family Dollar, cited theft as a major issue. This week, Dollar Tree also received an order from the Labor Department giving it two years to turn around institutional failures that have created safety concerns in stores throughout the country. The company will have to figure out what is causing stores to do things like block emergency exits and stack boxes to dangerously tall heights - and then figure out how to fix it in all locations.
NVIDIA SOARS ON AI
Nvidia revealed an incredible quarter in this week's earnings report. The computer chip giant made nine times more revenue than it did a year ago, largely thanks to the AI companies that are relying on its technology, and it expects to triple sales this quarter. The news sent the stock up 6 percent - just another milestone for the stock which has tripled in value this year.
PELOTON PLUNGES
Peloton stock dropped more than 20 percent on Wednesday after the company admitted it is struggling to keep up with demand for replacement seat posts that were recalled over safety concerns. While riders are without functional bikes, 20,000 of them have paused their subscriptions, which is a critical part of the company's business plan. In a letter to shareholders, President and CEO Barry McCarthy also noted consumers seem to be turning more toward travel and experiences, which is tough for a stay-at-home bike company.
Xiaohua Yang, professor of international business and director of the China Business Studies Initiative at the University of San Francisco, joins Cheddar News to talk about the history of Lunar New Year.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Across the country, states are working to redraw their congressional lines in what is often known as gerrymandering. These news lines are expected to determine the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans within the next decade. Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, Michael Li, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
AT&T announced earlier today it is spinning off its media properties in WarnerMedia in a merger with Discovery in a $43 billion deal.Scott Rostan, founder and CEO at Training The Street, joined Cheddar to talk about what the unwinding of the telecom giant's Time Warner media properties means for investors. "I think the investor sentiment is they're digesting the new information, and they're looking into the dividend, especially the reduction of the dividend," said Rostan, noting the transaction allows AT&T to focus on its core telecommunications business.
A 2021 report from UK Research and Innovation found that the shipping industry makes up at least 2.5 percent of the world's total CO2 emissions. It's a problem that energy solutions company, Leclanché, is trying to solve. Founded in 1909, the company has been developing and producing batteries for more than 100 years. Today, Leclanché's lithium-ion battery is used to electrify not just ships, but also railroad locomotives, trucks, and specialty vehicles. Cheddar News spoke with Pierre Blanc, chief technology and industrial officer of Leclanché, to discuss.
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
One of the world's largest transport companies is kicking off Black History Month with a new initiative aimed at the next generation of business leaders. Today, FedEx announced the launch of its Student Ambassador Program. Participants selected from eight historically black colleges and universities will receive career guidance from FedEx executives. The program is part of FedEx's ongoing commitment to HBCUs and will also help the company expand its pipeline for diverse talent. Cheddar News welcomes senior vice president at FedEx, Jenny Robertson, and Jerryl Briggs, President of Mississippi Valley State University, to discuss.
"Sing 2" has overthrown "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the number one film at the UK box office. The animated sequel brought in $8.1 million, in just its two first weekends. However, "No Way Home" is still on track to beat "Avatar" as the number one grossing movie of all time.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
