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.
MARKET SHRUGS OFF INFLATION
Stocks rebounded from an early slump to close out the week, boosted by reopening optimism following the CDC’s sharp reversal on mask wearing for vaccinated Americans. Tech shares led the rebound, though the Nasdaq still closed the week lower by 1.04 percent. The Dow and S&P also ended with modest losses. The big economic data of the week was April's CPI, which came in much hotter than expected, leading to renewed concerns that the economic recovery is in danger of overheating. The consumer price index — a measure of a basket of goods, housing, and energy costs — jumped 4.2 percent year-over-year, a much higher than expected reading that comes during a time of shortages and price hikes on everything from grocery staples to computer chips. Inflation is accelerating at its fastest pace in 12 years as the American economic engine grinds into gear, though the data is a bit distorted because of how abnormally low it was this time last year at the height of the pandemic. The Fed has said it expects the rise in inflation to be temporary.
MUSK REVERSES COURSE
Fresh off his hosting stint on SNL, Elon Musk did an about-face on Bitcoin, tweeting that Tesla would stop accepting the cryptocurrency for purchases due to its environmental impact. The decision came just three months after he announced the digital coin as a new way to pay. Bitcoin had its worst week since February on that tweet, dropping as much as 15 percent before paring some of those losses. Other coins like Ether and Doge also slid, though Doge’s price went as high as 56 cents after Coinbase said it would initiate support for the token in the coming weeks. Tesla had a miserable week of its own, dinged by the impact of inflation on high-multiple stocks, Musk’s Bitcoin reversal, and surprisingly bad sales data out of China. While Tesla doesn’t break out monthly or regional sales, the China Passenger Car Association estimated that the company sold 27 percent fewer domestically-made vehicles in April than March, while Warren Buffett-backed BYD has been gaining steam.
AIRBNB HITS THE SKIDS
Airbnb reported its second earnings since going public, showing revenue grew 5 percent in Q1 to $887 million. The home-rental platform’s net loss widened to $1.2 billion. For comparison, competitors like Expedia and Booking Holdings reported double-digit revenue declines given the uneven state of global travel. Shares of Airbnb are down 40 percent from their highs in February, hurt by increased competition not just from more traditional booking platforms but also the likes of VRBO, which is particularly well positioned to take share from Airbnb when it comes to rural vacation rentals and has a more attractive fee structure for consumers.
NEW ERA FOR VICTORIA’S SECRET
L Brands has decided to spin off Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works into two separate public companies after spending the last year deciding what to do with its two flagship properties, particularly its struggling lingerie chain. Victoria’s Secret was in the process of being acquired by Sycamore Partners in early 2020 before the pandemic sank the deal. Since then, the company got a new CEO and embarked on a turnaround that involved closing underperforming stores and deemphasizing its famously sexualized image for a more inclusive brand. So far, it seems to be working. VS sales reached $1.6 billion in Q1, compared to $894 million a year prior at the nadir of its troubles. Victoria’s Secret is expected to be valued between $5 billion and $7 billion after the spinoff to L Brands shareholders, according to the New York Times. As for Bath & Body Works, the chain famous for its home fragrance selection, saw net sales rise to $1.5 billion in Q1, up 60 percent in two years.
DISNEY MOMENTUM SLOWS
Disney shares took a drubbing after reporting an all-around disappointing quarter, ending the week down 6.49 percent. Disney+, the pandemic bright spot for the Mouse House, saw subscriber growth slow to 8.7 million for the quarter. That still brings Disney+ subs to 104 million in the year-and-a-half since it launched, not too shabby considering the company’s own original forecast was for 60 to 90 million subs by 2024. Still, for the Street, it’s all about momentum and it may be that Disney’s streaming growth just couldn’t sustain that pace forever.The theme park division reported its fourth straight loss — no surprise there, given many of those parks are just now opening back up.
Stocks closed lower on Friday as investors continue to worry over rate hikes. John Lynch, CIO of Comerica Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says value is back in play with investors. Lynch also believes the market has overreacted to the latest Fed minutes, suggesting a bounce-back at some point.
Private equity firms in 2021 spent $401.71 billion in U.S. tech investments — doubling 2020's level of $196.34 billion. As tech becomes increasingly interwoven into our lives amid the pandemic, investors grow bullish on the sector, especially software-as-a-service companies. How will 2022 stack up to 2021, and is there potential for parts of the tech sector to sink this year? John Jannarone, Editor in Chief at IPO-Edge, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss 2021's record year of deals, how potential interest rate hikes will impact tech investments in 2022, the fastest-growing IPOs, and more.
Bed Bath & Beyond delivered disappointing fiscal third-quarter results for 2022. Shares initially dove more than 9% in premarket trading on the news but finished the day up nearly 8%. Bed Bath & Beyond has been a meme-stock target for online investors in the past -- so was meme-stock mania a factor in the recent stock movement for the company? Jaime Rogozinski, the founder of the subreddit WallStreetBets, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more, as his forum helped spark the meme stock phenomena. He also discussed some decentralized finance services and trends for the retail investor to watch for in 2022.
College athletes scored big in 2021 when they were finally allowed to begin earning money based off of their name, image, and likeness, known as NIL. But how can young athletes best manage their money so they can set themselves up for years of success? Nicole Pullen Ross, Head of Goldman Sachs Sports and Entertainment Solutions, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss why financial management for college athletes is important, common pitfalls they could run into, and more.
December's jobs report was weaker than expected: the economy only added 199,000 nonfarm payrolls compared to an estimate of 422,000. However, the unemployment rate hit a new pandemic-era low of 3.9%, beating expectations. One thing to consider is the fact that the impact of the COVID-19 omicron variant is not factored into these results as the read is taken around the middle of the month. So — how might the variant impact job reports over the next few months? Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss December's jobs numbers, his 2022 labor market outlook, how COVID-19 will continue to impact the labor market, and more.
Digital medical care provider Pear Therapeutics rang the closing bell on the Nasdaq Friday and President and CEO Dr. Corey McCann, joined Cheddar to talk about how the company plans to grow the business of software-based therapeutics and how the first FDA authorized prescription digital therapeutics company will go about treating illnesses like insomnia and addiction. "These really are pieces of software. In many cases, they're apps and in the cases of our addiction products, these are based on something called cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT," he said. "These products change the patient's brain circuitry to help them be abstinent, to help them stay in treatment, and that's exactly what we see in randomized clinical trials and that's what we see in the real world." He also addressed the ongoing mental health crises brought on by the pandemic. **copy updated to remove IPO information as Pear Therapeutics went public in December**
Gamestop shares were up on The Wall Street Journal report that the video game retail company plans to enter the NFT and crypto space. Adam Hollander, the founder of Hungry Wolves NFT, joined Cheddar to break down how it could be a lifeline for the struggling meme stock darling. "They're not resigning themselves to becoming the next Blockbuster story, and so while people may not be buying as many video games in a retail environment anymore, NFTs, in particular, people are starting to expect more gaming utility on the backend — at least for a variety of projects — and I personally think its a very smart move for them to do this," Hollander told Cheddar.
On Saturday, New York will join neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut in authorizing mobile sports betting. Matt Kalish, president and co-founder of Draftkings North America, joined Cheddar to talk about the landmark change that is estimated to rake in $500 million in annual tax revenue on a potential billion-dollar market. Kalish also addressed the possibility that legalized sports betting in the Empire State could cannibalize his company's revenues in the bordering states. "It's pretty inconvenient, you know, to go across the border to make a bet. And people were doing it, but I think it really stifled a lot of the opportunity," he said. "So while there's some of that going on, I think really a tremendous amount, like a giant percent, of New York will be very incremental."
James Tattersall, director of sales and marketing for Lake Nona Wave Hotel, talks about the hotel's initiatives to foster diversity and how these amenities champion inclusivity in the Orlando area.
Desmond Howard, former NFL wide receiver and Modelo college football playoff ambassador, joins Cheddar News to talk about the Modelo sweepstakes honoring the 30th anniversary of his iconic punt return.
