We break down the biggest gainers and droppers in the Cheddar 50 index this year, plus one Japanese stock that's made a big splash in the U.S. in 2017.
On the plus side, shares of Square have risen about 160 percent this year as the digital payment company has expanded into new markets. And video game maker Take-Two Interactive has also more than doubled in 2017, as investors and fans both await the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 this spring.
But they weren't all winners. Pandora shares were down more than 60 percent as the music streaming service struggled to grow paying subscribers. And Blue Apron stock has dropped as much as 70 percent since its IPO in late June, losing its CEO and cutting jobs.
Plus, what about Japan's SoftBank? The tech holding company launched its $100 billion Vision Fund, which has made investments in Nvidia, WeWork and Flipkart. And we're still waiting for what could be a $10 billion investment in Uber.
Scores of Boston University students turned their backs on the head of one of Hollywood's biggest studios, and some shouted “pay your writers,” as he gave the school's commencement address Sunday in a stadium where protesters supporting the Hollywood writers' strike picketed outside.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking that a federal judge be disqualified from the First Amendment lawsuit filed by Disney against the Florida governor and his appointees, claiming the jurist's prior statements in other cases have raised questions about his impartiality on the state's efforts to take over Disney World's governing body.
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company will stop competing in over-served market segments and instead will place big bets on connected vehicles and digital services. The days of Ford being all things to all people are over, Farley said at the company's capital markets day event Monday.
The European Union slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine Monday and ordered it to stop transferring users personal information across the Atlantic by October, the latest salvo in a decadelong case sparked by U.S. cybersnooping fears.
Joanne Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Mycocycle Inc., joined Cheddar News to discuss how her company uses mushrooms to decarbonize construction waste. "Mycocycle was started to address the waste mismanagement issue we have," she said. "Globally, we've got overflowing landfills that are creating human and environmental health issues."
The World Economic Forum recently released its future of jobs report and broke down what abilities employers are looking for. Julia Pollak, chief labor economist at ZipRecruiter, joined Cheddar News to discuss what top, in-demand job skills are needed in the rapidly-changing economy.
James Demmert, founder and chief investment officer of Main Street Research, joined Cheddar News to discuss market trends as investors digest mixed trading sessions with debt ceiling talks stalling.
