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.

FED PAUSE

It was a jam-packed week for macro-economic developments. First, the consumer price index showed inflation continuing to slow, rising a meager 0.1 percent month-over-month and 4 percent from 12 months ago. Also, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at about 5 percent, pausing a tightening cycle that began in early 2022 — even as it said that at least two more rate increases are in store for this year.

HEALTH SHOCK

UnitedHealth Group's stock plunged on Wednesday after the health insurer revealed that a spike in surgeries was pushing up costs. The stock fell 6.4 percent, one of its biggest decline ever. Chief Financial Officer John Rex blamed the cost increases on "pent-up demand" from the elderly, who put off surgeries, such as knee replacements, during the pandemic. The sell-off was a drag on the rest of the stock market, though the major indexes bounced back before the end of the trading week.

CAVA SOARS

The IPO market has been relatively quiet since the most recent bull market took hold, but the Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava breathed some life back into it this week with a blockbuster debut. The stock skyrocketed 117 percent on Thursday, closing above $43 per share and giving the company a market cap of nearly $5 billion. The chain started in 2006 and entered the emerging fast casual market in 2011, bolstered by other brands such as Chipotle Mexican Grill. Cava's sales shot up nearly 13 percent in 2022.

TOYOTA TOPS OUT

Toyota Motor's stock shot up 10 percent this week, marking the automaker's best week on Wall Street since 2009, after it disclosed plans for a next generation of electric vehicles. The stock usually doesn't make such large moves, but the latest news restored confidence in the company's EV strategy, which was previously criticized for lacking ambition compared to rival firms. The first line-up of new EVs will launch in 2026.

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Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
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