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.
INFLATION COOLS
The stock market got a jolt this week, as inflation continues to slow. The consumer price index showed prices rising 3 percent year-over-year in June, the lowest pace since March 2021. Month-over-month, prices rose 0.2 percent in June, and the producer price index was up just 0.1 percent, which is half what economists expected. The data gives credence to the argument that the U.S. economy could experience a soft landing as inflation returns to normal. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are up 2 and 3 percent respectively for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index rose 2 percent.
META RALLIES
Meta's Threads app is benefitting from a mass exodus of Twitter users, who are jumping ship amid Elon Musk's controversial efforts to make the social media platform profitable. The number of users on Threads surpassed 100 million users, blowing past industry expectations. Meta's stock ended the week up 4 percent following the news. The bullish sentiment benefited other tech stocks as well. Amazon's stock is up 4 percent, and Google parent Alphabet is up 6 percent. The rally builds on the gains already attained by the sector, which has been riding a wave of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence.
DISNEY CEO STAYING ON
Disney's stock ticked up after the company extended CEO Bob Iger's contract for another two years. The executive also told CNBC that Disney was open to selling off its linear TV assets, saying they may no longer be core to the company. Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild officially went on strike alongside the Writer's Guild after their contract negotiations also broke down, and Iger isn't happy about it. He said the unions' demands are "not realistic." This is the first so-called "double strike" of both writers and actors since 1960.
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD POPS
Videogame maker Activision Blizzard popped 10 percent on Tuesday after a federal judge gave the okay to Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition. The decision came after the court found that the merger was not likely to substantially reduce competition. However, the Federal Trade Commission is appealing the decision in a last-ditch effort to stop the combination. The appeal raises the possibility that the whole deal falls apart Tuesday when the agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard expires. Alternatively, both sides could agree to extend or Microsoft could be on the hook for $3 billion to Activision Blizzard for not getting the deal done in time.
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
