President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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.
STIMULUS WHIPSAW
The S&P 500 ended down for the week with the Dow and Nasdaq slightly higher as the Street wrapped up early Thursday for the Christmas holiday. A stimulus package from Congress looked like it was going to emerge as a gift early in the week, but the president threw that plan into turmoil Wednesday when he demanded payments to Americans be jacked up from $600 to $2,000, a plan GOP House members officially derided Thursday. Still, the need for major economic relief became even more apparent in the data this week. Another 800,000 Americans joined the ranks of the unemployed last week. If the stimulus bill is not signed into law soon, federal unemployment benefits expire in a week, leaving millions of people without any income. Consumer spending dropped in November for the first time since the pandemic started, consumer confidence is at a four-month low, and even the resilient housing market is faltering with sales of new single-family homes dropping sharply in November.
SHIPAGEDDON
The U.S. Postal Service is buckling under the weight of an absolute deluge of mail and package volume that is causing widespread delivery delays across the country. On-time performance was 86 percent last week, and perhaps even lower now. Foot traffic at retail stores was down 40 percent last weekend compared to last year. Everyone is doing their shopping online, and it has created a logjam that is cresting at the worst possible time. FedEx and UPS have instituted limits on their networks, leaving the USPS as the shipper of last resort. Best Buy is even experimenting with sending its own employees out to deliver items. As one meme going around puts it: "Stop trying to track that package. It's in God's hands now."
APPLE V. TESLA
Apple is reportedly jump-starting its plans to build a self-driving car from scratch. The iPhone maker is said to be targeting 2024 for the launch of an autonomous vehicle that will include a supposed breakthrough in battery technology. Apple's self-driving car strategy, codenamed Project Titan, has gone through fits and starts over the past several years, but the company is reinvigorating the project thanks to a "radical" new battery design. If those plans materialize, Apple would be going head-to-head with Tesla. CEO Elon Musk said this week that he had offered to sell Tesla to Apple three years ago as the company was faltering with the Model 3, but Apple boss Tim Cook "refused to take the meeting." Tesla shares closed the week down slightly after its first week as a member of the S&P 500.
FITNESS MERGER
Peloton closed at another all-time high this week after the fitness bike maker announced it was buying Precor, the commercial fitness equipment manufacturer, for $420 million. The deal gives Peloton access to 625,000 square feet of new manufacturing space in the U.S. that it desperately needs to keep up with the demand for its at-home products. Peloton will end 2020 as one of the top "stay-at-home" stocks of the pandemic, up an astonishing 470 percent on the year.
WALMART OPIOID LAWSUIT
Walmart will have to answer for its purported role in the opioid epidemic that has ravaged the U.S. The Justice Department filed suit against the superstore this week alleging that its pharmacies filled thousands of suspicious prescriptions that it "knew were invalid." Walmart already began fighting back, saying the DOJ's investigation has been "tainted by historical ethics violations." Walmart's stock dipped after the suit was announced.
Melissa Armo, founder and CEO of The Stock Swoosh, breaks down the factors affecting profitability for banks this year and highlights opportunities within the financial sector.
While more inflation means higher prices, some businesses are looking for alternatives to avoid scaring off their customers. 'Shrinkflation,' a fancy word for downsizing, happens when companies reduce the size or quantity of their products while still charging the same prize... or even more.
Chris Markowski, 'Watchdog on Wall Street' host and president of Markowski Investments, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The list of banks reducing or cutting overdraft fees has just grown. Both Bank of America and Wells Fargo have announced plans to end non-sufficient funds and overdraft fees. It's a move that economists are calling 'brilliant,' and is sure to hike up the pressure on large national and regional banks to follow in their footsteps. Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst at Bankrate, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In fashion, the term "nude" is a common description of a shade slightly darker than champagne with a hint of blush or peach, but how does that translate to the wearer's skin tone? One shapewear brand's mission is to make sure "nude" is as inclusive as possible. Erin Carpenter, founder of Nude Barre, joined All Hands to discuss.
Tech giants Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple are faced with a bipartisan antitrust legislation effort underway in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The companies stand accused of promoting their own goods and services over smaller competitors on their platforms, holding too much monopolistic power via their app stores and services. Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a technology industry trade group, joined Cheddar to argue that the bills that are being debated currently could end up hurting consumers, rather than helping.
A saving grace for offices during pandemic lockdowns, video communication platform Zoom announced its own plans for doors to reopen from its Work Transformation Summit 2022. Dubbed Workstyles, CFO Kelly Steckelberg joined Cheddar to discuss the self-reported, tiered levels for how employees will be reporting going forward, from the majority of workers going hybrid to personnel who will work fully from home or the office where it makes sense. Steckelberg also talked about the company's plans for the future, stating “what we can control is our own execution," as Zoom's stock hit a 52-week low.
Sebastien Lagree, creator and founder of Lagree Fitness, joins Cheddar News to talk about the growth of Lagree Fitness and industry trends to watch in 2022.
Nikhilesh De, managing editor of global regulation and policy at CoinDesk, joins Cheddar News to discuss Bitcoin's slump and corporations' growing interest in NFTs.
Airlines around the world cancel or change flights ahead of Verizon and AT&T's 5G rollout. The two wireless companies agreed to temporarily delay the launch of the new service near some key airports, after airlines warned the 5G signals could interfere with certain aviation equipment. Jonathan Adelstein, president and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Thrive Market is a health-first membership for conscious living, with a mission to make healthy and sustainable living easy and accessible. Nick Green, CEO and co-founder, chatted with Cheddar's Baker Machado about the company's approach and new ventures in 2022. "I grew up outside of Minneapolis, middle class, middle America, and really saw firsthand how hard my mom had to work to put healthy food on the table, on a budget, without a health food store nearby," he said. "Twenty-some years later we looked around and just thought it was crazy that millions of Americans are still struggling with the same thing, and we decided to change it." Recently the brand released a line of organic frozen products and will be introducing new beauty and home brands.
