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.
CPI rose 7% from a year prior in December, showing that inflation has continued to increase at its fastest pace since June 1982. Consumers are feeling the pressure when it comes to food, apparel, and used car prices, but got some relief in December as energy prices ticked slightly lower month-over-month. How will this ongoing inflation streak impact U.S. monetary policy as the Federal Reserve says it's prepared to implement aggressive tactics like raising interest rates? John Leer, Chief Economist at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss December's CPI data, what it means for consumers, how the Federal Reserve can help limit inflation, and more.
One startup is working to reverse climate change one seed at a time. Terraformation is a global forest accelerator that provides tools, training, financing, and business support to help scale forest restoration projects worldwide. Forests naturally absorb carbon and Terraformation says that reforestation is a safe, low-cost, and scalable solution to the climate crisis. Yee Lee, VP of growth at Terraformation, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Back in February 2021, Twitter announced its three-year plan to double development velocity, to reach 315 million monetizable users, and double its total annual revenue. Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette, joined Cheddar to discuss where the social media giant stands now a year after the announcement. "The progress against all three of those pillars has been substantial, and we'll continue to drive that over the course of the next year and beyond," she said. Personette also discussed the leadership of Twitter's CEO Parag Agrawal who took over for founder Jack Dorsey late in 2021.
Tony Horton, fitness guru and creator of the famous P90X workout joins Cheddar News to discuss how people can stay focused and maintain fitness in the new year.
Meet Corrine Tan, American Girl’s 2022 Girl of the Year. Corrine is the first doll of Chinese descent from the company, debuting in response to a rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community. Jamie Cygielman, president and general manager of American Girl, spoke to Cheddar about the long development of the character. "As the pandemic began we started to see a lot of anti-Asian sentiment across the country," she said. "We sort of blended all of these stories together to create Corinne, an outline for Corinne, and then partnered with the wonderful author Wendy Shang to help tell that story to our fans." Cygielman also touched on linking up with AAPI Youth Rising, donating $25,000 for education efforts.
Janet Phan, founder of Thriving Elements and author of 'Boldly You,' joins Cheddar News to discuss the importance of being a mentor and how her organization is helping the next generation of STEM leaders.
Jobs website Glassdoor has released its annual Best Places to Work list with Nvidia, HubSpot, and Bain & Company. While the tech sector holds 40 percent of the rankings, Facebook parent company Meta notably dropped 36 places from last year.
Domino's is planning ahead for surging food costs, anticipating an 8 to 10 percent rise due to inflation and labor shortages. The pizza chain will be changing promotions to offset the overhead, such as making some of its discounts online orders only.
A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November as people continue to take advantage of red hot job market. The resignation rate is now the highest in the two decades the government has kept records, with many people voluntarily leaving their current jobs for other opportunities. Harley Lippman, CEO of Genesis 10, discusses how why so many people are quitting their jobs right now, and how the tech sector is being impacted.
