*By Mike Teich*
Amazon shares jumped nearly 4 percent Friday after the e-commerce juggernaut delivered blockbuster earnings results on Thursday.
The tech giant impressed investors by delivering operating profit of $1.9 billion. Amazon's blockbuster numbers reflected its success in retail sales and growth in its cloud services business, said Michael Pachter, an analyst from Wedbush Securities.
Amazon also announced that it would be raising its Prime membership fee by $20, up to $119 a year. Pachter said the "odds are less than 1 percent that there is a decline in membership" as a result of the price hike.
Pachter compared Amazon Prime's cost to Netflix, noting that Prime was priced below Amazon's video-streaming rival and offers content that is "75 percent as good."
Young Chang, founder and CEO of A-Sha Noodles, joined Cheddar News to discuss what inspired him to create his new company. "Our whole objective was to keep that nostalgic comfort feeling of the ramen noodle but bring it in a better-for-you method," he said.
Over 140 CEOs sent President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders an open letter on the potential major devastation the economy could face if a debt ceiling agreement isn't reached. Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy, spoke with Cheddar News to explain his reasoning why he joined in on the letter.
Uber unveiled some new features at its annual product showcase. Cheddar News discussed some of these products, most of which are geared toward families, along with group grocery orders and group rides.
Alex Morris, president and chief investment officer with F/M Investments, joined Cheddar News to discuss Wednesday's trading session as stocks climbed amid optimism over a potential debt ceiling deal just days ahead of a deadline.
