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.
BLOOMIN' BOOMING
Stock of Bloomin' Brands jumped on Friday when activist investor Starboard Value acquired a 10 percent stake in the company. Bloomin' Brands, the parent company of chains like Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill, hit a profit in Q2, and investors are clearly interested in what Starboard has to offer. Previously it helped overhaul Papa Johns and Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden, among other brands. Bloomin' Brands ended the week up 11 percent.
WEWORK REVERSE STOCK SPLIT
Last week we told you WeWork is again on the brink of bankruptcy. This Friday the company announced it will do a 1-for-40 reverse stock split after the New York Stock Exchange issued a notice on its low trading. The stock had an average close below a dollar over a 30-day stretch. WeWork stock closed the week down 38 percent.
NEW PAYPAL CEO
On Monday, PayPal announced its new president and CEO. Alex Chriss of Intuit will join the board in September and will take over the digital payments giant at the end of the year after CEO Dan Schuman retires. PayPal ends the week down 4 percent.
AUTO WORKERS VOTE
Next week nearly 150,000 auto workers will vote on whether to authorize a strike. United Auto Workers is pushing to negotiate a new contract with automakers, but the union says it's slow-going with less than a month before the current deals with GM, Ford and Stellanis expire.
COINBASE CRYPTO FUTURES
Coinbase says it has received the go-ahead to trade crypto futures. Earlier this summer, it was sued by the SEC, which alleged it was operating like an unregistered securities exchange. Now Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., says it has approval from the National Futures Association that will bring it into compliance. It was good news for investors; Coinbase stock shot up after the announcement on Wednesday, but still ended the week down 8 percent. Of course this news comes during a week when the granddaddy of all crypto, Bitcoin, hit the skids, losing 10 percent with a valuation of $26,185.90 for a single bitcoin by the close of the week.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
With a merger this big, creators, studios, and theaters all face uncertain futures. Here’s what experts are worried about and what good could come from it.
With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
Seth Schachner breaks down Zootopia 2’s record-smashing debut, holiday box office trends, early 2026 Oscar contenders, and what’s next for Netflix and WBD.
