Big Business This Week 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.
BINANCE BITCOIN FALLOUT
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, agreed to a nearly $4 billion settlement over violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and apparent sanctions programs violations. On top of that, founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO after he pleaded guilty to failing to prevent money laundering. The fallout was immediate for Bitcoin, which fell 5 percent on Tuesday. It clawed back the losses by the end of the week, ending the week up nearly 1 percent. Bitcoin is up nearly 128 percent from where it was a year ago.
BIG EGG SCRAMBLED
A jury found this week that some of the biggest U.S. egg producers were engaged in price-fixing that drove up costs for years. While the price of eggs has made headlines since the pandemic, the complaint was actually filed by manufacturers back in 2011 and the jury found the price-fixing was happening from 2004-2008. Companies like Kraft Foods Global and The Kellogg Company had accused the egg companies of limiting supply in order to drive prices up. Damages will be determined next week. While several of the named organizations are not publicly traded, Cal-Maine Foods' stock dropped on the news, ending the week down 4 percent.
BEST BUY
Even though Black Friday sales have been going on for weeks, the holiday shopping season began in earnest on Friday. Shoppers often head to Best Buy to purchase popular electronics for their loved ones, but this year the retailer doesn't expect a banner season. During its earnings call on Monday, it announced shoppers are pulling back, a trend seen in a number of retailers. The stock dropped off on the news, but came back strong, ending the week up 3 percent.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BIG 3
While the deals struck for autoworkers after a six-week strike will change the lives of thousands of workers, we're beginning to see the repercussions for the companies. GM announced that for the first time in four years it will not advertise during the Super Bowl as it tries to rein in fixed expenses. This week Ford announced it will scale back plans for an electric battery vehicle plant in Michigan due to a change in market conditions. Building was put on hold during the strike.
Stephen Kates, Financial Analyst at Bankrate, joins to discuss the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, inflation risks, and what it all means for consumers and marke
Big tech earnings take center stage as investors digest results from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, with insights from Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.