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.
MEET GEMINI
Alphabet stock jumped about 5 percent on Thursday when Google introduced Gemini, the latest in AI which will probably move the technology forward quite a bit…and also bring up plenty of questions about how far is too far when it comes to human-like tech. Nvidia also got a boost on the news and, thinking about the logistics, its CEO said Friday that Malaysia could be a great manufacturing hub for AI computing. Google ended the week up 4 percent and Nvidia ended up 3 percent.
SUNSETTING SMOKES
Smoking made quite a few headlines in the business world this week. British American Tobacco, the UK-based parent company of Camel and American Spirit, announced it is going to sunset its U.S. cigarette division to focus on smoke-free products. For menthol makers, though, they got a reprieve this week when the federal government decided to delay a ban on the minty smokes. The news wasn't as good for Elf Bar and other fruity vapes after a congressional committee this week said it wants to look into why so many of these e-cigarettes are ending up in the hands of minors. British American Tobacco stock ended the week down 8 percent.
PRESCRIPTION PRICE CLARITY
If you have ever gone to pick up a prescription only to find out it costs five times as much as it did a month ago (true story), this news is for you. CVS Health announced it is planning to make prices more transparent so that customers can be better prepared when they show up at the drugstore. CostVantage will be available to some third-party companies that offer cash discount cards starting in 2024 and should be rolled out in CVS stores in 2025. CVS stock was up nearly 10 percent at the end of the week.
AIRLINE MERGERS
Consolidation in the airline industry was on tap this week. Alaska Airlines says it wants to buy Hawaiian Airlines for a billion dollars. It's a much smaller deal than the JetBlue/Spirit acquisition which had its final days in court this week. The $3.8 billion deal has been under intense scrutiny. Federal regulators are very concerned that the acquisition of budget airline Spirit is going to kill affordable options for travelers. However, JetBlue argues that it's already struggling to compete with the country's biggest airlines so it needs the additional market share to survive. Alaska Airlines ended the week up nearly 6 percent, Hawaiian was down 2 percent, JetBlue was up 16 percent and Spirit was down almost 7 percent.
UBER ON THE S&P 500
First Uber took over our streets. Now it's taking over the S&P 500. The ride-sharing giant will become a part of the index beginning December 18th. It's a big win for Uber, not just because it's a generally big deal, but just a few years ago the company struggled through the pandemic (when people didn't want to be sharing rides with anyone). The stock closed the week up nearly 3 percent, and will probably get stronger once it joins the S&P (which is up 20 percent in 2023); many funds tried to mirror the index which means Uber could get you a more pickup.
