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.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
