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.
MICROSOFT-ACTIVISION BLIZZARD WIN
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard got an important go-ahead on Friday from British regulators. The agency signaled that a revised proposal did a god job of addressing how the massive gaming giants will be able to combine without running ramshod over its smaller competitors. It was one of the last hurdles the companies faced to closing the $69 billion deal. Microsoft stock ended the week down 3 percent and Activision was up 2 percent.
UAW STRIKE
Autoworkers marched on picket lines in 38 locations in 20 different states on Friday. The United Autoworkers union is taking a new tact in contract negotiations with wildcat walkouts, which allow many teamsters to stay on the job, but affected the auto companies' supply chains. Stellantis and GM were targeted with this week's job actions, although the UAW is still in fierce negotiations with Ford as well. The union is calling for 40 percent raises for members, which would align with the 40 percent raises the companies' CEOs have seen as of late. Stellantis ended the week up 2 percent, GM closed down more than 3 percent, and Ford wrapped up the week down a fraction of a percent.
FOX HANDOVER
Rupert Murdoch, who reshaped the face of cable news in America with Fox News, a conservative alternative to the options available, announced he is stepping down. The 92-year-old billionaire is handing the reins of Fox Corp. and News Corp. over to his son Lachlan. The handover wasn't necessarily a surprise, but the timing was. The elder Mudoch will stay on as chairman emeritus of both companies. Fox Corp. stock ended the week down more than a percent. News Corp. ended the week down 3 percent.
INTEREST RATE HOLDS
The Federal Reserve this week announced that it will hold a key interest rate steady for the time being. While inflation rates have come down significantly since its height of 9.1 percent, we are not yet at the 2 percent figure the Fed is aiming for. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled in his statements that Americans should brace themselves for another potential rate hike before we ring in 2024.
SPLUNKED
Tech giant Cisco is snapping up cybersecurity firm Splunk for a cool $28 billion. Cisco says it plans to use the acquisition as part of its plan to use artificial intelligence to improve security. Cisco's stock dropped on the news, ending the week down 4 percent. Investors were hotter on the Splunk side, with its stock ending the week up more than a whopping 2o percent.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
