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.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
