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.
PELOTON + LULULEMON
Two big names in modern fitness are teaming up, and it's making some investors very happy. Peloton cut a deal to become the official digital fitness content provider for fitness apparel retailer Lululemon. Meanwhile, Lululemon cut loose Mirror, the fitness device company it just acquired in 2020. Lululemon stock ended the week pretty stable, but Peloton wrapped up the week up nearly 15 percent.
AMAZON SUED
The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. The company, which seems to do everything, is accused of using its might to stifle competition and inflate prices. This is one of the most significant legal threats in the company's history and comes after years of investigations into its business practices. The company ended the week down nearly 2 percent.
META HICCUP
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg opened the Connect developer conference Wednesday, which didn't rub investors the right way, but by the end of the day, the new Quest 3 reveal brought them back. Zuckerberg opened the event talking about the company's continued push into the world of virtual reality. The upcoming headset hits the market on October 10 and will retail for $499. Meta stock ended the week up more than 1 percent.
'TARGET'ING CRIME
Big box retailer Target announced this week that it will be closing nine stores from coast to coast due to rising crime. Earlier this year, the company announced it could lose more than a billion dollars this year from theft. Plus, violent crime against employees rose 120 percent in the first five months of the year. Target stock ended the week down more than 1 percent.
STRIKE ROUNDUP
A quick rundown of the biggest strike news this week: Autoworkers shut down more factories on Friday as contract negotiations continue with Ford, GM, and Stellantis. Meanwhile, United Airlines staved off a similar fate by striking a deal with its pilots which pegs the union's value at more than $10 billion. Hollywood writers are heading back to work with some late-night shows scheduled to air new episodes on Monday, but the actors' union is still on strike with negotiations set to resume next week. Meanwhile, CVS says it's acting quickly to address workplace issues that have caused pharmacists to walk out twice in as many weeks. Plus, tens of thousands of Las Vegas hospitality workers have voted to allow union leaders to call a strike as their contract negotiations continue.
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.
