Here is a rundown of Cheddar News' top trending market stories of the day.
POWELL ON INFLATION
Despite inflation cooling down in recent months, Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a speech on Wednesday said the U.S. economy still has a long way to go. “The disinflationary process, the process of getting inflation down, has begun and it’s begun in the goods sector, which is about a quarter of our economy," he said. That means more rate hikes are coming down the pike, though likely at a slower pace than last year. The Fed raised its benchmark rate just a quarter of a percent earlier this month, compared to a number of 50 and 75-basis point hikes last year.
SOUTHWEST MELTDOWN
In the wake of the meltdown at Southwest Airlines, Democratic senators have introduced a bill to create an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights. The law would require airlines to provide a full refund on tickets (as well as other benefits) when delays or cancellations are caused by the airlines. In the case of an oversold flight, for instance, airlines would have to pay a minimum of $1,350 to passengers who are denied boarding.
META MANAGERS
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a stern message for managers: Get back to actually making things or leave. That means stepping back into "individual contributor" roles, rather than their current roles focused primarily on management. The process is known internally as a "flattening," which is designed to make the company more efficient. The tech giant laid off about 13 percent of its workforce in late 2022. Zuckerberg is calling 2023 the "Year of Efficiency."
ROKU & DOORDASH PARTNER
Roku has struck a multi-year partnership with DoorDash giving users a six-month trial of DashPass, which offers $0 delivery fees and other deals. In addition, DoorDash merchants can now buy interactive ads that allow customers to directly click through to get offers. The first restaurant to participate is Wendy's, which is offering $5 off purchases of $15 or more.
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Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in another case that could result in even bigger changes.
Nicki Minaj just reached a milestone that no other woman in rap has reached.
Apple announced that starting this week, it will stop selling some versions of the Apple watch in the U.S.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill aimed at increasing transparency in healthcare.
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
