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.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
It’s an annual tradition: the Fed’s banking ‘stress test.’ A year after the regional banking crisis, there are good reasons to make sure they’re prepped.
Summer is upon us, which means weddings, trips overseas, and trips to see Taylor Swift. Avoid a “Cruel Summer” with these budget-friendly tips and tricks.
While Nvidia's meteoric rise led it to briefly dethrone Microsoft as the world's biggest public company, there's a lot more going on in this market than A.I.
