From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
AMC Invests
AMC may want to think about expanding to theme parks because it's been a roller coaster ride this week for the movie theater chain. Embraced by retail investors this year, the stock has been soaring. Tuesday AMC decided to sell more than $230 million of its shares to Mudrick Capital to invest further in the company, which Mudrick immediately sold off the same day. Wednesday, it announced an investor loyalty program, complete with free popcorn. That sent the meme stock, which started the year at about $2 a pop, to more than $72 in intraday trading. And then...Thursday happened. AMC started the day announcing it would offer 11.5 million additional shares, and that sent the stock into freefall. Trading was halted shortly after the open — and still rallied later in the day to close at $51, up from a low of almost $42. With summer blockbuster season upon us, it should traditionally mean the wind is blowing the right way for AMC, but these crazy conditions have nothing to do with movies. So, we'll have to wait and see if investors give a hoot about whether tickets are actually selling. AMC ended down at $47.99 while stocks in general ended the week up.
Old Is In
Etsy got a bump on Wednesday when it announced plans to acquire Depop. The ecommerce platform popular with crafters and vintage-lovers says it will pay $1.6 billion for the app which will help tap into a young consumer base. Depop, an app for buying and selling fashions secondhand, has millions of Gen Z shoppers, which should be a boon to the seller. Rent the Runway also announced it's going to dip its toes in the resale market. Business dropped off for the clothing rental company when everyone stopped going to work, weddings, and other special events last year, so it's hoping this will jumpstart business once again.
Activists Nab Another Exxon Seat
Last week we mentioned the reckoning Big Oil is facing with climate activists making inroads for change. It's not over for ExxonMobil, as we saw this week when Engine No. 1, a hedge fund that focuses on sustainable investments, claimed another seat on its board. That makes this the third seat, one-quarter of the board, which has been nabbed by interests that want to see the company get serious about addressing climate issues caused, in part, by the fossil fuel industry.
J&J On the Hook
Johnson & Johnson took a hit on Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the $2 billion verdict it owes to a group of women who argued they developed ovarian cancer from the company's talc products which contained asbestos. By deciding not to take up the case, it leaves the award in place and leaves the pharmaceutical company with no more options to appeal. The $2 billion figure is actually less than half of the original award, but J&J is still facing thousands of similar lawsuits. You can't buy the company's iconic talc-based baby powder in the U.S. and Canada anymore, but it is still available elsewhere in the world.
Zoom's Future
Zoom stock slunk down most of the week after its earnings report, which came out right after the holiday weekend. Revenue soared last quarter and even tripled since the same time last year during the very beginning of pandemic lockdowns. But the guidance seems to spook some investors. Although the video conference company foresees a 50 percent increase in revenue by the end of the year, return-to-work is clearly weighing on its mind. Still, shares popped back up again on Friday to close out the week strong.
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.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
