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.

APPLE HITS FB, EU HITS APPLE

Facebook stock plunged 5 percent Wednesday and the culprit behind the bad news was none other than Apple. Changes it made to iOS in order to protect consumer privacy perhaps hit the social media giant hardest. It turns out when consumers are asked whether they want to opt out of tracking they'll choose yes — and that's bad news for Facebook's ad targeting and revenue. But, it's just another bad headline for the social media giant already dealing with the fallout from the Wall Street Journal airing some of its dirty laundry. Meanwhile, Apple had its own problems this week. The European Union announced plans to force all mobile device-makers to use the same USB-C cables for charging. And when they say all, they're mainly talking to Apple, which has staunchly refused to get on board with the common charging format for the iPhone. The company has contended that forcing it to use the same charger as everyone else will stifle innovation, so now some are conjecturing that the company could just ditch ports altogether. 

CRYPTO CRUMBLES

Crypto was hammered on several fronts this week as well. Early on, the values of digital coins were dropping along with the broader dip in global markets upon learning that massive Chinese property developer Evergrand was likely to miss its $83 million bond interest payment (which it did). Then, on Friday, China banned all crypto transactions, driving down the price of Bitcoin another 5 percent to around $42,000. The country is developing its own digital yuan which can be controlled by the government. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said regulators are still considering the future of a central digital currency in the U.S. but also gave a nod to the private innovation in crypto that has gotten us this far.  

UNIVERSAL HITS HIGH NOTE

Universal Music Group, which is tied to a few big names in the industry (Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar…you get the point), went public this week on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Shares soared more than 35 percent on the first day of trading Tuesday giving the music giant a valuation of more than $50 billion. Universal's legendary catalog helped insulate it against a slowdown that hit the music industry during the pandemic.

MCDONALD'S SUPERSIZES IT

McDonald's customers are coming back and the company is ready to share the wealth with investors. MickyD's announced Thursday it'll be increasing quarterly dividends by 7 percent this December. It's also restarting its stock buyback program, which it suspended when COVID hit in March 2020. In 2019 the company had spent $5 billion reclaiming stock. While that's all well and good, the thing that really has everyone talking is the chain's plan to "drastically" cut back on the plastic used in its Happy Meal toys. It plans to lean toward more eco-friendly options like cardboard. In the UK and Ireland, it already doles out soft toys or books with its burgers and nuggets. The stock ended up almost 3 percent for the week.

WHAT GOES UP...

Roku had some big swings this week. On Thursday a Guggenheim analyst changed Roku's rating to Buy, saying there's plenty of potential for overseas growth and increased ad revenue. The stock jumped 5 percent on the news. But if an industry report can raise a stock that much - it can also pull it back to Earth. Friday Well Fargo downgraded the stock citing the increase in competition. At the close of markets, the stock price was $321.89, a nudge higher than where it started the week. 

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Load More