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.
KOHL'S UNDER PRESSURE
Shares of Kohl's plunged earlier this week, but then bounced back on the news that no less than 20 potential suitors were interested in buying the struggling department store chain. Wall Street has put heavy pressure on the retailer to either sell off its online business or take the company private, as well as elect new members to its board. CEO Michelle Gass, however, maintained that the company is making strides on its own terms as it executes a multi-year turnaround plan, which includes growing its Sephora business to more than $2 billion in annual sales
AMAZON SPLITS STOCK
Amazon's stock is about to get a lot less expensive, and shares are rallying on the news. The stock — currently priced at an eye-watering $2,910 per share — jumped 5 percent on Thursday in what's looking like the company's second-best day of the year. The pop came just days after Amazon announced a 20-to-1 stock split that will reduce the price of shares by 95 percent. While the split doesn't change the company's fundamentals, it does open the door to new investors, and it could make Amazon eligible for inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial index.
BED, BATH & BEYOND BUMP
Bed, Bath & Beyond got some of that meme-stock shine this week after GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen revealed holding nearly a 10 percent stake in the company. Cohen, who founded online pet retailer Chewy, has a reputation as a turnaround artist for his work in revitalizing GameStop. Now he's making the leap from video games to home goods. In a letter to the board, Cohen outlined a plan for Bed, Bath & Beyond to narrow its focus and potentially sell off its Buybuy Baby brand. He also said the company would be better off owned by a private equity firm.
RIVIAN HITS THE SKIDS
Rivian Automotive's stock sunk 7.5 percent on Friday after the release of a fourth quarter earnings report that showed a net loss of $2.5 billion and a dimmer outlook for 2022 due to supply chain issues and material costs. The electric truck-maker is stacking up massive cost overruns as it readies to make its first orders this year. Investors also weren't happy with the fact that Rivian earlier this month said it was raising prices 20 percent, including for customers who had already put down deposits on pre-orders. The company later reversed the price increase for pre-orders and issued an apology, but the market remained uneasy about the automaker.
GOOGLE ACQUISITION
You've probably never heard of cybersecurity firm Mandiant, but Google parent company Alphabet sure has. Shares of Mandiant shot up 16 percent on Monday after Alphabet announced plans to acquire the company in a bid to expand its cloud computing business. Alphabet currently trails behind Microsoft and Amazon Web Services in the rapidly-growing cloud computing business. The hope is that bolstering its cybersecurity cred will help Alphabet gain ground on its rivals and provide a more complete suite of services to cloud customers.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
