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.
WORST WEEK SINCE OCT.
U.S. markets had a downright awful week, with the Dow putting in its worst five-day stretch since October. The selloff started after the Federal Reserve moved up its forecast for interest rate hikes, saying it expects to do a pair in 2023 — an acknowledgment that the economy is recovering more quickly than the central bank predicted just a few months ago and that rising inflation threatens to slow that recovery down. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy isn’t “out of the woods at this point” but that the labor market is looking strong. He also said inflation is rising faster than the Fed expected, and the Fed’s forecast now calls for 3.4 percent inflation in 2021, up from the prior estimate of 2.4 percent. That sent sectors like energy and industrials that had been leading the recovery lower, with the broader market following suit. Then St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard remarked that he expects the first rate hike to come as early as 2022. The S&P lost more than 1.5 percent on the week.
VAX STOCKS SINK
The big COVID vaccine makers also had a miserable week, led by Novavax. The Maryland-based biotech fell 8 percent after reporting extremely positive results for its forthcoming vaccine, as investors looked to take profits on a stock that was at one point up close to 200 percent over the last year. BioNTech, Pfizer, and Moderna also fell on the Novavax news, given that they’re likely to face a new competitor in the market. Pfizer fell the least of the bunch; that stock has been remarkably steady despite being the first out of the gate with a life-saving vaccine that is helping to end a global pandemic. PFE shares are up just over 5 percent on the year while the S&P is up about 13 percent.
SPACS TAKE NASDAQ
It was a fairly busy week for IPOs with two big names joining the Nasdaq. The cannabis review site Weedmaps and the at-home, genetic-testing powerhouse 23andMe both debuted on the exchange via SPACs. Weedmaps CEO Chris Beals said the company chose the SPAC route, merging with Silver Spike Acquisition Corp, in order to better “curate” its investor base. Weedmaps, which runs a SaaS platform for users to rate and buy from cannabis dispensaries in states where it’s legal — think Yelp for pot — received $579 million in a cash infusion in the deal. Meanwhile, 23andMe also went the SPAC route in its debut, merging with Richard Branson’s VG Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the company at $3.5 billion. The stock spiked 21 percent on its first day of trade.
HONEST EARNINGS
Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. announced its first quarterly earnings release since going public, beating expectations on a narrower-than-expected loss and higher revenues, but showing signs of stagnation in some key areas. Honest’s diaper and wipes segment fell 2 percent year-over-year while digital sales rose just 2 percent, compared to 23 percent in the prior period. (The disappointing diaper sales were in line with Procter & Gamble’s numbers for its Pampers brand, for what it’s worth.) Honest has been branching out into new categories, which appears to be working. Sales of skin and personal care products and household and wellness products were up 42 and 53 percent year-over-year, respectively. The stock is trading roughly where it priced its IPO last month.
BOTTLEGATE
The sponsors of the Euro 2020 soccer tournament are learning a valuable lesson about endorsements in the social media era. Shares of Coca-Cola slipped after Cristiano Ronaldo — one of the biggest soccer stars in the world with a social media following numbering half a billion — swapped two bottles of Coke for a bottle of water at his post-match press conference, urging people to drink “agua.” The clip immediately went viral online, wiping about $4 billion off Coke’s market cap and upsetting the delicate balance of power between superstars and brands in the online era. (Ronaldo started a bit of a trend at the Euro; Italian star Manuel Locatelli copied his move with the Coke bottles, and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba removed a strategically placed bottle of Heineken beer from his presser.) Coke, of course, is too big to feel much long-term pain from a fleeting viral video; the beverage giant said in April its global case volume is already back to pre-pandemic levels and the stock is up more than 15 percent in the last year.
Sonos reported better than expected Q1 earnings amid chip shortage with the release of its Roam product. CFO Brittany Bagley joined Cheddar News to discuss the smart speaker maker's successful report and its plans to hit its 2024 targets as people leave their homes as pandemic restrictions ease. "Even as people head out in the world, it doesn't mean they don't like to listen to music at home or watch a streaming movie at home," she said. "So there's still a real role for us and our products in peoples lives, sort of, no matter what else they're doing."
Lynn Martin, president of the NYSE Group, explains why investors at the New York Stock Exchange should still feel confident despite the recent Wall Street volatility and discusses the landscape for 2022 when it comes to IPOs and retail investors.
The merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery received Justice Department approval on Wednesday, and Patty Hirsch, EVP of consumer and digital platforms at WarnerMedia, joined Cheddar News to discuss current and future offerings from the media conglomerate that will control both HBO Max and Discovery+. "Content really drives so much, and CNN has always had a very long history of creating an incredible documentaries, incredible content … and this service I think is going to ultimately provide the kind of content consumers want and the kind of content that consumers are going are going to pay for," she said. Hirsch also discussed NFTs in use through its Turner Sports and DC brands.
Black entrepreneurs lead the way in the creation of new businesses, but they often cannot get the necessary funding to get their business off the ground. The Fearless Fund is on a mission to change that, and help Black business owners get venture capital. The fund also offers a unique grant program meant to help entrepreneurs with growth, peer coaching, and more, including grants between $10,000 and $20,000. Arian Simone, Co-Founder and General Partner of Fearless Fund, joins Closing Bell to discuss the Fund's mission, how it helps Black entrepreneurs, and more.
Multinational food company Kellogg’s reported an earnings beat amid supply chain issues and an extended labor strike. Kellogg’s Chairman and CEO c joined Cheddar News to discuss overcoming the obstacles and what's to come for the company. "The first half of the year is really going to be one about rebuilding inventory, and into the second quarter, starting to reestablish promotional activity for our customers and our consumers," Cahillane said. "And then the back half of the year, obviously, we're really much more back in business, and we expect to exit the year with our business in cereal being just as strong as it's ever been."
Sting has sold his catalog of more than 600 songs for $300 million to Universal Music. The deal gives the label the rights to all of his work, including “Every Breath You Take," as well as all future royalties.
Miller Lite is opening the first branded bar in the metaverse, by way of Decentraland, as a way to advertise during the Super Bowl this year without buying an expensive TV commercial slot. Sofia Colucci, global vice president of Miller Family of Brands, joined Cheddar to talk about the new marketing concept. "We have a lot of great partnerships with NFL teams throughout the year but were shut out of advertising during the Super Bowl game, so this pushes us to think creatively and also think of what feels really relevant right now," Colucci said. "There's no question that there's a lot of excitement with the metaverse, and we wanted to participate but in a way that felt right for Miller Lite."
Plans to add affordable housing to a development in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were squashed after comedian Dave Chappelle and other community members spoke out against the project. Chappelle threatened to pull the plug on his local comedy club and restaurant projects if the development had been approved.
Jason Moser, Senior Analyst at The Motley Fool, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to talk about the big takeaways from Disney's Q1 report, which showed the company nearing 130 million Disney+ subscribers as parks revenue ticks up.
The airline industry is seeing a major consolidation as Frontier and Spirit Airlines have agreed to merge in a deal valued at $6.6 billion dollars. Frontier will control just over 51% of the company, and Spirit will control the other 48%, creating what would become the fifth-largest airline in the U.S. The deal was approved over the weekend, with Spirit CEO Ted Christie saying that the merger aims to create an aggressive, low-fare competitor focused on consumer-friendly pricing. John Grant, Senior Analyst at OAG explains the gravity of the merger, and the wider impact it could have on competition and the airline industry as a whole.
