In this photo illustration, a Mattel, Inc. logo of an US toy manufacturing company seen displayed on a smartphone and a pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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.
RATE HIKE ANXIETY
It was a rocky week on Wall Street to say the least. Despite a slew of impressive earnings reports, the major indices careened in and out the red but ended up for the week on a strong Friday upswing. Markets initially struggled to digest Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Wednesday speech signaling that a rate hike could be coming as soon as March, with more possibly on the horizon. This news caused jitters among investors concerned about what higher rates will mean for growth stocks, which played no small part in fueling the pandemic-era bull market.
TESLA POSTS BIG PROFITS
Amid what's increasingly looking like an electric vehicle renaissance, Tesla turned in a strong fourth quarter earnings report showing $5.5 billion in annual profits, which is up from $720 million in 2020. But the beat didn't help Tesla's stock, which is already highly valued. Shares fell 11 percent on Thursday on the news that Tesla will not produce any new vehicle models in 2022, due to supply chain issues and chip shortages, and were down on the week.
RECORD SALES FOR APPLE
Apple posted its highest-ever quarterly earnings this week, defying Wall Street expectations that supply chain issues would cut into the iPhone maker's bottom line. Sales came in at $123.9 billion, up 11 percent from the last quarter. Every product category, except iPads, beat expectations with the 5G-capable iPhone 13 showing numbers. CEO Tim Cook also hinted that he expects supply chain woes would ease in the coming quarter.
KOHL'S FOR SALE?
Kohl's saw its stock surge nearly 35 percent on Monday on the news that at least two buyers were interested in taking over the retailer. The two contenders, a hedge fund and a private equity firm are interested in taking the company private. One of them, the activist hedge fund Macellum Advisors, has been critical of the company's management during the pandemic and is now calling for a change of course.
MATTEL WINS BACK DISNEY
Shares of Mattel popped this week after the toymaker secured a deal with Walt Disney to put out a product line for the Disney princesses, including the popular Frozen franchise. The deal marks a comeback for the company, which lost the Disney license to Hasbro back in 2016. The loss back then spurred a string of leadership shake-ups, ending with current CEO Ynon Kreiz taking over. He has since tried to stabilize the company with $1 billion in cost cuts and efforts to revitalize legacy brands such as Barbie — which, if you haven't heard, is being developed as a movie starring Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig. This is on top of another of its brands, Masters of the Universe, getting a new live-action movie deal with Netflix after being stuck in development with Sony. The stock ended up almost five points for the week.
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.
