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.

PELOTON'S BUMPY RIDE 

For a stationary bike, Peloton sure was taken for a ride this week. After an unfortunate cameo in the first episode of the Sex and the City reboot (spoiler alert) the stock plummeted 11 percent. The company quickly clapped back with an ad featuring Mr. Big himself, which was then pulled after sexual assault allegations against the actor who plays him, Chris Noth, surfaced. For what it's worth, shares recovered somewhat this week, but analysts are watching closely to see if Peloton has a plan to get out of its post-COVID doldrums. 

RATE HIKES AHEAD

Amid soaring inflation and falling unemployment, the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled this week that up to three rate hikes could come in 2022. This is up considerably from recent projections, and came as the Fed accelerated its tapering of monthly asset purchases, another signal that the central bank is trying to wind down monetary stimulus in an increasingly hot economy. Markets took the news in stride initially, as the move was widely expected, but were down Friday as other central banks around the world chimed in with their own plans for rate hikes.  

REDDIT GOES TO WALL STREET 

Reddit was at the epicenter of the memestock craze. Now it's heading to Wall Street for a shot at the public market itself. The social media platform announced this week that it had confidentially filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. Reddit, founded in 2005, has been hinting at going public for years, but rumors ramped up as investors speculated about whether the platform would try to cash in on the notoriety it gained during the retail investing boom earlier this year. So will Reddit achieve memestock glory? Or will the financial luminaries over at /wallstreetbets give it a hard pass? 

TOYOTA'S EV PUSH 

Shares of Toyota rose after the automaker announced that it plans to invest $35 billion into building a lineup of 30 battery-powered electric vehicles by 2030. The company also committed to increasing its global sales of EVs by 3.5 million units per year by the end of the decade. The news marked a major leap forward for one of the world's largest automakers, which was a pioneer in hybrid vehicles but has lagged behind in the transition to fully electric vehicles. 

BUY NOW, PAY HATER

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking a closer look at "buy now, pay later" firms such as Klarna, PayPal, Affirm, and Afterpay. The agency is seeking information from the companies that allow customers to pay for items in monthly installments at no interest, about the risks and benefits of their offerings. While it may sound like a boon to consumers, the CFPB is concerned about customers racking up too much debt. UK regulators have started digging into the industry as well. The major buy now, pay later firms saw their shares drop on the news. 

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.
Load More