The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
POWELL ON INFLATION
Hot off a blockbuster jobs report, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a public appearance this week that inflation still had a long way to go. The comments helped temper hopes that easing inflation might lead the Fed to pull back on rate hikes sooner rather than later, which likely fueled some of the bearish sentiment over the past five days. With that hot jobs report hanging over markets, the next inflation report will be eagerly anticipated to see if the deflationary trend accelerates or prices pick back up, giving credence to the Fed's caution.
UBER PULLS AHEAD
It was a week of contrasts for the two biggest ridesharing companies. Shares of Lyft melted down around 30 percent after an earnings report showed it falling behind rival Uber. Lyft's first quarter outlook showed that it would have to lower profits to keep pace with Uber's fare prices. “This is obviously not the level of growth, profitability we are aiming for or capable of,” Lyft CEO Logan Green told investors. “And we are laser-focused on driving additional growth and managing costs.” Uber, meanwhile, boasted surpassing two billion rides globally.
DISNEY LAYOFFS
Shares of Disney rose and then fell this week after the entertainment giant announced plans to lay off 7,000 workers, cut $5.5 billion in costs, and reorganize the company into three business units, all in a bid to increase profitability. The initial rally came after CEO Bob Iger said Disney was trying to reinstate its dividend, which was suspended during the pandemic. But other headwinds helped knock the share back down into the red. In addition to macroeconomic challenges, the company's Disney+ streaming service lost 2.4 million subscribers — its first-ever drop.
ROBINHOOD REVIVAL
Robinhood's stock is down around 6 percent this week after missing Wall Street estimates on its latest earnings report, even as it showed a 5 percent jump in net revenue. The board also approved the purchase of 55 million shares, or 7.6 percent of the company, from disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who bought them in 2022. The company is working closely with the Department of Justice, which seized the shares earlier this year, on the transaction.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
