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.
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.
