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.
RATE HIKE WORRIES
It was a bumpy week on Wall Street, adding to an already volatile 2023 for investors. Stock drifted in and out of the red throughout the week, as investors continued to trade speculation about what, exactly, the Federal Reserve might do rate-wise now that the economy is proving more resilient and inflationary than expected. Despite this narrative, stocks recovered Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 1.47 percent, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.33 and 1.49 respectively.
TARGET REBOOTS
Target's stock fell this week after it released a tepid forecast for the coming year. The retail giant reported that consumers are pulling back spending, and the near-term inflation picture doesn't offer much hope of a bounce back. On top of that, the company said that its recent spate of markdowns is likely to continue for a little bit longer, which means continued pressure on profit margins. Because of these headwinds, Target said it's investing $5 billion to open new stores and revamp existing ones to encourage impulse buying.
FORD ACCELERATES
Ford's stock is up nearly 10 percent this week, following an earnings report showing a 22 percent jump in sales in February from the year before. The legacy automaker bolstered the positive sentiment with the announcement that it planned to resume production of pickups and electric vehicles in the popular F-Series. The assembly line was idled after a battery in an F-150 Lightning caught fire in the company's parking lot. Ford said the cause of the fire has been discovered and has now been solved. Production will resume on March 13. The increased pace of sales beat Wall Street estimates, which predicted a less than 10 percent jump.
AI STOCK SURGES
Shares of artificial intelligence software company C3.ai skyrocketed nearly 30 percent on Friday. The rally appears to be fueled by support from retail investors, who have put their weight behind the lesser known AI-related stock. In addition, momentum is building around the AI space, with new enterprise applications rapidly gaining traction with investors. The company also beat Wall Street estimates on profit and revenue in its latest earnings report. C3.ai is aiming to become fully profitable by the year 2024.
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.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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