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.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
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.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
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.
