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.
APPLE POWER
The stock market rallied on Friday after Apple reported its quarterly earnings, which showed a decline in revenue but solid iPhone sales. The stock rose 5 percent, buoying the rest of the market, with some help from the latest job report as well. The U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April and the unemployment dropped to 3.4 percent, despite reports of layoffs across industries and continued fears of a recession. The rally comes just two days after the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-percent rate hike as expected, with many expecting the central bank to now ease up on tightening. Still, the labor market staying tight could change that.
BANK STOCKS RALLY
Regional bank shares also rebounded at the end of the week. Shares of struggling banks such as PacWest and Western Alliance jumped 81 and 49 percent respectively. Bank stocks had dropped precipitously in recent sessions, as investors braced for more bank failures. Data indicating strength in the economy helped temper those fears, and bank stocks rose accordingly. Shares of First Horizon were also up, despite its recent announcement that a planned merger with TD Bank was collapsing. Relatedly, JPMorgan earlier this week agreed to purchase the ailing First Republic bank.
FORD EARNINGS
Ford, meanwhile, benefitted from the rally, but nonetheless is down for the week due in part to a mixed earnings report. The automaker posted strong first-quarter revenue and profit, as demand for trucks and SUVs remains robust, but had a less optimistic outlook for the year in response to continued losses in its electric vehicle unit. This doesn't bode well for the ongoing EV transition, but Ford has warned previously that the division could see losses for the foreseeable future.
RIDESHARE FIRMS DIVERGE
Shares of Uber are up more than 17 percent for the week after the rideshare giant reported strong earnings and a 29 percent jump in revenue. At the same time, shares of Lyft tanked 16 percent, as investors responded to a dim outlook for the coming year.
According to the Labor Department December report, the U.S added 199,000 jobs as opposed to the more than 400,000 that had been expected. William M. Rodgers III, vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equality at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined Cheddar's Baker Machado to talk about the state of the economy and noted that, despite the miss, the drop-off in the unemployment rate signaled to him that the economy is moving in the right direction. "There was an upward revision of about 100,000, a little more than 100,000, for the months of October and November, so, again, I'm not as worried or looking at this as negative as you all are," Rodgers added. He also noted the next three months would likely see slower growth due to the winter but stated that it would remain in a positive direction.
The New York Times has acquired sports outlet The Athletic in a $550 million deal. The acquisition brings the Times closer to its 10 million paid subscribers goal by 2025.
The year 2021 saw numerous natural disasters around the world, including extreme heat and wildfires, rare deep freezes, and historic flooding. This year's United Nations COP26 conference was key for getting world leaders on board with emissions reductions and other climate-focused policies as the UN Secretary-General said the agency's report on global warming is a 'code red for humanity.' In the U.S., President Joe Biden has focused most of his domestic agenda on slashing emissions and building climate-focused infrastructure. Guests from The Economist, UNC-Chapel Hill, Global Rescue, and more join Cheddar Climate's year-end special to discuss how the climate changed in 2021, and what to expect in 2022.
It's no secret tech giant Amazon has a mission of becoming a major player in sports media, and the company is poised to make progress on that goal in 2022. Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home to Thursday Night Football for the 2022-23 NFL season. In December, the New York Post reported that Amazon is in the beginning stages of developing studio sports programs, and hopes to soon have a full daily lineup of sports shows. Front Office Sports senior reporter A.J. Perez joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
