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.
Despite the rising cost of a home in the U.S., sales rose 1.9 percent in November, and according to Zillow, prices are expected to climb even higher in 2022. M. Ryan Gorman, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, told Cheddar's "Closing Bell" that while median prices are high, demand for a new home is just as high, particularly in "tax and weather favorable" destinations like Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. Gorman also said he sees buyer demand remaining high next year even if interest rates rise somewhat, noting that the already tight housing inventory is expected to slim down even more and foreign purchasers return to the market. "As we get past the holidays and those foreign buyers are able to come back and actually acquire homes and go shopping, I think that may be a bigger driver of some of that increase in buyer demand," he said.
The airline industry says it is contending with staff shortages that threaten to hamper operations amid the COVID resurgence, andDelta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian called on the CDC to revise its guidance for vaccinated workers who test positive from a 10-day quarantine to just five. Chuck Liberman, chief investment officer and managing partner at Advisors Capital Management LLC, joined Cheddar to talk about the current guidance on isolation and why he believes the omicron variant calls for more relaxed guidance given its reportedly mild symptoms.
A new series is looking to advance Black founders who have disruptive ideas and companies. 'Bet on Black' is a new series that allows black entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses in the hopes of securing $200,000 in funding. Revolt TV and Target teamed up to create the show. Detavio Samuels, CEO of Revolt, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Bitcoin's rise to the mainstream has been a wild ride this year. The cryptocurrency is trading a little under $49,000 Wednesday morning and is set to finish the year sharply higher than where it began earlier this year. Ether prices also soared this year, rising from $730 per coin to nearly $4,000. Ben Armstrong, founder of Bitboy Crypto, joins us to discuss what's in store for crypto in 2022.
The fitness industry was one of the most severely impacted at the start of the pandemic. As the omicron variant of COVID-19 threatens fitness centers and gyms, the Global Health and Fitness Association, along with the Community Gyms Coalition, are calling on the federal government to provide pandemic relief before the close of 2021. Crunch Fitness Franchise CEO Ben Midgely joined Cheddar to talk about proactive steps gyms are taking to maximize business as COVID resurges. "It should be a little bit easier," he said. "We hate to have to deal with it again, but it's what businesses in this country have to work with."
According to the FAA, airlines have reported over 5,000 incidents involving unruly passengers this year, with more than 3,600 of those involving people who refused to wear face masks. As a result of all this, airline crews are calling on the federal government to step in to implement protocols to help ensure safety on the ground and while in flight. President of the Association of Flight Attendants- CWA Sara Nelson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The NHTSA is investigating Tesla over the potential for crashes and distracted driving due to its front touch screen "Passenger Play" game option. The probe covers 580,000 vehicles for all four models from 2017 to 2022.
Cheddar is looking back at the 12 biggest buzzwords of the year leading up to Christmas. The term for Day 11 is Fundamentals. Definition: (noun) information related to a business' profitability, revenue, assets, liabilities, and growth potential.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed staff about workplace culture concerns after they expressed issues with what they perceived as a lack of honesty, candor, and humility from their executives. Pichai attributed some of the challenges to remote communication during the ongoing pandemic.
With Christmas just days away and people rushing out to get last-minute shopping done, Derrick Kinney, host of the "Good Money" podcast, joined Cheddar to provide some financial tips so shoppers can avoid major holiday debt. He suggested people wait until after the holiday to give gifts if possible because stores will likely have discounted goods. For those looking to save a little extra cash around this time of year, Kinney also suggested that they adjust their "commoditized items" like auto insurance and shop for better deals.
