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.
Between uncertainty over the Omicron variant, and the possibility of a sooner-than-expected taper from the Fed, it was an especially volatile week for the markets. The release of the November jobs report on Friday, with job growth coming in way lower than estimates also caused movement on the market. Frances Stacy, Director of Strategy at Optimal Capital explains why all of this, combined with Bitcoin’s huge drop over the weekend, could make for another rough week for investors.
It was a chaotic week for the market, as investors reacted to the new omicron variant. Today though is all about jobs. Just ahead of the November jobs report, David Riley, Chief Investment Strategist at Blue Bay Asset management gave a run down of what to expect from the report, and what it could mean for investors.
Developers for the video game "Call of Duty: Warzone" staged a walkout in protest of 12 quality assurance testers being laid off by parent company Activision Blizzard. This marks the latest work stoppage for the embattled game publishing giant.
Troubled Chinese real estate giant Evergrande is once again nearing the brink of collapse. Shares of Evergrande sunk to a new record low on Monday, closing down 20 percent, as debt default fears resurfaced. Drew Bernstein, co-chairman at consultancy MarcumBP, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. He said U.S. investors have to understand that "there is no company in China that's too big to fail, that's for sure," and that the Chinese government will be prioritizing the social welfare of the populace. Bernstein did note that it would be a managed collapse in some form.
Earlier this year, JetBlue flew its inaugural flight into the United Kingdom. It was a game changer — not only did the airline enter the transatlantic market, but the plane that completed the flight was a single-aisle jet. For decades, flying the distance was synonymous with jumbo jets, but today narrow-body aircraft are now proving they are up for the task — and maybe even the best option. In this episode, Cheddar examines why airlines are betting on narrow-body aircraft.
Carlo and Baker discuss the sweeping new vaccine mandate in NYC that will target all private businesses. Plus, Trump's media venture gets its CEO and more.
