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.
RUN, BULLS, RUN
The S&P 500 has officially exited its longest bear market run since the 1940s. The index charged into bull territory on the back of major gains in tech, in particular chipmakers such as Nvidia. Enthusiasm around artificial intelligence is partly behind the shift in sentiment, as well as a general uptick in investor optimism as inflation continues to slow and the U.S. economy, so far, manages to avoid a long-anticipated recession.
FED WATCH
Despite the good feeling on Wall Street, investors are bracing themselves for next week's Federal Reserve meeting. While it's widely believed that the central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive rate hiking cycle, the chance of another interest rate increase has markets on edge. There have been few hints from Fed officials lately, as they have been quiet as part of their usual media blackout period prior to FOMC meetings.
CARVANA ACCELERATES
Shares of Carvana skyrockeed more than 50 percent on Thursday amid a devastating short squeeze that was initiated after the struggling car retailer forecast positive adjusted earnings in the second quarter. "Our record-breaking 2023 first quarter is evidence that our strategy is working, and our updated Q2 2023 outlook demonstrates that our progress continues to positively impact the business even faster than expected," CEO Ernie Garcia said in a statement. The rally comes as the stock tries to recover from being wiped out in 2022, when it fell 98 percent.
TESLA RALLIES
Tesla’s stock is up about 12 percent this week, putting the carmaker on track to match its longest winning streak ever. The boost came after General Motors announced that it's struck a deal with Tesla to start installing its charging ports beginning in 2025. Many are hopeful that the deal marks a turning point for legacy automakers, and that others could soon adopt Tesla's charging technology as well.
APPLE DOWNGRADE
Apple's stock got a downgrade this week, despite a much-hyped developer conference that unveiled its first major product release since 2014. The long-awaited "mixed reality headset," however, didn't generate the same level of excitement as previous big product announcements such as the iPhone. It's also unclear when exactly the headset will hit markets, with Apple saying it might need more time to develop features for it.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
