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.
FED EASES ON RATE HIKES
The Federal Reserve this week raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point. That is the second 25-basis-point hike this year after a year of heftier hikes. Trouble in the banking sector had some betting that the Fed would hold off on increasing the rate altogether, but the Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank ultimately decided to move forward with one based on recent data showing strength in the economy. "Inflation has moderated somewhat since the middle of last year, but the strength of these recent readings indicates that inflation pressures continue to run high."
YELLEN SAYS FEDS ARE READY TO HELP
As the banking crisis continues to unfold, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has taken pains to assure depositors that the federal government is ready to step in and provide more support if necessary. "We have used important tools to act quickly to prevent contagion," she said. "And they are tools we could use again." These comments came against a backdrop of uncertainty across the global economy as Switzerland tries to secure a buyer for the failing Credit Suisse. UBS has committed to acquiring the bank, but the companies and regulators are still working to close the deal.
MEME STOCK RALLY
Shares of GameStop soared 41 percent on Wednesday after the retailer reported a profit for the first time in two years. The announcement kicked off a short squeeze among bearish investors that fueled the rally, which quickly spread to other meme stocks such as AMC, Bed Bath & Beyond, Virgin Galactic, and Nokia. The rally apparently had some legs, as GameStop is set to end the trading week up around 44 percent.
FORD WARNS OF LOSSES
Ford is going all-in on electric vehicles, but it's warning that could mean some profit losses in the short-term. The company said it lost $2.1 billion last year on its EV business and urged investors to look at its Ford Model e unit as a startup, which are expected to lose money while they ramp up their capabilities. Investors responded well to the transparency, and Ford's stock ticked up 2.2 percent for the week. Meanwhile, Ford said its new Tennessee plant will be capable of churning out 500,000 electric trucks per year.
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.
