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.
DEBT CEILING UPDATE
Lawmakers reportedly made some progress on debt talks, with Republicans and Democrats working toward a potential deal to raise the federal ceiling but largely limit spending over the next two years. On the table are defense spending and contoversial investments in the IRS. The Biden administration is also working out a contingency plan to potentially delay payments to the U.S. Treasury. The Dow Jones jumped over 300 points going into Memorial Day weekend as hopes rose that the federal government would not default.
NVIDIA SPARKS RALLY
The stock market also got a boost on Thursday after chipmaker Nvidia reported a 20 percent jump in revenue from the previous quarter, mostly due to the artificial intelligence boom fueling demand for high-end semiconductors. The company's shares surged more than 25 percent following the report and helped spark a rally across the tech sector. “The computer industry is going through two simultaneous transitions — accelerated computing and generative AI,” CEO Jensen Huang in a statement.
DUMPING DOLLAR TREE
Meanwhile, Dollar Tree's stock fell more than 16 percent after the company disappointed on earnings and lowered its profit outlook for the year. The earnings miss reflects a number of headwinds facing the discount retailer, among them higher levels of shrink and a shift to lower-margin consumables. These challenges have been felt across the sector, which has struggled with changes to consumer demand post-pandemic.
BEST BUY BEATS
Bucking the trend, however, is Best Buy. The technology retailer's stock is up nearly 5 percent for the week on the back of an earnings report that beat Wall Street estimates. Tempering the rally though is the fact that Best Buy is still expecting weaker spending on consumer electronics in the coming year. “What we would say is we’ve been seeing a consumer who is — whether or not you call it a recession — exhibiting some recessionary behaviors,” CEO Corie Barry told investors.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
