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.
Stocks fell on Friday after a turbulent week on Wall Street amid continued fears that a series of banking collapses could lead to a wider financial crisis. The situation is rapidly developing, but here's a rundown of the biggest developments so far this week.
BANKER BAILOUT
On Thursday, 11 of the biggest U.S. banks announced they were teaming up to deliver a $30 billion rescue package to First Republic Bank, which is the latest bank to nearly collapse due to fleeing depositors. The bank served a similar clientele as Silicon Valley Bank, which went into receivership last weekend following a massive bank run. Many see the package as a vote of confidence for First Republic and the banking sector overall.
FED THROWS A LIFELINE
The Federal Reserve has loaned a total of $300 billion to struggling banks over the past week. About half of that chunk, $143 billion, went to the newly formed holding companies behind Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, both of which saw bank runs. The Fed hasn't revealed where the other half went, leading to speculation about the extent of the crisis. The money went toward shoring up a bank's balance sheets.
CREDIT SUISSE TUMBLES
Swiss bank Credit Suisse on Wednesday saw its shares plunge more than 30 percent after the Saudi National Bank, its biggest shareholder, said it would no longer provide funding. The news sowed fear that the U.S. banking crisis was going global. However, the troubles at Credit Suisse started long before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Depositors have been pulling out of the bank since last year, when the bank admitted that it had misjudged its financial risks.
INFLATION SLOWS
Meanwhile, inflation continues to slow. The consumer price index jumped 0.4 percent month-over-month in February, which is down from 0.5 percent in January, while the annual inflation is up 6 percent, down from 6.4 percent. The trend is notable development considering many of the issues afflicting the banking sector originate, in part, from the Fed's quest to tamp down prices with higher rates.
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.
