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.
LOGITECH ON TITAN
As we followed the tragedy unfolding in the North Atlantic this week, there was an unexpected response on Wall Street. News reports revealed the Titan submersible that went missing was controlled by a Logitech game controller. The tech company's stock dropped 11 percent on Wednesday, but gained some of that back by the end of the week; it ended the week down about 3 percent on the news. Last week, investors also saw a downturn after CEO Bracken Darrell announced his resignation.
FEDEX FALLS
FedEx stock hit the skids after the latest earnings snapshot revealed trouble ahead. The company said it can't provide a forecast for the fiscal year ahead, but it is not expecting huge revenue gains. CFO Michael Lenz will retire next month and the company is trying to figure out who will replace him as the delivery giant heads into choppy waters. The stock clawed back some gains by the end of the week, ending down just about 1 percent.
STARBUCKS STRIKE
The Starbucks union announced a strike in the coming days over how LGBTQ+ decorations have - or have not - been displayed in stores during Pride Month. Starbucks Workers Union says 3,500 workers in 150 stores across the U.S. will be walking out over the next week. Workers claim store managers have removed or prevented putting up Pride displays, but the coffee chain's HQ denied this and says the union is trying to spread misinformation as they work on contract negotiations. The stock was down about 3 percent on Friday.
BRACE YOURSELF
Fed Chair Jerome Powell wasn't doing Wall Street any favors, at least in the short-term, when he reiterated in front of a Senate committee that there could be more interest rate hikes before the end of the year. We all got a reprieve last week when the body declined to raise rates for the first time in more than a year, but inflation isn't well enough under control to declare the problem over.
CARMAX REVS UP
Used car retailer Carmax caught some air this week after its earnings report showed Wall Street what's what. Between cost-cutting measures and dings to revenue coming in much better than expected, the company showed a strong position. Used car sales were strong throughout the pandemic, as the number of buyers outpaced supply of both new and used cars. Now that industries and supply chains are stabilizing, CarMax says it has made deliberate business moves to stay strong. The stock was up about 10 percent on Friday.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
