Pedestrians pass a Starbucks in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in New York. Starbucks is denying union organizers' claims that it banned LGBTQ+ Pride displays in its U.S. stores after Target and other brands experienced backlash. The Seattle coffee giant says there has been no change to its policy and it encourages store leaders to celebrate Pride in June. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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.
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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.
