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.
INTRODUCING: THREADS
It's the new Twitter! No, wait, it's a new competitor! Meta stock got lots of likes this week as it introduced a new platform called Threads, which is meant to take on the short-text social media OG. Like Twitter, Threads allows users to converse in real-time text conversations and makes it very easy for current Instagram users to sign up. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said 10 million users signed up in the first few hours and the platform has already been dubbed the "Twitter killer." Meta ended the week up about 2 percent.
MACRO WORRIES
There was good news for the job market, but bad news for investors Thursday when ADP announced private hiring was much stronger than expected in June. While workers are happy to be pulling in paychecks, strong hiring could lead to more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as it struggles to get inflation under control. A milder-than-expected monthly report from the feds tempered the fallout Friday, helping the Dow Jones end the week down nearly 2 percent. At the last FOMC meeting, they opted not to raise them for the first time in over a year, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that just because they passed on a rate hike this time, more increases are still very much on the table.
JETBLUE DITCHES AMERICAN DEAL
JetBlue rattled the markets Wednesday when it announced it will ditch an alliance with American Airlines in order to save its proposed takeover of Spirit. The Justice Department has been trying to block the Spirit acquisition and the American deal over fears about consolidation in the airline industry that would further stifle competition and drive up ticket prices. Both JetBlue and American stock dipped on the news Thursday but climbed back on Friday. It was good news for Spirit stockholders; shares rose on the news, ending the week up 8 percent.
UPS LABOR PROBLEM
Your packages may not get where they need to go later this year and investors are watching. Labor negotiations broke down this week with both sides blaming the other for walking away from the table. The union says it wants a final offer, but the company says it delivered a "historic offer" that the union abandoned. If conditions continue to deteriorate, a strike could come at any time. The stock took a dive on Wednesday when this all came to a head, but will still end the week up about 2 percent.
Super Bowl Champion, Julian Edelman, talks Chiefs' conspiracies, his fave TSwift song and his bet for Super Bowl LIX. Plus, the best time for a bathroom break.
Ron Hammond, Sr. Director of Government Relations at the Blockchain Association, breaks down Trump’s plan to strengthen U.S. leadership in financial technology.
BiggerPockets Money podcast is now available on Cheddar Wednesdays at 10am ET! Mindy Jensen shares how her podcast is helping people gain financial freedom.
The social video platform's future remains in doubt, as players scramble to profit from the chaos. Plus: Big oil gets bigger, DOGE downsizes, and tariffs!
Ty Young, CEO of Ty J. Young Wealth Management, joins Cheddar to discuss Trump's moves as he returns to Washington D.C. and how it may affect the U.S. economy.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Chris Ruder, Spikeball Founder and CEO, explains how he and his friends put roundnet on the global map, plus, how Spikeball helps people "find their circle."
