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.
INFLATION COOLS
The stock market got a jolt this week, as inflation continues to slow. The consumer price index showed prices rising 3 percent year-over-year in June, the lowest pace since March 2021. Month-over-month, prices rose 0.2 percent in June, and the producer price index was up just 0.1 percent, which is half what economists expected. The data gives credence to the argument that the U.S. economy could experience a soft landing as inflation returns to normal. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are up 2 and 3 percent respectively for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index rose 2 percent.
META RALLIES
Meta's Threads app is benefitting from a mass exodus of Twitter users, who are jumping ship amid Elon Musk's controversial efforts to make the social media platform profitable. The number of users on Threads surpassed 100 million users, blowing past industry expectations. Meta's stock ended the week up 4 percent following the news. The bullish sentiment benefited other tech stocks as well. Amazon's stock is up 4 percent, and Google parent Alphabet is up 6 percent. The rally builds on the gains already attained by the sector, which has been riding a wave of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence.
DISNEY CEO STAYING ON
Disney's stock ticked up after the company extended CEO Bob Iger's contract for another two years. The executive also told CNBC that Disney was open to selling off its linear TV assets, saying they may no longer be core to the company. Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild officially went on strike alongside the Writer's Guild after their contract negotiations also broke down, and Iger isn't happy about it. He said the unions' demands are "not realistic." This is the first so-called "double strike" of both writers and actors since 1960.
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD POPS
Videogame maker Activision Blizzard popped 10 percent on Tuesday after a federal judge gave the okay to Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition. The decision came after the court found that the merger was not likely to substantially reduce competition. However, the Federal Trade Commission is appealing the decision in a last-ditch effort to stop the combination. The appeal raises the possibility that the whole deal falls apart Tuesday when the agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard expires. Alternatively, both sides could agree to extend or Microsoft could be on the hook for $3 billion to Activision Blizzard for not getting the deal done in time.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
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.
