The holiday shopping season may be over, but Wal-Mart is not done innovating. The superstore is headed into 2018 with big technology goals including personal shopping via text message and cashier-less stores. Ted Rubin gives his take on these big retail moves.
Rubin argues Wal-Mart's move to offer personalized shopping via text message is misguided. The store is looking to capture the top 1%'s shopping habits, and he does not think that is possible. Instead, Rubin argues that Walmart should be focusing on their existing footprint and leveraging that to scale up delivery and shopping options.
Rubin also believes that Wal-Mart's acquisition of Jet.com was a multi-million dollar mistake. He argues the superstore should have built out their delivery options.
Nissan is revving up its commitment to electric vehicles. the Japanese automaker announcing plans to invest $500 million to transform its assembly plant in Mississippi to build two all-new EV models starting in 2025. It's all part of Nissan's goal to have 23 electrified models for the Nissan and Infiniti brands globally by 2030. Ashwani Gupta, Nissan's COO, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss this announcement and the company's EV goals moving forward.
Blue Apron CEO Linda Findley joined Cheddar News to talk about the meal kit company’s Wellness 360 holistic wellness campaign and previewing Q4 and end of year results to be released next week. "Really the concept here is about holistic wellness and health," Findley said. "So thinking through not just what you're eating, but also mental health and financial health. And so we try to bring lots of tools to people so that they can think about ways to manage that balance."
Cepton made its debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ‘CPTN’ on Thursday. Jun Pei, the co-founder and CEO, joined Cheddar News to discuss going public and its lidar-based solutions for improving safety in autonomous features in cars. "It's really just a huge benefit in addition to radar and camera, and becomes an entire sensor suite that will bring cars to a higher level, both for safety and autonomy."
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
While many still remain skeptical about the metaverse, big tech firms and even one big bank are ready to expand their virtual worlds. Facebook parent company has pivoted so hard it will now call its employees 'Metamates,' and even JPMorgan Chase has created its own digital lounge on one virtual platform. While the sector remains young, there seems to be significant investment opportunity, especially with companies like Nvidia. Adam Johnson, a portfolio strategist at Adviser Investments, joins Closing Bell to discuss which companies could win in this space, consumer appetite, and more.
Marc Blinder, Co-Founder and CEO of Aikon, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how his company is helping businesses use blockchain applications without needing to learn the intricacies of the new technology.
The Federal Reserve minutes from its January meeting are indicating it's sticking to an interest rate hike in March, but what does the report coupled with ongoing inflation mean for investors going forward? Scott Brown, a market strategist at LPL Financial, joined Cheddar News to break down the minutes and talk about how investors might navigate the rest of the year. "it seems like the market is kind of inclined to trade off these headlines, really, through the first half of the year," he said. "And then, oh, don't forget, we've got midterm elections, which always tend to add a little bit of volatility in the second half of the year." Brown noted that the path forward for stock investors in 2022 would be "rockier" than last year.
