Black Friday shoppers wait in line to enter an shore that opened at 6am at the Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
THANKSGIVING RALLY
U.S. stocks rose to end a shortened trading week, with the S&P hitting an all-time high of 3,638 and the Dow just falling shy of the 30,000-point threshold. Investors breathed a sigh of relief that the election appeared to be all but settled, with the transition formally underway. They also liked President-elect Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary in Janet Yellen, a familiar face who will have the job of stewarding a new stimulus bill and the post-COVID recovery. Optimism over the early results coming out of vaccine trials helped fuel the rally, with AstraZeneca saying its vaccine candidate appears to show as high as 90 percent efficacy. Though questions later arose about a manufacturing error casting some doubt about the results. However, that drug, if approved, would be cheaper and easier to mass-produce and store than the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Many experts consider it the best candidate for inoculating the developing world.
BLACK FRIDAY GOES DIGITAL
For retailers not named Amazon, Walmart, or Target, this Black Friday couldn’t come soon enough. An already-struggling retail industry that has been decimated by pandemic-related closures is pinning its hopes on the holiday season with sales events both in-store and online that started earlier than ever, and come as virus cases are exploding across the country. But smaller retailers still have to contend with the big guns: Walmart, Target, and other big-box stores moved their Black Friday doorbuster sales online, while Amazon has been promoting eye-popping deals all week. According to Adobe, sales are expected to increase by 39 percent from last year reaching $10 billion, with less "door-busting" predicted for Friday itself due to store closures and retailers shifting to sales online earlier.
In its earnings report this week, Gap gave a preview of an accelerated omnichannel business model that many brick-and-mortar retailers are likely to move toward — even faster than they already were pre-pandemic. Digital sales at Gap’s brands were up 61 percent and now account for 40 percent of total sales.
PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE
ViacomCBS agreed to sell its Simon & Schuster publishing house to Penguin Random House, part of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, for more than $2 billion in cash. Bertelsmann beat out News Corp.’s HarperCollins for Simon & Schuster and, assuming the deal is approved, will control a third of the U.S. book market, presenting a potential antitrust test for a new Biden administration.
BITCOIN'S UPS AND DOWNS
What a difference a week makes. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin was pushing all-time highs near the $20,000 boundary as late as Wednesday, after starting the month at $13,748. The skyrocketing prices were attributed to a combination of first-time buyers and stalwart bitcoin owners by Binance.US CEO Catherine Coley. But from an intraday high of $19,494, the digital currency fell through the Thanksgiving holiday ending up at $16,731.03 at the time of the close of U.S. markets.
TESLA SAFETY
While Tesla founder Elon Musk reportedly became the second-richest man in the world, hopping over Bill Gates according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, his electric vehicle faces some scrutiny over a potential safety concern. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 43 complaints of front suspension failures in 2015 through 2017 Model S sedans and 2016 through 2017 Model X SUVs. Earlier this week, Tesla issued two recalls for 9,136 of the 2016 Model X vehicle and 401 of the 2020 Model Y. The larger recall stems from an issue with a possibly loose roof trim, and the smaller involves improperly tightened bolts, according to Reuters. Still, Tesla's stock climbed 2 percent to $585.76 at the end of the trading session.
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.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
