*By Michael Teich*
Amazon inked a new partnership with American Express, but don't expect the financial industry to be the next area the tech giant jumps into.
"The thing that people misunderstand is that tech companies don't want to manufacture financial products," said Lex Sokolin, Global Director of Fintech Strategy at Autonomous Research. "It's about making the ecosystem and the platform more powerful, and finance is just a feature inside of that."
American Express announced Tuesday it will launch a co-branded Amazon credit card for small businesses. The move accelerates Amazon's foray into financial products and strengthens its position as a lender. The goal, Sokolin said, is to enable small businesses to finance their activities, getting more products on Amazon's platform, and ultimately driving more commerce.
Plus, the opportunity costs of devoting itself to the financial industry are too high.
"Amazon has tremendous high-growth, super interesting, blue oceans to explore,” he said. "They could be investing in building a mortgage business, or they can build artificial intelligence business."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/amazon-bolsters-financial-prowess-with-new-credit-card)
Robinhood has released its newest debit card, called the Robinhood Cash Card, which allows users to invest spare change with a rounding up feature while spending money. Robinhood Chief Product Officer Aparna Chennapragada, joined Cheddar News to talk about the latest product from the fintech company. "When we talk to our customers, especially this generation of customers, they want to have their debit primary. They're wary of fees. They're wary of credit cards," she said. "But they are all interested in investing, whether it be in the stock market or crypto, and what we said is, let's build a product that turns spending into investing."
David Swartz, an equity analyst at Morningstar, breaks down the bright spots of Nike's direct-to-consumer model and how a Kohl's buyout could affect the company's structure.
Anne Price, President of The Insight Center for Community Economic Development, talks about the Fed's approach to tackling inflation and how the policy changes disproportionality impact low-income and multicultural households.
Francis Oh, APAC CEO of Qraft Technologies, discusses the market reaction after FOMC members signal they're in favor of more aggressive rate hikes and how geopolitical pressures may impact the Fed's inflation target.
Boeing shares saw a pullback after a 737-800 aircraft with 132 people on board nosedived mid-flight, crashing into the mountains of Southern China. China's Eastern Airlines plane was not a 737-Max model, which was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, but it's once again raising questions about the safety of Boeing's aircraft. Michael Boyd, CEO of Boyd Group International, gave Opening Bell his take on what another crash means for Boeing.
