*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)
Inflation rose 7.5% percent from last January to this January, higher than expected and the fastest rate of growth in 40 years. Consumer prices were up 0.6% percent from the previous month, with increases in food, electricity, and shelter as the biggest drivers. Veronique De Rugy, senior research fellow of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joined Cheddar to give her biggest takeaways on the latest CPI report.
Jason Ware, Chief Investment Officer at Albion Financial Group, talks about the sectors to be affected by higher interest rates and highlights the pockets within tech that have room for growth.
Matthew Tuttle, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Tuttle Capital Management, talks about the geopolitical and economic uncertainty impacting market performance.
Chad Oviatt, Director of Investment Management at Huntington National Bank, breaks down the impact of the inflationary pressure on consumer sentiment and highlights areas of growth going forward.
Wholesale prices rose 9.7% year-over-year in January, yet another sign of rising inflation. This comes as inflation continues to push higher, the Fed considers hiking interest rates, and the conflict in Ukraine threatens to raise the costs of living in the U.S. even higher. John Leer, chief economist at Morning Consult joined Cheddar for more insight.
Texas is suing Meta over its use of facial recognition. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the social media giant, alleging it illegally collected data on users without their consent, violating the state's privacy laws. Daniel Newman, Futurum Research founding partner & principal analyst, breaks down Texas' allegations and what it means for Meta moving forward.
David Mazza, Managing Director & Head of Product at Direxion, joins Cheddar News to discuss how traders and investors can start planning for volatility, and ways to use leveraged and inverse ETFs during these volatile times.
Jeff Powell, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Polaris Wealth Advisory Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the market was looking for - and received - a little bit of relief when it came to the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Nikil Viswanathan, Co-Founder and CEO of Alchemy, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says his company has tripled its business over the past several months and that it will be heavily investing into global expansion following its $200 million funding round.
Swedish electric motorcycle maker Cake says its mission is to inspire society to adopt a zero-emission lifestyle. The company admits this is a lofty goal that covers a lot of ground - so it's starting with the world of urban mobility and last-mile deliveries. The company also has an agreement in place with NorthVolt to continually improve the environmental impact of batteries for electric vehicles. Stefan Ytterborn, Founder & CEO of Cake, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
