*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)
Stocks recovered from big early losses Monday as investors jumped in before the closing bell.
They say life is about the journey, not the destination — and how you get there makes all the difference. Americans shunned train stations, roadways, and airports amid the coronavirus pandemic, never realizing things could be fundamentally different when they return. In this episode, we're exploring the evolving world of transportation, from how we get around to how goods get to us.
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.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams plans to convert his first paycheck this week into two cryptocurrencies.
Intel will invest $20 billion in a new computer chip facility in Ohio amid a global shortage of microprocessors used in everything from phones and cars to video games.
Stocks extended their losses on Wall Street Friday as major indexes finished with another weekly loss.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday reversed her position on efforts from rank-and-file members to restrict or ban members of Congress from trading stock in individual companies while in office.
The 40-page paper was widely seen as the first step in doing just that, but the document provides only partial hints as to if the Fed is supportive of a central bank digital currency.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced on Tuesday that 261 million individuals, or about a fifth of the country's population, have now set up digital yuan wallets.
Courier service Dutch-X is transitioning its fleet of cargo vans to more e-bikes for New York City deliveries as last-mile deliveries in packed urban centers continue to surge. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo has more.
