*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)
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.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at a historically low level that reflects the job market’s strong recovery from the coronavirus recession last year.
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Thursday, leaving major indexes with solid gains in this holiday-shortened week.
While calls for more crypto education are common in an industry that is often explaining itself, the idea that everyone should be learning more about crypto is beginning to spread.
The U.S. has opened a formal investigation into the potential for Tesla drivers to play video games on a center touch screen while the vehicle is in motion.
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday, adding to the week’s gains ahead of the Christmas holiday.
A strike at Kellogg that has gone on since early October has ended after workers voted to ratify a new labor contract at the company’s four U.S. cereal plants.
While supply chain issues may delay items you ordered for the holidays, Amazon is confident its investments in logistics, workforce labor, and stock will ensure you get that package in a timely manner.
This year, consumers might not be as surprised by what's under their trees as by the trees themselves. Despite a tighter market for trees, Stew Leonard's was able to secure its entire stock of Christmas trees from a supplier in Quebec. But some prices jumped this year as a result of increased costs for shipping and labor amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toys "R" Us opened its U.S. flagship location in American Dream, a megamall based in East Rutherford, N.J., on Tuesday.
