*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)
Target will no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, making permanent a shift to the unofficial start of the holiday season that was suspended during the pandemic.
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.
Cheddar has been covering the biggest news of the week with some of the biggest names in the biz. In case you missed it, we've pulled together some of the highlights that will keep you informed as we get ready for the week ahead.
Stocks closed mostly lower on Wall Street Friday, though gains for several tech companies pushed the Nasdaq composite to another record high and its first close over 16,000 points.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low of 268,000.
Stocks closed mixed on Wall Street Thursday as investors reviewed the latest earnings reports from retailers and an update on the employment market.
Ethereum has long played second fiddle to the headline-grabbing Bitcoin, but the world's second most valuable cryptocurrency has plenty of defenders who say it's destined for the throne.
Stock indexes shuffled lower on Wall Street Wednesday, pulling a bit further off their record heights.
Staples Center is getting a new name. Starting Christmas Day, it will be Crypto.com Arena.
Buoyed by solid hiring, healthy job gains, and substantial savings stemming in part from government stimulus checks and other relief, Americans ramped up their spending at retail stores and online shops last month.
