*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)
New York City will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.
J. Allen Brack, the president of Activision’s Blizzard Entertainment, is leaving the company as it continues to deal with the fallout from a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.
Stocks shook off a wobbly start and ended higher Tuesday as traders weighed another big set of company earnings reports.
Biles Takes the Beam, Vax Milestone & 'Lord of the Rings' First Look
A growing number of businesses are requiring their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, alarmed by the rise of the more contagious delta variant and frustrated that vaccination rates in the U.S. have plateaued.
Jill and Carlo talk about the latest from Tokyo including Simone Biles plans to compete in the balance beam final, Dr. Fauci's dire Delta warning, high profile vaccine mandates from employers like Walmart and Disney, and Square's acquisition of Afterpay.
Stocks closed mixed on Wall Street Monday after a day of choppy trading.
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.
Stocks ended lower on Wall Street, giving up their gains for the week. The S&P 500 still managed to end July higher, marking six monthly gains in a row, the longest such streak since 2018.
