Here are the most important news for people who invest and want to know how the stock market is doing:
1. Good Day for Stocks
On Thursday, the main stock market numbers went up a lot, and it was the best day for trading in a while. The Nasdaq Composite went up by 1.78%, which is the most it has gone up since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also had a good day, going up by 1.7%, the best it’s been since June.
The S&P 500 increased by 1.89%, its best performance since April. Some positive economic news on Thursday made people think that prices going up might slow down, and there might not be any more interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.
Megan Horneman, who is in charge of investing at Verdence Capital Advisors, said, “The important Fed meeting is over. Now we can watch economic news and see if it shows that the Fed won’t raise interest rates for a long time.”
2. Apple’s Drop in Value
Apple’s stock price went down during after-hours trading when the company shared its financial results. This is the fourth time in a row that Apple’s sales have decreased. In the last quarter, the money they made was a little bit less than the previous year, and for the whole year, their earnings were 3% lower than in 2022.
The company also said that the upcoming holiday season might not be very profitable. However, there was some good news for Apple because the money they made from their services went up by 16% compared to last year.
They also did better than what Wall Street expected in some areas. Even though the stock price went down before the market opened, Apple’s shares are still worth 36% more this year, and the company’s total value is more than $2.7 trillion. Recently it crossed $3 trillion.
3. Guilty Verdict for FTX Founder
The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who had a bad reputation, was found guilty of all seven charges against him in a trial that lasted for weeks.
Now, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 115 years in prison. The accusations against him were that he took money from customers who used the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and used it for things like buying real estate, investing in businesses, supporting sponsorships, making political donations, and covering losses in his hedge fund called Alameda.
Damian Williams, who is a U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, called this plan “one of the biggest financial scams in American history” and said that even though the cryptocurrency world is new, the kind of dishonesty Sam Bankman-Fried was involved in has been happening for a very long time.
4. Holiday Hesitance
The upcoming Christmas season seems to be filled with caution. The National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will probably spend more money this holiday season compared to last year, but the increase in spending is expected to be slower than in recent years. This is because prices for goods are still going up, and many people have less money saved, along with higher interest rates on loans.
As a result, lots of shoppers will be looking for discounts and bargains. Even in buying groceries, people are being more careful, and they are also spending less on non-essential things. The CEO of Target, Brian Cornell, mentioned that they are being more careful about how much inventory they have this year.
5. Starbucks’ Major Plan
Starbucks has shared its strategy for growing over the next ten years, and it involves opening many new coffee shops while also spending less money. The popular coffee company announced on Thursday that it aims to create 17,000 new locations around the world by the year 2030, with approximately 15,000 of those being outside of the United States.
They also plan to reduce their expenses by $3 billion in the next three years. Around $1 billion of these savings will come from making their stores work more efficiently, and the rest will come from lowering the costs of the things they sell.
This is all part of Starbucks’ “reinvention” plan, which was first introduced by former CEO Howard Schultz and is now being led by the current CEO, Laxman Narasimhan.
Summary
The important financial news includes a strong day for stocks, Apple’s lower sales but improved services, a guilty verdict for FTX’s founder, cautious holiday spending expectations, and Starbucks’ ambitious global expansion and cost-cutting plan as part of its reinvention strategy.
