Viral Stories of the Week: October 30

Vonetta Logan's recap of the big business, news, markets, political, cultural and viral trending stories featured this week on Daily Dose

What’s up tastynation! Welcome to this week’s edition of Weekly Dose! Each week, I recap the top stories that I covered on Daily Dose. If you missed any episodes of Daily Dose you can catch up on them here. 

Let’s get to this week’s recap. 

Monday 

• Gold still a solid safe haven: Gold fell from above $2,000 an ounce, after breaching the threshold on Friday for the first time since May. Gold has been one of the biggest winners since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, rising more than 9% as demand for haven assets strengthened. It’s likely to continue benefiting should tensions increase as investors up bets on a spillover into the wider region, which is crucial for global energy supplies. Gold was able to maintain its dominance this week, settling around $2002 on Friday. 
• Dimon sells shares: JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie “Dice” Dimon (not really his nickname but I think he could use one) will begin selling a million shares of the bank he runs next year, the company said. The plan sparked concern that Dimon, who is 67 years old, could be contemplating retirement. A spokesperson for the New York-based bank said the move wasn’t related to succession planning, and that Dimon has “no current plans” for another sale. Before now, Dimon has never sold shares of JPMorgan except for technical reasons such as exercising options. He has also spent his own money snapping up JPMorgan shares in the past. 
• Musk announces new subscription plans for "X": Elon Musk’s loss-making endeavor to run a social media site into the ground has a new Hail Mary. After Mashable revealed this week that the site loses traffic and revenue every day, Musk announced a new scheme, um, I mean two-tiered subscription plan. The Premium+ plan, priced at about $16 per month, includes all the tools and features offered by the platform, minus the ads, the company said in a post on the platform. The basic tier is priced at $3 per month but is not ad-free. X is also planning to bundle video and audio calling for some users, in a push to turn the platform into an everything app. Just this week, Musk floated ideas for X to be your bank as well as your pimp. In a purely heteronormative "hot take," I don’t know any single, available women who think Twitter is the best place to cultivate a relationship. That is, unless you’re looking to be rudely interrupted every four seconds by a dude who says, “well actually” while also telling you that you’re “not really all that hot” and that “Joe Rogan is the new Martin Luther King.” It’s a no from me, dog. 
• Beatles drop new song with Lennon vocals: The Beatles can’t just Let it Be, and the two surviving members have decided to release a new single. The official Beatles website announced a song called Now and Then. But here's the kicker: the tune was created with AI audio software that captures John Lennon's vocals. John Lennon wrote and recorded the demo before his assassination in 1980. Previous technological limitations couldn't separate Lennon's vocals from the piano, which rendered it unusable for sound engineering. However, using AI software the vocals were successfully isolated and a new song is finally released to the public. 

Tuesday 

• GM reaches deal with UAW: General Motors (GM) is the final Detroit automaker to reach a deal with the union following historically contentious talks. The United Auto Workers and GM agreed to a deal that will put an end to bargaining between the union and the Detroit Three, following more than six weeks of targeted U.S. labor strikes. “The deal includes gains valued at more than four times the gains from the union’s 2019 contract.” The UAW said in a press release.
• White House issues new AI regulations: The Biden administration has been working on plans to regulate the untethered AI industry. This week the administration announced a thunderous executive order tackling AI regulation. These directives are the "strongest set of actions any government in the world has ever taken" to protect how AI affects American citizens, according to Bruce Reed, the White House deputy chief of staff. The provisions are meant to tackle issues like transparency, consumer protection, and discrimination. Companies like Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) would be affected. 
• Apple's "Scary Fast" event tries to scare up activity in the desktop market: Less than a year after Apple (AAPL) blessed its MacBooks with M2 chips, the company is back with new M3 MacBook Pros. While these laptops may feature the latest generation of Apple silicon, the consensus is that they’re not much of a step up from the previous models. The good news is that the pricing is competitive, and the new MacBooks will come in a new color: Space Black. But a lot of people were underwhelmed by the announcement with one post on Twitter reading, “yet another Apple Event that could’ve been an email.” Apple reported earnings on Thursday (see below).
• Walmart to upgrade stores: If your last trip to Walmart (WMT) was less than inspiring with squeaky-wheeled carts, unflattering overhead lighting and a preponderance of customers wearing camo and or crocs, brighter days may soon be ahead. Walmart said it is investing more than $9 billion over a two-year period to upgrade and modernize some U.S. stores with improved layouts, expanded product selections and new tech additions. This week, 117 stores in 30 states will be re-launched highlighting the enhancements, representing investments of more than $500 million, Walmart said in a statement. In total, it plans to modernize more than 1,400 of its 4,717 Walmart stores across the country. I mean, up is the only Walmart can go. 

Wednesday 

• Kim K's Skims lands deal with NBA: Noted ball handler Kim Kardashian has another feather to put in her probably mink-lined hat. On top of launching SKIMS Men earlier last week, Kardashian announced the ultimate brand partnership, making SKIMS the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball. Her SKIMS line of underwear and loungewear is reportedly valued at over $4 billion dollars. You’re doing amazing, sweetie. 
• Treasury announces new I-Bond rate: The name is bonds, I Bonds. Series I Bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, will pay 5.27% through April 2024, the U.S. Treasury announced Tuesday. Based on inflation data, it’s the fourth-highest rate since I bonds were introduced in 1998. I guess I bonds wanna party like it's 1998. I’ve been playing around with some high-yield savings accounts and man, this shit is awesome. As an elderly millennial, I have never seen interest rates this high, so it’s fun to just park money somewhere and watch that compounding interest grow. I’m texting my dad on the reg asking “how much money do I need to just live off the interest?” Also, I think the Treasury Dept finally updated its I bond website because that thing was from the Ask Jeeves era. 
• Bitcoin to hit $150k by 2025: Look, I love an inflated projection more than anyone: “Swift and Kelce to have Kansas City-based spring nuptials.” See? Anyone can say anything, it doesn’t make it gospel. But as Bitcoin (BTC) has caught a bid recently, all the crypto crackpots are coming out of the woodwork for their 15 minutes of fame. Bitcoin will soar 337% to $150,000 by mid-2025 as the world's largest cryptocurrency begins a new cycle, according to analysts at Bernstein. To what do we owe this astronomical rise? According to the note, bitcoin historically has rallied whenever there's a halving, a predetermined event in which the amount of bitcoin received for mining the crypto is slashed. This happens every four years, with the next halving set for April 2024. Hah! This sounds like something out of The Hunger Games. Every four years we must have “the halving,” We must send two tributes from our districts to compete on the blockchain. Remember those who have perished in previous halvings or those who spent their crypto on Papa John’s.  
• Nvidia in limbo due to canceled China orders: Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) dropped by about 5% to a near five-month low earlier in the week following a Wall Street Journal report that the artificial intelligence (AI) giant may be forced to cancel up to $5 billion worth of advanced chip orders to China in compliance with new U.S. government restrictions. Nvidia was notified last week that AI chip orders scheduled for delivery next year to major Chinese technology companies, including Alibaba Group (BABA), TikTok owner-ByteDance and Baidu (BIDU), are subject to the latest export restrictions announced by the U.S. Commerce Department. Man, Nvidia has to be steamed at the current administration right now. $5 billion wiped right off your books is a huge “L”. 
• Tesla wins autopilot crash trial: Tesla (TSLA) won the first U.S. trial over allegations that its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to a death. That's a major victory for the automaker as it faces several other similar lawsuits across the country. This whole thing is so sad. Tesla’s entire argument was that the driver died because of “driver-error” and not a manufacturing defect. If you have the fortitude, read the gruesome description of the accident and the injuries sustained by those in the vehicle. 
• Jury finds Realtors liable for inflated commissions: If you’ve ever tried to sell your home, you know the rigamarole that is the listing, showing and selling process can be frustrating at best and a total rip-off at worst. A U.S. jury found the National Association of Realtors and some residential brokerages liable to pay $1.78 billion in damages for conspiring to artificially inflate commissions for home sales. Plaintiffs in the class action included sellers of more than 260,000 homes in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois between 2015 and 2022, who objected to the commissions they were obligated to pay buyers’ brokers. Broker compensation in the U.S. has typically been about 5% to 6% of a home’s sales price, with about half paid to a buyer’s broker. Home sellers complained that this model suppressed competition by keeping commissions for buyer brokers in the 2-1/2 to 3% range despite the brokers’ diminishing role, with many buyers able to find homes independently online using sites like Zillow (Z) and Redfin (RDFN). 
• Couples it's time to start sharing clothes: In an article literally no one asked for, stylist Erin Eagle says borrowing your partner's clothes can be a smart style move. "With the rise of streetwear and that kind of style, baggy clothes are in," Eagle said. "Unisex fashion has become trendy and practical, and men's and women's styles are blending together." No. Just stop. Never mention this again. Look, I am a petite lady and if by some weird catastrophic event like say a fire where my imaginary partner and me are scrambling around trying to put on clothes so we may flee the burning building, if my partner is able to fit into clothes, I would just lie down right then and there and let the fire take my spirit and my soul. I do not want to exist in a relationship where my partner can fit into my teeny girl clothes. Clothes are my favorite way to express myself and my personality. Do I own more cat-themed apparel than a sane person should? Absolutely. Do I want my partner to wear my paw print blouse to the office? Absolutely not. How about we keep the current regime of you loaning me your oversized hoodie and me looking adorable in it. 

Thursday 

• Fed holds rates steady: Ready, steady, Fed. The Federal Reserve’s rating-setting group on Wednesday unanimously agreed to hold the key federal funds rate in a target range between 5.25%-5.5%, where it has been since July. This was the second consecutive meeting that the Federal Open Market Committee chose to hold, following a string of 11 rate hikes, including four in 2023. Well, the market loved this news and literally ran with it. The day after the announcement the Dow (DIA), S&P 500 (SPY) and the Nasdaq (QQQ) were up 1.7%, 1.89% and 1.78% respectively. 
• Senate Dems want probe in Big Oil mergers: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators are urging federal regulators to investigate multibillion-dollar acquisitions by oil giants ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), saying the deals could lead to higher prices at the gas pump. In a letter to the FTC, the lawmakers said Exxon’s proposed $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) and Chevron’s proposed $53 billion purchase of Hess Corp (HES) are two of the largest petroleum deals in history and could violate antitrust laws. 
• Roku soars after earnings beat: Shares of Roku (ROKU) soared a day after the company reported better-than-expected revenue for the third quarter. Roku revenue grew 20% year over year in the third quarter and beat Wall Street expectations. Active accounts also beat, coming in at 75.8 million for the quarter. Roku said it experienced a rebound in video ads during the period. I guess you could say investors got Roku’d like a hurricane. I’ll see myself out. 
• Apple beats estimates, still has sales decline: Apple (AAPL) reported fourth-fiscal quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations for sales and earnings per share but revealed that overall sales fell for the fourth quarter in a row. Every hardware business outside the iPhone declined year-over-year, with big drops in the iPad and Mac segments. Hopefully, Apple’s new Macs can scare up more buyers. 
• DiGiorno unveils a new Thanksgiving pizza: The first week of November is a weird time with all the memes of fall girlies going straight from Halloween right to Christmas. I for one blame Mariah Carey (who I love, but wait your turn, lady!) I will not stand for this erasure of Thanksgiving. It really is the greatest holiday. There is food, so much food, but there’s also a splendid parade followed by a dog show, lots of football, wrestling strangers for TVs and appliances the day after, and my favorite, the leftovers. It’s a blissful 4 day stretch of wearing sweatpants every day and eating pie for breakfast. Okay, I’ve said too much. But too often Thanksgiving gets cast aside in favor of Christmas. But not this week. DiGiorno, a unit of Nestlé S.A. (NSRGY), announced it is introducing a Thanksgiving pizza, available for customers this November while supplies last. The pizza features turkey, creamy gravy sauce, diced sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberries, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses and is topped with crispy onions, all on a Detroit-style crust. Inject this into my veins. This looks yummers. 

Friday 

• Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all counts: In news that shocks no one, a jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven criminal counts against him. The FTX founder faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Bankman-Fried, the entitled 31-year-old son of two Stanford legal scholars and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Wait a minute you’re telling me his multi-million-dollar defense strategy of “I’m just a math baby” was unsuccessful? Bankman-Fried will be sentenced in March of 2024. This whole thing sucks because of all the collateral damage done to the digital asset space in the wake of this blatant fraud. 
• Coinbase shares fall on lower trading volume: Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) beat estimates for third-quarter revenue but saw trading volumes decline for the second quarter in a row, sending shares of the company down in after-hours trading. Trading volumes at the crypto exchange in the third quarter came in at $11 billion, compared with $26 billion a year earlier. Coinbase is just one of the digital asset companies fighting for survival under the ever-changing regulations it faces from the SEC.  
• Nike designs a new shoe for toddlers: It’s not enough to have the latest stroller, or baby bag or high-end BabyBjörn thingy, your scion must now also have the latest baby footwear. Nike (NKE) is releasing the Nike Swoosh 1. It's a shoe designed to help very young children who are learning how to walk for the first time. The Swoosh 1 is made with 80% recycled materials by weight and can bend in all directions to help new walkers have mobility as they practice taking their first steps. It has a wide toe box to allow the toes to splay and flex, and the outsole is grippy for traction and durability. If you’re the World’s Greatest Grandpa or Grandpa or the favorite rich auntie, the Swoosh 1 is retailing for $62 on Nike's website, and will be available to buy in sizes 3C through 7C. 

Will Tom Eat It? Pop-up Bagels 

This viral bagel shop wants you to “grip it and rip it” when it comes to their bagels. Not gonna lie, these schmears seem next level. 

That’s it for this week! See ya next week! 

Vonetta Logan has more than a decade of markets experience and has been a trader for five years. She is an on-air personality, creative writer and news correspondent at tastylive. Vonetta appears Monday-Friday on Daily Dose and contributes to Luckbox Magazine. @vonettalogan

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