Big Things Happening This Week

• Tech stocks are leading a rally as inflation data comes in. Major indexes continued to see gains this week. It's the best five-day stretch since November for the Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500, with each seeing four straight wins. 
• Encouraging US producer prices data. Often as a signal for where consumer prices are heading, the producer prices data rose just 0.1% month-over-month in July, lower than economist forecasts. Year-over-year, the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 2.2%, nearly in line with the Federal Reserve's 2% target for inflation. Tuesday's PPI data serves as the latest to build the case for Fed rate cuts. Wall Street is now waiting for the July CPI report, due later this morning.
• Home Depot is the most significant name in earnings so far this week. The home improvement retailer saw its shares drop after the company cut its outlook for same-store sales for the rest of the year.
• Starbucks landed a new CEO. The stock closed up 24% after a shock announcement on Tuesday that it was replacing its CEO with Chipotle chief Brian Niccol. Chipotle shares dropped over 10% on the news.
• Tech giant Nvidia is moving higher. The stock gained roughly 7% on Tuesday after a gain of 4% on Monday as analysts at Bank of America named it a top "rebound" stock.
• Paramount Global reveals a coming shut down. The company announced in a memo to staff Tuesday it would be shutting down its storied TV studio by the end of the week.
• Google unveiled a new phone lineup. On Tuesday Google debuted its latest lineup of Pixel phones, including a slick, new foldable, during its Made by Google event at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
• Google's Fitbit has partnered with Peloton Interactive. The partnership aims to give its premium users access to the exercise equipment maker's fitness content, starting early September, the companies said on Tuesday.

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 Tuesday was good for inflation, and it may even better later today when the Labor Department releases the July consumer price index report.

“Inflation is almost a nonissue at this point. There’s this broad expectation that the worst is easily behind us,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

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Most Active Stocks

• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Starbucks (SBUX)
• Chipotle (SMG)
• Home Depot (
• Tesla (TSLA)
• Walmart (WMT)
• Intel (INTC)
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
• Ford Motor Company (F)
• Apple (AAPL)

In the Spotlight

 

Ford and Mazda Issue Warnings to Drivers

Car manufacturers Ford and Mazda have issued do-not-drive warnings covering more than 457,000 vehicles that contain recalled Takata airbags.

According to a release posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, Ford’s warning covers 374,290 model year 2004-2014 vehicles comprising a range of models that were part of previous recall campaigns. The list also includes Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. Mazda’s warning covers 82,893 previously recalled model year 2003-2015 vehicles.

NHTSA urges to not drive the vehicles until a repair is completed and the defective airbag is replaced.

Starbucks Shocks with CEO Replacement

Coffee giant Starbucks announced on Tuesday that it has replaced its CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol. Narasimhan’s departure is effective immediately. Starbucks CFO Rachel Ruggeri will step in as interim chief executive until Sept. 9, when Niccol officially assumes the top job.
 

Home Depot's Financial Report Reveals Warning to Economy

Home improvement retailer Home Depot announced earnings this week and had a dire message. The company's business is closely tied to the housing market, and high interest rates are putting a brake on housing turnover and consumers financing larger projects. “During the quarter, higher interest rates and greater macro-economic uncertainty pressured consumer demand more broadly, resulting in weaker spend across home improvement projects,” commented Ted Decker, Home Depot’s CEO. Sales at stores open at least a year dropped 3.6% last quarter. It expects sales at stores open at least 12 months to fall between 3% and 4% this year compared to last year. That’s down from its earlier estimate that sales would fall about 1% by that measure.