Viral Stories of the Week: October 9

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. 

I still need Halloween costume ideas. 

Let’s get to this week’s recap. 

Monday 

• Oil experts predict market impact of Israel-Hamas conflict: On Saturday, militants from Hamas, a terrorist organization, infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air during a major Jewish holiday. The incursion came hours after the Islamist militants fired thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza. Civilians including women, children and the elderly have been abducted and others killed in their homes. Oil prices spiked on the news but then stabilized, then spiked again to end the week. Flights to safety were also seen in the dollar and gold. 
• Profit warnings to hit S&P 500: We’re heading into another earnings season, and that means a new round of warnings from corporations. Concerned that Americans might be pulling back, 80% of 567 respondents in the Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey said that some sectors are likely to caution about earning trends when they report quarterly results. This will weaken the S&P 500 Index (SPX), already under pressure after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel. The war has made investors shun risky assets. Companies across the U.S., from used-car dealers to retailers, are already starting to see slowing demand. 
• Microsoft hopes to complete Activision deal this week: Our long national wait is almost over. Microsoft (MSFT) is planning to finalize its $68.7 billion proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) this week. Microsoft hopes that Friday, Oct. 13 will be good luck when it announces to the world that the 20-month process to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard is over. The deal took about as long to close as it takes an elephant to give birth. I'm not sure which has been more painful. Update: We got a deal! 

Tuesday 

• Fed nods to high bond yields as reason to pump the brakes on rate hikes: This is what it sounds like when doves try. Federal Reserve officials indicated that rising yields on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds (/ZB), which directly influence financing costs for households and businesses, could steer the Fed from further increases in its short-term policy rate and substitute the work done by financial markets for formal monetary policy moves by the central bank. Other economic news due out this week included PPI and CPI which could also factor into a future Fed decision. 
• Defense stocks tick higher as war rages between Israel and Hamas: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III vowed to help Israel meet its defense needs and that sent shares of defense stocks slightly higher. Northrop Grumman (NOC) led the cohort of defense stocks, soaring as much as 12% on Monday. Meanwhile, General Dynamics (GD) jumped 9%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) gained 8%, and RTX (RTX), previously known as Raytheon, rallied 4%. The real “catch” to all of this is that the U.S. government, for the first time in American history doesn’t have a Speaker of the House, thus, it cannot authorize any funding or aid for Israel (or Ukraine) at this present time. 
• Activist investor increases stake in Disney: Disney’s (DIS) share price just recently bounced off its 52-week low. The media and entertainment company has been facing strong headwinds in many aspects of its business, even though CEO Bob Iger has been tasked with turning the ship around. I guess things aren’t moving fast enough. Activist investor Nelson Peltz and his firm, Trian Fund Management, are reigniting a potential proxy war with Disney less than a year after dropping the initial battle. Trian has increased its stake to roughly 30 million shares, valued at more than $2.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm plans to push for multiple board seats, they added. I love how because this class of investor is mainly dudes, they’re called “activist investors.” They should just rename this to PITA investors. Pain in the ass. But you cough up the cash you get to boss people around, I guess. Disney also announced that, if you want to visit the happiest place on Earth, you’re gonna need to cough up more cash. 
• Want these shoes? Prove you play golf: This is one of my favorite stories of the week. To thwart disingenuous sneaker resellers, London retailers have gotten clever. A golf store in London is trying to stop resellers from purchasing all the stock of the newly released Nike (NKE) Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low golf shoes by requiring prospective buyers to drive a golf ball 200+ yards (if male) or 150+ yards (if female). Potential buyers will get two attempts at the tee. This is great. I wish the soul-sucking enterprise that is Ticketmaster, part of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) had done this for Taylor Swift tickets. Like you should have to sing Delicate into your computer monitor before you can buy tickets. Scammers and resellers are ruining so many aspects of life, even a semblance of reclaiming some of that power is nice. 

Wednesday 

• Bank of England warns US tech valuations are out of whack: The U.K. central bank commented that valuations for U.S technology stocks may be too high, given the current macroeconomic backdrop and spike in rates. Oh, we’re not "properly sorted" over here. Has our tech gotten "a bit wonky, luv?" First, how dare you. Second, no one asked you, England! We know our tech stocks are out of whack because every third word on their earnings call is AI and then their stock goes to the moon. You think we can fix that? But we’ll be sure to add this to our “thanks for the input” file … right next to our DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
• Bankman-Fried cronies testify: First, can I just say that it is the dream of nearly every woman to be called to testify in a trial that could send their ex to prison for an extraordinarily long time. Like, this is what we train for. We have all the receipts; we have built an airtight case over mimosas with our besties. We have that red string chart that links everything together, and of course we have planned out what we are going to wear on the stand to make the most devastating fashion impression imaginable. Caroline Ellison, the former head of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, and Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend took the stand Tuesday as the prosecution’s star witness against the FTX founder. She testified that she and her ex-boss defrauded customers, investors and lenders. Ellison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Part of the 28-year-old’s plea deal with the government involved cooperating with the prosecution’s case against Bankman-Fried. Other friends and coworkers also testified this week.  

Thursday

• Birkenstock IPO is a (flip) flop: American investors have given the sturdy German shoe manufacturer a resounding meh. Birkenstock (BIRK) celebrated its IPO day by trading at $41 a share, a discount of more than 10% to the $46 debut price. The IPO suffered from questionable valuations, questions about whether it should trade on a European or American stock exchange, and of course the previous underwhelming IPOs from Arm (ARM) and Instacart (CART). Birkenstock better mach schnell with some good news or this is another IPO that ends up in the discount bin. 
• Domino's is giving away emergency pizza: “When life gives you lemons, Domino’s gives you free pizza.” I'm pretty sure I saw that embroidered on a pillow at Home Goods. Domino’s (DPZ) announced a new promotion this week, they’re offering customers an "Emergency Pizza" program giving away a free, medium-sized two-topping pizza as a "pick-me-up." Customers who place a Domino's order online for delivery or for takeout will get a free pizza credit for use within a 30-day period. The deal will live in the Domino's Rewards portal under the "My Deals and Rewards" section. The deal will run from Oct. 9 through Feb. 11. So, if your day doesn’t go to plan, you can always break the glass and get a pizza. 
• EU urges Big Tech to tackle terrorist content after attacks: Following the militant Islamist group Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's retaliatory airstrikes in Palestinian enclave Gaza, social media firms have seen a surge in misinformation related to the conflict, including doctored images and mislabeled videos, alongside images of graphic violence. European Union (EU) industry chief Thierry Breton issued warnings to X, formerly Twitter, boss Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, head of Meta (META). Breton said their companies had 24 hours to inform the EU how they were stopping harmful content on their platforms. Twitter famously slashed its trust and safety staff when Elon Musk took over. 
• IRS says Microsoft owes $29 billion in back taxes: What in Wesley Snipes is going on here? Microsoft (MSFT) received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service asking for an additional tax payment of $28.9 billion. Microsoft said the dispute concerns how the company allocated profits between countries and jurisdictions between 2004 and 2013. It said up to $10 billion in taxes that the company has already paid are not reflected in the proposed adjustments made by the IRS. It’s notoriously easy for companies to get corporately creative with the US tax code, so this is a welcome announcement. Pay your taxes, Microsoft. 
• Google pays Apple a crap ton a year to keep its search on your iPhone: The civil antitrust suit the Department of Justice is currently waging against the Google unit of Alphabet (GOOGL) over claims it monopolizes search and search advertising could have some pretty large collateral damage. Google pays Apple (AAPL) between $18 billion to $20 billion a year to remain the dominant search engine in the iPhone, according to a financial analyst who now thinks this deal, and others like it, are at risk. The deal accounts for 14% to 16% of Apple's annual operating profits. That’s a big matzah ball of revenue that could literally disappear if the government gets its way. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the dust settles, but for the love of God, don’t make us all use Bing. 
• Alaska Airlines has created a new coffee just for airplanes: There are certain inevitable circumstances when it comes to air travel. There will be long lines, there will at least be one screaming baby, and the coffee will be terrible. Alaska Airlines (ALK) has created a custom blend with Portland-based roaster Stumptown to make a coffee that’s immune from the altitude-changing effects that airborne-served coffee typically creates, including tasting bitter and weak. The custom coffee, a first for a major airline, will exclusively be served on every Alaska flight, including its regional carrier Horizon Air, by December 1. 

Friday 

• Earnings are here to save us all! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s pumpkin spice earnings season. The Q3 earnings season kicked off Friday with some of the big banks reporting their numbers. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported that its profit and revenue were just straight fire. High interest rates def helped its bottom line. Analysts expect a 0.4% year-over-year decline in third-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 index, according to FactSet. If that pans out, it’ll mark the fourth consecutive quarter of earnings declines for the index. More banks are set to report next week and then it's pretty fast and furious for the rest of earnings season. Check out the News and Insights tab to see how to make all the best earnings plays. 
• GOP's Scalise ends his bid for House speaker: After holding the GOP nomination for speaker for less than 24 hours, Republican Steve Scalise has peaced out on his bid to lead the House. Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door evening meeting of his decision and pointedly declined to announce backing for anyone else, including his chief rival, Jim Jordan. Look, I live for drama. Gossip is my adrenaline, but this is a hot mess. Constitutionally, the legislative branch of our government cannot operate without a speaker. Next steps are uncertain as the U.S. House is essentially closed while the Republican majority tries to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job. We can’t deal with the debt crisis; we can’t appoint cabinet positions and we can’t send aid to Israel. I just want the Dems to come out with an ad like “When you think of the House, think of Hakeem.” 
• Dollar General reporting for duty: The hottest trend this season? Boomerang CEOs. You young whippersnappers we left in charge are stinkin up the joint. You’re doing it wrong. MOVE. Dollar General’s (DG) former CEO Todd Vasos is coming out of retirement to helm the company. The poor bastard that was previously CEO was in the position for less than a year. During that time, Dollar General has seen a slowdown in its sales growth and has faced criticism from federal officials and activists for having unsafe stores that put employees at risk. Like who wants to work in a place that is less safe than the Waffle House? 
• Taylor Swift concert film set to break records: Ajfioefjieofjeiaofieo. I am so excited I can’t even type right now. I have gathered up my besties and we have already purchased tickets to see the Queen! In an unprecedented move, Taylor Swift is releasing the film version of her show while it is still touring the country. I am a Swiftie, but I couldn’t afford to see her Eras show when it came to Chicago. I would’ve had to pull out a second mortgage. Box office analysts predict Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film will easily surpass $100 million during its opening weekend benefiting struggling theaters like AMC (AMC). Taylor, a business queen, negotiated the movie deal herself. She doesn’t need to partner with a studio for marketing because she is marketing. Tickets are $29 and theaters are scrambling to add more showtimes for the hordes of rabid Swifties. Consumers want experiences so theaters are also creating custom Taylor-inspired food and beverage packages and patrons are being encouraged to sing along and dance in the aisle. Over the summer, we saw how Barbie, Beyonce, and Tay-Tay single handedly saved the U.S. economy. 
• Halloween Crocs: In a week that saw a lackluster debut from Birkenstock (BIRK), the battle of the ugly shoes continues with shots fired by Crocs (CROX). Crocs unveiled a new pair of clogs based on America’s two most well-known chocolate candy bar brands, Hershey’s (HSY) and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The shoes feature Jibbitz charms of peanut butter cups and Hershey kisses. Both the Hershey’s and Reese’s crocs are available online through Crocs or Foot Locker. Hershey’s clogs retail for about $65, while the Reese’s clog retails for $55. They are available in adult and kid shoe sizes. 

Will Tom Eat It? TJ's Pizza

I’m not a huge Trader Joe’s stan, merely because that wasn’t a location close to me for a long time. But I respect the hustle and the rabid devotion of its fans. Check out this recipe for a spicy pizza you can make at home with all Trader Joe’s ingredients. 

What I’m watching this week: I think this has to be the best one of the greatest documentaries I’ve seen this year. On Netflix (NFLX) it’s called The Saint of Second Chances. You will laugh, you will cry, you will appreciate your dad and maybe baseball more. It’s great. 

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, She appears Monday-Friday on Daily Dose and contributes to Luckbox Magazine. @vonettalogan

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