Business and Finance News - 8.21.24

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Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are closer to completing their $1.9 billion merger after the DOJ's investigation period ended without a lawsuit. The merger, now pending Transportation Department approval, would be the largest U.S. airline merger in eight years and is expected to enhance competition and expand destinations. (Quartz)

*Alaska Airlines (ALK) - Alaska Airlines is a major American airline that primarily operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of Central America.

*Hawaiian Airlines (HA) - Hawaiian Airlines is the largest airline based in Hawaii, providing scheduled air transportation between the Hawaiian Islands and to international and domestic destinations, including the U.S.

A three-year study found that tirzepatide, a medication by Eli Lilly for diabetes and weight loss, reduced the risk of progression to diabetes by 94% in adults with prediabetes and obesity or overweight. The drug also led to nearly 23% average weight loss, but some weight and diabetes progression returned after stopping treatment. (CNN)

*Eli Lilly (LLY) - Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets products in the areas of oncology, endocrinology, neuroscience, and immunology.

Kroger is suing the FTC for attempting to block its $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons, arguing that the case should be heard in federal court rather than the FTC's administrative court. The company claims the FTC's actions are unconstitutional, citing a recent Supreme Court decision, and seeks to defend the merger in federal court. (Quartz)

*Albertsons (ACI) - Albertsons Companies is a leading American grocery retailer, operating a large network of supermarkets across the United States. The company offers a wide range of products, including fresh produce, groceries, bakery items, dairy products, meat, seafood, and household essentials. 

*Kroger (KR) - Kroger is one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States, operating a variety of supermarket chains under different banners.

The EU Commission plans to impose definitive countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicle imports, citing unfair subsidies. Tesla’s import duties were reduced from an anticipated 20.8% to 9% after the company requested recalculations, while other Chinese EV manufacturers also saw slight tariff reductions. (CNBC)

*Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy company.

Alphabet's Waymo doubled its paid robotaxi rides to 100,000 per week in just over three months, expanding service areas in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. This growth follows Alphabet's announcement of a $5 billion investment in Waymo, despite ongoing challenges in autonomous vehicle technology and competition from Tesla, GM's Cruise, Amazon's Zoox, and WeRide. (Yahoo! Finance)

*Waymo (GOOGL) - Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company and a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. It focuses on developing and deploying self-driving vehicle technology.

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Skool Projekt Pro (Preview) - Yesterday, major U.S. indexes saw modest declines, with the Dow down 0.15%, S&P 500 down 0.20%, Nasdaq down 0.33%, and Russell 2000 down 1.14%. Despite these dips, all indexes show strong year-to-date and one-year gains, indicating overall market resilience. The S&P 500 ended its win streak, but it and the Nasdaq remain near their 50-day moving averages. The Russell 2000's larger drop points to underperformance in small caps. Future market direction will depend on economic data, interest rates, and earnings, with the possibility of continued gains amid rising volatility.

Here’s how the major indexes did yesterday:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 40,834.97 -61.56 (-0.15%)

• S&P 500: 5,597.12 -11.13 (-0.20%)

• Nasdaq Composite: 17,816.94 -59.83 (-0.33%)

• Russell 2000: 2,142.76 -24.74 (-1.14%)

Here’s how leading market ETFs did yesterday:

• SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY): 558.70 -0.91 (-0.16%)

• iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): 561.77 -0.84 (-0.15%)

• Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): 480.26 -1.01 (-0.21%)

• Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): 513.50 -0.85 (-0.17%)

• Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): 275.08 -0.67 (-0.24%)

Here’s how The Magnificent Seven did yesterday:

• Apple (AAPL) [3.473T]: 226.51 +0.62 (+0.27%)

• Microsoft (MSFT) [3.157T]: 424.80 +3.27 (+0.78%)

• Nvidia (NVDA) [3.135T]: 127.25 -2.75 (-2.12%)

• Alphabet (GOOGL) [2.08T]: 167.18 +0.51 (+0.31%)

• Amazon (AMZN) [1.862T]: 178.88 +0.66 (+0.37%)

• Meta Platforms (META) [1.336T]: 526.73 -2.55 (-0.48%)

• Tesla (TSLA) [705B]: 221.10 -1.62 (-0.73%)

Here’s how the major cryptocurrencies did yesterday:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $59,377.87 (10:30PM PST on 8/20/24)

• Ethereum (ETH): $2,594.00 (10:30PM PST on 8/20/24)

• Solano (SOL): $142.67 (10:30PM PST on 8/20/24)