An investor group made up of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital has submitted a $5.8 billion bid ($21 a share) to buy Macy’s (M:NYSE)and take it private.
The group already has a significant stake in Macy’s through Arkhouse-managed funds.
Macy’s Chief Executive, Jeff Gennette, has been trying to turn the company around. The effort has included closing hundreds of underperforming locations, opening smaller-format shops, and launching new in-house brands.
Macy’s shares soared 19% Monday to $20.77, leading to a gain of more than $1 billion in market cap. The stock, however, finished 1% lower for the week.
Citigroup employees on edge over corporate reorganization
Citigroup (C:NYSE) told most of its employees that they can work remotely for the final two weeks of December. The policy applies to hybrid workers, which make up the majority of the bank’s 240,000 employees.
The perk was introduced last year, but circumstances for employees at the company have since changed. Now, employees are more on edge over Citi CEO’s Jane Fraser’s corporate reorganization, and some are worried over whether their jobs will still exist next year. Fraser’s review will be complete by the end of March.
Shares of Citigroup, which is third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, finished the week 2.4% higher.
Blue skies ahead for Boeing
Boeing (BA:NYSE) posted its longest weekly positive streak in 18 years. The airplane maker finished the trading week more than 8% higher. This marks Boeing’s seventh winning week in a row — a first of that length since late 2005.
The positive finish on Friday also marked an eighth straight winning day for Boeing. The stock last saw a streak that long during a nine-day rally in October 2022.
Costco beats analyst expectation
Costco (COST:NASDAQ) jumped more than 4% on Friday after posting fiscal first-quarter results that topped Wall Street’s expectations. Costco reported earnings of $3.58 per share on $57.80 billion in revenue and declared a $15 special dividend.
The wholesale retailer’s stock ended the week 6% higher. Wall Street analysts see more upside for Costco even as shares hit a record high during the week.
Oracle shares plunge after its latest earnings report
Oracle (ORCL:NASDAQ) posted weaker-than-expected revenue in its second-quarter. The business-software giant also said its overall cloud revenue increased 25% to $4.8 billion in the period, slower growth than the prior quarter.
Chief Executive Safra Catz said demand for its cloud infrastructure and generative artificial intelligence services helped Oracle’s bottom line.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison said on a call with analysts that Oracle saw substantial demand for computing capacity in the quarter from Grok, Elon Musk’s new AI chatbot.
Oracle shares sank 12% Tuesday, making the stock the worst performer of the S&P 500 index. The stock ended the week 9.2% lower
Hasbro to cut workforce by 20%
Hasbro (HAS:NASDAQ) kicked off the holiday season with not-so-jolly news.
The toy company will cut nearly 20% of its workforce, or about 1,100 jobs, as it faces weak sales in the critical holiday shopping period, the Journal reported Monday. Earlier this year, the Monopoly-maker said it would lay off 800 workers.
The latest announcement came two weeks before Christmas–toy makers’ busiest time of the year. About half of toy companies’ yearly sales come in the weeks leading up to the holiday, according to analysts.
Hasbro shares finished the week 2.8% higher.
Fed optimism boosts Goldman to year-high
Bank stocks cheered this week’s Federal Reserve decision to hold interest rates steady.
The decision was a departure from the recent cycle of aggressive hikes aimed at bringing down inflation. On Wednesday, the central bank also forecast three quarter-point rate cuts next year.
Higher rates weigh on banks in more ways than one. They have to pay depositors more, and their bond holdings lose value, creating billions of dollars in paper losses.
The post-Fed optimism boosted Goldman Sachs (GS:NYSE) shares, which gained 5.7% Thursday, reaching a 2023 high. The stock finished the week 8% higher.