The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday. Now Wall Street will find out if the good times can last. The Federal Reserve has so far managed to contain inflation without plunging the U.S. economy into recession, boosting stock prices as investors bet the central bank will begin cutting interest rates later this year. But to hit new records, stocks may need a difficult mix of conditions: slower price increases combined with a solid – but not booming – economy. The Fed will receive two key data points on the economy this week, with preliminary fourth-quarter GDP data due on Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures price index scheduled for Friday. Follow live market updates here.
This week's corporate earnings reports will also shape the stock market and provide insight into the health of several key sectors. United begins a packed week for airlines on Monday. Investors will be keeping a close eye on Alaska Airlines as they look for updates on the aftermath of a body shell exploding from a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane during the airline's flight earlier this month. Tesla will report results this week, as will two major media companies: Netflix and Comcast. Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Intel are among the consumer products, healthcare and technology companies that will report. Here are the key results you should look at:
- Monday: United Airlines (after the bell)
- Tuesday: Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin (before the bell); Netflix (after the bell)
- Wednesday: IBM, Tesla (after the bell)
- Thursday: Comcast, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines (before the bell); Intel (after the bell)
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, ending what was once seen as a threat to challenge former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. His exit from the GOP contest leaves front-runner Trump facing only one major rival, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Trump, who faces charges in four separate criminal cases, is comfortably ahead of Haley in the New Hampshire polls after comfortably winning the Iowa caucus. DeSantis ran a campaign marked by notable PR blunders, such as a flawed launch on Elon Musk's social media platform X and a fight against Walt Disney in which he wielded state power against the media giant.
Macy's rejected a $5.8 billion takeover proposal from Arkhouse Management and its partner Brigade Capital Management. Jeff Gennette, the department store chain's CEO, said the offer to buy the remaining Macy's shares the companies don't already own for $21 a share does not provide shareholders “compelling value.” He added that Macy's “remains open to opportunities that are in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.” The offer comes as the department store seeks to boost declining sales and compete with online retailers and discounters. Macy's announced last week that it would cut 3.5% of its workforce, or about 2,350 jobs, and close five stores.
The future of Sports Illustrated is in doubt. The cult magazine's publisher, The Arena Group, plans to lay off most of the publication's employees. The cuts came because Arena failed to pay the magazine's royalties to its owner, Authentic Brands Group. Authentic said it hopes to find a way to continue publishing Sports Illustrated. The layoffs come amid a series of cuts at publications including the Los Angeles Times and Pitchfork. They also reflect years of decline in the magazine industry: Sports Illustrated, once a sports journalism institution, now employs only a small fraction of the staff it once did and publishes monthly instead of weekly.
—CNBC's Brian Evans, Jeff Cox, Rebecca Picciotto and Melissa Repko contributed to this report.
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