Big news on Wall St

Welcome to your recession explainer intro. The RBNZ has pulled the brakes and the ‘R’ word has officially come to town: New Zealand is in recession. But what does that even mean and should you be worried? On the other side of town the US is not in recession. What’s keeping them up?

There was no talk of virtual reality at Apple’s Vision Pro launch but did they inspire people that it’s a must-buy and they need to queue in sleeping bags overnight to buy it? 🥽 It’s soup season here but Campbell Soup has been serving up cold results. 🥫 Meanwhile style app Stitch Fix has been shrinking staff and their customers. Why? 👗

Nvidia, Marvell Technology and Workday have gone all in on AI and the flex has kept investors upbeat. Why AI? It seems when dealing with a tonne of data, AI does the heavy lifting so people can take innovation next level. Meanwhile, shoppers are feeling the pinch, so what’s happening in retail?

Take-Two Interactive shares surged to their highest yearly peak. Home Depot blames DIY dropoff for missed earnings. Is Walmart’s taking on Amazon? Who’s pillaging US$500 million from Target’s pockets. And has China’s economy rebounded? Here’s our glance back at a week of earnings.

Google announced their AI-first approach and a stack of new toys. What’s behind Petolon’s million dollar recall? Airbnb and Disney both reported earnings up, so what panicked investors? And could future banking crises be averted with new short-seller regulations? Here’s our snapshot of the week that was.

As Temu and Shein take their battles to court, more than 50 million global consumers have downloaded China’s newest discount products e-commerce app. And Temu may be hoping people shop like a billionaire for mum this Mother’s Day? So who’s behind the megasite and do we have another Wish on our hands?

It had been all quiet on the IPO front in 2023 until Johnson & Johnson’s household division Kenvue hit the markets last week. But the journey ahead isn’t all clean and clear. Legal claims threaten to follow the household product consumer giant. Rumours are also swirling that some of China’s e-commerce heavyweights may want US IPOs. That’s assuming US legislators don’t block the way.

Whether we seek comfort at home or faraway lands, there’s an eager hand ready to help us through: credit card providers. And for newly globetrotting Gen Z bitten by the travel bug, when the bank of mum and dad doesn’t come to the party, it seems digital payment companies are ready to help.

Who’s FAANGING now? Big Tech may have prepared for an economic slowdown and volatility by slimming down staff, but earnings results were still full of small surprises. Seems slight growth in revenue won against growing global competition for eyeballs. But they’re still battening down the hatches ready to weather any storms ahead.

It may have been an explosive and very short inaugural journey for the world’s most powerful rocket, but SpaceX’s inaugural Starship launch was deemed a success… until HQ pulled the pin. Back on terra firma, Aotearoa Earthlings are about to get a whole lot more connected. Beam us up, Musky!

Carmaker Tesla may have led the electric vehicle lineup for nearly two decades, but the teenage OG is now sharing the stage with shiny new wheels. It hasn’t stopped ARK Invest fueling high hopes for the company’s autonomous robotaxis to get the wheels spinning, but could they get gassed by other EV-makers?

Proving Kiwis can fly, New Zealanders have been lining up for tickets to leave the Land of the Long White Cloud. Are we some of the thousands subscribed to Duolingo adding our uniquely Kiwi accent to exotic mother tongues? And will our newest expats fall in love with cheap overseas flights, or pine for chups and dup?