Good Evening. Investors began the busiest week of the year for corporate results and economic data.
The S&P 500 was up 0.13%, the Dow was up 0.28%, and the Nasdaq was down about 0.43% as the closing bell rang.
CEO STEPS DOWN
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) announced it would recalculate some of its financial results after discovering unrecorded expenditures made by outgoing CEO Vince McMahon, who resigned last week amid misconduct claims.
According to the company’s regulatory filing on Monday, the $14.6 million in costs were incurred starting in 2006. The financial statements for the final fiscal years of 2019, 2020, and 2021 as well as the first quarter of 2022 would be revised.
After purchasing WWE from his father in 1982 and building it into a $1 billion entertainment juggernaut, McMahon, 76, resigned from his roles as CEO and chairman on Friday.
The company said in the petition that it had “also received and may in the future receive regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands stemming from, related to, or in connection with these problems.”
THE CEO NEWS DOES NOT STOP THERE
The grill manufacturer Weber Inc. (WEBR) replaced top executive Chris Scherzinger with an insider and issued a warning that growing inflationary and supply chain pressures could have an adverse effect on the company’s finances and workers, sending its shares down 20% in premarket trade.
Because of rising consumer costs and geopolitical unpredictability, the company has withdrawn its fiscal 2022 net sales and core earnings predictions. They claim this would result in lower retail traffic and profitability.
Weber said it was investigating a range of strategies, which might include employment cutbacks, lower expenses, and tighter inventory levels. Weber also postponed its quarterly cash dividend. In addition, the business projected a net loss for the three months ending June 30, blaming low retail traffic and increased discounting.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Earnings: This week, more than a third of the S&P 500’s companies—including tech giants Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet—will announce their financial results.
Fed’s meeting: Another interest rate hike to control inflation is anticipated. Officials from the central bank have indicated that rates will rise by 75 basis points, matching the hike from last month. The rate increase was the largest in nearly three decades.
Economic expansion: The release of the Q2 GDP on Thursday may reveal that the US economy contracted for two consecutive quarters.