Good Evening! On Friday, there was a small rise in stock prices, as the Nasdaq recovered from a decline influenced by Apple (AAPL). This recovery was prompted by indications from officials that the Federal Reserve would postpone the decision to raise interest rates at its September meeting.
The three indexes finished the week in the green with the S&P 500 increasing by 0.14%, the Dow Jones rising by 0.22%, and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.09%.
SO LONG, GOODBYE!
Based on a report published by Autocar, BMW (BMW.DE) has made the decision to discontinue its policy regarding the activation of physical components that were not originally purchased by consumers. This strategy, often referred to as “functions/features on demand” (FoD), has been terminated due to customer dissatisfaction.
Where did this start? In a recent development, BMW garnered significant attention by implementing a subscription-based pricing model for heated seats in its vehicles, even if the feature was not initially selected at the time of purchase. The issue at hand is that the heated seat feature is included in the majority of BMW vehicles.
However… an aspect that owners like is the offer of a complimentary trial period, allowing them to assess its suitability prior to committing to a purchase or sale. According to a poll performed in July 2023 by S&P Global Mobility, the majority of participants (82%) who had previously used a free trial or had an existing subscription expressed a strong desire to potentially acquire subscription-based services when making a future new vehicle purchase.
HAVE TO GET SMALLER TO GET BIGGER?
Kroger announced its intention to sell off more than 400 grocery shops to C&S Wholesale Grocers. This strategic move is aimed at obtaining regulatory clearance for Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons, a smaller competitor, valued at around $25 billion.
So how much would Kroger get? Kroger is projected to receive around $1.9 billion in cash as a result of the store selling off. The firm has indicated that it may need the assistance of C&S to acquire an additional 237 shops in certain geographic locations in order to get regulatory approval for the transaction as well. The acquisition is currently projected to be finalized in early 2024.
Investors are looking past some flaws! The shares of Kroger had a significant increase of up to 3% despite incurring a charge of $1.4 billion in the second quarter due to a settlement connected to an opioid lawsuit. Additionally, the company issued a warning about anticipated lower sales for the remainder of the year.