By Francesca Fontana
The Score is a weekly review of the biggest stock moves and the news that drove them.
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern reached a settlement in lawsuits related to its 2023 Ohio train derailment.
The freight railroad agreed to a $600 million settlement with local individuals and businesses. If approved it would be the largest-ever for a railroad disaster in North America. Norfolk Southern said the settlement isn't an admission of liability or wrongdoing.
The accident last February led to scrutiny of Norfolk Southern's safety practices. The company has estimated that costs associated with the derailment would surpass $1 billion.
The railroad still faces lawsuits brought by the state of Ohio and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Norfolk Southern shares rose 1.3% Tuesday.
Boeing
More turbulence for Boeing.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a veteran Boeing engineer's allegations that the plane maker dismissed quality and safety concerns during production of its troubled 787 Dreamliner jet.
Boeing said in a statement that the claims are inaccurate and that the company is confident in the safety of its jets, which it says are subject to rigorous FAA oversight.
The claims come as Boeing faces broader scrutiny over its quality control and manufacturing operations in the wake of January's midair door-plug blowout.
The FAA is also investigating how an engine cover fell off a Southwest-flown Boeing jet during takeoff on April 7.
Boeing shares lost 2% Wednesday.
Four Paramount directors are leaving the board.
The directors are expected to leave soon, as the Shari Redstone-controlled company discusses a merger with Skydance Media, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The departing directors are former Spotify executive Dawn Ostroff, former Sony Entertainment President Nicole Seligman, veteran investment banking executive Frederick Terrell, a veteran investment banking executive, and Redstone's longtime attorney Rob Klieger.
Seligman, Ostroff and Terrell were on a special committee of independent directors tasked with pursuing the best possible deal for the company. At least one of the departing directors expressed concerns about the potential Skydance deal, the Journal reported.
The next day, Paramount said in a proxy filing that it plans to trim the size of its 11-member board of directors to seven.
Paramount shares lost 4.3% Wednesday.
Morgan Stanley
Multiple federal regulators are investigating Morgan Stanley's wealth-management division.
The investigation focuses on how the bank vets clients who are at risk of laundering money through its sprawling wealth arm, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other Treasury Department offices are involved.
In November, the Journal reported that the Federal Reserve was conducting a similar probe. The Fed has told the bank that supervisory action is under consideration.
The bank is slated to report its next set of quarterly results on April 16.
Morgan Stanley shares dropped 5.3% Thursday, their worst session since October.
Amazon.com
Fresh AI optimism pushed Amazon shares to a record high on Thursday.
Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in his annual letter to shareholders that generative artificial intelligence could be one of the largest technological transformations in decades.
Jassy laid out a vision for how generative AI could be a critical building block in establishing Amazon's next pillar of growth following its online retail marketplace, Amazon Prime and its cloud-computing unit Amazon Web Services. The company's search for its so-called "fourth pillar" has included big bets on areas like healthcare, in-person shopping and entertainment.
On Thursday, Amazon also said it added AI expert Dr. Andrew Ng to its board.
Amazon shares rose 1.7% Thursday.
JPMorgan Chase
Interest rates are starting to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks.
JPMorgan Chase on Friday posted better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, but the banking giant projected muted growth for the rest of the year.
Last year, higher interest rates helped JPMorgan rake in record profits as it charged more on loans. But now customers are shifting their deposits into products like certificates of deposit that yield higher interest, putting pressure on the bank's margins.
Chief Executive Jamie Dimon recently warned that inflation and interest rates could rise higher than expected.
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are also seeing high rates affect their mortgage businesses, as their first-quarter originations were sharply below prepandemic levels.
JPMorgan shares fell 6.5% Friday.
Our weekly markets news roundup is now part of the WSJ's What's News podcast. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Check it out at wsj.com/podcasts or wherever you listen.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 12, 2024 18:35 ET (22:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments