The roundup of the top stories in business this week is as fiery as the wildfire smoke that’s blanketing much of the East Coast.
Smoke hampers business
Perhaps the most significant update is the thick blanket of Canadian wildfire smoke that has engulfed most of the East Coast. Toxic air currently being borne by residents in Northeast states will run its course, most likely until next week. Even the US capital has not been spared, with Washington DC issuing an air quality alert marked as “very unhealthy.”
The wildfire smoke has disturbed business activity in the country’s commercial centers. Passengers of LaGuardia and Newark in New York City have had flights delayed for two days straight due to low visibility. These delays are expected to have a domino effect air traffic and flights within the Northeast states and New York.
GameStop shares nosedive
Meme stock GameStop meme material no longer as its shares plummet with the firing of its previous CEO and the hiring of a new one. Matt Furlong was sacked this week, and Ryan Cohen was named as executive chairman. Cohen, hailed “Meme Stock King” by the Reddit community, joined GameStop in 2021. Furlong was taken on board to increase sales of the video game retailer, but revenue drops continued. In hindsight, retail investor fever and short selling drove exponential spikes in meme stock demand in 2020.
Tesla still in the running
Despite a few missteps, Tesla is poised to further dominate the EV industry as it partners with General Motors for EV infrastructure. GM is the latest carmaker after Ford Motors to choose Tesla’s car charging network, numbering 12,000 chargers. It follows Ford with its installation of NACS, Tesla’s charging port, beginning 2025.
