10 biggest market-moving events of the week
Source: Philipvan Doorn
Apple, its shareholders and customers had a great week, with multiple product-and-service rollouts.
By
Philipvan Doorn
Investing columnist
MarketWatch rounded up the 10 most important news events of the past week. We focused on market-related issues, but we’ve included other subjects of interest to readers.
1. Here comes the iPhone 6
Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.23% CEO Tim Cook oversaw the company’s most important new product-and-service rollouts since he replaced Steve Jobs.
The main event was the introduction of the iPhone 6, which has a 4.7-inch screen, and the iPhone 6 Plus, which sports a 5.5-inch screen.
Quentin Fottrell dug into the details to consider whether you should buy an iPhone 6.
2. Apple Watch
The long-awaited Apple Watch was also rolled out Tuesday. It’s a beautiful product that comes in three sizes and has interesting new features, including the Digital Crown, which looks like the dial on an ordinary watch used to set the time. The Digital Crown allows you to zoom the Apple Watch display in and out, and can also be pushed to return to the Home screen.
The screen features a new display for icons, centered around a clock icon in the center, and new Force Touch technology allows the Apple Watch to tell the difference between a light tap and a firm press, offering a more efficient way to navigate the device.
The big negative for the Apple Watch is that it is designed to work with an iPhone. It cannot function independently, which is the same problem with the competing Samsung Galaxy Gear and Motorola Moto 360.
Therese Poletti pointed out another problem for the Apple Watch, which is that its design, attractive as it is, may not appeal to fashion-conscious women.
3. Apple Pay
Also on Tuesday, Apple introduced its Apple Pay service, which allows payments to be made through the iPhone. A user will actually use the phone to make the payment rather than a credit card.
Apple Pay will use account information already stored within iTunes accounts. Each transaction will have a unique identifying number and dynamic security code. Credit card data will not be stored on the phone, and for added security, the iPhone will use a fingerprint scan. A cashier won’t even see the customer’s name, let alone his credit card number or security code.
Apple product users will be able to use Apple Pay for Internet and app-based purchases.
Visa Inc. V, -0.42% MasterCard Inc. MA, -0.20% and American Express Co. AXP, -0.88% were announced as partners for Apple Pay.
David Weidner believes it’s only a matter of time before Apple starts running a bank.
Priya Anand looked at the security advantages and disadvantages of Apple Pay.
4. Apple’s stock
Shares of Apple rose 3% this week to close at $101.66 Friday.
With the stock trading for 14.4 times the consensus 2015 EPS estimate of $7.07 among analysts polled by FactSet, Apple appears attractively priced, considering growth in revenue and earnings per share, as the company buys back stock.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, +1.20% analysts said Wednesday the iPhone 6 rollout was “impressive,” and raised their 12-month price target for Apple’s shares to $115 from $107, while lifting their 2015 EPS estimate to $7.67 from $7.57.
5. Alibaba IPO is almost here
Alibaba, the Chinese Internet commerce giant, has filed for a $24 billion initial public offering that probably will be completed Sept. 18. The projected forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 times estimated 2015 earnings is leading investment bankers to call the IPO a bargain.
Jeff Reeves shared five risks Alibaba IPO investors should know about.
6. Nasdaq nears 5,000
Howard Gold discussed the long climb back for the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.53% after its epic fall when the dot.com bubble burst in 2000.
This year, 10 Nasdaq stocks have returned at least 240%.
7. Home Depot’s credit card data breach
When announcing the new Apple Pay service Tuesday, Apple bashed 50-year-old credit card technology. Consumers are ready to take this pitch seriously, considering the latest massive breach of credit card data that Home Depot acknowledged Monday.
The home-improvement retailer said the security breach may have begun in April, and that it was still working with Symantec Corp. SYMC, -0.97% to identify the malicious software responsible for the breach.
Shares of Home Depot Inc. HD, -0.43% were down 3% for the week, closing at $88.84 Friday.
The company plans to have chip-and-PIN technology in all of its stores by the end of 2014.
8. Dollar General gets hostile
After having two takeout offers rejected, Dollar General Corp. DG, +0.25% initiated a tender offer Wednesday to shareholders of Family Dollar Stores Inc. FDO, -0.23% for $80 a share. Family Dollar has a deal in place to be acquired by Dollar Tree Inc. DLTR, +0.43% for $74.50 a share.
Family Dollar urged its shareholders not to act on Dollar General’s offer, saying it was the same as the one that was previously rejected over regulatory concerns.
Shares of Family Dollar were down slightly for the week to close at $78.49 Friday.
9. Obama goes to war
President Obama said in a speech Wednesday that the United States was escalating its efforts to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the terrorist group that calls itself the Islamic State.
He plans to send more advisers to Iraq in non-combat rolls, and the president said the U.S. would lead a “broad coalition.” He plans to authorize air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, adding to the attacks already taking place in Iraq.
10. Retirement
This week’s most popular retirement-related articles on MarketWatch included Elizabeth O’Brien’s thoughtful discussion on how careful one must be when transferring large amounts of money to the next generation.
Paul Merriman looked at the flaws of America’s 401(k) plans.
As part of the continuing series on where to retire, Anya Martin considered the state of Kentucky.
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