Amazon throws $4B at AI

Upcoming Week:

• Tuesday: The Case Shiller Home Price Index will be released for August. Last month, this 20-city home price index fell by 1.2% from last year, marking the fourth consecutive month of declining home prices.
  

• Thursday: Investors will see the release of the quarterly GDP growth rate. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also hold a town hall-style event with educators.
  

• Friday: Investor’s will get an update on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. And to close the week, the release of both spending and income metrics for August will shine a light on the current state of the American consumer.

Notable Earnings:

• Monday: Thor Industries Inc. (THO)

• Tuesday: Costco (COST), Cintas (CTAS), Ferguson PLC (FERG), and Neogen (NEOG)

• Wednesday: Micron Technology (MU), Paychex (PAYX), Jefferies Financial Group (JEF), Concentrix (CNXC), and H.B. Fuller Company (FUL)

• Thursday: Accenture PLC (ACN), Nike (NKE), Jabil (JBL), CarMax (KMX), Vail Resorts (MTN), and BlackBerry (BB)

• Friday: Carnival Corporation (CCL)

• Amazon enters the AI arena: Amazon (AMZN) has agreed to invest up to $4 billion in AIcompany Anthropic, the latest big startup investment by tech giants jockeying for an edge in the AI arms race (WSJ)

• Congress remains divided: Lawmakers this weekend showed few signs of movement on a budget resolution that would keep the U.S. government funded for the remainder of the fiscal year, and the clock is ticking (CNBC)
  

• Poultry probe: The Labor Department said it is investigating plants operated by poultry giants Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods (TSN) following a report that some of the companies’ contractors employed migrant children to clean meat-processing plants (WSJ)
  

• Powering forward: The Energy Department announced Friday a $325 million investment in new battery types that can help turn solar and wind energy into 24-hour power (AP)
  

• Big mac, bigger fees: Starting Jan. 1, McDonald's (MCD) franchisees adding new restaurants will face a royalty fee increase from 4% to 5%, the first hike in nearly three decades (CNBC)
  

• Prime ads incoming: Amazon (AMZN) said it plans to start running ads in shows and movies on Prime Video, the latest streaming service to turn to advertising amid mounting losses in the sector (WSJ)
  

• Walmart's furry venture: Walmart (WMT) is opening its first pet services facility in Dallas, Georgia, offering veterinarian care and grooming services as it looks to increase its footprint in the expanding pet business (CNBC)
  

• Beijing pledges to help rebuild Syria: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Syrian President Bashar Assad to announce a "strategic partnership," a move that comes as China broadens its Middle Eastern influence, underscored by its mediation of a deal in March to restore diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran (DW)
  

• Strike pause: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced that it had reached a "tentative agreement" with the major Hollywood studios that would bring an end to the 146-day-strike (Axios)