Prequels, sequels and pixie dust

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Bounce back
After Monday’s sharp sell-off, Wall Street managed to claw back much of the week’s losses. The S&P 500 ended the week just 0.04% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.18%. At its lowest point on Monday, the S&P 500 was down nearly 10% from its recent high and the Nasdaq entered correction territory. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped, while U.S. oil prices rose to post gains of more than 4% for the week.

Villains
Disney unveiled plans for new theme-park attractions as part of a $60 billion decade-long expansion. A new villains land is coming to Magic Kingdom. Hollywood Studios will add a land inspired by “Monsters, Inc.” Indiana Jones and “Encanto” rides are coming to Animal Kingdom and Avengers Campus in Disney’s California Adventure is set to double in size with two new attractions. Theme parks have historically been a leading unit but in the most recent quarter, Disney’s domestic parks saw slower consumer demand amid rising prices.

Job cuts
Automaker Stellantis plans to lay off up to 2,450 U.S. factory workers as it discontinues an older version of its Ram 1500 pickup truck in Michigan. Since the merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Groupe in January 2021, CEO Carlos Tavares has cut costs to increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion euros, or $325 billion, by 2030. In late July, the automaker offered a broad voluntary buyout to U.S. salaried workers. 

Trump losses
Trump Media, which owns the Truth Social app, reported a net loss of over $16 million for the latest quarter, with revenue dropping 30% to $836,900. The company’s stock, whose biggest shareholder is former President Donald Trump, has significantly declined from its peak of over $71 in March to $26.21 at Friday’s close. Trump Media has a market capitalization of nearly $5 billion, an unusually high valuation given its financial performance.

Conflict of interest?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has questioned Tesla’s board about CEO Elon Musk potentially using company resources to benefit his other ventures like SpaceX and xAI. “Tesla‘s Board of Directors appears to be failing to meet its fiduciary duties to Tesla’s shareholders by neglecting to address company CEO Elon Musk’s apparent conflicts of interest,” Warren wrote in a 10-page letter to Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm. Warren has previously called for investigations into Musk’s Twitter takeover. Musk has criticized Warren for years.

[PRO] Low-volatility stocks
Despite a wild week with steep sell-offs and concerns about Fed policy, markets rebounded showing…