As we approach the season of cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes, and Sunday afternoon football, the stock market is making sure it finishes summer on a high note. 

After getting smacked around earlier in August wrapped up the best week of 2024 like a champ. The S&P 500 inched up 0.2% to 5,554.25, while the Nasdaq followed suit, rising 0.21% to 17,631.72. The Dow joined the action, adding 96 points to close at 40,659.76. 

For the week, the S&P 500 posted a solid 3.9% gain—its best showing since November 2023. The Nasdaq made an even bigger comeback with a 5.2% jump, and the Dow held its own with a 2.9% climb.

Nvidia led all big tech stocks with an 18% increase this week, with Apple and Microsoft chipping in gains of 4% and 3%. But earning’s season isn’t  over yet. Now, investors have their eyes on Lowe’s, Target, Macy’s, Zoom, Workday, and Palo Alto Networks.

Bayer’s Roundup Escapes the Cancer Label Bullet And Spikes 11%

The U.S. Court of Appeals just handed Bayer a get-out-of-jail-free card in the middle of a multibillion-dollar legal dumpster fire and investors took notice. Bayer’s stock shot up 11%, at one point. After being buried under a mountain of lawsuits over Roundup’s allegedly cancer-causing formula, Bayer’s been desperate for a win. And today they got one. Albeit a very controversial topic.

Bayer, the German giant known for everything from aspirin to weedkiller, has been in trouble since buying Monsanto in 2018. Monsanto’s big money making product, Roundup, quickly became a legal nightmare. 

(Source: TorHoerman Law)

One of those lawsuits came from David Schaffner, a Pennsylvania landscaper who claimed that Roundup gave him non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He argued that Monsanto violated state law by not adding a cancer warning to the label. Bayer, of course, defended Roundup, insisting it’s perfectly safe, backed by—you guessed it—their own science.

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia sided with Bayer, ruling that federal law trumps state law on pesticide labels. Translation: Pennsylvania can’t force Bayer to add a cancer warning if the feds don’t require it. This ruling might give Bayer a breather, but let’s be real, it also highlights a harsh reality: the system almost always favors big corporations. After all, other federal courts have ruled differently, and this sets the stage for a potential showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite this win, Bayer’s stock has dropped over 55% in the last 5 years due to Roundup-related lawsuits. They’ve already paid $10.9 billion in settlements and set aside another $4.5 billion for future claims, with 58,000 lawsuits still pending.

If the Supreme Court sides with Bayer, they might see their liabilities vanish in a flash, but let’s be real—cancer victims aren’t going to roll over. They’ll take this fight to the highest court, and if they win, Bayer could be staring down the barrel of a complete financial disaster. Right now, Bayer’s enjoying a brief moment of relief, and investors are riding high on that 11% stock surge, but the real battle is just beginning.

Stock.News has positions in Apple and Microsoft.