Wall Street's big week; Netflix's price hike; Frappuccinos for Apple Pay

Wall Street is having a tough time keeping the momentum going this morning after what’s been a big week for stocks. Investors are waiting for more clarity on interest rates and inflation as Fed officials hit the speakers circuit after the latest Fed minutes revealed the central bank was reluctant to raise rates in September.

Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli said Fed speakers will help investors get the full picture of what the central bank is thinking.

“What they say about inflation -- what the potential triggers would be for the conditions that would let them raise interest rates.  I do think that could be helpful.  I also wonder exactly what the effect of the sudden calm in markets or the greater calm in makretys means for the fed outlook,” Santoli adds.

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Alcoa (AA) The country's biggest aluminum producer came up short of estimates for both earnings and revenue in the third quarter. Alcoa says sales fell 11% because of falling commodity prices and currency issues related to the strong dollar.  Alcoa's results were also impacted by divestitures and plant closures during the period. And it is warning about weakness in demand from China. 

The Gap (GPS) Sales at the retailer's stores open at least a year fell 1% in September.  Like so many other firms, The Gap is blaming the strong dollar. And while it's usually the namesake brand that drags down The Gap's numbers, this time it's the Banana Republic chain.  Those same-store sales fell a whopping 10% during the month.

Ruby Tuesday (RT) The casual restaurant chain posted a loss in the quarter...analysts were looking for a nickel profit.  But revenue beat forecasts. Ruby Tuesday points to the closure of some locations and the late date of Labor Day this year, which threw off comparisons to last year's quarterly report. 

Helen of Troy (HELE) The maker of a wide range of personal products such as Brut, Vitalis and Revlon handily beat estimates on both its top and bottom lines in the period. Helen of Troy says sales jumped 15.4% despite a drag caused by the strong dollar.  And the company is boosting its full year earnings and revenue forecasts. 

CPI Card Group (PMTS) The provider of credit and debit cards is beginning trading on the Nasdaq...and it has had a difficult time going public.  Yesterday it cut its estimated share offering price to $10...just a day after it had trimmed its expectations to $12 to $13.  Last month, CPI said it was looking to sell shares in the $16 to $18 range.

Apple Pay expands

Soon you’ll ordering Frappuccinos and fried chicken, all with scan of a finger.  Apple Pay (AAPL) is adding Starbucks (SBUX), KFC (YUM) and Chili’s to its system, bringing more mainstream vendors into its payments ecosystem.

Now customers might complain about this, but Wall Street isn’t.  Netflix (NFLX) is raising the price of its most popular monthly streaming plan by $1 month, to $9.99 a month.

It’s looking like investors will be hitting the gas pedal with this IPO.  Ferrari’s upcoming initial public offering could see it’s valuation hit $12.4 billion, Bloomberg reports based on talks with possible investors. Fiat (FCAU) Chairman Sergio Marchionne said previously said he expected the valuation for the “sacred brand” to top $10 billion.

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