Hello friends and Fortune readers.
This past week’s news was dominated by Alibaba’s (BABA) record-breaking IPO. The Chinese e-commerce company is worth over $231 billion as of the close of markets Friday after its shares gained a whooping 38% in their first day of trading.
The NFL has regretfully stayed in the limelight, as well. The Minnesota Viking’s deactivated running back Adrian Peterson after he was indicted on charges of child abuse. Commissioner Roger Goodell took to the podium Friday to answer questions and promised that the league will “get our house in order.”
Here’s what you need to know for your week ahead.
1. Climate change is on the worldwide agenda.
The United Nations Climate Summit kicks off Tuesday in New York. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will host government and business leaders from across the globe to discuss the state of climate change. The summit will focus on actions and solutions that will reduce the amount of carbon emissions and help reverse the potentially devastating impact of a quickly warming planet. Participants will convene on topics such as agriculture, transportation, energy and financing.
2. Tim Cook is pushing Apple’s green ambitions.
Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at a panel on Monday at the Morgan Library in New York City. Cook, who famously told off climate change deniers at a shareholder meeting this year, has been touting the company’s sustainability practices, which have been in the works for nearly a decade now. Last year, he hired former Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson to help head up Apple’s (AAPL) initiatives. Cook will join other business leaders in a full day of panels and discussions on how corporations are helping fight against global warming.
3. BlackBerry tries to make a comeback.
BlackBerry will host an invite-only event simultaneously in London, Dubai and Toronto on Wednesday. The company is calling the event “See the Bigger Picture,” and insiders are expecting a reveal of the BlackBerry Passport, a supposedly innovative smartphone with a 4.5-inch square screen. The Canadian smartphone maker recently announced its new phone that was designed in partnership with Porsche.
BlackBerry (BBRY) has been working hard to turnaround faltering sales. Revenue had been rapidly declining over the past several years, but it showed signs of stabilizing in the company’s latest quarterly earnings in mid-June. The company will provide more financial results on Friday. Analysts expect a loss of 20 cents per share on sales of $945.5 million.
4. August housing numbers come out.
August’s home sales for both new and existing construction come out this week. Existing home sales rose in July to the highest level in 10 months. New home sales, meanwhile, have continued to lag, putting pressure on the U.S. construction industry as it struggles to make a comeback from the recession. Analysts anticipate that new home sales will be up 4.4% month of month for August, while existing home sales will grow 1% compared to July.
5. Is Nike worried about the state of the NFL?
Nike will report its quarterly earnings on Thursday with an expected per-share profit of 88 cents on sales of $7.8 billion.Watch for the company to say anything about its relationship with the embattled NFL. Nike (NKE) paid over $1 billion to win the five-year contract for all NFL apparel in 2012. Reebok, which previously had a 10-year contract, had paid just $250 million. Nike has a vital financial stake in the football league’s health because it has a lot of jerseys to sell to cover its up-front cost of the contract.
