Here is a rundown of Cheddar News' top market stories of the day.
TECH LAYOFFS
Multiple outlets are reporting that Microsoft will begin a series of planned layoffs on Wednesday that could cut around 5 percent of its workforce, or 10,000 employees. CEO Satya Nadella warned the cuts were coming, and said the next couple of years were likely to be challenging, as the tech sector contracts after a decade plus of rapid growth. Amazon is also set to move ahead with plans to cut 6 percent of its 350,000 corporate employees.
ADOBE'S DATA DEBACLE
Adobe is facing backlash from customers who are concerned the software company is using personal images and video to train artificial intelligence models such as OpenAI’s Dall-E. Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky denied the accusations in an interview with Bloomberg, saying: "We have never, ever used anything in our storage to train a generative AI model."
UNITED AIRLINES EARNINGS
United Airlines' fourth quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates on the heels of a rebound in travel demand. The company reported a 31 percent increase from the same period before the pandemic. The gains were made despite the airline flying 9 percent fewer trips and a litany of other challenges, from winter storms to labor shortages to supply chain disruptions.
UNIVERSITY BANS TIKTOK
The University of Texas at Austin is blocking access to TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks. The move is a response to Gov. Greg Abbott's requirement that all state agencies delete the app from government-issued devices. The administration said it is also seeking to eliminate risks to information on the university's networks. University of Texas at Dallas and Texas A&M University System have since implemented similar restrictions.
Stocks closed at session lows Thursday, mostly due to a larger tech selloff after Facebook parent company Meta reported weak earnings results one day before. The Nasdaq closed down nearly 4% for its worst day since September 2020. Erin Gibbs, Chief Investment Officer at Main Street Asset Management, joins Closing Bell to discuss today's close, Meta earnings, Amazon earnings, and more
Spotify beat fourth quarter earnings expectations, and also reported a jump in monthly active users and in paid subscribers. The report comes as the company grapples with a new question: is it simply a streaming platform, or is it a media company responsible for the content it posts, like Joe Rogan's controversial podcast? Greg Martin, Co-Founder of Rainmaker Securities, joins Closing Bell to discuss why the stock took a hit even though earnings results were positive, how the company can move forward through the Rogan controversy, and more.
Chen Arad, Chief Operating Officer for Solidus Labs, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why Wormhole was particularly vulnerable to a $320+ million crypto hack and discusses what new investors need to do in order to protect their assets.
E-commerce platform for construction and building materials RenoRun has raised $142 million in a Series B round, which the company says is the fourth largest Series B round in Canadian history. RenoRun’s platform offers same-day delivery of construction materials to job sites in Canada and the United States. The company aims to revolutionize the construction industry by maximizing productivity and efficiency. RenoRun co-founder and CEO Eamonn O’Rourke joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Facebook parent company Meta reported weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, and also issued disappointing guidance for Q1 2022. The tech giant is also under pressure due to Apple's iOS privacy change, as well as continued multi-billion dollar losses for its metaverse focused business unit. Angelo Zino, Tech Analyst at CFRA Research, joins Closing Bell to discuss the earnings results, how Apple's iOS privacy change will impact revenue, whether the metaverse is an underrated investment opportunity, and more.
Rental prices are rising across the country, causing millions to relocate. Average rents rose 14 percent last year, and Americans expect rents will continue to rise by about 10 percent just this year. Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The video game industry has seen monumental growth the past few years - with an increasing amount of companies jumping head first into the space. In January alone, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard, game publisher Take-Two agreed to buy Zynga, and most recently, Sony announced it has agreed to buy game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. Tobias Batton, CEO and founder of Ex Populus, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss the surge in M&A activity in the gaming space.
