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.
Ellen Davis, Executive VP of Industry Engagement at the Consumer Brands Association, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down what consumers need to know about how the pandemic and supply chain constraints are affecting the availability of everyday items.
Michele Schneider, Partner and Director of Trading Research & Education for MarketGauge, discusses the major headwinds facing the markets and highlight which areas within tech are seeing the most growth.
Markets opened higher on the first trading day of the new year as investors continue to watch inflation and the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the U.S. Frances Newton Stacy, Optimal Capital Dir. of Strategy/Market Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Markets opened lower this morning as investors rounded out a wild 2021. Jay Hatfield, CEO Infrastructure Capital Advisors, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss which sectors and industries to watch in the new year.
Markets opened higher as investors react to positive data on the labor front, with weekly jobless claims falling to 198,000 for the week ending December 25. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the market open.
Brian Jacobsen, Multi-Asset Solutions at Wells Fargo Asset Management, provides insight on the Financial sector as interest rates are expected to rise and discusses the factors impacting growth in consumer spending.
Greg Swenson, Founding Partner at Brigg Macadam, breaks down how government reaction is trickling down into the markets and why Fiannaials should be in focus in January.
Jay Pestrichelli, CEO of ZEGA Financial, discusses the industries seeing more volatility due to COVID-19 and areas investors can hedge rising inflation.
Dave Ellison, Portfolio Manager at Hennessy Funds, talks about the effect less liquidity in the market has on economic growth and breaks down how the financial sector and small businesses could grow during these conditions.
