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.
David Bowie's entire catalog of songs has officially been sold to Warner Music Group by his estate for an estimated $250 million. This means the group now has the full rights to almost all of David Bowie's recordings. But Bowie, just the latest music mega deal. Just last month, Bruce Springsteen sold his entire catalog to Sony Music Entertainment at what in fact maybe be the biggest transaction ever for a single artist's body of work. In addition, John Legend also cashed in by selling rights to his songs from 2004 to early last year. Culture Correspondent at NPR, Anastasia Tsioulcas, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Treasury officials say that filing taxes this year could be frustrating due to staffing shortages at the IRS and paperwork backlog. Cheddar News speaks with Brent Weiss, certified financial planner and co-founder of Facet Wealth, on how to best file your returns in 2022.
As the need for COVID-19 testing increases, so does the price of the tests themselves. An agreement with The White House and several major companies to sell the tests at a lower cost has now expired, sending prices up as retailers struggle to keep kits on shelves. Dr. Thomas McGinn, executive VP of physician enterprise at Common Spirit Health, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
With no end in sight to supply chain snarls, some companies are reconsidering the way they manufacture goods. Harry Moser, founder and president of Reshoring Initiative and Jennifer Smith, logistics and supply chain reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss some of the ways companies are trying to solve their supply chain problems in the long term.
Stocks closed higher Tuesday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising for a second straight day as tech stocks rebound. Investors also felt some relief after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell today said the central bank is prepared to raise interest rates 'more over time' if inflation continues to run hot. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's market close, whether and how markets are pricing in Fed activity, and more.
Bitcoin dipped below $40,000 this week amid a broader slump to begin the year. Some speculate that as cryptocurrencies correlate closer to traditional assets that factors like the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy will weigh on digital coins. Jalak Jobanputra, managing partner at Future Perfect Ventures, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss why crypto markets are feeling pressure from the Fed's potential 2022 rate hikes, broader crypto market predictions, and more.
