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.
While people have been spending more time on their phones throughout the pandemic, a new report shows they were also spending more money as well. A review from Sensor Tower on the global app ecosystem this year found that the app economy will see record consumer spending in 2021, up nearly 20% from 2020. Sensor Tower director of sales and financial institutions Anthony Bartolacci joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to break down the report.
Megan Horneman, Director of Portfolio Strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is some profit-taking ahead of the upcoming Fed meeting, and elaborates on some of the topics investors will be watching for more closely this week.
Markets closed higher Friday, with the S&P 500 notching a record close, even amid data this morning showing inflation rising at a fast pace. Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's market close, why markets are shrugging off November's hot inflation data, how the Fed will take CPI into consideration, and more.
The future of gambling in Florida recently suffered a major setback after a federal appeals court rejected a request from the state and the Seminole Tribe to allow online sports betting in the state. Now, the tribe has been forced to stop taking bets on its Hard Rock sportsbook app. ESPN gaming writer David Purdum joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what this could mean for the future of sports betting in Florida.
Apple is on the verge of becoming the world's first publicly-traded $3 trillion company. The iPhone maker's stock needs to hit $182.86 to surpass the $3 trillion mark. CFRA Research senior industry analyst Angelo Zino joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Lance Ippolito, Head Trader at the Future Of Wealth, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell where he discusses the factors that have contributed to the recent slide of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether.
Web3 software startup Thirdweb has raised $5 million in a funding round, coming from a group of high-profile investors, including Gary Vaynerchuk and Mark Cuban. Thirdweb says it is paving the way for the revolution surrounding the new iteration of the internet known as web3, by offering users free tools to build their own web3 projects. Thirdweb's co-founders Steven Bartlett and Furqan Rydhan join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
