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.
After three straight days of gains, investors were skittish Thursday ahead of key inflation data out Friday. Markets are expecting consumer price index data to be higher than expected, with some economists expecting a number exceeding 7%. Chance Finucane, Chief Investment Officer at Oxbow Advisors joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's close, CPI predictions, the Fed's recent announcements about inflation and its taper timeline, Lululemon earnings, and more.
A new bill in Congress shows just how bipartisan cannabis really is. Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, teamed up with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on a cannabis expungement bill. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke with the congressman about the legislation.
Rainmaker Games bills itself as a blockchain-based organization founded in the metaverse, built on a new type of gaming ecosystem called play-to-earn. The company announced a $6.5 million seed round after it was founded just this year. Rainmaker Games CEO and founder Will Deane joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Analysts are all-in on tech giant Apple, issuing bullish ratings this week and calling it a 'safety blanket' and one of the best assets for investors in 2022. This comes as Apple edges closer to a $3 trillion market cap. Mario Stefanidis, Vice President at Roundhill Investments, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss why analysts are bullish on the tech giant, how close the company is to hitting a $3 trillion market cap, and more.
Planet made its public debut on December 8, ringing the opening bell at the NYSE in honor of the occasion. With more than 200 satellites in orbit, the company operates the world's largest constellation of satellites, providing daily scans of the entire earth. This helps with everything from agriculture companies monitoring fields and crop health, to FEMA's disaster response, to marine protection programs. Will Marshall, co-founder and CEO of Planet, explains how this milestone will allow the company fulfill its mission of using space to help life here on Earth.
Lindsey Roeschke, travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult, breaks down how COVID-19 is impacting the travel sector and what the future of the industry looks like.
North Carolina is transitioning into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, as Toyota plans to build its first North American lithium-ion battery plant. Machelle Baker Sanders, secretary of commerce for North Carolina, joined Cheddar to discuss the influx of tech-heavy businesses and what Toyota's 1,750 jobs mean for North Carolina's economy. Sanders said the carmaking giant's $1.29 billion project was contingent on it committing to align with the state's own climate goals for a greener future.
Just weeks after launching its IPO, Embark Trucks is looking to take trucking to the next level by establishing an autonomous truck lane between Houston and San Antonio, Texas. CEO Alex Rodrigues joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the company's expansion into the Lone Star State and the efforts taken to make the driverless vehicles safe for the shipping corridor. "I think the biggest thing you'll notice as a person driving on the road is that they're going to be a little bit more patient, a little bit more law-abiding because they don't have to get there under the same kind of time pressure," he said. "They don't have the hours of service limitations." He also explained that the lane itself isn't a segregated road but a digital route on an existing roadway for the vehicles to follow.
