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.
Jason Moser, Senior Analyst at The Motley Fool, breaks down AMC's third quarter earnings and discusses the future of the theater chain despite low ticket sales.
IBM's spinoff, Kyndryl, is officially an independent public company. The $19 billion business is now listed on the NYSE under the ticker KD, becoming one of the largest players in the IT services market. David Wyshner, CFO of Kyndryl, joined Cheddar to discuss what this milestone means for the company moving forward.
Emma Searson, an author on the just-released Renewables on the Rise report and the director, 100% Renewable Campaign at Environment America, joined Cheddar to discuss the rapidly growing renewable energy sector. Between 2011 and 2020, the report shows that wind, solar, and geothermal energy production grew about 15 percent annually and that wind and solar alone account for 11 percent of electricity in the country. "There are a few really important drivers of the renewable energy progress that we're seeing all across the country," Searson said, highlighting falling prices, technology improvements, and supportive policies.
Wendy O, host of 'The O Show' joins Cheddar News to discuss the recent rally from cryptocurrency, Ether. She also discussed incoming New York City mayor Eric Adams wanting to teach kids crypto in schools.
Professional sports is facing a reckoning right now over several stories painting an ugly picture of a toxic work environment, encompassing multiple teams in multiple leagues and dealing with different issues.
This week, the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks ousted their general manager and senior director of hockey operations after an investigation confirmed former player Kyle Beach's claims that the team's former video coach Brad Aldrich sexual assaulted him back in 2010, with upper management ignoring his claims until after the team won the Stanley Cup that season. Last night, Joel Quenneville, now the coach of the Florida Panthers but Chicago's coach that season, stepped down from his post.
This comes just a few weeks after the NFL was rocked by leaked emails showing now-former Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden using racist, sexist and homophobic language. He resigned soon after the emails came to light. We can't forget, though, that those emails come from a much broader investigation of the toxic work environment in the offices of the Washington Football Team. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week the league wouldn't publicly release anything from its investigation of the team, but lawyers for many of the women interviewed in the case say they want a public report.
And last January, just one month after hiring him, the New York Mets had to fire then-General manager Jared Porter, who admitted to sending explicit, unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016 when he worked for the Chicago Cubs. ESPN had been in possession of the texts since 2017, but the woman in question asked the network not to run the story out of fear her career would be harmed. She only reached back out to ESPN after she left the field of journalism altogether. Porter has been banned from the sport through next season.
If you believe in the phrase "where there's smoke, there's fire," professional sports is a five-alarm blaze.
Julie DiCaro, senior writer and editor at Deadspin, joins None of the Above to discuss.
Curaleaf CEO Joe Bayern joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss the cannabis company's Q3 earnings report, which came in under expectations and included widening losses. Bayern discussed taking a hit on profitability based on the slower-than-expected expansion in some Northeast markets. While the company reduced its fiscal guidance for 2021 due to a general slowing of the cannabis market, he did note that he still sees much room for growth in 2022 and beyond.
Online consignment and thrift shop thredUP reported a Q3 earnings beat on Monday, and CEO James Reinhart joined Cheddar to discuss exceeding expectations and the state of the business overall. Reinhart said the company is thriving while other businesses may face supply chain issues due to the convenience of its system of acquiring secondhand clothing. "In a world where most consumers are feeling squeezed by prices and seeing apparel shortages, everything we have on thredUP is 100 percent in stock and ready to ship," he said. "And so I think it speaks to real opportunity for resale and a company like thredUP during the holiday season and into 2022."
Former NBA star, commentator, and entrepreneur Baron Davis and Deluxe Corporation Chief Brand Officer Amanda Brinkman, joined Cheddar to discuss Season 6 of the reality show "Small Business Revolution," premiering Tuesday. The season will focus on helping six Black-owned businesses in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Davis noted learning about the lack of resources, connections, and opportunities for Black business owners during the show. "There are so many things we need to do as a society to address racial injustice and inequity, however, one of the ways for it is economic empowerment," Brinkman added.
Katia Beauchamp, strategic advisor for FemTec Health and former Birchbox CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss the health and beauty sciences company's recent acquisition of subscription beauty supply provider Birchbox. She noted that FemTec wants to change the perception of the brand to include health as well as beauty. "This is something where we are reimagining how can we help consumers discover beauty products that really help them take great care of themselves, have beautiful underlying health that is shown on the exterior too," she added.
