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.
Next week will see several different events that will likely weigh on the markets. Cheddar News' Closing Bell dives in, from the continuation of third-quarter earnings season to Rivian's IPO and a 're-IPO' from Hertz, along with more inflation data.
Frank Lee, Managing Director at Miracle Mile Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why markets are soaring after the Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, and the Russell 2000 all reached new record closes to begin the trading week.
Amid an ongoing labor shortage, more companies are turning to automation for processes like shipping and delivery in order to relieve supply chain pressures. But what does this mean for the wider labor market - will those jobs return? How will workers fare once supply chain issues ease? Sam Lurye, CEO and Founder of automation startup Kargo, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the pros and cons of automation, how workers can adapt alongside new technology, and how the pandemic led to the perfect storm for the rise of automation.
Ben McMillan, CIO at IDX Digital Assets, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how the recent surge by Ethereum and Bitcoin can be connected to a play against inflation.
AI chipmaker Hailo raised $136 million in its latest funds round, representing one of the largest investments ever in the AI chip space. It comes amid the ongoing global chip shortage, and a surge in demand for the company's technology, which is used to power smart cities, cars and homes, and the next generation of retail. Hailo co-founder and CEO Orr Danon joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The two biggest names in the ride-sharing industry reported earnings this week. Uber and Lyft both beat Wall Street expectations on their top and bottom lines, as the companies and the ride-sharing industry have recently faced several challenges like the pandemic, the supply chain crisis, and driver shortages. Johnson Research Group CEO Chris Johnson joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Biden administration is giving businesses a deadline to implement a vaccination mandate, saying companies can take until after the holiday season. Andew Noymer, Associate Professor of Population Health and Disease Prevention at the University of California, Irvine, joined Cheddar to discuss.
Gaming technology studio Mythical Games recently raised $150 million in a round led by Andreesen Horowitz, bringing Mythical's valuation to above unicorn status at $1.2 billion. Mythical Games' mission is to create a new generation of gaming with play-to-earn games that allow players to play to win actual cryptocurrency. Now the company is taking it to another level with NFT technology, allowing players to play with characters they can truly own. Mythical Games CEO John Linden joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk posed a question to his Twitter followers over the weekend: 'Should I sell 10% of my Tesla shares in order to pay off a looming $15 billion tax bill?' Shares plummeted after he posed the question, and just over half of 3.5 million Twitter voters said Musk should sell a fraction of his shares. Dan Ives, Managing Director of Equity Research at Wedbush Securities, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss whether or not Musk's Twitter poll was significant amid his looming tax bill, and how investors are feeling after yet another controversial tweet from the Tesla chief.
