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.
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday as investors reviewed the latest round of corporate earnings and an upbeat report from Delta Air Lines that bodes well for the travel industry.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Monday as investors weighed record-high Treasury yields, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, potential policy moves from the Federal Reserve, and the start of earnings season. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "We expected volatility to continue after this recent rally of the last past few weeks. None of the big headwinds have really changed," he said.
Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at the Conference Board, joined Closing Bell to break down March CPI numbers, and discuss how skyrocketing prices are affecting American consumers.
McLaren displayed its all-electric, off-roading racing vehicle, the Odyssey, in from of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, joined Cheddar News to discuss bringing the heavy-duty vehicle to a new racing series with an emphasis on sustainability — and even gender equity with a male and female team of two drivers required. "This is McLaren's first-ever Odyssey, which is an EV. Looks like an SUV — but not really much of an SUV — that we raced five times around the world in various locations where climate has impacted the world," he said.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, a select number of creators in Meta's Horizon Worlds will now have the option to sell virtual assets and experiences they create to other players for a profit.
Jannese Torres-Rodriguez, Host of the 'Yo Quiero Dinero' podcast, fills us in on what taxpayers can write off and highlights the best uses for tax refunds.
