Here is a rundown of Cheddar News' top trending market stories of the day.
TECH EARNINGS AHEAD
It's going to be a busy week for Wall Street. The Federal Reserve is announcing its next rate hike on Wednesday, and Big Tech is dropping a slew of quarterly results. Meta is releasing earnings on Wednesday, and Amazon, Apple, and Google parent Alphabet are all releasing on Thursday. Traders are betting that the Fed delivers a modest 25 basis point hike, marking a deceleration of this tightening cycle. As for the earnings, investors will be tuned in for signs of how the tech sector might fare in the coming year after several high-profile rounds of layoffs.
MICROSOFT COPYRIGHT SUIT
Microsoft and OpenAI requested that a San Francisco court toss out a class-action lawsuit accusing the firms of improperly monetizing open-source code in their artificial-intelligence systems. The companies said the anonymous copyright owners who filed the complaint were not specific enough in their allegations. The plaintiffs maintain that they used the open source code in a program called Copilot without complying with licensing terms.
AMAZON ADD GROCERY FEES
Amazon is adding a fee to Fresh grocery orders that cost less than $150. It said the extra charge is designed to keep prices down across its services. The delivery fee is $9.95 for orders under $50, $6.95 for orders between $50 and $100, and $3.95 for orders between $100 and $150. “This service fee will help keep prices low in our online and physical grocery stores as we better cover grocery delivery costs and continue to enable offering a consistent, fast, and high-quality delivery experience,” the company said.
Disney and Fortnite-maker Epic Games will collab on making new video games with Disney characters. Hopefully it will be more than Mickey Mouse hitting the Griddy.
Hershey is cautioning on its 2024 profit growth as the company contends with rising cocoa costs, leading to increased prices for chocolate. The company anticipates its full-year earnings per share being relatively flat, partly due to higher cocoa and sugar costs.
Prince Harry has reached an out-of-court settlement with a tabloid newspaper publisher that invaded his privacy with phone hacking and other illegal snooping. Attorney David Sherborne said that Mirror Group Newspapers had agreed to pay Harry’ “substantial” costs and damages.
An attorney representing passengers of an Alaska Airlines flight that lost a door plug in midair says a “whistling sound” was heard on a previous flight of the same Boeing 737 Max 9.
What do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aubrey Plaza, and Tom Brady all have in common? You'll see them on Super Bowl Sunday, but not on the field. If you only watch the Super Bowl for the ads, here's a sneak peek.
The Federal Communications Commission knows (to loosely quote Drake) "when that [AI robocall] hotline bling, that can only mean one thing" — deception. The agency says bad actors have been using these voices to misinform voters.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, breaks down Disney’s latest results, from adding Taylor Swift to building out ESPN, and why Bob Iger’s leadership is crucial.
