Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Rate cut comedown
The U.S. economy is chipping away at hopes for a string of interest rate cuts this year. Major U.S. stock averages fell on Wednesday — the third straight decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average — after stronger-than-expected December retail sales data dimmed investor optimism that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy this year. It was only the latest data point to suggest the central bank may not pull back on its measures designed to tame inflation as quickly as many investors would like. On Thursday, weekly jobless claims, two readings on the health of the housing market and remarks from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will help to drive stocks. Follow live market updates here.
2. ‘Powerful forces’
Jamie Dimon isn’t buying the exuberance that sent stocks soaring at the end of last year. The JPMorgan Chase CEO told CNBC he thinks it’s “a mistake to assume that everything’s hunky-dory.” He said “very powerful forces” such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s war with Hamas, attacks on the Red Sea that have affected shipping routes and quantitative tightening by the Fed pose risks to the economy this year and next. Dimon previously warned of a “hurricane” looming in 2022 — in part because of Ukraine and the Fed pulling back on its efforts to boost the economy.
3. Gloom gathers over Google
Google will cut more jobs this year, CEO Sundar Pichai warned employees in a memo Wednesday. The move will come amid a wave of cost cuts at the company, which set out to eliminate 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its full-time workforce, last year. Pichai told employees the company will not cut as many positions as it did last year, and the layoffs “will not touch every team.” He said Google has to reduce costs in order to invest in “big priorities” like AI. Pichai wrote, “The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices.”
4. Apple improvises
Apple has found its way around a possible ban on the sale of its latest Watch models in the U.S. The company will remove blood oxygen reading from versions of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, which will go on sale starting Thursday. Apple modified the device during an ongoing patent dispute over the blood oxygen sensor with medical device company Masimo. Pending an appeal of an International Trade Commission decision banning the import and sale of watches with the technology, “Apple is taking steps to comply with the ruling while ensuring customers have access to Apple Watch with limited disruption,” a spokesperson said.
5. Leaning out
Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta‘s board. Sandberg, a key figure in the social media company’s rise to dominance and the backlash over misinformation and hate speech that shadowed it for years, served as chief operating officer from 2008 to 2022, and had been on the company’s board since 2012. In a post on the company’s flagship platform Facebook, Sandberg wrote, “With a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories, I let the Meta board know that I will not stand for reelection this May.”
– CNBC’s Sarah Min, Hugh Son, Jennifer Elias, Kif Leswing and Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.
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