Afternoon Wire: Fed Minutes, Market Updates, and Exciting Developments Across Industries
The FOMC minutes are out, and they indicate a shift in tone for future policy adjustments. The Federal Reserve opted to slow the pace of rate cuts, trimming rates by -25 bps, with a “vast majority” of participants seeing risks to employment and inflation as “roughly in balance.” While most participants agree that policy is no longer as restrictive, they’re choosing a careful approach before making further adjustments. Upside risks to inflation remain a concern, driven by factors such as stronger-than-expected household spending, trade and immigration policy changes, supply chain disruptions, and persistent shelter price increases. Markets now anticipate no further rate cuts this month, and possibly not for a few meetings, due to economic resilience and elevated prices.
Market Movers and Corporate News
- November Consumer Credit: The figure dropped by $7.5 billion, missing the consensus expectation of $11.8 billion.
- Microsoft Job Cuts: Microsoft is planning performance-based layoffs, affecting less than 1% of its total workforce.
- Delta Unveils New AI and Partnerships: Delta introduced the AI-powered Delta Concierge, launching in 2025, to enhance travel experiences through its Fly Delta app. The airline also announced multimodal partnerships with Uber and Joby and teased future collaborations with YouTube and more at CES.
- eBay Partners with Meta: eBay announced a new partnership integrating its listings with Facebook Marketplace, enabling eBay sellers to reach Marketplace’s 1 billion monthly users. Citi analyst Ygal Arounian upgraded eBay to a Buy with a $75 price target, citing this as a major expansion opportunity for eBay sellers.
- AT&T’s Customer Initiative: AT&T will now offer bill credits for network outages, part of an effort to rebuild customer trust and retention.
- D-Wave vs. Nvidia on Quantum Computing: D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz dismissed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s comments that quantum computing is years away. Baratz emphasized that companies like Mastercard already use D-Wave’s commercial quantum services today.
- Xbox’s Handheld Ambitions: Microsoft VP Jason Ronald confirmed plans to integrate Xbox and Windows experiences for handheld gaming, aiming to revolutionize the PC and gaming ecosystem within this year.
Congrats to the OP Community!
Today was another banner day in OP Chat! Apple, Walmart, and SPY trades paid big. Shoutout to everyone who followed the setups and kept stacking those gains!
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