AI Summary
5 min readThe Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, breaking a streak of three cuts, while Tesla announced it will sunset its Model S and X to focus on humanoid robots, and Starbucks posted its best quarter in over a year under new CEO Brian Niccol. These were the dominant stories in a packed Thursday of corporate earnings and central bank news, alongside Meta and Microsoft reporting contrasting market reactions to similar AI spending stories, Amazon cutting 16,000 corporate jobs, and SpaceX planning an IPO timed to a planetary conjunction.
The Fed Delivers a Deliberately Boring Meeting
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady, ending a run of three consecutive cuts. The decision was widely expected, but the meeting was notable for two dissents: Trump appointees Stephen Mirin and Christopher Waller voted for a fourth straight quarter-point cut but were outvoted 10-2. Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference was similarly uneventful. CNBC counted five separate occasions where Powell responded to questions about the DOJ investigation into whether he misled Congress about the Fed’s headquarters renovation with variations of “I have nothing for you on that.” When asked about his successor come May, Powell said he’d “stay out of elected politics.” Bloomberg’s John Authers wrote that “in the midst of the greatest turmoil for the institution in decades, Jerome Powel
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:18) **Pro Football Hall of Fame Snubs Belichick** - Bill Belichick was not voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, stunning fans and players.
- 2 (02:29) **Fed Holds Rates Steady in a "Boring" Meeting** - The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, breaking a string of three straight cuts, as expected.
- 3 (05:20) **Race to Replace Fed Chair Powell Heats Up** - Four finalists are reportedly on Trump's shortlist to become the next Fed chair.
- 4 (06:53) **Tesla Scraps Model S and X, Bets on Robots** - Elon Musk announced the end of the Model S and X, repurposing the Fremont factory for Optimus humanoid robots.
- 5 (09:05) **Meta Shares Jump on Strong Ad Revenue, AI Spending** - Meta's stock rose 10% after forecasting higher income despite doubling AI capex.
- 6 (11:06) **Microsoft Stock Drops Despite Strong Earnings** - Microsoft shares fell 6% after a mixed quarter, with investors nervous about AI spending and slowing cloud growth.
- 7 (13:33) **Amazon Cuts 16,000 Corporate Jobs to Reduce Bureaucracy** - Amazon announced its second round of layoffs since October, cutting 10% of its corporate workforce.
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Show Notes
Episode 768: Neal and Toby recap the Fed’s interest rate meeting where Chair Jerome Powell kept things steady citing an active economy. Then, a rundown of Big Tech’s earnings, starting with Tesla scrapping its car models, Meta’s full speed ahead with AI, and Microsoft’s mixed results. Plus, Amazon announces mass layoffs to focus on its AI investments. Meanwhile, Starbucks is picking up steam on its comeback tour. Also, Neal shares his favorite numbers on the Canadian ski boycott, London’s startup scene, and WD-40’s secret formula.
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