Eos Energy stock falls after Fuzzy Panda issues short report
Nvidia’s market capitalization is now worth more than the stock markets of France, Germany, and Italy combined. Nvidia (NVDA) became the first $5 trillion company after it announced a deal with Nokia, and hope rose for expanded AI access within China due to President Trump’s meeting with President Xi on Thursday. President Trump on Wednesday said that he will be discussing Nvidia’s Blackwell chip with President Xi, which is currently not available in China due to export controls. I should add that Nvidia has surged 16.8% in the past five days.
This is a big week for technology earnings with Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft all reporting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Speaking of technology, if you are looking for evidence that AI is eliminating jobs, Amazon on Tuesday announced 14,000 job cuts because it says it needs to better prepare for the impact of AI. Specifically, Beth Galetti, a senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, said in a blog post, “Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well,” and then elaborated, “What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones).” Amazon also warned of additional layoffs in the future. Ouch!
UPS has reduced its management workforce by about 14,000 positions so far this year and its operational workforce by another 34,000 positions. The company said it is well-positioned to navigate the upcoming holiday season and added that its restructuring efforts have resulted in cost savings of about $2.2 billion so far this year. Obviously, an AI-driven economy that promotes more online shopping has caused delivery companies to boost their efficiency, which may show up in U.S. productivity calculations.
Outplacement firm Challenger Gray announced 54,064 job cuts by companies nationwide in September. This is the fifth-highest monthly job cuts that Challenger Gray has monitored in the past 36 years. Obviously, the Fed has to continue to cut key interest rates to stimulate job growth in the upcoming months.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement on Wednesday is expected to be dovish and signal another key interest rate cut at its December FOMC meeting.