(Reuters) - Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.
$META
".. The $10 billion payment would be nearly unprecedented for a government helping arrange a transaction, historians have said."
@wsj.com
(Semafor) - In the midst of the Trump administration’s review of AT&T’s $23 billion deal to buy spectrum licenses from EchoStar, CEO John Stankey paid the president a visit earlier this week.
$T
Change In Data Sources Led To Lower Inflation Reading - New York Times
- A Methodological Change Contributed To A Better-Than-Expected Inflation Report, Prompting Questions From Some Economists.
(Axios) - The Treasury Department made it easier Friday for U.S. businesses and farmers to buy Venezuelan fertilizer and oil as their prices rise because of the Iran war, Axios has learned.
$NTR $CF
CAPITAL ECONOMICS: "If WTI remains close to $95, then retail gasoline will soon hit $4.00. That near-20% m/m increase in prices would add 0.6% points to all-items CPI in March and only slightly less to the PCE deflator."
(h/t Schwab / Gordon)
* DOJ TO APPEAL JUDGE'S DECISION ON FED SUBPOENAS, PIRRO SAYS
* TRUMP SIGNS TWO EXECUTIVE ORDERS AIMED AT BOOSTING HOME OWNERSHIP -AP NEWS
* TRUMP SIGNS ORDER REDUCING MORTGAGE REGULATIONS: AP
* WHITE HOUSE: TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER TO REDUCE REGULATORY BURDENS THAT HAVE DRIVEN UP MORTGAGE COSTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed a pair of executive orders aimed at showing his commitment to improving home affordability — a key issue for many voters going into November’s election for control of the House and Senate.
(WSJ) - A federal judge threw out a pair of subpoenas the Justice Department issued to the Federal Reserve, handing a victory to the Fed and dealing a heavy blow to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell.
TS LOMBARD: “.. The ball is now in the US court — Iran is still shipping its oil and has no incentive to negotiate while those revenues flow.”
hub.tslombard.com/report/globa...
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SAYS IT WILL DISCONTINUE FLIGHTS TO CHICAGO O'HARE AND WASHINGTON DULLES EFFECTIVE JUNE 4
".. My overarching theme remains: Fish Where the Fish Are for now .. and that is in Semis/Semicaps/Optical/Memory/HDDs - participants in the generational upgrade .. $NVDA, $LRCX, $COHR, $GLW, $APH, ASML, AVGO to name a few …. i think it’s way too ‘early’ to think differently."
- B of A TMT desk
(CNBC) - The U.S. on Thursday launched new trade investigations into 60 economies to determine whether they failed to curb imports of goods made with forced labor, a day after it initiated unfair trade practices probe into 16 trading partners.
5th month gasoline futures (August 2026) back to late 2022/early 2023 levels -- markets now think this will be with us for awhile:
US Intervention In Oil Futures Would Be ‘Biblical Disaster’, CME Warns - FT
Dow Transports.. just about the entire YTD gain is gone... flat since November 2024
-10% last six sessions.
S&P 500's worst close of the year... lowest since late November
-4.5% from the January record high
* BESSENT ASKED IF COST WOULD EVER MAKE HIM TELL TRUMP WAR NO LONGER AFFORDABLE: "ABSOLUTELY NOT" - SKY NEWS
Homebuilders $XHB worst 9-day selloff since June 2022
-13% since the first of the month. The housing market sucks. @stockcharts
".. Brent-crude futures jumped 9.2%, their biggest one-day percentage gain since May 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data. They closed the day at $100.46, their highest settlement value since August 2022."
@wsj.com #OOTT
(Reuters) - Bloomberg has told employees based in the Gulf, including at its Dubai regional headquarters, they can temporarily relocate and work from outside the region, a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday, as Iran carries out repeated attacks on Gulf cities.
President Trump just posted this:
"Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome “Too Late” Powell, today? He should be dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting!"
RICHARD BERNSTEIN: "INFLATION IS NOT DEAD: 1-Year Inflation breakevens are now the highest ever when omitting the post-pandemic period."
@carlquintanilla.bsky.social I can't believe tomorrow marks 6 years when the country shut down... i remember watching Squawk that morning. How times flies!
* ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS IT HAS STRUCK BASIJ ROADBLOCKS AND SOLDIERS ESTABLISHED RECENTLY IN TEHRAN
@reuters.com
JPMorgan: "If the US cannot achieve a short-term victory, it seems likely that it will be forced to attempt a ground war to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. If so, this could transform into a multiyear war"
DIESEL HITS $5+ IN 8 STATES, CALIFORNIA TOPS $6
GasBuddy reports that 8 U.S. states now have average diesel prices above $5 per gallon, with California soaring to $6.16. Other affected states include WA, WI, OR, PA, FL, VT, and ME.
