There were two dissenters from the Federal Reserve's decision to lower the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, in two different directions.Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran instead called for a half-point cut, while Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid voted for no decrease.Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, called two dissents "unusual," particularly because one wanted a deeper cut and the other wanted no change."Powell will have to use all of hi ...

Eli Lilly and Walmart on Wednesday said they have teamed up to expand access to the drugmaker's weight loss drug Zepbound, allowing U.S. patients to get vials of the blockbuster injection at direct-to-consumer prices through retail locations for the first time. The announcement comes as Eli Lilly works to maintain its dominance over rival Novo Nordisk in the booming market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s. It also comes as the Trump administration pressures drugmakers to make it easie ...

Core Viewpoint - The Federal Reserve has approved its second consecutive interest rate cut, lowering the benchmark overnight borrowing rate to a range of 3.75%-4%, despite limited visibility on the economy due to a government shutdown [2][3] Interest Rate Decision - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 10-2 to implement the rate cut, with dissenting opinions regarding the pace of the cut [2][3] - The decision to end quantitative tightening (QT) will take effect on December 1, 2025, marking a shift in the Fed's monetary policy approach [2][7] Economic Indicators - The Fed acknowledged uncertainty in economic conditions due to the suspension of key data collection, including nonfarm payrolls and retail sales [4] - Available indicators suggest moderate economic expansion, with job gains slowing and the unemployment rate remaining low [5][6] - Inflation remains elevated at an annual rate of 3%, influenced by higher energy costs and tariffs [6] Labor Market Concerns - The Fed expressed concerns over rising downside risks to employment, noting a flattening pace of hiring despite contained layoffs [6][7] - The balance between full employment and stable prices is becoming increasingly challenging for policymakers [7] Balance Sheet Management - The Fed's balance sheet, which expanded from over $4 trillion to nearly $9 trillion during the Covid crisis, will not return to pre-pandemic levels [10] - The end of QT has resulted in a reduction of approximately $2.3 trillion from the Fed's portfolio of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities [8][10] Market Reactions - Markets had anticipated the end of QT either in October or by year-end, with major averages experiencing volatility but reaching record highs, particularly in Big Tech stocks [11][12] - Historical trends indicate that markets tend to rise following Fed rate cuts, although this could lead to higher inflation risks [12]

Core Insights - Nvidia has become the first company to exceed a $5 trillion market capitalization, highlighting its significant position in the market [1] - The stock price increased by as much as 5.5% during the session, contributing to its rise above the $5 trillion milestone [1] - Nvidia's strong performance is attributed to its leadership in the artificial intelligence sector, making it a favored choice among both retail and institutional investors [1]

Economic Impact of Government Shutdown - The U.S. federal government shutdown could cost the economy up to $14 billion, depending on its duration [1][2] - A six-week shutdown is projected to cost $11 billion, while an eight-week shutdown could escalate the cost to $14 billion [2] - By the end of 2026, the shutdown is expected to result in a loss of at least $7 billion in gross domestic product due to furloughed federal employees working fewer weeks [1] Political Dynamics - Senators express pessimism regarding the likelihood of reaching a bipartisan deal to reopen the government, despite the increasing economic pain for Americans [2] - The shutdown commenced on October 1 after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a short-term funding measure [3] - Democratic senators are demanding that Republicans extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies as a condition for their support in funding to reopen the government [4]

Core Insights - Microsoft experienced significant outages in its Azure cloud and 365 services shortly before its scheduled earnings release [1][2] - Users reported widespread access issues on social media, with Microsoft's website also being inaccessible during the outage [2] - The company acknowledged the problems on its support accounts, indicating that customers might face intermittent request failures or latency [3] Service Disruptions - The issues began around 11:40 a.m. ET, as reported by Downdetector, which tracks user-reported problems [2] - Microsoft is investigating the impact on Azure Front Door services and has communicated that customers may experience difficulties accessing the portal [3] - This disruption follows a recent major outage reported by Amazon Web Services, which also affected numerous major websites [3] Financial Context - Microsoft is set to report its fiscal first-quarter results after the close of trading, but the company did not provide immediate comments regarding the outages [4] - A previous outage in March had already affected tens of thousands of users, particularly impacting access to Outlook email accounts and other programs [4]

The logo and lettering of Paramount Skydance Corporation can be seen at a Paramount stand at the Media Days in Munich (Bavaria, Germany).Paramount Skydance is slashing nearly 1,000 jobs beginning on Wednesday, just months after the close of its merger, according to a person close to the situation. The layoffs will eventually amount to 2,000 roles, the person said."When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made clear that building a strong, future-focused company would require significant change – inc ...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wears the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, as he delivers a speech presenting the new line of smart glasses, during the Meta Connect event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., Sept. 17, 2025.Meta reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the bell. Here's how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:Earnings per share: $7.25 adj. vs. $6.69 estimatedRevenue: $51.24 billion vs. $49.41 billion estimatedThis is breaking news. P ...

General Motors laid off roughly 1,700 workers across its manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio on Wednesday, citing a slowdown in the electric vehicle market.The company confirmed there were around 1,200 layoffs at Detroit's electric vehicle plant and 550 cuts at Ohio's Ultium Cells battery cell plant, in addition to 850 temporary layoffs at that site in Ohio. The company also said it would temporarily lay off 700 at Ultium Cells' Tennessee plant. "In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolv ...

Core Viewpoint - Snowflake Inc faced scrutiny after an executive provided unauthorized financial guidance in a public interview, prompting the company to file a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission to clarify that the statements should not be relied upon by investors [1][2][3] Group 1: Unauthorized Financial Guidance - An unnamed executive from Snowflake shared financial projections during an Instagram interview, stating the company expects to exceed $4.5 billion in revenue for the current year and aims to reach $10 billion in a couple of years [3] - The company emphasized that the executive is not an authorized spokesperson for disclosing financial information, as per its Corporate Disclosure Policy [2] Group 2: Public Response and Impact - The Instagram video featuring the executive has garnered significant attention, with 2.5 million views, indicating a high level of public interest in Snowflake's financial outlook [3] - Snowflake has not provided immediate comments regarding the situation following the unauthorized disclosure [3]