Group 1: Federal Reserve and Economic Indicators - Kevin Hasset, a close ally of Trump and current National Economic Council director, is the front runner to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, advocating for lower interest rates and calling for a 50 basis point cut next month [2][3] - The CME Fed Watch tool indicates an 85% chance of a rate cut next month, a significant increase from just above 30% last week [4] - Recent data, including a decline in consumer confidence to its lowest since April, supports the case for a December rate cut, although data shortages due to the government shutdown complicate assessments of the economy [5][6][9] Group 2: Company Developments - HP plans to cut between 4,000 to 6,000 jobs as part of AI-driven initiatives aimed at saving $1 billion by 2028, although its shares fell following disappointing Q4 results [10] - Tesla's CEO Elon Musk announced plans to double the number of robo taxis in Austin, Texas, as the company faces declining EV sales in Europe, with registrations dropping nearly 50% year-over-year [11][14] - SoftBank has completed a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing, aiming to strengthen its position in AI and cloud computing hardware [30] Group 3: Market Reactions and Trends - Shares of Nova Nordisk rose after the U.S. government negotiated a significant price cut for its obesity drugs for Medicare recipients, reducing the price from $959 to $274 for a 30-day supply [9] - Alibaba reported strong quarterly revenue driven by cloud and AI services, despite a hit to profits from aggressive expansion, indicating its potential to challenge Western AI players [32] - Dell's shares surged due to rising demand for AI servers, with the company reporting a record backlog in its infrastructure solutions group, which is growing faster than its PC business [43][44]
Kevin Hassett emerges as Fed chair frontrunner, Trump negotiates price cuts for Ozempic, Wegovy