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Major companies have announced over 25,000 layoffs in the U.S. this month alone, with Amazon leading the charge with 14,000 announced corporate job cuts.
This number may increase to 30,000 for Amazon by the end of the year, as CEO Andy Jassy pursues a vision of operating like "the world's biggest startup.”
Other big corporations have followed the same trend, with Target making 1,800 corporate cuts, Starbucks 2,000 positions, and, in Europe, Nestlé plans for over 20,000 cuts.
What distinguishes this round of layoffs is the focus on white-collar roles seen as vulnerable to AI-driven automation—affecting middle managers, analysts, and corporate staff.
Gartner analysts predict that by 2026, one in five organizations will use AI to eliminate at least half of their management layers.
According to a KPMG survey, 78% of executives face intense pressure from boards and investors to prove AI is saving money and boosting profits, with traditional metrics often failing to capture its business impact.
Ford CEO Jim Farley warned that AI will "replace literally half of all white-collar workers," while Salesforce's Marc Benioff claims AI is already doing up to 50% of his company's workload.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years, potentially spiking unemployment to 10-20%.
Nvidia Makes History Again As First $5 Trillion Company
NVDA hit a $5 trillion market on October 29, becoming the first company in history to reach this milestone. The achievement came just three months after breaching $4 trillion, further cementing its position as the dominant force in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Since Q4 2022 — when Chat-GPT launched and began the AI-boom — Nvidia shares have climbed by over 1200% and Nvidia's valuation now exceeds the entire cryptocurrency market and equals roughly half the size of Europe's benchmark Stoxx 600 index.
The milestone comes on the back of CEO Jensen Huang unveiling $500 billion in AI chip orders and plans to build seven supercomputers for the US government.
However, there are warnings that AI's current expansion relies on a few dominant players financing each other's capacity, and valuations may be running hot. The real test comes on November 19 when Nvidia reports its quarterly results.
Fed Lowers Rates, but May Be Last Cut of 2025
The Federal Reserve delivered a quarter-point rate cut last night, but Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference sent a clear message: don't expect another cut anytime soon.
While the Fed moved forward with the expected reduction, Powell pointed to two key obstacles that may prevent further easing this year. First, the ongoing federal government shutdown has created a data blackout, depriving policymakers of critical employment and inflation reports.
Second, Powell revealed "strongly differing views" among Fed officials about the path forward, with a "growing chorus" advocating for a pause before cutting rates again.
Markets responded by adjusting expectations, now pricing in roughly two-to-one odds for a December rate cut — down from what had been considered more certain just hours earlier.
While the Fed still seems to remain committed to eventual rate cuts, the timeline has become dependent on the government shutdown and clearer economic signals about inflation and employment trends.
The World's second largest courier company, FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), released its latest financial results for second quarter of fiscal year 2024 after the market closed in the US on Tuesday. The US company fell short of estimates for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Revenue reached $22.2 billion vs. $22.356 billion expected.
Revenue was down by 2.6% vs. the same period a year prior. EPS reported at $3.99 per share (up by 25.47% year-over-year) vs. $4.194 per share estimate. Company overview Founded: May 5, 1971 Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee, United States Number of employees: 520,000 (2023) Industry: E-commerce, services, transportation Key people: Frederick W.
Smith (Executive Chairman), Raj Subramaniam (President and CEO) CEO commentary 'FedEx has delivered an unprecedented two consecutive quarters of operating income growth and margin expansion even with lower revenue, clear evidence of the progress we are making on our transformation as we navigate an uncertain demand environment,'' Raj Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx, said in a press release. 'We are moving with speed to make our network more efficient while delivering outstanding service to our customers through the peak season with the fastest Ground network in the industry. I am confident in our strategy as we make our global network more flexible, efficient, and intelligent,' Subramaniam concluded. Stock reaction Shares were down by 0.68% at the end of trading on Tuesday at $280 a share.
The stock price plummeted by around 7% in the after-hours trading as results were announced. Stock performance 1 month: +9.43% 3 months: +12% Year-to-date: +61.66% 1 year: +70.37% FedEx stock price targets TD Cowen: $293 Stifel Nicolaus: $285 Susquehanna: $315 HSBC: $330 Loop Capital: $275 BMO Capital Markets: $290 Deutsche Bank: $295 Citigroup: $300 Wells Fargo: $280 Bank of America: $330 UBS Group: $323 Morgan Stanley: $205 FedEx Corporation is the 231st largest company in the world with a market cap of $70.39 billion. You can trade FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD.
GO Markets now offers pre-market and after-market trading on popular US Share CFDs. Trade the pre-market session: 4:00am to 9:30am, normal session, and after-market session: 4:00pm to 8:00pm, Eastern Standard Time. Why trade during extended hours?
Volatility never sleeps. Trade over earnings releases as they happen outside of main trading hours Reduce your risk and hedge your existing positions ahead of a new trading day Extended trading hours on popular US stocks means extended opportunities Sources: FedEx Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
USD was offered in Tuesdays session, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) printing a low of 102.060 ahead of the last major economic release for the year in Fridays Core PCE reading. Hawkish leaning comments from the Feds Bostic that he only sees two Fed rate cuts in 2024, less than the Fed median of three and well under the market pricing of six, failing to lend much support to the greenback. JPY was the obvious FX underperformer, seeing USDJPY hit a high of 144.95, just failing to breach the psychological 145.00 level before retracing somewhat.
JPY took a hit on the BoJ meeting where the central bank stood pat and unanimously left its rates and YCC unchanged. There was some pricing in on this pair of a hawkish surprise from the BoJ which didn’t materialise. AUD and NZD were the G10 outperformers.
AUDUSD benefitting from improved risk sentiment and the December RBA Minutes which suggested the Board considered whether to hike by 25bps or keep rates steady, NZDUSD caught a tailwind from upbeat NZ trade data. CAD strengthened on the hotter-than-expected inflation data, where the year on year figure came in at 3.4% a beat of the expected 3.3%. CAD also receiving support from a rally in crude oil prices on the back of Red Sea tensions affecting oil transportation.
USDCAD dropping to 5-month lows and seeing the daily RSI move into extreme oversold territory.
The US Dollar has continued its year end decline after the holiday break in thin volume. Traders still holding onto the view of a dovish Fed come 2024 seeing yields also drop creating a headwind for the Greenback. AUDUSD The Aussie pushed has pushed higher this week, taking advantage of a weak USD and a risk on environment.
AUDUSD breaking the resistance and key psychological level of 0.68 in Tuesday’s session and entering the Resistance zone from 0.6800 -0.6900 where rallies have faltered previously in 2023. The AU 10 and US 10 yield differential has also found some resistance at its current level and could temper further gains in this pair, AUDUSD looking like it has got a little ahead of itself at these levels. XAUUSD Gold also continued to grind higher in thin holiday volume, a weak USD and falling yields making the non-yielding asset look more attractive to speculators.
XAUUSD trading at the key level of 2070 USD an ounce that gold traders should be keeping a close eye on. The last time XAUUSD broke this level was December 4 when a surge in price saw gold hit all-time highs. Currently XAUUSD has found resistance here and attempts to breach have been rejected, a push through could see another run to re-test those highs, a hold of the resistance and a leg lower in XAUUSD looks likely.
FX markets enter the new year with a continuing backdrop of a weaker USD as traders bet on a Fed pivot in the first half of the year. That narrative could be tested later in the week with some key US manufacturing and employment data, including the monthly Non-farm payrolls. Key levels look to be tested this week in different FX pairs with AUDUSD and Gold both being interesting examples.
AUDUSD – Gone too far, too fast? AUSUSD has had a stellar run since late October, benefitting from the risk-on environment and following equity markets higher. A weaker USD and falling US yields as traders’ position for a Fed pivot also being a strong tailwind.
AUDUSD is now sitting in the 2023 “resistance zone” where upward momentum has faltered previously. Also of note is an extreme overbought signal from the daily RSI and a growing gap between the AUDUSD price and the AU 10-year - US 10-year yield differential. Combined, these three factors could see AUDUSD upside capped for now, this week’s Non-Farm payroll will be the main figure to watch, a strong report could see traders pare back somewhat on their Fed pivot bets, pushing this pair lower.
XAUUSD – Gold XAUUSD broke the resistance level at 2070 USD an ounce, but the bulls were unable to establish it as support and the gold price quickly retraced back below. Currently XAUSD is again flirting with this key level, where the bulls and the bears have been fighting it out. 2070 remains the level to watch this week, with US data that could certainly move yields and the USD, another push through and a hold as support could see gold make another attempt at all-time highs, a hold as resistance and the gold bull run could be over for now.
American company that specializes in the manufacturing and sale of workwear and uniforms, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS), announced the latest financial results before the opening bell in Wall Street on Thursday. Cintas reported revenue of $2.377 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 vs. $2.341 billion expected. Revenue was up by 9.3% year-over-year.
Earnings per share (EPS) reached $3.61 per share, also topping analyst estimate of $3.489 per share. EPS was up by 15.7% vs. the same period last year. Company overview Founded: 1929 Headquarters: Mason, Ohio, United States Number of employees: 44,500 (2023) Industry: Service Key people: Todd Schneider (CEO), Scott D.
Farmer (Executive Chairman), Mike Thompson (Executive Vice President and CAO) CEO commentary "We are pleased with our second quarter fiscal 2024 financial results. Each of our operating segments continue to execute at a high level, leading to robust revenue growth of 9.3%, high operating margin of 21.0% and diluted EPS growth of 15.7%. This strong execution is the result of the exceptional dedication of our employee-partners.
Whether it's image, safety, cleanliness or compliance, we have innovative products and services to help businesses across North America stay focused on the work that matters most," CEO of Cintas, Todd Schneider, said in a letter to shareholders. Schneider also announced that the company is raising its financial guidance for the full fiscal year: "We are increasing our full fiscal year financial guidance. We are raising our annual revenue expectations from a range of $9.40 billion to $9.52 billion to a range of $9.48 billion to $9.56 billion and our diluted EPS from a range of $14.00 to $14.45 to a range of $14.35 to $14.65." Stock reaction The latest results had a very positive impact on the stock price on Thursday.
Shares were up by over 4%, trading at $580.77 a share – the highest ever level. Stock performance 1 month: +5.48% 3 months: +16.02% Year-to-date: +29.58% 1 year: +29.33% Cintas stock price targets Deutsche Bank: $590 Truist Financial: $625 Citigroup: $530 Robert W. Baird: $540 Bank of America: $565 Stifel Nicolaus: $526 Royal Bank of Canada: $525 Barclays: $550 Wells Fargo: $500 UBS Group: $575 JP Morgan: $540 Morgan Stanley: $441 Cintas Corporation is the 288th largest company in the world with a market cap of $59.75 billion.
You can trade Cintas Corporation and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. GO Markets now offers pre-market and after-market trading on popular US Share CFDs. Trade the pre-market session: 4:00am to 9:30am, normal session, and after-market session: 4:00pm to 8:00pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Why trade during extended hours? Volatility never sleeps. Trade over earnings releases as they happen outside of main trading hours Reduce your risk and hedge your existing positions ahead of a new trading day Extended trading hours on popular US stocks means extended opportunities Sources: Cintas Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap
British-American cruise line company, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL), reported fourth quarter and full year 2023 earnings results on Wednesday. Carnival reported revenue of $5.397 billion Q4 (a new quarterly record) vs. $5.295 billion expected. The company reported loss per share of -$0.07, which was less than -$0.126 loss per share expected.
Full year revenue reached $21.6 billion – a new all-time record high. Company overview Founded: 1972 (as Carnival Cruise Line, now a subsidiary), 1993 (as Carnival Corporation), 2003 (as Carnival Corporation & plc) Headquarters: Miami, Florida, United States (Operations: Doral, Florida) and Southampton, United Kingdom Number of employees: 150,000 (2022) Industry: Hospitality, tourism Key people: Josh Weinstein (CEO) CEO commentary "We ended the year on a high note with another record-breaking quarter that exceeded expectations and achieved positive full year adjusted net income. In fact, we consistently outperformed in all four quarters of the year, buoyed by a strengthening demand environment across all our brands," Josh Weinstein, CEO of the company commented on the solid results in a press release. "Thanks to a strong second half of 2023, we are already tracking ahead of our plan to achieve SEA Change, our three-year financial targets calling for the highest adjusted ROIC and adjusted EBITDA per ALBD in nearly two decades.
Based on our 2024 guidance, we expect to deliver another big step forward, positioning us more than halfway toward realizing all our 2026 SEA Change targets. With nearly two-thirds of 2024 on the books already, we are well positioned to obtain another year of record revenues and adjusted EBITDA," Weinstein added. Stock reaction The stock rose by over 5% on Thursday, reaching its highest level since 10/7/23 at $19.09 a share.
Stock performance 1 month: +32% 3 months: +32.18% Year-to-date: +136.97% 1 year: +142.39% Carnival stock price targets Citigroup: $23 Truist Financial: $15 UBS Group: $20 Morgan Stanley: $11 Barclays: $21 Argus: $21 JP Morgan: $18 Deutsche Bank: $15 Bank of America: $20 Wells Fargo: $9 Credit Suisse: $18 Carnival Corporation is the 743rd largest company in the world with a market cap of $25.02 billion. You can trade Carnival Corporation and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. GO Markets now offers pre-market and after-market trading on popular US Share CFDs.
Trade the pre-market session: 4:00am to 9:30am, normal session, and after-market session: 4:00pm to 8:00pm, Eastern Standard Time. Why trade during extended hours? Volatility never sleeps.
Trade over earnings releases as they happen outside of main trading hours Reduce your risk and hedge your existing positions ahead of a new trading day Extended trading hours on popular US stocks means extended opportunities Sources: Carnival Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap