Business news
- Trump says he will announce a replacement for Powell as Fed chair Friday morning - President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will be naming his pick Friday for the new Federal Reserve chair.
- Small cap stocks overdue for 'outperformance,' says wealth advisor - STORY: "We're overdue for some big, big, big small cap outperformance," said Diton, adding that lower rates are "great" for small cap stocks.Diton also said he prefers the S&P SmallCap 600 to the Russell 2000 Index.
- Apple sales surge 16% on ‘staggering’ iPhone demand - Apple reported fiscal first-quarter earnings on Thursday that surpassed expectations, with revenue soaring 16% on an annual basis.
- Funding bill fails to clear key Senate procedural vote before shutdown deadline - Democrats are demanding changes to the way federal immigration agents work after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens.
- Software stocks enter bear market on AI disruption fear with ServiceNow plunging 11% Thursday - The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF is on pace for its biggest one-day decline since April 4 during the tariff-triggered downturn.
- Meta rises 8%, Microsoft sinks 11% as megacap tech stocks diverge after earnings - Meta jumped, while Microsoft plunged post-earnings as investors hunt for signs that big AI investments are paying off.
- Trade balance soared 94% in November and was higher than a year ago, despite tariff efforts - The U.S. deficit with its global trading partners nearly doubled in November as the shortfall with the European Union swelled.
- ‘Climate of fear’: ICE violence in Minnesota forces CEOs to weigh the risks of speaking out against Trump - Minneapolis has become the testing ground for when and how far corporate leaders will wade into escalating political tensions.
- Meta's Mark Zuckerberg gets green light from Wall Street to keep pouring money into AI - Meta's stock pop following the company's latest earnings beat is a sign that investors are OK with hefty AI spending as long as the core business stays strong.
- Oil prices rise more than 2% as Trump weighs strikes on Iran - Multiple sources told Reuters that Trump is weighing targeted strikes on Iranian security forces and leaders to inspire protestors.