Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell returns to Capitol Hill for a second day of testimony. Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) will not sit on chat GPT maker OpenAI’s board as observers. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) is rising in premarket trading after reporting a big year-over-year increase in June sales. Samsung Electronics workers say they will extend their strike. Oracle (ORCL) shares are edging higher after dropping 3% on Tuesday following reports that talks between the computing giant and Elon Musk’s xAI over a potential $10 billion server deal had ended. U.S. stock futures were little changed. Here’s what investors need to know today.
1. Powell heads to Capitol Hill for second day of testimony
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will return to Capitol Hill today to attend a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, after taking questions from the US Senate yesterday. Powell told senators at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that the central bank is now closely watching the labor market as inflation and unemployment risks become more balanced. Asked about the direction of monetary policy, Powell gave no indication of a timeline for cutting interest rates, which have been at a 23-year high since last July.
2. Microsoft and Apple reportedly resign from observer roles on OpenAI’s board
Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) have both turned down the opportunity to become observers on OpenAI’s board of directors, signaling the companies are trying to avoid antitrust scrutiny of their artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships. Bloomberg report. Microsoft, which invested $13 billion in the ChatGPT maker, announced in a letter to the company that it would withdraw from the board. Apple was also expected to take an observer position, but reversed its decision following Microsoft’s decision. Bloomberg The European Commission recently said Microsoft may have violated EU antitrust rules by bundling Teams with other Office products, and accused Apple of violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for unfairly restricting the ways in which developers can seek payment. Shares of Microsoft and Apple are both up slightly in pre-market trading.
3. TSMC shares rise on June earnings growth
American depositary shares (ADRs) of semiconductor maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) rose 2% in premarket trading after the company said its June sales rose significantly compared to the same month in 2018. The company, which is expected to grow as demand for AI increases, said its June sales were NT$207.87 billion ($6.37 billion), down about 9.5% from May sales but up about 33% from June 2023. TSMC said its revenue for the first half of 2024 will be NT$1.27 trillion ($38.81 billion), up 28% from the first half of 2023.
4. Samsung workers to extend strike over wages, holidays
The labor union at South Korean tech company Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it would extend a three-day strike that began on Monday “indefinitely.” CNBC report. The demands of the Samsung Electronics National Union, which has 30,000 members, include a 3.5 percent wage increase and greater transparency in wages. The union launched the strike after the two sides failed to agree on wage increases, bonuses and holidays after several rounds of negotiations. It is the first strike in Samsung’s 55-year history. CNBC Samsung overtook Apple to become the world’s top smartphone provider in the first quarter, according to data from research firm International Data Corporation.
5. Oracle shares likely to stop falling after xAI acquisition falls apart
Oracle (ORCL) shares are rising in pre-market trading after falling 3% following yesterday’s report. information The company failed to secure a contract to provide servers for Elon Musk’s xAI. The $10 billion deal expands on an existing arrangement where xAI is leasing Nvidia (NVDA) chips from Oracle. In a post on X, Elon Musk said the AI ​​startup will build its own system.
