Trending Market News

Nvidia's finance chief warned that a global gaming chip shortage will likely persist through the end of the year, pressuring the video game industry already facing weak consumer demand. Supply constraints stem from memory chip manufacturers prioritizing higher-margin AI data center components over consumer electronics. The shortage affects PC gaming and consoles including Nintendo Switch, with the console market now forecast to decline 4.4% this year.

• Nvidia expects 'very tight' supply for gaming chips for at least a couple of quarters, impacting its gaming business revenue in the current quarter and beyond
• Memory chip shortages driven by AI capacity buildout have caused manufacturers to prioritize data center chips over consumer products like gaming hardware
• Console market decline forecast worsened from 3.5% to 4.4% for the year, affecting platforms using Nvidia chips (Nintendo Switch) and AMD hardware (PlayStation, Xbox)

Netflix and Apple TV have announced a collaboration on Formula One content, with Netflix broadcasting the Canadian F1 Grand Prix live to U.S. viewers in May while making season eight of 'Drive to Survive' available on Apple TV. Apple TV has taken over as the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of Formula One from ESPN, covering all 24 rounds of the 2025 season. The partnership aims to expand F1's reach in the key U.S. market, where the sport's audience is growing younger and more female.

• Apple TV will provide exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights for all 24 Formula One rounds this season, with select races and practice sessions available for free
• Season eight of Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' documentary series launches globally on Friday, covering the 2025 F1 campaign won by McLaren and Lando Norris
• Formula One executives highlight that the sport's U.S. audience is uniquely getting younger and more female-skewed, making the Apple partnership strategically important for continued growth

Jefferies Financial Group has approximately $135 million (100 million pounds) in exposure to Market Financial Solutions (MFS), a UK mortgage-finance firm that entered insolvency this week. The exposure ties a major U.S. financial institution to the collapse of a British lending operation.

• MFS, a mortgage-finance company, entered a UK form of insolvency proceedings earlier this week
• Jefferies' exposure totals roughly 100 million pounds or $135 million according to a person familiar with the matter
• The situation highlights contagion risk from specialized lender failures affecting larger financial institutions

Tesla and German union IG Metall reached a settlement on Thursday regarding a dispute over a works council meeting at Tesla's Berlin-area plant earlier in February. The agreement resolves tensions between the automaker and organized labor at its German manufacturing facility.

• The dispute centered on a works council meeting held at Tesla's plant outside Berlin earlier in the month
• IG Metall, Germany's powerful industrial union, was involved in the disagreement with the electric vehicle manufacturer
• The settlement marks a resolution between Tesla and German labor representatives at its European manufacturing hub

Apple is seeking dismissal of a securities fraud class action lawsuit alleging it misled investors about Siri AI capabilities and compliance with an Epic Games injunction. The lawsuit claims Apple knowingly overstated AI features at a June 2024 conference before delaying Siri upgrades, potentially impacting iPhone 16 sales. Apple denies knowing of delays at the time and rejects responsibility for stock price drops in 2025.

• The proposed class action covers Apple shareholders from June 10, 2024, to January 16, 2025, with potential losses claimed in the hundreds of billions of dollars
• Apple delayed two advanced Siri AI features until March 2025, three months after the conference where capabilities were discussed, with CEO Tim Cook acknowledging development took longer than expected
• Separately, Apple argues it provided no guarantee its compliance procedures for the Epic Games injunction would be foolproof, after facing rebuke for charging a 27% commission on external sales instead of the original 30% App Store rate

CNBC is restructuring its newsroom by merging its TV and digital operations, resulting in nearly a dozen layoffs including managing editor Jeff McCracken's departure. The overhaul, led by Editor-in-Chief David Cho, comes as the network prepares to introduce a paywall on its website and follows the recent spin-out of parent company Versant Media from Comcast.

• The layoffs are not cost-cutting measures; CNBC plans to add approximately 40 new roles over the coming year
• The restructuring occurs weeks after Versant Media, CNBC's parent company, was spun out of Comcast
• CNBC is preparing to introduce a paywall on its website as part of the digital transformation strategy

The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced bipartisan legislation that would give Congress 30 days to review and potentially block advanced chip exports to adversarial countries like China. The bill has strong congressional support but faces opposition from the White House AI czar and Nvidia, which argues that restricting chip sales could benefit foreign competitors and harm U.S. technological leadership.

• House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast directly challenged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's position, accusing him of wanting to 'trust the CCP' and asserting Congress will have oversight when chips impact military applications
• The legislation would cancel all existing export licenses to countries like China until the government submits a detailed strategy on military and intelligence impacts, with companion bills already introduced in the Senate
• White House AI czar David Sacks opposed the bill by retweeting criticism that it 'handicaps Trump's ability to strategically position the USA favorably against China,' creating a split between Congress and parts of the administration

MP Materials has selected Northlake, Texas, for a $1.25 billion rare earth magnet manufacturing facility called '10X,' which will produce 7,000 metric tons annually starting in 2028. The move is part of U.S. efforts to reduce dependence on China, which controls over 90% of rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing globally. The Defense Department took a $400 million stake in MP Materials in 2025 to secure domestic access to minerals critical for defense, data centers, and electronics.

• The facility will use raw materials from MP Materials' Mountain Pass mine in California, the only commercial-scale rare earths mine in the U.S., and create 1,500 direct jobs
• Once operational, the plant could eliminate direct U.S. import dependence on rare earth magnets, which fell to 6,000 tons in 2025 amid Chinese export controls
• MP Materials will increase total production capacity to 10,000 metric tons annually across two Texas facilities, with customers including General Motors and Rivian

Ebay announced it is cutting approximately 800 jobs, representing 6% of its full-time workforce, as part of a restructuring effort to streamline operations and align staffing with strategic priorities. This marks the third round of layoffs since 2023, following previous cuts of 1,000 roles in early 2024 and 500 roles in early 2023.

• The job cuts affect about 800 employees or roughly 6% of Ebay's full-time workforce as the company realigns resources with long-term strategic goals
• This is Ebay's third layoff round since 2023, having previously eliminated 1,000 roles (9%) in early 2024 due to labor costs outpacing growth and 500 roles (4%) in early 2023 amid post-pandemic consumer spending slowdown
• The restructuring follows Ebay's recent sale of Depop last week, signaling a strategic shift as the company focuses on secondhand fashion and Gen Z-focused platforms

Ford Motor is recalling 4.3 million pickup trucks and SUVs in the United States due to a software error that may cause brake failure and exterior lighting malfunctions. The recall affects 2021-2026 F-150s and multiple other models from 2022-2026, including F-250, Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, Maverick, Ranger, and E-Transit vehicles. Ford will update vehicle software to fix the issue.

• The software defect occurs when towing a trailer, potentially causing loss of communication between a module and the vehicle, resulting in brake and turn signal light failure or complete loss of brake function
• Affected models span multiple years: F-150 (2021-2026), F-250 SD (2022-2026), and several other Ford and Lincoln vehicles from 2022-2026
• Ford will address the safety issue through a software update rather than hardware replacement

J.M. Smucker reached an agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management to add two independent directors to its board. The appointment of Woo-Sung Chung (CFO of NRG Energy) and David Singer (former CEO of Snyder's-Lance) follows constructive engagement between the company and Elliott. The companies also entered into an information-sharing agreement aimed at driving sustainable value for shareholders.

• Two new independent directors appointed: Woo-Sung Chung, current CFO of NRG Energy, and David Singer, former CEO of snacking company Snyder's-Lance
• The board additions are part of a settlement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management following engagement discussions
• Smucker and Elliott entered into an information-sharing agreement designed to create 'sustainable value' for all shareholders

British technology and online grocery group Ocado remains confident about securing new U.S. deals despite partner Kroger closing three robotic warehouses last year, which raised questions about Ocado's business model viability. CEO Tim Steiner highlighted 'enormous opportunity' in the U.S. market following the end of exclusivity with Kroger, though the company announced 1,000 layoffs.

• Ocado's exclusivity agreement with Kroger ended recently, allowing the company to pursue conversations with other U.S. retailers, which CEO describes as 'positive' in early stages
• Potential new U.S. clients are 'most excited' about Ocado's store-based automation technology rather than traditional standalone automated warehouses, with testing planned before material roll-out in a year
• Three new customer fulfillment centers are scheduled to go live in 2025 (Busan, Tokyo, Phoenix) with additional openings planned for 2027-2028 in Barcelona, Tokyo, and Seoul

Warner Bros Discovery reported a 6% quarterly revenue decline to $9.5 billion, driven by weakness in traditional TV and film businesses, even as its HBO Max streaming service added 3.5 million subscribers. The earnings report comes amid high-stakes bidding war discussions, with the company's board evaluating a revised Paramount proposal against an existing Netflix merger deal.

• HBO Max streaming revenue grew 5% to $2.8 billion with 3.5 million new subscribers, though adjusted earnings fell 4% to $393 million due to a distribution deal ending
• Traditional businesses struggled significantly: film and TV studio adjusted income dropped 23% to $728 million, while TV network revenue fell 12% to $4.2 billion with adjusted income plunging 27% to $1.4 billion
• The company faces a critical merger decision as its board evaluates whether Paramount's revised offer is superior to the Netflix deal, with Netflix having four business days to counter if a better proposal emerges

Tesla has logged zero autonomous test miles in California for six consecutive years despite Elon Musk repeatedly claiming the company is months away from launching robotaxi services there. This inaction contrasts sharply with regulatory requirements that mandate extensive testing documentation before companies can operate driverless ride-hailing services in the state. Tesla's $1.5 trillion market valuation heavily depends on investor belief in its robotaxi ambitions, making California approval critical.

• Tesla has only California's entry-level permit requiring safety drivers and has not applied for advanced permits needed for driverless operations, while Waymo logged 13 million testing miles over a decade before securing full approval
• Proposed California regulations would require Tesla to log at least 50,000 miles with a safety driver before applying for driverless testing permits, but Tesla has documented only 562 total miles since 2016
• Tesla criticized California's testing requirements as 'overly burdensome' in written comments, while experts note regulators are ready to approve companies that meet safety standards

Amazon lost its appeal to dismiss two mass lawsuits in the UK alleging abuse of dominant market position, with combined claims totaling up to 4 billion pounds ($5.41 billion). The Court of Appeal denied Amazon's request to overturn a tribunal's decision allowing the cases to proceed, brought separately by retailers and consumers.

• One lawsuit represents over 200,000 third-party retailers seeking up to 2.7 billion pounds, brought by competition law academic Andreas Stephan
• A separate consumer case led by advocate Robert Hammond seeks up to 1.3 billion pounds on behalf of millions of Amazon customers
• The Competition Appeal Tribunal certified both cases in 2025, and the Court of Appeal has now rejected Amazon's attempt to block them from moving forward

Baidu, China's largest search engine operator, exceeded quarterly revenue expectations for the quarter ended December, reporting 32.74 billion yuan ($4.79 billion) versus estimates of 32.62 billion yuan. Strong growth in its cloud business offset ongoing weakness in its core advertising segment.

• Total revenue reached 32.74 billion yuan ($4.79 billion), slightly above the analyst consensus of 32.62 billion yuan
• Cloud business growth helped compensate for persistent weakness in Baidu's mainstay advertising operations
• The results demonstrate Baidu's successful diversification strategy away from advertising dependency

French energy company Engie announced the acquisition of UK Power Networks from Hong Kong's CK Infrastructure Holdings for £10.5 billion ($14.21 billion). The deal sent Engie's shares to their highest level since September 2009, signaling strong investor approval of the strategic move into UK electricity distribution infrastructure.

• Engie shares surged to a 16-year high following the announcement, reflecting market confidence in the acquisition
• The £10.5 billion ($14.21 billion) purchase price represents a major infrastructure investment in the UK power distribution sector
• UK Power Networks is being acquired from CK Infrastructure Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed company, marking a significant ownership transfer of UK energy assets

WPP announced a major restructuring plan under CEO Cindy Rose that will merge its advertising agencies into a single company with four units, including a new 'WPP Creative' combining Ogilvy, VML, and AKQA. The turnaround strategy comes after the company reported a 23% drop in operating profit and 10.4% decline in revenue less pass-through costs to 10.18 billion pounds in 2025.

• WPP's headline operating profit fell to 1.32 billion pounds with a 13% margin, prompting the consolidation of multiple creative agencies under one umbrella
• The company forecasts revenue less pass-through costs to decline in the mid to high-single digits in the first half of 2026 before improving in the second half
• WPP aims to return to organic growth by 2027 through a more integrated structure powered by AI and data

Rolls-Royce reported a 40% increase in annual profit driven by strong performance in its aero-engines division. The British engineering company raised its mid-term profit targets and provided 2026 guidance above market consensus, signaling continued confidence in its turnaround strategy.

• Annual profit surged 40% year-over-year, exceeding expectations
• The company upgraded its mid-term financial targets and issued 2026 profit guidance well above analyst consensus
• Strong aero-engines performance was the primary driver of the profit growth

Apple is negotiating with major Indian banks including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, as well as global card networks, to launch its Apple Pay service in India around mid-2026. This expansion would bring Apple's digital payment platform to one of the world's largest and fastest-growing mobile payment markets.

• Apple is targeting a mid-2026 launch timeline for Apple Pay in India, according to sources familiar with the discussions
• Negotiations involve three of India's largest private sector banks: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, alongside global card networks
• The move represents Apple's push into India's massive digital payments market, where mobile payment adoption has grown rapidly in recent years