Initial apps for US unemployment benefits remained low last week. The job market is way too hot for Powell and friends to be cutting rates and throwing wood on the fire. The Philly Fed gauge for manufacturing was also above expectations. UST yields are up—even Vanguard is warning that the 10-yr could get back to 5%.
TSMC beat on revenues and profits for 1Q24, given strong AI chip demand. They’re the largest producer of advanced processors, and LLM are driving biz to the co. Mgmt said that revenue contribution from server AI processors will more than double this year. Net profit margin of 40% vs industry ave of 14%. Nuff said.
Is Tesla going to scrap its low cost car? That’s the buzz this morning, with the hint that the stock could tank 20% on that news. If it’s true, Musk had better get that pay package signed off before he announces the bad news.
Biz Insider reported that MSDT will amass 1.8 mm AI chips by the end of this year, primarily from Nvidia.
BBG is saying that NFLX sub growth is going to be higher than consensus. The co reports post-close today. BMO thinks the co will talk about investments in content, including live sports, as well as solid ads.
The rental inflation problem remains a sticky subject for the Fed. BBG is out with a story today about the unevenness across the US. In the Northeast and Midwest, it’s not even 25% down from the peak to pre-pandemic levels. They note supply is the problem. For example, Phoenix has a lot of new housing—New York does not.
BBG has a story about babies being born to women on the diabetes/weight loss drugs, and the data needed to understand whether their health is a-ok. They still don’t understand why women are getting pregnant more often. It could be the weight loss or something else.