Uber shares took a hit on Wednesday morning after the ride-hail giantposted its fourth-quarter results. Despitesurpassing expectations on revenue, which grew 20% in its fourth quarter, its operating income came in at $770 million — "well below" the estimated $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, gross bookings grew 18% in the last quarter of the year. Earlier Wednesday, Uber announced that it was prepping for the Austin, Texas, launch of its robotaxis with Alphabet’s Waymo.
Ford Motorreportedquarterly profit and revenue that exceeded expectations, but the automaker said it expects “headwinds” in 2025. It anticipates pre-tax profit to decline by $2 billion or more due to higher costs and lower vehicle prices. And after losing $5.1 billion on EVs last year, it predicts the deficit could widen to as much as $5.5 billion this year. The outlook doesn’t includepotential impactsof tariffs — incoming CFO Sherry Housesaidthe company believes the Trump administration will “support the American auto industry.”
Workday iseliminating roughly 1,750 jobs, or about 8.5% of its workforce, as it looks to prioritize investments in AI and hire more people internationally,CEO Carl Eschenbachsaid Wednesday. Withthe move, the HR software provider joins a growing list of tech companies, includingSalesforceandMeta, to lay off employees while funneling resources toward AI. Workday facesincreased competitionas rivals like Paychex and Automatic Data Processing complete acquisitions to shore up market share.
Audio equipment maker Sonos iscutting 12% of its staffas part of an effort to make teams “flatter, smaller and more focused,” according to the company. The cuts, estimated at about 200 workers, come amid atumultuous periodfor Sonos, following a poorly received revamp of its mobile app and the CEO'sresignationlast month. LinkedIn members affected by the layoffs share their experiences and reach out to their networks.
Amazon's cloud-computing division is banking on"automated reasoning,"which uses mathematical proofs, to tamp down on artificial intelligence hallucinations to attract more enterprise business. AWS's tool, Amazon Reasoning Checks, first showed promise in cybersecurity applications. Now, PricewaterhouseCoopers is using the tool to tackle hallucinations for clients in regulated fields such as drug development and marketing. Amazon's AI news doesn't end there:Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reports a new AI-powered Alexa is weeks away.
Fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings reportedsteep declinesin its most recent quarter, as the parent company of Michael Kors, Versace, and Jimmy Choo looks to rebound after afailed merger attempt. Capri CEO John Idol acknowledged"several missteps"in the company's efforts to reposition its tentpole brands, with Versace's quarterly revenue slipping 15% year-over-year. Capri's sales forecasts for both 2025 and 2026 came in below Wall Street estimates.
Chipotle is shrugging off the Trump administration’sannounced tariffson imports from Mexico, Canada and China. Even if all the tariffs take effect, the burrito chain expects just a small increase in its cost of sales. That’s because although roughly 90% of avocados eaten in the U.S. come from Mexico, the country supplies only about half of Chipotle’s avocados,CEO Scott Boatwrightsaid while discussing the company’s latest quarterly results. Less than 0.5% of its ingredients are sourced from Canada and China.
The U.S. government sent buyout offers to the employees of at least four U.S. intelligence agencies in addition to the CIA as President Donald Trump's drive to shrink America's federal workforce gathered steam on Wednesday.
The Republican president has deputized Elon Musk, the world's richest person, to lead the overhaul. The effort has panicked workers, sparked public protests, and led Democrats to accuse the billionaire of leading a government takeover.
The four additional agencies whose personnel have received buyout offers are the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office, spokespeople at those agencies said.
The number of workers affected was not clear because the figures are classified for the largest agencies. The three that disclose the data have about 19,500 staff.
The Central Intelligence Agency late on Tuesday said its workforce received buyout offers in a move aimed at aligning the country's premier spy service with the goals of its new director, John Ratcliffe.
It was not immediately known if the terms offered to intelligence personnel were the same.
The ODNI, which employs fewer than 2,000 people, was created after the September 11, 2001, attacks to oversee the 18 agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community.
It was not clear if any of the remaining 13 were included in the initiative by late Wednesday. The NGA and NSA are formally part of the Defense Department.
'DIDN'T HAVE THE SPINE'
Some former intelligence officials are concerned that the agency could lose highly experienced staff and weaken intelligence collection and analysis.
They also share fears of some Democratic lawmakers that those who leave will be replaced by loyalists who fashion intelligence to bolster Trump's views and policies.
"I am deeply concerned that my colleagues didn't have the spine to stand up to this," said a former senior intelligence official, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive matters.
The former official added that many intelligence officers who have developed expertise over the years "could now be replaced by those who don't have that background."
Trump has had a rocky relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies over findings that Russia interfered in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections to sway the vote to him.
In his January 15 Senate confirmation hearing, Ratcliffe vowed not to fire or force out CIA employees for their political views or opinions of Trump, who frequently has attacked the agency and its assessments.
The heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania has become a whodunit that police have yet to crack.
Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said Wednesday.
“We’re relying on leads from people from the community. So we’re hoping that somebody knows something, and they’ll call us and give us some tips,” she said.
Police are also following up with any possible witnesses and looking into surveillance footage that could help them identify the perpetrator as they race to solve the mystery.
“In my career, I’ve never heard of a hundred thousand eggs being stolen. This is definitely unique,” said Frazer, who has a dozen years on the job.
Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching.
The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year.
The 100,000 eggs were snatched from the back of Pete & Gerry’s Organics’ distribution trailer on Saturday abat out 8:40 p.m. in Antrim Township, according to police.
They are worth about $40,000, which means this crime is a felony, Frazer said.
Pete & Gerry’s Organics LLC said in a statement that the company is working with law enforcement to investigate the theft.
“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
As Starbucks continues its attempts to getback to basicsunder new CEOBrian Niccol, the coffee giant isimposing new limitson mobile orders. Customers using the Starbucks app will be restricted to 12 items per order as the company tries to reduce wait times and strain on its staff. The company is also shifting itsmarketing efforts, with a pair of Super Bowl commercials and afree coffee promotionaiming to"reintroduce" the chain.
Google is doing away with hiring targets intended to increase diversity,The Wall Street Journal reports, citing an internal email. It's also reportedly reviewing its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, along with companiessuch as Meta. Google set a goal in 2020 for "underrepresented groups" to make up 30% of its executive ranks by this year. Its annual report released Wednesday omits a line from recent years about a commitment to DEI, according to the Journal.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday banning men from women’s sports, a historic moment in the fight to protect the integrity of women’s spaces from gender activists and ideologues.
“From now on,” he said to massive applause from those assembled, “women’s sports will be for only women.”
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” he added.
The president signed the order in the East Room of the White House, surrounded by young schoolgirls, female athletes, and advocates, including Independent Women’s Forum ambassadors Riley Gaines, Paula Scanlon, and Peyton Edwards; journalist Sage Steele; Concerned Women for America’s Penny Nance, and others.
“If we have to worry about them, we have a bigger problem,” he joked to his Secret Service agents as the crowd of middle-school-aged girls rushed to his side for the signing. “What a nice picture this is!”
He then proceeded to carefully sign the executive order as the children watched closely, joking to them about his signature: “We have a 10!”
“It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,” the executive order reads. “It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
The Daily Wire spoke with a mother and her young daughters who traveled to the White House from Fauquier County, Virginia to stand with the president while he signed the historic order.
“We are with Moms for Liberty, and we’re here to see President Trump sign the executive order and keep men out of women’s sports! I have three daughters who are athletes,” the mother explained, as her daughters smiled and nodded. They told The Daily Wire they play basketball and that they’re grateful to Trump for standing up for them.
Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer forced to compete against a man, spoke with The Daily Wire outside the White House following the signing, where she shared that she’s “overwhelmed with gratitude.”
“What we saw today is in total contrast to the treatment that we as women have received for the past four years,” she added.
“For three years, the Biden administration stonewalled women across the country,” Gaines told The Daily Wire. “Not even just stonewalled us, he actively worked against us. So to now have a president who displayed such moral clarity, and leadership with this decisive action….I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude. Just every day since January 20, I’ve been thanking God for having mercy, mercy that we certainly don’t deserve.”
“That photo of President Trump, signing the executive order with all of these young girls around him with their whole lives, their futures ahead of them, whether it’s sports or not, is one of the most powerful photos I imagine we’ll see in his entire presidency” she added.
Earlier on Wednesday, The Daily Wire pressed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on whether men who identify as women will be able to participate in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“He does expect the Olympic Committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in women’s sports,” Leavitt told The Daily Wire. “I think the President, with the signing of his pen, starts a very public pressure campaign on these organizations to do the right thing for women and for girls across the country.”
“This is an incredibly popular position,” Leavitt said of Wednesday’s order. “There have been many notable female athletes who have dared to speak out against some very powerful institutions in this country. They deserve to have a voice and a say. The President is bringing their voice to the highest level at the White House this afternoon, and he expects these organizations to comply with this federal executive order that he’ll be signing today.”
U.S. President Donald Trump's vision of a Gaza Strip cleared of its Palestinian inhabitants and redeveloped into an international beach resort under U.S. control has revived an idea floated by his son-in-law Jared Kushner a year ago.
The idea, outlined by Trump in a press conference on Tuesday, has drawn shocked reactions from both Palestinians and Western critics who say it would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing and illegal under international law.
But it was not the first time Trump has spoken of Gaza in terms of real estate investment opportunities. In October last year, he told a radio interviewer Gaza could be "better than Monaco" if rebuilt in the right way.
The idea of a radical redevelopment of Gaza was aired soon after Israel began its campaign in the narrow coastal enclave following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, most prominently by Kushner, who as special Middle East envoy in Trump's first term helped drive the "Abraham Accords" normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab countries.
"Gaza's waterfront property, it could be very valuable, if people would focus on building up livelihoods," Kushner, who once described the entire Arab-Israeli conflict as "nothing more than a real-estate dispute between Israelis and Palestinians," said at an event in Harvard in February 2024.
"It's a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel's perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up," he said. Kushner was himself a property developer in New York prior to Trump's first term.
A spokesperson for Kushner did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
There were also doubts about how literally Trump's proposal should be understood, given his reputation as a freewheeling dealmaker used to unsettling his negotiating partners with attacks from unexpected angles.
Saudi Arabia, the predominant power in the Arab world, "will not take this statement very seriously," a source close to the royal court in Riyadh said. "It has not been thought through and is impossible to implement, so he will eventually realize that."
In a statement on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said the kingdom rejected any attempt to displace the Palestinians from their land. Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas also condemned the remarks.
Reuters could not establish whether Kushner, whose private equity firm has taken investments from Gulf countries including $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, has engaged in any discussions in the region about Gaza investment.
For Palestinians, however improbable the idea of Gaza as a waterfront resort may sound, such talk recalls the "Nakba" or catastrophe after the 1948 war at the start of the state of Israel, when 700,000 fled or were forced from their homes.
Early on in the war, internet memes showing mocked-up images of beachside condominiums along the Gaza shoreline were widely shared on social media, often by pro-Israel posters looking to mock Palestinians in Gaza, where health officials say 47,000 people have died during Israel's retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israeli politicians have often reproached Palestinian leaders for focusing on fighting Israel rather than developing a new Dubai or Singapore in areas like Gaza, which for the past two decades has been under a blockade that severely limits access to finance and basic materials.
In former years, the coastal enclave was a popular destination for Israeli tourists and even after the takeover by the Islamist movement Hamas in 2007, there was a laidback scene, opens new tab of smart beachside restaurants and cafes along the seafront.
But the practicalities of realizing Trump's vision of creating "The Riviera of the Middle East" in Gaza, where the Islamist movement Hamas is still firmly in control and where there has been a furious reaction to his comments, remain unexplained.
Land ownership in Gaza is covered by a complex mix of regulations and customs drawn from Ottoman, British Mandate, and Jordanian laws as well as clan practices, with land titles sometimes backed by documents from previous legal regimes. There are currently heavy restrictions on foreigners buying land.
For the moment, after 15 months of bombardment, Gaza is a "demolition site" in Trump's words, that will require 10-15 years of reconstruction, according to his special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, himself a former real-estate developer who last week became the most senior U.S. official to step foot in the enclave since the war began.
Estimates of the cost of reconstruction go as high as $100 billion.
However, Gulf countries, a potential source of investment in rebuilding Gaza, have strongly rejected offering any finance while a pathway to an independent Palestinian state remains closed.
For other potential investors, the uncertainties appear to outweigh any potential benefits, at least for the moment, according to analysts contacted by Reuters. Many of Israel's largest construction companies and the builders association declined to comment.
"Large-scale redevelopment in post-conflict areas generally requires significant investment, stability, and long-term planning, but beyond that, it's impossible to assess anything concrete right now," said Raz Domb, an analyst at Leader Capital Markets in Tel Aviv, an investment bank.
One group that has reacted with enthusiasm is Israel's settler movement, which has long dreamed of returning to settlements in Gaza that were abandoned 20 years ago under former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Trump's own administration contains several officials close to the settler movement and although Trump said he did not see Jewish settlements being rebuilt in Gaza, his comments were seized on immediately.
Settler groups say their interest in returning to Gaza is motivated by the Biblical connections they feel with the land but, for the moment at least, such considerations were secondary to the prospect of moving out Palestinians.
Last year the Nachala Movement, which promotes Jewish settlement in the West Bank, helped organize a conference at the edge of the Gaza Strip called "Preparing to Resettle Gaza", where politicians in Netanyahu's Likud party and others discussed plans to "encourage emigration" of Palestinians from Gaza and rebuild the settlements.
"Assuming Trump's comments about transferring Gazans to other countries are translated into practice, we must hurry and establish settlements throughout the Gaza Strip," the group said on the social media platform X.
"No part of the land of Israel should be left without Jewish settlement."
China has launched a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over tariffsimposed byUS President Donald Trump on Chinese goods, the Geneva-based body said on Wednesday (Feb 5).
Trump on Saturday ordered tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China, demanding they staunch the flow of fentanyl - and illegal immigrants in the case of Canada and Mexico - but later froze tariffs against the two North American countries.
China, which Trump subjected to a tariff of 10 percent on goods exports, had vowed to challenge the step at the WTO.
In a statement cited by the WTO, China's government said the measures appeared to be inconsistent with US obligations under the agreement that led to the creation of the trade body.
"China reserves the right to raise additional measures and claims regarding the matters identified herein during consultations and in any future request for the establishment of a panel," the Chinese statement said.
It did not detail what measures those could be.
Since December 2019, the WTO's dispute settlement system has been effectively paralyzed following the collapse of its appellate body, which has the final say on disputes.
Trump's first administration and that of his predecessor Joe Biden blocked the appointment of new judges to the body over what they saw as judicial overreach in disputes.
The body is unable to function with less than three judges.
While many trade partners sparring with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump can’t go pound-for-pound with the world’s largest economy, they can make their counterblows hurt. Just look at Elon Musk, boss of $1.2 trillion electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and $350 billion SpaceX, as well as right-hand man to the White House. Right now, that makes his companies a tempting target.
That risk became more concrete amid a last-minute scramble over proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. After issuing executive orders to raise the levies on Feb. 1, Trump pulled back days later with a one-month pause. But Canada offered a preview of the blowback.
Politicians immediately singled Musk out. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would rip up a $68 million contract with Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite communications service. Chrystia Freeland, a Canadian member of parliament seeking to become Prime Minister, told the Canadian Press, opens new tab that there should be a 100% tariff on Tesla’s cars. Plans for retaliation were paused, at least until the next spat.
It’s an obvious way to sap U.S. will for a trade war. Musk donated around $250 million for Trump’s re-election, while his cost-cutting efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency continue apace, despite threatening multiple crises.
Soaring valuations amplify the vulnerability. Tesla is valued at 11 times the estimated 2025 revenue despite shrinking sales, especially in markets where subsidies have ended, indicating its sensitivity to policy changes. Moreover, investors expect big things from the company’s White House connection: the stock is up over 50% since the day before the U.S. presidential election. As a government contractor subject to a thicket of regulations, SpaceX similarly could benefit.
Tesla's market capitalization rose sharply following the U.S. 2024 election
Yet both companies depend heavily on sales elsewhere. Canada only has 12% as many people as the U.S., but they buy more EVs. Assume Tesla reaps roughly $7 billion of sales there, or 15% as much as at home. That’s worth $78 billion on Tesla’s multiple. Other countries carry bigger sticks, like China, which accounted for some 20% of sales last year.
Privately held SpaceX’s $350 billion valuation hinges on its capital-intensive Starlink service. That means, once it pays back its costs, each extra sale becomes much more profitable. Research service Quilty Space estimated the company generated $3.8 billion of EBITDA last year, on $6.6 billion of sales. Canada represents over 10% of customers, according to TMF Associates. Eliminating those sales could hit an even bigger share of profit.
Investors have assumed that Musk’s position will lead to some significant change in the value of his companies. The problem is, they’re forgetting that this change could be negative.
U.S. President Donald Trump suspended his threat of steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 3, agreeing to a 30-day pause. The U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on China on Feb. 4.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province would retaliate against the U.S. through various measures, including by eliminating a $68 million contract with Starlink, the satellite communications service run by SpaceX. Retaliatory measures were paused when the U.S. delayed implementing the tariffs on Canada.
On Jan. 31, Canadian MP Chrystia Freeland said Canada should target Tesla with a 100% tariff on its vehicles in an interview with the Canadian Press. Elon Musk, a political ally of the White House, is CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX.
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