On The Deals Shaping Our Economy
Amazon is slashing another 16,000 corporate jobs, bringing its three-month layoff total to 30,000 as CEO Andy Jassy reallocates cash to win the AI arms race.
Driving the news: The tech giant is racing to catch Microsoft and Google, committing $118bn in 2025 largely for AI infrastructure.
"Reducing layers...and removing bureaucracy" is how executive Beth Galetti framed the cuts in a memo to staff.
Jassy's warning: The CEO previously signaled that AI advances would "reduce" corporate headcount over time.
🏦 Fed holds the line amid political fire
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady today at 3.5% to 3.75%, signaling confidence in a "solid" economy despite intense pressure from the White House to slash borrowing costs.
The big picture: Chair Jay Powell is navigating a minefield.
While the FOMC cites economic stabilization, Powell is simultaneously facing a criminal investigation by the DOJ and a President demanding rates be cut to 1%.
"Expanding at a solid pace" is how the committee described economic activity, an upgrade from December's "moderate" assessment.
The friction: Trump allies Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller dissented, pushing for a cut.
Between the lines: Powell is fighting for the central bank's independence while Trump's team circles, with BlackRock's Rick Rieder now the betting favorite to replace Powell in May.
Wall Street shrugged off the Fed news, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.1% after briefly hitting a record 7,000 earlier in the day.
Go deeper: Treasury yields and the dollar moved slightly higher, but investors aren't yet betting on a shift in rate cut expectations for the rest of 2026.
⚔️ Trump to Iran: "Time is running out"
President Trump issued a stark warning to Tehran today, declaring a "massive Armada" is moving toward the region with "speed and violence, if necessary".
Why it matters: The administration is leveraging the threat of military force—comparing the operation to the recent capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela—to force a new nuclear deal.
"The next attack will be far worse! ... MAKE A DEAL!"
The bottom line: Diplomatic channels are open but strained, with Turkey and Qatar passing messages as the U.S. demands "no nuclear weapons".
"(The Iranian) regime is probably weaker than it has ever been"
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