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Greetings N2K reader!

The theme of this week's world famous News Haiku™ competition is that the FBI’s NBA betting probe has put sports betting firms in the spotlight. Rather than, you know…basketball. Which is a bit of a shame. Email me your entry by Thursday at noon for a chance to be voted on by your Cheddar peers!

Now let’s talk about the news you need to know!

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Amazon to launch biggest corporate layoffs in comp …

• Federal Reserve likely to cut key rate today, may …

• Tesla board urges approval of Musk’s $1 Trillion p …

• Trump’s Fed shake-up: Five contenders emerge to re …

• OpenAI says US needs more power to stay ahead of C …

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.21% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.1% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.21% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$AMZN ( ▲ 0.38% )  $TSLA ( ▼ 0.04% )  $BLK ( ▼ 2.22% ) OpenAI

Amazon to launch biggest corporate layoffs in company history

Amazon will lay off 14,000 corporate employees this year, marking another significant wave of job cuts for the e-commerce and cloud computing giant. In a memo to employees, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience, explained the move as a step toward streamlining operations amidst the transformative impact of artificial intelligence. “We expect to continue hiring in key strategic areas while also finding additional places we can remove layers, increase ownership, and realize efficiency gains,” Galetti said.

The cuts — which represent about 4% of Amazon's corporate workforce — come as part of CEO Andy Jassy’s vision to adapt to AI’s disruptive impact by operating "like the world’s biggest startup." Galetti further emphasized the urgency of transformation: “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet... We’re convicted that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership.”

Seriously, Beth: You’re so next. Those quotes were written by a robot. I mean, you don’t want to try a little harder to sound like a human being?

The New York Times recently reported that Amazon plans to replace 600,000 people with robots over the coming years, so the laid-off office workers better snap up one of the 250,000 Christmas warehouse jobs while they’re still going — unless they want to join a union.

Amazon plans to offer affected employees 90 days to find internal roles, supplemented by severance pay and additional benefits. Jassy has acknowledged that AI-driven efficiency will reduce human workforce needs over time but stressed its potential to innovate faster: “Many of these agents have yet to be built, but make no mistake, they’re coming, and coming fast,” he said, looking nervously over his shoulder.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos got married in Venice over the summer in a splashy wedding estimated to have cost more than $50 million.

Song of the day: The Lemonheads, “Deep End.”

It’s hard to believe The Lemonheads haven’t released an album of original material in nearly 20 years. This track is taken from the new album, “Love Chant,” and is a nice mix of their earlier punk style with their later more melodic alt-pop. In other words it’s commercial. And listenable. I rather like it.

Federal Reserve likely to cut key rate today, may signal another

The Federal Reserve is gearing up for its next interest rate decision today, in the midst of a federal government shutdown that has largely halted the release of crucial economic data. However, the recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report reveals inflation cooling at 3%, opening the door for what economists see as a likely rate cut. Scott Helfstein, Global X’s head of investment strategy, told CBS News, “Concerns about tariffs driving prices higher are still not showing up in most categories... Nothing in the inflation print should stop the Fed from cutting rates next week.”

There is now a 96.7% chance the Fed will lower its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points today — the second cut this year. The central bank is increasingly concerned about labor market weakness. Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged in October that the risks to employment have risen in a “less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market.”

A potential rate cut could bring welcome changes for borrowers, lowering costs for credit cards, loans, and mortgages in the medium term. It’s all priced into your stocks, though, so don’t expect a huge bump in your 401(k) today.

Today on the ‘gram: Prince Harry fears AI “superintelligence,” for some reason

Post of the day: Shaking my head

Quote of the Day

Tesla board urges approval of Musk’s $1 Trillion pay package

Ahead of Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting on November 6, Board Chair Robyn Denholm is urging investors to approve a $1 trillion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk. In a passionate letter, Denholm emphasized the critical need to retain Musk’s leadership as Tesla advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous driving. “Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what we aim to become,” Denholm wrote.

The proposed package, the largest in U.S. corporate history, ties Musk's compensation to ambitious goals such as delivering 20 million vehicles, deploying millions of robotaxis and AI robots, and achieving a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion — more than four times Tesla’s current valuation. Denholm stressed that this decision marks a “critical inflection point” for Tesla. “Musk’s time, talent, and vision… have been essential to delivering extraordinary shareholder returns,” she added.

Despite the board’s strong push, opposition from proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis is mounting, with critics highlighting concerns about transparency and governance. Still, Denholm urged shareholders, “Do you want to retain Elon as Tesla’s CEO and motivate him to drive Tesla to become the most valuable company in the world?”

Musk has called ISS and Glass Lewis “corporate terrorists” for opposing the move.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes, indeed.

Trump’s Fed shake-up: Five contenders emerge to replace Powell

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the shortlist during an Air Force One flight to Asia with President Trump, saying interviews will continue in the coming weeks. “We will present a good slate of candidates to the president right after Thanksgiving,” Bessent said. Trump has vowed to finalize his choice to replace Jerome Powell by year’s end, with Powell’s term ending next May.

The five candidates include current Federal Reserve governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, and Rick Rieder, a senior BlackRock $BLK ( ▼ 2.22% ) managing director. Each candidate brings unique expertise, but their selection could usher in a new direction for the Federal Reserve. For example, Hassett’s close ties to Trump may give him an edge. “Those are the ones that we want as his advisers and spokespeople — not his central bankers,” cautioned Peter Conti-Brown, a Wharton School professor, speaking to ABC News.

Bessent has also been critical of the Fed’s past policies. “It is essential the Fed commit to scaling back its distortionary impact on markets,” he wrote recently, potentially highlighting the institution’s need for, let’s say…independence amidst political pressures.

OpenAI says US needs more power to stay ahead of China in AI: ‘Electrons are the new oil’

OpenAI has warned that the U.S. must significantly ramp up energy infrastructure to maintain leadership in the global AI race against China. In a blog post this week, Sam Altman, CEO of the AI heavyweight said, “Electricity is not simply a utility — it’s a strategic asset that is critical to building the AI infrastructure that will secure our leadership on the most consequential technology since electricity itself.”

The message comes at a pivotal moment, as OpenAI expands its cutting-edge data centers, which require enormous amounts of power amidst an already strained U.S. electric grid. The company emphasized the stakes, saying China added 429 gigawatts of new energy capacity last year, compared to just 51 gigawatts in the U.S.

“Electrons are the new oil,” Altman wrote.

Additionally, OpenAI submitted an 11-page proposal to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, urging the country to commit to building 100 gigawatts of new energy capacity annually.

Not that anybody cares, but here’s a report from MIT on the “environmental impacts” of AI.

Poll of the day: Nobody’s indispensable

Poll of the day result: I love this for you

We asked: “Which would you rather see?”

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Chainsaw Man — an anime film with a CinemaScore of A (48)

 🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Deliver Me From Nowhere — a film starring that hot guy from the kitchen show set in Chicago...with a CinemaScore of B+ (241)

 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I'll stay at home watching gloomy crime dramas on Britbox (254) 

543 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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