Defence stocks drop despite US-Iran war
4/30/202612 min
Meta said it would boost its spending on AI this year, and Jay Powell says he will stay on as a Federal Reserve governor once his term as chair ends. Plus, the special relationship between the UK and US held up under intense pressure, and defence stocks are struggling despite the US and Israel's war in Iran.
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Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh secures Senate committee approval
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America’s special relationship is ‘probably Israel’, says UK ambassador to US
King Charles defends transatlantic relationship in speech to Congress
Defence stocks give back gains as investors buy rumour but sell war
Credit: C-SPAN, Federal Reserve
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Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Saffeya Ahmed, Victoria Craig, and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMarc Filippino· Host0:00
[intro music] Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, April 30th, and this is your FT News Briefing. Investors don't love Meta's plans for AI, and the special relationship between the US and the UK held up this week. Plus, shouldn't war be good for defense stocks?
Christian Davies· Guest0:19
The adage goes, "You buy the tension, and you sell the war."
Marc Filippino· Host0:22
I'm Mark Philippo, and here's the news you need to start your day. [intro music] Meta reported quarterly earnings yesterday, and things looked pretty good on the surface. Revenues jumped 33% in the first quarter year on year. That beat Wall Street expectations. And what's more, Meta expects revenues to rise this quarter. But the tech giant lost the crowd when it started talking about plans for artificial intelligence. Meta said it's going to expand its AI spending spree this quarter. The company raised its expected capital expenditure for this year to be as much as $145 billion. That ceiling is $10 billion higher from what Meta shared last quarter. Investors weren't too thrilled with this. Meta share price dropped in after-hours trading. [upbeat music] Jay Powell gave his final press conference as chair of the Federal Reserve yesterday, but he's probably not leaving the US Central Bank anytime soon.
Jay Powell· Soundbite1:29
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