Good morning. US stock futures fell slightly in Tuesday morning trading as investors considered new product developments in the tech sector.

"Stability leads to instability. The more stable things become and the longer things are stable, the more unstable they will be when the crisis hits"

Hyman Minsky

Top News

IMF exec: AI could be major disruptor in job market

WHAT: Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund Gita Gopinath has fired a warning shot about the havoc that artificial intelligence could have on global labor markets, saying the progress of AI technology could lead to “substantial labor disruptions”.

WHY: Gopinath, in an interview with the Financial Times, added that governments should bolster social safety nets for workers affected by the adoption of AI, while also working on tax policies that do not reward companies replacing employees with machines.

Virtual reality gets pricey with new Apple headset

WHAT: Say hello to Vision Pro — Apple’s new mixed-reality headset and its official foray into the virtual reality space. The Vision Pro headset marks Apple’s first major new product release since 2014 and will set potential customers back a cool $3499 when it hits shelves in early 2024.

WHY: Apple’s VR headset debut comes during a time when the broader virtual reality industry has struggled to meet high expectations for the technology.

SEC goes after crypto giant

WHAT: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just went full on “crypto police mode” on Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The SEC slapped Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao with 13 charges, alleging both comingled billions of dollars of users funds and sent them to a European company controlled by Zhao.

WHY: The complaint also alleges Binance created Binance.US as a shield for the main company and Zhao to “reveal, retard and resolve”, law enforcement targets and insulate Binance.

In Other News

Pay up!

 WHAT: Microsoft has found itself in a not-so-fun game of “Hide and Seek” with kid’s data. The company has been slapped with a whopping $20 million fine by the Federal Trade Commission for sneakily collecting and hoarding the personal information of children who innocently signed up to play games on Xbox. The FTC stated that Microsoft gathered the data without notifying parents or obtaining there consent.

WHY: In a blog post, Microsoft corporate vice president for Xbox Dave McCarthy outlined additional steps the company is now taking to improve its age verification systems and to ensure that parents are involved in the creation of child accounts for the service.

Spotify sheds podcast weight

WHAT: Streaming giant Spotify has decided to giving their podcast division a little trim, announcing they would cut about 200 jobs as part of their plans to “focus on growing partnerships with leading podcasters”

WHY: Spotify has spent heavily to expand its podcast unit in the last three years. Since 2020 the company has spent over $500 million on four different acquisitions in the podcast space according to SEC filings.

Twitter’s ad revenue takes nosedive

WHAT: According to leaked internal documents obtained by the New York Times, Twitter’s advertising revenue is in a death spiral. The platform’s revenue from April 1 to the first week of May was $88 million, some 59% lower than the same period last year.

WHY: In his first 25 days as CEO, Elon Musk witnessed an exodus of advertisers with Twitter’s top 100 advertisers leaving the platform.

Key Economic Events

• Tuesday - No Major Economic News

• Wednesday - MBA Mortgage Applications

• Thursday - Initial Jobless Claims

• Friday - No Major Economic News

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