Good morning. US stock futures inched higher in Friday morning trading as investors awaited the latest jobs report.

"History doesn’t crawl, it leaps"

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Top News

US to roll out updated China chip restrictions soon

WHAT: It looks like Uncle Sam is about to put some tech restrictions on China again. An updated rule curbing US exports of chipmaking equipment to China is in the final stages of review, according to a government posting, a sign the Biden Administration is leveling up its restrictions on Beijing.

WHY: US officials had warned China in recent weeks to expect rules restricting shipments of semiconductor equipment and advanced AI chips to China to be updated this month.

Canadian government focuses on food price stability

WHAT: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is on a mission to tackle high food price. Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the country’s top five grocery chains have agreed to efforts to return price stability to store shelves, and that Canadians could “soon” expect to see aggressive discounts across a basket of goods.

WHY: Trudeau announced last month that his government would demand grocery store executives restore price stability as part of a suite of measures aimed at making life more affordable.

Fed exec: Future rate moves linked to job market, inflation

WHAT: Mary Daly, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, has her eyes locked on two factors influencing the Fed’s next interest rate move: the US job market and the rate of inflation. “If we continue to see a cooling labor market and inflation heading back to our target, we can hold interest rates steady” Daly said, as she delivered remarks at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York.

WHY: Fed officials are trying to decide whether they need to hike their benchmark rate again after raising it by more than five percentage points in the last 19 months.

In Other News

SEC probes Musk Twitter stock purchase

WHAT: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is on the beat and looking at Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase receipts! In a new court filing, the SEC said it was launching an investigation into whether Musk broke federal securities laws in connection with his 2022 purchase of Twitter stock, as well as statements and SEC filings he made in relation to the deal.

WHY: Musk acquired Twitter last year after initially building a large minority stake in the social media platform, which he allegedly failed to disclose in a timely manner.

AI Chips Ahoy!

WHAT: OpenAI, the brains behind ChatGPT, is tossing around the idea of creating its own artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and might even be eye-balling potential acquisition targets according to sources familiar with the matter.

WHY: CEO Sam Altman has made the acquisition of more AI chips a top priority for the company. He has publicly complained about the scarcity of graphics processing units — a market dominated by Nvidia — which controls over 80% of the market for chips best suited for AI applications.

Warner Bros launches live sports tier

WHAT: Warner Bros Discovery is throwing a sports party on its Max streaming platform! The company announced it was launching a new sports tier service as it tries to lure more users to its flagship platform in a highly competitive streaming environment. Max’s new “Bleacher Report” will include access to live games from the NHL, MLB and NBA.

WHY: The launch comes as the company tries to make its streaming business more profitable. On the company’s last earnings call, CEO David Zaslav said “news and sports…make these (streaming) platforms come alive”

Key Economic Events

• Friday - U.S. Unemployment Rate, U.S. Consumer Credit

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