Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Cisco is the equity story of the session, with shares surging fifteen percent after the networking giant reported a surge in AI-related orders that has clearly caught Wall Street's attention. The company also announced nearly four thousand job cuts, a move the market is reading as a margin-positive efficiency play layered on top of a genuine demand inflection in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
That workforce reduction theme is running well beyond Cisco today. Amazon confirmed additional layoffs hitting its Selling Partner Services organization, the latest in a series of cuts as the company leans harder into AI and automation to drive efficiency. These reductions follow mass layoffs earlier in the year and signal that the rationalization of headcount across big tech is far from finished.
Turning to Washington and the Federal Reserve, the Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair, a pivotal moment for monetary policy. Warsh has been openly critical of the Fed's framework, arguing its approach has been, in his words, broken for quite a long time. Bond markets will be watching closely for any signals that his tenure brings a meaningful shift in rate strategy or institutional posture.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
