GBP/JPY hits 209.00, up 0.07% intraday

According to information from Zhitong Finance APP, Amazon (AMZN.US) confirmed on Wednesday that it has laid off a small number of employees, mainly from its Stores division responsible for its main e-commerce website. This round of layoffs is the latest small-scale staff reduction since Amazon's large-scale layoffs that began last year and continued into January this year. The previous round involved about 30,000 employees. A person familiar with the matter stated that Amazon cut fewer than 1,000 white-collar employees this time.

Citi analysts stated in a research report that, driven by robust AI computing demand, the potential expansion of AI agents, and the rise of co-packaged optics (CPO) network cycles, TSMC’s revenue growth rate is expected to remain above 40% through 2027. The analysts noted that most AI chip clients, including Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom, anticipate accelerated growth, so TSMC’s AI-related revenue may nearly double next year. As a result, Citi expects the market will continue to raise earnings forecasts for TSMC. Citi pointed out that supported by the strong revenue outlook, TSMC’s capital expenditure could further rise to $81 billions in 2027 and $90 billions in 2028. Citi maintains a “Buy” rating on TSMC and has raised its target price from 3,800 to 4,000 New Taiwan dollars.

The main contract of China's INE crude oil futures has just broken through the 740.0 yuan/barrel mark, now quoted at 740.3 yuan/barrel, up 6.35% intraday.

The US Department of Defense has committed to providing Wolfspeed, a silicon carbide chip manufacturer, with a conditional loan of up to $1.5 billions to support the company's development of materials it describes as critical to national security.