White House debates whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should stay on, with Trump still expressing confidence in him.

According to outage tracking site Downdetector, Microsoft (MSFT.O) suffered a widespread service outage on Thursday (Eastern Time), affecting thousands of users across multiple regions. The disruption began shortly before 2 a.m. Beijing Time on the 13th, impacting Microsoft 365 and Outlook. Meanwhile, users of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google (GOOG.O) also reported service interruptions on the platform. A Microsoft spokesperson stated: “We have noted the situation and are currently investigating the reported Microsoft 365 outage, which is primarily centered on Exchange Online.” Microsoft initially posted on its “Microsoft 365 Status” social media account that the connection issues may stem from “overload of some infrastructure across multiple regions”. Later, the company found that the increased load was caused by “some servers being unexpectedly unavailable, which put additional pressure on the remaining infrastructure.”

Cisco Systems reported first-quarter revenue of $18.5 billion, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $18.13 billion. First-quarter service revenue totaled $3.85 billion, exceeding analysts' expectation of $3.83 billion. The company earned $1.40 per share (EPS) in the first quarter, outperforming analysts' forecast of $1.32. For the full year, Cisco now projects revenue of $54.7 billion to $55.3 billion, up from its prior guidance of $50.5 billion to $51.1 billion. It expects full-year adjusted EPS to come in between $5.47 and $5.53, versus its earlier forecast of $5.05 to $5.11. For the second quarter, Cisco forecasts revenue of $18 billion to $18.2 billion, surpassing analysts' estimate of $17.85 billion. The company also projects second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.34 to $1.36, beating analysts' expectation of $1.23.

Cerebras Systems reported third-quarter core revenue of $230.9 million, beating analyst estimates of $214.7 million. Core hardware revenue came in at $86 million (vs. analyst expectations of $64.6 million), while core cloud revenue totaled $144.9 million, slightly missing the $149.8 million analyst forecast. The quarter’s gross margin stood at 20%, well below the 35.7% analyst consensus. The company announced it has entered cloud agreements with three top hyperscalers, and raised its full-year performance guidance: it now projects full-year core revenue of $940 million to $960 million, versus analyst expectations of $887.4 million. For the fourth quarter, it forecasts core revenue of $310 million to $330 million (above the $271.2 million analyst projection) and a core gross margin of 47% to 49%, exceeding the 42% analyst estimate.

Reuters reports that prediction market platform Kalshi has terminated its advisory contract with Donald Trump Jr., eldest son of U.S. President Donald Trump. A Kalshi spokesperson said the two parties ended their collaboration by mutual consent, as Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm 1789 Capital made a large investment in rival Polymarket this summer. Termination discussions began in August, when 1789 Capital led Polymarket’s latest financing round. Kalshi appointed Donald Trump Jr. as a strategic advisor in January 2025, with equity serving as compensation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday released the revised tentative meeting schedule for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in 2027. The year will hold 8 scheduled meetings, respectively on Jan. 26–27, Mar. 16–17, Apr. 27–28, Jun. 8–9, Jul. 27–28, Sep. 14–15, Oct. 26–27, and Nov. 16–17. Notably, the Oct. 26–27 meeting will focus on a broad range of monetary policy strategy issues, with no interest rate decision announced on the second day as is customary. The first FOMC meeting of 2028 is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 25–26.

According to Semafor, citing two U.S. government officials, multiple ongoing U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations may involve NVIDIA (NVDA.O). One probe targets NVIDIA directly, focusing on antitrust issues; another involves Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O). The investigations have continued to develop following Jensen Huang’s resignation, though there is currently no indication the DOJ plans to file criminal charges against NVIDIA or Huang. A Super Micro Computer spokesperson stated the company has fully cooperated with investigations by U.S. and Taiwanese authorities, proactively provided information to Singaporean authorities and responded to relevant requests, while emphasizing it maintains a robust compliance framework.