The U.S. has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia due to increasing Houthi attacks, raising concerns about further escalation in the region. This geopolitical instability has contributed to a surge in oil prices, with Brent crude surpassing $110 a barrel, which could lead to higher gas prices in Asia and Europe, impacting household budgets.
In the tech sector, both Meta and Tesla reported earnings that beat analyst expectations, with Meta's stock seeing bullish options trading ahead of its report. Additionally, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg has committed to remaining in California for eight years as part of a new share structure.
Meanwhile, SpaceX shares rose by 10% following its earnings report, and discussions around a potential collaboration with Tesla were hinted at by Elon Musk. On the employment front, eBay announced it would cut about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of its workforce, while Barclays plans to reduce its workforce by 5,000 jobs, or 5%, as part of an efficiency drive linked to artificial intelligence.
The tech industry is also facing challenges with critical security vulnerabilities discovered in PHP, a widely used programming language, prompting urgent responses from governments. Lastly, Ukraine's recent drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure signal a shift in its military strategy, aiming to disrupt Russia's diesel exports amid ongoing conflict