🚀 Microsoft to spend $80B this year on AI data centers

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Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. Microsoft plans to allocate $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to construct data centers capable of handling AI workloads, with over half of the spending concentrated in the U.S., according to Vice Chair Brad Smith. The investment reflects the fierce global race for AI leadership, spurred by the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar generative AI tools. Microsoft, which has heavily invested in OpenAI and integrated its models into products like Windows and Teams, saw Azure revenue surge 33% in the fiscal first quarter, bolstered by AI services. Smith urged the incoming Trump administration to solidify U.S. dominance in AI through education and global promotion, warning of China’s growing influence via subsidized chip access and local AI infrastructure in developing nations.

2. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was reelected Speaker of the House on the first ballot after Reps. Ralph Norman and Keith Self flipped their votes to him, securing the 218 votes needed. Johnson, who first became Speaker in 2023 following Kevin McCarthy’s removal, defeated Democratic nominee Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who received unanimous support from his caucus. President-elect Donald Trump celebrated Johnson’s victory, calling it a "Vote of Confidence in Congress." Johnson, now presiding over the 119th Congress, began his term with a moment of silence for victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.

3. Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, has resigned from The Washington Post after the paper rejected her satirical cartoon depicting billionaires—among them a figure resembling Post owner Jeff Bezos—kneeling before President-elect Donald Trump. Telnaes, who shared the cartoon on her Substack, called the rejection unprecedented during her tenure and attributed it to the cartoon’s targets. Editorial page editor David Shipley countered that the decision was based on avoiding thematic repetition with columns already published or scheduled. Telnaes’ resignation underscores growing tensions over media coverage of Trump and billionaire influence, as figures like Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly support Trump’s inauguration fund, sparking criticism from voices like Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

4. Headlines

   1. Numerous US States have declared a state of emergency after yesterday’s storm.

   2. Jimmy Carter’s six-day state funeral began on Saturday in Georgia.

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Onwards and Upwards,

Liam Gill