Insider Today: Wall Street’s rocky start

January 16, 2024 • 5 min read

Welcome back from the long weekend. Donald Trump secured a resounding win in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa. Following the result, Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the GOP presidential race.

In today’s big story, we’re looking at how there are still plenty of risks in the market despite big expectations.

What's on deck

Markets: These are Morgan Stanley’s newest managing directors.
Tech: EV owners should be nervous about Hertz’s decision to downsize its fleet.
Business: T-Mobile's top marketer has a plan to make 2024 the strongest year yet.

But first, we were promised returns!

Wall Street sign surrounded by doomy, negative symbols

wildpixel/Getty Images

The big story

An unsteady start

So much for a “happy” new year.

Last year ended with plenty of optimism about the market. Most Wall Street firms had bullish takes on where things were headed in 2024.

But the year’s start hasn’t been a smashing success for investors. The market has been somewhat muted during the first two weeks of 2024, with the S&P 500 index up less than 1% year-to-date.

And it’s not just the market that’s disappointing. A slew of recent layoffs across tech and Wall Street — from Instagram to Google to BlackRock — have people on edge.

There was more bad news on the job-cut front during Citi’s fourth-quarter earnings call Friday. The bank announced it was cutting 20,000 roles by 2026. The move — part of a broader restructuring it announced last year — was coupled with what Citi described as “very disappointing” Q4 results.

In short, it’s tough to feel great about 2024!

Market vet Ed Yardeni highlighted four market risks that could impact trading during the first half of the year. Yardeni, who is still bullish on 2024 overall, pointed to geopolitical risks and stubborn inflation as what could give investors pause, Business Insider’s Matt Fox writes.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

One of the best indicators of the year ahead comes from banks’ Q4 earnings.

Finance executives preview what to expect for the year ahead during earnings calls. Beyond being a big employer, banks have a range of clients across industries. So, if banks are worried, it likely means the rest of the business world is, too.

Thus far, bank earnings have been a mixed bag. Opposite the Citi news was JPMorgan, which plans to continue hiring bankers and advisors after posting the biggest annual profit in US banking history.

BI’s finance team has a roundup of the biggest Wall Street firms’ earnings reports and what it means for their hiring plans.

Perhaps no firm better encapsulates the market’s juxtaposition than BlackRock. The world’s largest money manager had a little bit of everything last week, announcing a $12.5 billion deal for a fellow investment firm and securing approval for its bitcoin ETF while also cutting 3% of its staff, writes BI’s Michelle Abrego and Rebecca Ungarino.

The rest of earnings season will provide a fuller picture of what the year ahead could look like. But the initial takeaway is it won’t be the boon some investors previously expected.

News brief

Your Tuesday headline catchup

A quick recap of the top news from yesterday.

3 things in

Markets

🔔 Before the opening bell: US stock futures fall early Tuesday as central bankers push back against rate-cut speculation.

Mark Davis / Staff / Getty Images

1. Not everyone is sold on the bitcoin ETF. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary said the fees being charged by ETF issuers don’t make it worth investing in them. Goldman Sachs Wealth Management CIO Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani went a step further, saying that cryptocurrencies don’t belong in investment portfolios.

2. Meet Morgan Stanley’s newest MDs. The bank promoted 155 people to its highest designation outside the C-suite. Check out all the names so you know who you owe a congratulatory email to.

3. Some advice from a legendary investor. Billionaire hedge fund manager and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen shared some common investing mistakes to avoid, like finding the right amount of liquidity and leverage. In a recently released interview, he also detailed what investors should ask themselves amid a trading slump.

3 things in

Tech

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on a visit to Google's Berlin office.

Boris Streubel/Getty Images

1. Google staff are sounding off about "corporate overlords," per a report. After being hit by another round of layoffs, The Verge reported that some Googlers are lashing out over impersonal layoffs and a changing company culture.

2. Hertz dumping 20,000 EVs is a warning to electric-car owners everywhere. The car-rental company’s move highlights the “hidden costs” associated with owning an EV: insurance, repairs, charging infrastructure, and more.

3. These 16 VCs are funding the future of entertainment. Funding for AI-driven media startups remained robust last year, even as VC investments dwindled. Business Insider identified the investors capitalizing on AI and other shifts in entertainment.

3 things in

Business

digital collage of a goat with a fork and knife around it

iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI

1. Who killed Cedar the goat? A 9-year-old girl, “E,” tried to save her goat from the slaughterhouse. By holding onto the animal she raised, E unwittingly picked a fight with the entire agriculture-industrial complex. She may have lost the battle, but she started a war.

2. Apple has told 121 staff in San Diego to move to Austin or face being laid off, per Bloomberg. The tech giant issued the ultimatum and gave the workers until the end of February to choose whether they want to move — if they opt not to, they will be terminated, the report says.

3. T-Mobile's president of marketing, strategy, and products shares his plan for 2024. Mike Katz has spent 25 years with the company and has worked through every up and down. His job is to create marketing moments that get people talking — and bring the customers. It's working.

In other news

What's happening today

Paris Fashion Week kicks off today with the menswear show, with brands debuting their fall-winter 2024-2025 collections.
Donald Trump's second defamation trial from E. Jean Carroll opens. This lawsuit will focus on damages after Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation last year.
Earnings today: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and other companies.

The Insider Today team

Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hayley Hudson, director, in Edinburgh. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

Get in touch

insidertoday@insider.com

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