Market Beats | Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs; Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls for De-escalation After Minneapolis Killing; Prediction Markets Show 99% Chance of Fed Hold; Birkenstock Unveils 2028 Growth Strategy Targeting €1B Revenue Uplift; Yen Sinks After Treasury Secretary Bessent Rules Out Currency Intervention; IRS Faces Funding Lapse at Height of Tax Season; Fed Holds Rate Steady as Expected

—— Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs; Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls for “De-escalation” After Minneapolis Killing; Prediction Markets Show 99% Chance of Fed Hold; Birkenstock Unveils 2028 Growth Strategy Targeting €1B Revenue Uplift; Yen Sinks After Treasury Secretary Bessent Rules Out Currency Intervention; IRS Faces Funding Lapse at Height of Tax Season; Fed Holds Rate Steady as Expected

1. Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs

Amazon.com Inc. announced on Wednesday, January 28, that it will terminate approximately 16,000 corporate employees, intensifying a massive restructuring effort aimed at streamlining bureaucracy. This second wave follows a round of 14,000 cuts in October, bringing the three-month total to 30,000—surpassing the company’s previous record of 27,000 layoffs in 2023. Beth Galetti, Senior VP of People Experience and Technology, stated in a blog post that the reductions are focused on “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” Affected U.S. staff will be given 90 days to seek internal transfers before receiving severance packages.

The latest eliminations represent roughly 4.6% of Amazon’s 350,000-strong white-collar workforce. CEO Andy Jassy has been vocal about removing the “bureaucracy tax” that accumulated during the pandemic-era hiring binge, while explicitly linking future workforce reductions to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence. With Amazon projected to spend nearly $100 billion on AI infrastructure in the current cycle, the company is pivoting resources toward automated workflows and high-growth cloud services.

This announcement comes alongside the shuttering of Amazon’s branded physical grocery and “Go” convenience stores, signaling a broader consolidation of the tech giant’s operations as it enters 2026.

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2. Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls for “De-escalation” After Minneapolis Killing

Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an internal memo on Tuesday, January 27, expressing that he is “heartbroken” over the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. In the memo, Cook stressed that “America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals” and called for a period of “de-escalation” following the second deadly incident involving federal immigration agents in the city this month. Cook also disclosed that he had a “good conversation” with President Donald Trump earlier this week to share his views on the matter, though he provided no specific details on the President’s response.

Cook’s message comes as he faces intense backlash for his attendance at a White House screening of a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump on Saturday night—just hours after Pretti’s death. Other prominent tech leaders, including Amazon’s Andy Jassy and AMD’s Lisa Su, were also present at the VIP gathering. While Cook praised his employees’ empathy, critics and Apple workers have questioned the optics of celebrating at the White House while a US citizen was killed during a federal immigration enforcement operation.

The incident has reignited debates within Silicon Valley regarding the cozy relationship between big tech executives and the Trump administration’s aggressive domestic policies.

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3. Prediction Markets Show 99% Chance of Fed Hold

A new working paper by economists from institutions including the Federal Reserve finds that prediction platforms like Kalshi are emerging as highly accurate forecasters of central bank policy and economic trends. The study indicates that Kalshi’s interest-rate predictions are “roughly consistent” with professional surveys conducted by the New York Fed. Notably, these markets outperformed traditional experts during past “jumbo” rate cuts that caught many institutional analysts by surprise.

Ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision this Wednesday, January 28, prediction markets exhibit a near-total consensus. Both Kalshi and Polymarket are pricing in a 99% probability that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at the current 3.50%–3.75% range, compared to 97.2% odds in the fed funds futures market. This alignment with the “unanimous” view of 92 economists surveyed by Bloomberg bolsters the case for prediction markets as a vital tool for real-time risk assessment.

Despite their growing utility, these platforms continue to face scrutiny over potential systemic vulnerabilities and the recent surge in speculative activity.

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4. Birkenstock Unveils 2028 Growth Strategy Targeting €1B Revenue Uplift

Birkenstock Holding Plc presented its first major strategic roadmap since going public during an investor event in New York on Wednesday, January 28. The German sandal maker aims to generate double-digit growth in both revenue and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) through 2028, targeting an incremental €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in sales over the next three fiscal years. Central to this plan is an ambitious push to double its business in the Asia-Pacific region, while maintaining double-digit growth in its core Americas and EMEA markets through a constant-currency revenue CAGR of 13% to 15%.

CEO Oliver Reichert reiterated the company’s “engineered scarcity” model, which keeps demand consistently ahead of supply to preserve pricing power. In fiscal 2025, this strategy resulted in 38 million pairs sold with a 90% full-price sell-through rate. Despite facing a 200-basis-point headwind from U.S. tariffs and unfavorable exchange rates, Birkenstock expects to maintain an EBITDA margin of 30.0% to 30.5% in 2026.

The company is leaning on its vertically integrated “Made in Germany” supply chain and its new Pasewalk facility to scale production toward 60 million pairs by 2027, while expanding its global retail footprint to 150 owned stores to further boost high-margin direct-to-consumer sales.

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5. Yen Sinks After Treasury Secretary Bessent Rules Out Currency Intervention

The Japanese yen plunged on Wednesday, January 28, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the United States is “absolutely not” intervening in the currency market to support the yen. The comments effectively halted a three-day rally for the yen, which had been driven by intense speculation that Washington and Tokyo were preparing a joint move to stem its depreciation. Bessent’s reaffirmation of the “strong dollar” policy provided a temporary lift to the greenback, which had earlier sunk to a four-year low following President Donald Trump’s remarks that he viewed a weaker dollar as “great” for the economy.

The reversal added another layer of volatility to a week marked by the “Sell America” trade and surging haven assets. While the dollar regained some ground against the yen, it remained under pressure from other major currencies, with the euro and pound holding near multi-year highs. Amid these fluctuations and growing concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence, gold prices smashed through another record on Wednesday, surpassing $5,300 per ounce for the first time. Analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman noted that the fundamental outlook for the yen remains bullish due to Japan’s resilient growth, regardless of official intervention.

However, the immediate market focus remains on the looming Fed interest rate decision and potential leadership changes at the central bank.

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6. IRS Faces Funding Lapse at Height of Tax Season

The Internal Revenue Service is bracing for a potential funding lapse this Friday, January 30, at the exact moment millions of Americans are preparing to file their 2025 tax returns. The looming partial government shutdown, triggered by a Senate Democratic revolt following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents, threatens to paralyze taxpayer assistance and delay refunds. While the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) promises record-high refunds through expanded standard deductions and child credits, the agency’s ability to administer these complex retroactive changes is now in jeopardy.

According to IRS contingency plans, nearly 40% of its workforce would be immediately furloughed, while remaining staff would be forced to work without pay to keep electronic processing systems online. However, all 362 Taxpayer Assistance Centers would close, and paper-filed returns—already backlogged by 2 million from a previous lapse last year—would see further delays. The crisis comes amid a massive leadership shakeup led by IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, who recently installed Trump-aligned whistleblowers in key enforcement roles.

With $11.6 billion in modernization funds recently clawed back by Congress, experts warn that a prolonged shutdown during the filing season’s opening weeks would leave the agency in “uncharted territory,” potentially forcing the government to pay billions in interest on delayed refunds later this year.

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7. Fed Holds Rate Steady as Expected

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, January 28, defying President Donald Trump’s intensified calls for aggressive cuts. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintained the benchmark fed funds rate at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, following three consecutive quarter-point reductions in late 2025. In its policy statement, the Fed noted that while job gains remain low, the unemployment rate has shown “signs of stabilization” and economic activity continues to expand at a “solid pace.” Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that borrowing costs are currently “well positioned,” suggesting a wait-and-see approach as the central bank balances a cooling labor market with persistent inflation, which ticked up to 2.8% in November.

The decision was marked by a rare 10-2 split vote, reflecting growing internal division. Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a 25-basis-point cut—Miran is a vocal ally of the administration, while Waller remains a leading contender to replace Powell when his term expires in May. President Trump has frequently targeted the Fed’s “restrictive” stance, advocating for rates as low as 1% to lower the federal deficit’s financing costs.

However, with the S&P 500 hitting all-time highs and core price pressures remaining above the 2% target, Powell used the press conference to defend the institution’s independence, stating that policy moves are driven by economic data rather than political intimidation.

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