Akiko Fujita

    Host

    Akiko Fujita is an Anchor and Reporter for Yahoo Finance. She was previously an anchor at CNBC International, where she hosted Squawk Box Asia and covered the tech sector across the region.

  • Former House Speaker Paul Ryan says he’s not voting for Trump : 'Character is too important'

    Ryan says he would be writing in a Republican candidate instead of voting for Donald Trump.

  • '1 or 2 rate cuts' is the next move from the Fed: Strategist

    The Federal Reserve decided to keep rates steady after its two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, causing some uncertainty over the central bank's next move. However, following recent inflation data and April's jobs report, there might be room for the Fed to change rates. Schwab Asset Management CEO and CIO Omar Aguilar joins Market Domination to give insight into the Federal Reserve, the economy's growth, and more. Aguilar explains his predictions for rate cuts in this current environment: "Our estimate based on what we see, the economy is slowing down as well as the inflation finally getting to the point where the Fed might look at options, put us into 1 or 2 rate cuts for this year, most likely starting, more in the fall, more like in September, with still slight probability to do it in July. But certainly, I think the data on inflation will have to give plenty of reasons for the Fed to make that move in July." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Fmr. Speaker Paul Ryan on GOP 'nihilists,' Trump's econ. plans

    Former House Speaker Paul Ryan joins Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita to discuss the current state of US politics and the potential effects of the upcoming 2024 presidential election on the economy. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) has filed a motion to oust current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) after disagreeing with his negotiation efforts with Democrats to pass a $1.2 trillion funding bill. "Shame on people who think that they should vacate a Speaker for a policy disagreement," Ryan says of Taylor-Greene. He believes that her efforts will not succeed and sides with Johnson, giving him credit for making a tough decision and saying, "You can't be good at these jobs unless you're willing to lose them." He explains that the rampant political dysfunction in Congress only "adds to uncertainty tax" hitting the US and its economy. On the issue of debt, Ryan believes that both 2024 presidential frontrunners will not do anything to alleviate the problem and are only "demagoguing those who are offering solutions." He warns, "We're walking ourselves into a very predictable crisis," and points to entitlement reforms that should be phased in to curtail the nation's growing debt. "You can't tax your way out of this," he explains, stressing that the debt crisis should be a bigger issue in the current election. Disagreeing with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Ryan tells Yahoo Finance that he will be writing in a Republican on Election Day. Watch the video above to hear Ryan explain why both Trump and Biden are "bad for the economy." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. Be sure to check out more from Yahoo Finance's coverage of the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • What Boeing's delayed rocket launch means for the company, according to Intuitive Machines CEO

    The delay of Boeing's Starliner launch, which was supposed to take two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, marked the latest setback for a company already grappling with quality control and safety issues in its aviation business.

  • Former Trump economic adviser denies speculation of plan to erode Fed's independence

    The former chair of the White House Council of Economic denies talks surrounding ousting Jerome Powell.

  • How Pinterest ad revenue is 'accelerating': CEO

    Pinterest (PINS) has boosted its advertising efforts with deals from tech giants like Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL). The company has also utilized AI to improve personalized recommendations for its users. Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita are joined by Pinterest CEO Bill Ready at the Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss the impact of new deals from tech giants. On the success of the deals with his company, Ready states that some of the increase ad revenue comes from: "It's really because of the actionability of the platform. That's through a combination of efforts. A lot of it is retailers coming to us directly, but then we've also, as you noted, augmented that first-party demand on our platform with third-party demand coming from Amazon...Google we added more recently... And so that is helping to bring more shoppable, actionable inventory on to the platform, but it really is a composite effect. What I would say, if you step back from it all, Pinterest is firing on all cylinders." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • CFTC chair on derivatives bets and future crypto framework

    Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officials are weighing whether to ban the use of derivatives to bet on the outcome of the US election. Derivatives are investments based on the value of an underlying security, group of assets, or benchmark, which can include stocks, bonds, commodities, index funds, and cryptocurrencies. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam sits down with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita at the 2024 Milken Conference to discuss this proposal as his agency seeks to prevent fraud or forms of manipulation that could compromise the election. "We've had obviously issues around election integrity, allegations of it over the past few years, if there are issues around elections, we can end up becoming involved in a civil enforcement action with underlying elections, whether at the local level, state level, or federal level," Behnam explains. "We play an important role in terms of risk management and price discovery, and I do hear from a lot of people how they benefit from these prediction markets. But there are other ways to use these prediction markets besides elections... The commission has to vote. That remains to be seen." Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted to 25 years in prison in March for defrauding the crypto exchange's investors, customers, and lenders. Additionally, Binance Founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao received four months in prison after a plea deal with US authorities in connection to money laundering charges. Benham has seen a massive increase in suspected fraudulent activity in the crypto space, having to allocate "nearly 50% of our enforcement docket" in 2023: "That's a staggering statistic for a derivatives regulator that oversees trillion dollar markets in FX, credit, agriculture, energy, metals, and interest rates as well." "The fact that I'm having to allocate 50% of my enforcement resources towards an unregulated market, again, is a staggering statistic. And I think one that demonstrates how much fraud and manipulation there is in the market and how much of a strong need there is for a traditional regulatory framework so that we can push that fraud and manipulation out." Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • China's manufacturing won't fix consumer demand: Fmr. Australian PM

    China's economic woes have signaled turbulence for the global economy at large in the form of slowing growth. Where is the Chinese economy headed and how can officials set their ship back on course? Former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd — currently the Ambassador of Australia to the US — joins Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita at the 2024 Milken Conference to outline China's problem areas in the private sector, notably its real estate industry, and easing consumer confidence. "The problem that we see in the Chinese economy writ large at the moment, is a problem on the demand side of the economy, not a problem on the supply side. Whereas the government response in Beijing seems to be to double down on the supply side, whether it's through manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, advanced technology," Ambassador Rudd explains. "What the regime talks about in terms of the new advanced productive forces, that's all fine and dandy, but actually doesn't go to the fundamental to the problem which is how do you produce sustainable increases in long-term, domestic consumption."  "And when consumers are lacking confidence for the reasons we ran through before, it doesn't fix the challenge. So I'm a little concerned about China's medium-term growth trajectory for those reasons." Ambassador Rudd highlights China's industrial policy as overseas manufacturers ramp up production on electric vehicles (EVs), electronic devices, and semiconductors to compete against American counterparts. "It's often said that what China lacks on the semiconductor speed front, the great race for nanometers, that China has an abundance with the availability of data, also the size of its population. And there's some truth in that," Ambassador Rudd says about AI and data collection in China. Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Fed has been wrong on inflation from the start: Fmr. CEA chair

    Inflation and higher interest rates are still two of the biggest obstacles for the Federal Reserve in 2024, a year in which many experts eagerly anticipated a slew of rate cuts to come forth. Now, Fed officials are still getting a grasp on economic data to get an idea on how to effectively implement their monetary policy. Former Council of Economic Advisors Chair under the Trump administration, Kevin Hassett, sits down with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita at the 2024 Milken Conference to discuss the Fed's inflation journey and how much it has left to conquer and ease economic conditions for Americans. "The Fed's [inflation] modeling has been wrong, and it's been wrong from the beginning when they were saying it was transitory. I think that the conversation about inflation is like everything in our life, perhaps colored by partisanship, inflation is a big negative for President Biden politically," Hassett states. "But if you just truthfully look at the data, think about what the forecast over the next few months is that, you're basically looking at inflation's going to continue to run at a 4-5% annual rate, and the Fed should be really upset about that and they should do something about it." Hassett views "runaway spending" contributing to the deficit in the national budget as the true culprit behind inflation, believing that Fed Chair Jerome Powell should take a note from former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan to quell government spending. As of late, Hassett has been reported to be one of three names proposed by advisers to former President Trump as a potential replacement for Jerome Powell as the Fed's chair. Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Intuitive Machines CEO on the future of Moon missions

    Get ready to lift off into the next generation! After Intuitive Machines' (LUNR) successful moon landing in February, the space exploration company is partnering with NASA alongside Boeing (BA) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) to develop a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV). Intuitive Machines President and CEO Steve Altmus sits down with Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita at the 2024 Milken Conference to talk about some of the regulatory risks in expanding into commercial space projects, as well as the excitement around several of the company's latest plans and lunar crafts. "Well, we designed and developed a mission to the Moon at a price point that was roughly $118 million and did it in about four years. We have totally disrupted the industry in terms of the economics of flying to the Moon. That's a success," Altmus says on Intuitive Machines' work with NASA. "You look at then how we operated the mission through all of the challenges and tribulations on heading out to the Moon over 300,000 miles out there. And we solved every problem on the way there." Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • IBM is still in the 'early innings' of AI development: CEO

    AI has taken Wall Street by storm as many companies seek to incorporate the technology into their businesses. IBM (IBM) is no different, yet its technology might not be fully priced into its valuation, the tech giant's CEO suggests. Yahoo Finance Anchors Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita are joined by IBM CEO Arvind Krishna at the Annual Milken Global Institute Conference to explain why IBM's valuation may not be on par with other AI stocks. "We are building, we're staying in the right places that have credibility, we work with enterprise, hybrid cloud, AI, and quantum down the road. By the way, I don't think quantum or AI is fully priced into where we are, but I'll acknowledge that quantum is still three to five years out, and AI is kind of in its early innings," Krishna says. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Why IBM's CEO says don't regulate AI technology

    IBM (IBM) like many other tech giants, have put considerable investments into AI. IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna spoke with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita at the Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss the company's performance, its investments in AI, and how the rest of the world views AI. Krishna speaks on AI regulation in the US: "I'm not concerned about the US falling behind. What I'm concerned about is that regulators should not regulate the technology. What regulators should regulate is the risk of the use cases. Can you imagine sitting back in 1995, let's regulate the internet, so lets regulate dial-up modems. How useful would that have been to today?" He continues with: "Don't regulate the technology. All you will do is it will go offshore, these are digital technologies, but regulate the use case, so we are sure it's being used responsibly. One that I also talk about, is make people who develop models accountable for what the models can do. I think those are tools that are classic policy tools and can be wonderfully applied." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Why IBM's CEO disagrees with Warren Buffett's stance on AI

    At the annual Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A,BRK-B) shareholders meeting, Warren Buffett spoke on a range of subjects including his concerns about AI. The CEO compared the dangers of AI's potential misuse to that of nuclear weapons. IBM (IBM) CEO Arvind Krishna joins Yahoo Finance Anchors Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita at the Annual Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss why he disagrees with Warren Buffett's stance on AI. Krishna dismisses the danger: "I actually have no such fear. So I'm putting it black and white. I think there's a lot of people who hypothesize, and as you have seen in many technologies, thinking that the rate of progress which has been 100 times over the last 3, 4 years, is going to be another 100 to 1000 times. But just for the current AI, we need this much infrastructure and power for it to be 100 to 1000 times...I think it's a little fantastical to keep predicting that it carries on on an exponential curve." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Two reasons why Gen Z is turning to Pinterest: CEO

    Last week, Pinterest (PINS) reported its first quarter earnings revealing revenue rose 23% year-over-year to $740 million, exceeding analysts' expectations by $40 million, with its adjusted earnings rising to $0.20 per share. Part of its explosive growth can be seen by an influx of Gen Z users by utilizing AI-driven recommendations. Yahoo Finance Anchors Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita are joined by Pinterest CEO Bill Ready at the Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss the company's performance, the future of AI, the potential ban of TikTok, and more. On the company's use of AI, Ready says: "We now use models that are 100 times larger than the models that we were using a couple of years ago. That led to roughly have a 10 percentage point improvement in relevancy of recommendations we make to our users." He continues with the benefits AI has brought the company and, in turn, the users of the platform: "We've also been doing things to design our product to create great signal for that AI. So for example, we've really leaned into human curation of scale, so it's not just users coming to Pinterest to shop, they come to Pinterest and curate and put together outfits, put together room designs, and so when those users say 'I put this handbag with this dress and this pair of shoes'...that gives us really great signal to make better and better recommendations to our users by training the AI on that really unique signal, and importantly, it's helping users to do things that help them to take action in their real life..." Watch the video above to hear the two reasons why Ready says Gen Z is flocking to Pinterest. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Exxon will likely still be producing oil & gas in 2050: Exxon CEO

    Exxon Mobil (XOM) has completed an acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) in one of the largest oil deals in decades. Chairman and CEO Darren Woods sits down with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita to discuss the acquisition and the future of Exxon Mobil. Woods explains that the acquisition created an opportunity "to deliver more value than what either company could do on its own." He adds that with Pioneer's technology, Exxon Mobil will be able to produce more oil at a lower cost. The CEO expects the acquisition to generate an annual $2 billion in synergies. He adds that with new technologies on the horizon and innovations in the field, Exxon will likely continue producing oil and gas in 2050. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. Be sure to check out more from Yahoo Finance's coverage of the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Milken Institute Global Conference: What to expect

    The Milken Institute's Global Conference kicks off Monday in Los Angeles, exploring various topics, from the rise of generative AI to electric vehicle trends. Yahoo Finance anchors Akiko Fujita and Brian Sozzi break down the details, providing insights into what to expect from the highly anticipated event. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Angel Smith

  • Immigration a facet of 'inflation neutral' job gains: Economist

    Job growth estimates for the month of April fell behind expectations with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting 175,000 jobs were added to the US economy against forecasts for 240,000. Could this cooling labor print be a good sign to come for the Federal Reserve as officials struggle with the inflation-side of their dual mandate? S&P Global Ratings Chief US Economist Satyam Panday joins The Morning Brief to weigh in on how April's jobs data could contribute to a soft landing scenario and immigration's role in strengthening the US labor market. "In the last few months, we have come to find some evidence... showing that we have undercounting population growth in the US basically due to immigration arising in the last one and a half years," Panday tells Yahoo Finance. "So I think that does sort of explain some of the upside surprises and it does also help in some of the wage growth tempering. But overall... it goes both ways. They both produce and they also consume at the same time, so it is a net-net positive, so far, normalizing the labor market as well as keeping the economic growth sort of getting surprised on the up side. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • These three things released bond market 'pressure': Strategist

    Stocks are on the rise as bond yields slump following the April jobs report. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Co-Head of Broad Markets Fixed Income Vishal Khanduja joins Morning Brief to break down what the weaker-than-expected report means for the economy. April saw an unexpected jump in unemployment as hiring and wage growth both slowed. Khanduja notes that following the Fed's decision to leave rates unchanged, the bond market is at a point "where it releases a lot of that pressure that was building up." Khanduja says there were three things that happened this week to help relieve that pressure: the US Treasury's quarterly refunding announcement, a more "dovish FOMC," and the cooler April employment report. He tells Brad Smith and Akiko Fujita that two to three more reports like April's could guide the Fed's decision to move toward cuts. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Google antitrust case: Closing arguments underway

    Closing arguments are set to conclude in the US Justice Department's antitrust case against Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google. The DOJ alleges that Google's deals to make its search engine the default on web browsers and devices allowed it to maintain an unfair monopolistic grip on the market. Yahoo Finance's Alexis Keenan breaks down the details as closing arguments continue. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Angel Smith

  • Block to use 10% of bitcoin profits... to buy more bitcoin

    Shares of Block (SQ) are moving up Friday morning — gains eventually pulling back after the market open, but remaining in the green — after the fintech company posted its first-quarter earnings results, revealing a 22% gain in gross profit, compared to one year ago. The company announced that they plan on using 10% of those profits from bitcoin (BTC-USD) products, to buy more bitcoin as an investment. Morning Brief Anchor Brad Smith breaks down the latest development for Block as it leans heavier into investing in bitcoin For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino