Chicago Fed's Goolsbee Warns AI Data Center Boom May Be Fueling Inflation

Oracle's latest layoffs fell hardest on software developers, engineers, and managers inside its cloud infrastructure division, with 546 workers cut in its America Cloud Infrastructure organization, roughly 7.6% of the 7,185 employees it covers, according to a document obtained by Business Insider. Software developer III recorded the highest number of departures of any title at 57, and software developers overall accounted for roughly 17% of the total cuts, while positions with "manager" in the title accounted for 128 of the terminations, close to a quarter of all those listed, including 61 program manager roles. Oracle's data center support services unit lost 41 workers, among them the division's vice president and two senior directors. Most of the workers named had passed their 40th birthday and about one in six was at least 60 years old; Oracle said the information was disclosed to comply with federal age discrimination laws. Oracle has not disclosed the total number of employees laid off last week, out of roughly 141,000 before the cuts, after shedding about 21,000 positions, or 13% of its workforce, over the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026, partly attributed to AI deployment. The cuts come as Oracle absorbs a steep rise in capital spending tied to its AI data center buildout, with cloud infrastructure revenue up 121% year over year in the most recent quarter and plans to spend $90 billion to $95 billion on data center construction in fiscal 2027. Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson told employees at a companywide meeting last week that the layoffs should not be understood as a directive to do more with fewer resources, and the restructuring plan carries a total estimated cost of roughly $2.8 billion, with approximately $2.1 billion in charges recorded through August 31.

IREN is trading at $47.23, roughly 41% below the mean analyst target of $80.21, as the company works to convert a pre-secured power portfolio into contracted revenue. The company holds more than 5 gigawatts of announced power across Texas, British Columbia, Oklahoma, Spain, and South Australia, anchored by a $9.7 billion AI Cloud contract with Microsoft and a $3.4 billion five-year deal with NVIDIA, yet less than 10% of that 5-gigawatt portfolio is monetized. Management says $4 billion of ARR is contracted for 2026 capacity, with $1 billion already operating, and three-year contract pricing is up about 125% since November, with recent deals above $20 million per megawatt of IT load and active talks near $25 million per megawatt. IREN posted a $684 million net loss on $137.2 million of Q4 revenue that missed estimates and fell 26.75% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA fell from $59.5 million in Q3 to $19.2 million, and FY27 capex is guided at $25 to $30 billion. Consensus FY27 EPS has fallen from negative $0.94 ninety days ago to negative $3.92, and the balance sheet carries $11.60 billion of liabilities against $4.19 billion of equity, making March-quarter revenue the pivotal test of the contracted ARR story.