Truss quits, Twitter job cuts?

Here is the key news investors need to start their trading day:

The good news: Stocks are on track to have their best week since early last month. The bad news: US markets are on a two-day losing streak and things weren’t looking so good before Bell Friday either. After a promising start to the week, as stocks were fueled by relatively strong earnings reports from big banks and others, bond yields soared and sent stocks lower. On Thursday, the 10-year government bond yield hit 4.239% for the first time in 14 years. Yields on 2-year and 30-year bonds are also reaching levels not seen in more than a decade. Read live market updates here.

It didn’t matter snap posted adjusted earnings per share while Wall Street was expecting a loss. Or that sales have increased or that the number of users has increased. It just wasn’t good enough, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better as the advertising market tightens. Snap shares, which were already down 77% at Thursday’s close, plummeted 25% after hours. The company’s 6% year-over-year revenue growth marked the first time since the social media company went public in 2017 that quarterly revenue growth has fallen into single digits. User gain was offset by a decline in revenue per user. “We are seeing our advertising partners in many industries cutting their marketing budgets, particularly given operating environment headwinds, inflationary cost pressures and rising costs of capital,” Snap told shareholders.

The Washington Post reported Thursday night that Elon Musk plans to eliminate 75% of them Twitter‘s 7,500-person workforce when he takes over the company. A former executive said the cuts would be so drastic that users could face security threats and images of children in sexually abusive situations. But, the Post added, the current Twitter regime is planning dramatic layoffs of its own — about a quarter of the company’s workforce — and closing Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy the social network would spare them painful decisions. Twitter’s top attorney told employees in an email in response to the Post article that the company’s plan was on hold after the merger deal was signed. Musk has until October 28 to finalize the deal. Elsewhere, Bloomberg reports that the Biden administration is considering national security reviews for Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service and his Twitter deal.

Continue reading: Facebook Shuttle bus drivers are losing their jobs

Ukrainian forces continued to retake territory in the Kherson region while Russian forces retreated and evacuated the area. The Ukrainian government accused the Russians of forcibly removing Ukrainians, but the Kremlin denied it. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, also warned that Russia could attack a dam in Kherson. His comments come as Ukraine tries to repair its electrical infrastructure after waves of Russian missile and drone strikes on city centers and other key hubs. Read live war updates here.

After just a month and a half in office, Liz Truss said on Thursday she would step down as British Prime Minister. Though her tenure was brief, it was momentous. Her government’s tax-heavy economic plans shook UK markets to the core, seriously weakening the pound as the country was already grappling with rising living costs. So who’s next? Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister who finished second to Truss, is considered the favorite to succeed her. Penny Mordaunt, who took a surprise third place in the race for the Conservative leadership, is also included. Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace is well-liked, but it’s unclear if he would run. And there’s always Boris Johnson. Serious. CNBC’s Karen Gilchrist outlines the state of affairs here.