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.

  • AI helps businesses fight 'fear of irrelevance': Builder.ai CEO

    Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are as dependent as ever on the latest technology trends that will enable their companies to prosper, from the fintech platforms that run their payment systems to leveraging social media to reach a broader audience. As part of Yahoo Finance's Small Business, Big Opportunities special, Builder.ai Founder and CEO Sachin Dev Duggal sits down with Akiko Fujita at the 2024 Milken Conference to talk about how businesses are fighting "the fear of irrelevance" in the transition to becoming digitally native and embrace new software that will help owners scale and grow. "What we're seeing is that depending on when you speak to that small-medium business, they're either really excited to go do something because they feel like they're gonna unshackle themselves," Duggal says. "Or they're actually quite fearful because they've heard of a bad experience, they've had a bad experience, and almost it becomes 10 times harder to then get them out of the shelf." But Duggal is largely seeing positive growth when businesses do enact these changes. One big factor is how SMBs are adopting AI and other large-language models like ChatGPT to automate certain workflows, including marketing and copyrighting promotional materials. Duggal cites increased productivity per employee and enhanced customer engagements as another pair of benefits from AI: "Now we're seeing this really nice hybrid between user interface (UI) elements, chat experiences, personalization, so that these small-medium businesses can talk to their customers in the way the customer wants to talk to them." Addressing fears of job replacement and workplace reductions fueled by AI, Duggal ultimately believes artificial intelligence is useful in cutting out mundane tasks and will benefit workers by "[putting] a cape on a human to make them superhuman. And so you are actually being more productive." Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference and its Small Business: Big Opportunities special from this week. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • 'Short-term volatility' ahead of election season: Nuveen CIO

    With new inflation data and the April Jobs report falling short of expectations, the Federal Reserve is in a tough spot, potentially putting investors in a tougher spot due to uncertainty. With the election season heating up, there is mounting challenges for the market. Yahoo Finance Anchors Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita are joined by Nuveen Investments CIO Saira Malik at the Annual Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss what investors need to keep in mind as the election approaches during this current economic environment. Malik reminds investors what they need to pay attention to: "We do have new things to consider this year even though the candidates are known, which would be sort of a positive for the markets because they like transparency and clarity. Think about artificial intelligence, potential misinformation, international issue issues, how we're dealing with all of these geopolitical issues. Those are going to be important to the voters. And that could also impact market movements and election volatility." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • It's time to be 'selective' with Big Tech: Nuveen CIO

    Several 'Magnificent Seven' names have announced major investments in AI technology after reporting strong earnings. Yahoo Finance Anchors Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita are joined by Nuveen CIO Saira Malik at the Annual Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss whether there has been an overallocation in Big Tech names, leading to possible underperformance. "I think it's the year of being selective, and you saw that last week with Meta (META), which actually put up a good quarter with 27% revenue growth. But the whisper numbers were for 30% revenue growth. Stock goes down because it's over over-owned. Now you look at Apple (AAPL), where if you look at the fundamentals of the quarter, it's more about the next iPhone cycle seasonality, trade. But the stock was under-owned. So Apple goes up. So I think that crowding in these tech stocks is important for these stocks," Malik tells Yahoo Finance. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Investors are now selective on election risk, tech: Nuveen CIO

    Markets (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) have seemed to price in higher for longer interest rates after the Federal Reserve made its latest monetary policy decision to keep rates unchanged. As inflation sticks around, however, the Fed's long-term rate picture remains unclear. Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita are joined by Nuveen Investments CIO Saira Malik at the Annual Milken Global Institute Conference to discuss the Federal Reserve, inflation, the overall state of the market, and more."I wasn't surprised to see payrolls miss this month. But they're still reasonably strong. Markets rallied last week on the Fed's comment because they were actually relieved that rate hikes were taken off the table," Malik comments on the market reaction to April's jobs report and Fed's rate hold last week. "I am not convinced that we're not going to see another rate hike. If inflation re-accelerates and the economy remains strong, I think you could be bringing a hike back on the table. It's not our base case, but I think it's still an issue out there." Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Lazard Pres. talks markets, AI energy needs, election risks

    The Milken Institute Global Conference continues in California, with Lazard (LAZ) President Ray McGuire joining Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi and anchor Akiko Fujita to discuss market outlooks, AI investments, election risks, and more. McGuire says that investors approach markets from two perspectives: "What's in front of us and what's ahead of us." Regarding the immediate concerns, he notes that Lazard clients are primarily focused on "the impact of inflation, the markets, and valuations," as well as the Federal Reserve's policy decisions. On the other hand, the "what's ahead of us" perspective focuses on geopolitical and geo-economic risks that may materialize. Turning to the generative AI front, McGuire highlights the energy requirements associated with this rapidly evolving technology. He cites the Chips Act, emphasizing "the recognition that we need to be able to manufacture our own chips." This realization has prompted companies to invest heavily in capital expenditures, driving the construction of data centers and other AI infrastructure. However, McGuire says this movement will force the United States to simultaneously develop new energy sources to support the demand. As the US presidential election nears, McGuire notes that companies are "actively" considering the potential outcome and its impact on markets. Lazard aims to assist organizations with "scenario planning" for such pivotal events. However, McGuire notes that the risks extend beyond just the US election, as global elections could significantly influence supply chain investments. McGuire characterizes the current regulatory environment as "a headwind." He emphasizes that regulations "have become a factor in ways they haven't historically" when companies contemplate growth or expansion through mergers, acquisitions, and other deals. Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Angel Smith

  • US chip manufacturing capacity projected to triple by 2032, fueled by CHIPS Act: Industry leader

    US chip manufacturing capacity is projected to triple by 2032, according to a new report published by the Semiconductor Industry Association, signaling progress nearly two years after President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law.

  • Trump and Biden both bad for the economy: Fmr. Speaker Paul Ryan

    Former House Speaker Paul Ryan sits down with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita to discuss the economic agendas of 2024 presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. "I think they're both bad for the economy," he tells Yahoo Finance. Regarding Trump, Ryan stresses that the former president lacks the "character" needed of the country's top leader. He adds that Trump's position on tariffs is "just bad economics" that will make American businesses less competitive. On the other hand, the former speaker says that Biden's increased taxes on small and medium-size businesses are also bad economic policies. But if the former speaker had to choose between the two, he would prefer Trump's agenda, saying, "I believe he would be better on regulations and taxes." Neither of the frontrunners will receive Ryan's vote on Election Day; instead, he says he plans to write in a Republican candidate. Click here to watch Yahoo Finance's full interview with former House Speaker Paul Ryan. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • US chip output to see massive growth by 2032: Industry leader

    The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) projects the United States' manufacturing capacity for semiconductors to increase by more than three-fold by 2032. The Biden administration sought to expand domestic chip productions via the CHIPS Act by awarding grants to chipmakers Intel (INTC), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), and Samsung (005930.KS) in recent months. SIA CEO and President John Neuffer joins Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita to review the expected growth for chip fabrication and foundry businesses through the CHIPS Act investments into the private sector. "It took us decades to get to this point," Neuffer discloses. "The two big numbers that I find most interesting coming out of this report are what would our global manufacturing footprint be without the CHIPS Act and would've fallen to 8%. With the CHIPS Act, it's at 14%. That's nearly the double the positive result. So... it's gonna take us years to kind of climb back. But with the CHIPS Act and with all these private sector investments, we absolutely turned the corner and are heading now in, in the right direction." Neuffer broadly estimates that without the invigoration of the CHIPS Act, the US would be producing next to zero of the world's chips in that 2032 timeframe: "With the CHIPS Act... we'll be manufacturing 28% of those chips. So that, that's the kind of fundamental shift in terrain." Turning his attention to China's own semiconductor infrastructure, Neuffer characterizes the nation's chip industry as "very focused" in its output of legacy chips. But finds that China's lean into manufacturing will create an "over capacity" of chips that could lead to several down cycles for American chip makers. Some global officials have stood by their view that China's manufacturing push, driving global competition in areas such as chips and electric vehicles (EV), isn't going to "fix the challenge" in its economy brought on by deflating consumer sentiment. Catch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • 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