{"id":58683,"date":"2026-02-17T21:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T01:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T21:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T01:38:21","slug":"global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Tech Disruptions Hit Google and AWS; RBNZ Holds Rates as Anthropic Plans $80B Cloud Spend"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/#Key_Takeaways\" >Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/#Massive_Outages_Hit_Major_Tech_Infrastructure\" >Massive Outages Hit Major Tech Infrastructure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/#RBNZ_Maintains_225_Rate_Amid_Inflation_Risks\" >RBNZ Maintains 2.25% Rate Amid Inflation Risks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/#Anthropics_80_Billion_AI_Infrastructure_Bet\" >Anthropic\u2019s $80 Billion AI Infrastructure Bet<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/#Corporate_Shifts_Lawson_to_India_Santos_Cuts_Jobs\" >Corporate Shifts: Lawson to India, Santos Cuts Jobs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-tech-disruptions-hit-google-and-aws-rbnz-holds-rates-as-anthropic-plans-80b-cloud-spend\/58683\/#Geopolitical_and_Legal_Developments\" >Geopolitical and Legal Developments<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Widespread digital disruptions<\/strong> hit major platforms including Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>), Amazon Web Services (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>), and Cloudflare (<a href=\"\/stock\/NET\">NET<\/a>), with YouTube reporting over <strong>240,000 user outages<\/strong> in the U.S.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)<\/strong> maintained its Official Cash Rate at <strong>2.25%<\/strong>, signaling that monetary policy will remain accommodative for an &quot;extended period&quot; to support a nascent recovery.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anthropic<\/strong> is reportedly planning to spend at least <strong>$80 billion<\/strong> through 2029 on cloud infrastructure from Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>), Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>), and Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) to power its Claude AI models.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lawson<\/strong> announced a strategic foray into the <strong>Indian market<\/strong>, seeking growth outside of a saturated Japanese landscape where new store locations are increasingly scarce.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Santos (<a href=\"\/stock\/STO\">STO<\/a>)<\/strong> confirmed plans to slash its workforce by <strong>10%<\/strong> as part of a broader cost-saving initiative to streamline operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Massive_Outages_Hit_Major_Tech_Infrastructure\"><\/span>Massive Outages Hit Major Tech Infrastructure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A significant wave of technical difficulties swept across the internet late Tuesday and early Wednesday. According to <strong>DownDetector<\/strong>, Cloudflare (<a href=\"\/stock\/NET\">NET<\/a>) began experiencing issues at <strong>8:28 PM EST<\/strong>, followed by reports of disruptions at Amazon Web Services (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) and Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>The impact on consumer services was substantial, with <strong>240,707 users<\/strong> in the United States reporting outages on YouTube. Related services, including <strong>YouTube TV<\/strong> and the core <strong>Google search engine<\/strong>, also faced performance issues, suggesting a broad infrastructure or routing failure affecting the backbone of the web.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"RBNZ_Maintains_225_Rate_Amid_Inflation_Risks\"><\/span>RBNZ Maintains 2.25% Rate Amid Inflation Risks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Reserve Bank of New Zealand<\/strong> elected to keep the Official Cash Rate (OCR) steady at <strong>2.25%<\/strong>, a move that aligned with market expectations. The central bank noted that while the labor market is stabilizing, unemployment remains high and the economy is only in the <em>early phases of recovery<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Meeting minutes revealed a cautious committee, with members agreeing that policy must remain <strong>accommodative<\/strong> for some time. While headline inflation is projected to return to the <strong>1\u20133% target range<\/strong> this quarter, officials warned that reacting too quickly to pricing intentions could <em>reinforce inflationary perceptions<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Anthropics_80_Billion_AI_Infrastructure_Bet\"><\/span>Anthropic\u2019s $80 Billion AI Infrastructure Bet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>AI startup <strong>Anthropic<\/strong> has committed to a massive capital outlay, planning to spend at least <strong>$80 billion<\/strong> on cloud services through 2029. The funds will be distributed among the industry&#39;s &quot;Big Three&quot;: Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>), Alphabet (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>), and Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>This aggressive spending highlights the <em>extraordinary costs<\/em> associated with training and maintaining large language models like Claude. The news comes as Beijing also ramps up its support for <strong>brain-implant technology<\/strong>, seeking a domestic rival to Elon Musk\u2019s <strong>Neuralink<\/strong> to secure a foothold in the future of human-computer interaction.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Corporate_Shifts_Lawson_to_India_Santos_Cuts_Jobs\"><\/span>Corporate Shifts: Lawson to India, Santos Cuts Jobs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Japanese convenience giant <strong>Lawson<\/strong> is pivoting toward the Indian market to capitalize on its <em>gigantic growth potential<\/em>. The move follows a trend of Japanese retailers seeking international expansion as domestic demographics and store saturation limit local opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>In the energy sector, <strong>Santos (<a href=\"\/stock\/STO\">STO<\/a>)<\/strong> is moving to protect margins by targeting a <strong>10% reduction<\/strong> in its headcount. The cost-saving measure reflects a tightening environment for energy producers focusing on operational efficiency.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Geopolitical_and_Legal_Developments\"><\/span>Geopolitical and Legal Developments<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In international relations, <strong>Iran<\/strong> reportedly reached an &quot;understanding&quot; with the <strong>United States<\/strong> to guide upcoming nuclear talks, potentially easing regional tensions. Meanwhile, in the U.K., <strong>Reform UK<\/strong> has pledged to maintain the nation&#39;s fiscal watchdog should it win power, seeking to project <em>economic stability<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>On the legal front, a federal appeals court rejected an emergency bid by <strong>Kalshi<\/strong> to halt Nevada\u2019s efforts to block the platform from offering prediction-market contracts. This decision marks a setback for the platform as it attempts to expand its footprint in the <em>U.S. gambling and prediction hub<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Widespread digital disruptions hit major platforms including Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon Web Services (AMZN), and Cloudflare (NET), with YouTube 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