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Capitalist Insider: Former China TV reporter is the alleged Nvidia spy

• Jensen Huang’s Chinese spy-affair bombshell hits Nvidia stock

• Futures rise as oil drops on Trump Iran peace signal

• Hyperscalers stack $296B in new debt as $685B comes due by 2027

• Hedge funds slash leverage hardest since Covid crash

• Bitcoin slides to $73,500 as Strategy buys more underwater

• Goldman panic index reaches 9.57 after midterm relief fade

• Trend funds set to sell $28 billion of SPX futures

• Goldman flags Nasdaq’s multi-year base trendline as critical

Jensen Huang’s Chinese spy-affair bombshell hits Nvidia stock

Nvidia shares fell 5-6% Monday after CEO Jensen Huang admitted an affair with MegaSpeed executive Alice Huang, whom U.S. officials identify as a Chinese intelligence asset, prompting the board to open an independent investigation while keeping him as CEO.

• Huang staff admission: Told employees “I was unfaithful to my wife,” remains in place pending the independent directors’ review of national-security concerns raised in weekend reports.

• Board position: Said it has “no reason to believe” national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised; Huang stays CEO during the inquiry.

• Alice Huang role: MegaSpeed executive at the Singapore cloud firm previously probed for helping China obtain Nvidia chips; Beijing rejected the spy claims as unsubstantiated.

• Market and political reaction: Stock on track to lose more than $230 billion in market value; Trump called Huang “honorable”; bipartisan lawmakers seeking scrutiny, with a House briefing set for Nov. 18.

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They went through worse and they bet everything on the American idea that markets and drive create wealth. We will not watch that edge get dulled.

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Futures rise as oil drops on Trump Iran peace signal

U.S. stock futures rose Monday as oil prices fell on hopes for Iran talks, with dip buyers shrugging off the Nvidia probe after the S&P 500’s worst week since April 2025.

• Futures levels: S&P futures up 0.9% and Dow futures up 1.1%; 10-year yield steady at 4.86%.

• Oil slide: WTI down 3.5% to $87.66 and Brent down 3.8% to $94.59 on Iran-talk hopes.

• Nvidia drag: Shares down 4-5% premarket on the board probe, yet broader indexes still pointed higher.

• Broader tape: Dow later rallied roughly 500 points as oil continued to slide and rotation out of AI into cyclicals continued.

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Hyperscalers stack $296B debt as $685B comes due by 2027

Goldman tallies hyperscaler lease and purchase commitments at $1.7 trillion and $1.9 trillion, with $685 billion due by the end of 2027, as year-to-date issuance already exceeds full-year forecasts.

• Off-balance sheet: ZeroHedge’s tracker hits $4.1 trillion (up $1 trillion in 90 days) versus $1.0 trillion of on-balance-sheet debt and leases.

• Issuance pace: Five deals totaling $67 billion since Oct. 29 pushed Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle year-to-date issuance to $296 billion versus Goldman’s $250 billion full-year forecast.

• Spread risk: AI-related spread risks tilt toward more widening into early December after the heavy issuance.

• Capex context: Debt-financed share of hyperscaler capex expected near 36% in 2026, with issuance peaking around $470 billion in 2028.

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Hedge funds slash leverage hardest since Covid crash

U.S. fundamental long-short funds made their largest weekly cut in gross leverage since Covid and biggest net cut since Liberation Day as AI-linked names were sold, leaving net leverage at five-year lows.

• Leverage drop: Gross leverage fell to 207.5% (26th percentile over the past year); net leverage now at five-year lows.

• AI selling: AI stocks net sold for a sixth straight session; trailing 20-day pace of global AI stock selling by hedge funds is the largest in more than five years (−3.0 standard deviations).

• Tech focus: Information technology was the most net-sold global sector, with the week’s percentage selling on par with the largest net-selling weeks on record since 2016.

• Positioning note: Net leverage reduction is still nowhere near levels seen earlier this year during the Iran war; gross rose month-over-month due to mark-to-market effects.

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Bitcoin slides to $73,500 as Strategy buys more underwater

Bitcoin fell to roughly $73,500 over the weekend after $1.28 billion in weekly ETF outflows, even as Strategy added another 1,036 coins and took its holding past 850,000.

• Price action: Bitcoin touched about $73,500 and broke below its 50-week average; liquidations neared $1 billion amid the Nvidia scandal and Iran tensions.

• Strategy purchase: Bought 1,036 bitcoin last week (about $82 million) while spending more than double that amount repurchasing STRC preferred shares.

• ETF flows: U.S. spot bitcoin funds saw about $1.28–$1.3 billion of weekly redemptions, turning 2026 flows negative as rate-hike bets rose.

• Broader crypto: Ether and XRP also slid; crypto stocks fell despite the Strategy buy.

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Goldman panic index reaches 9.57 after midterm relief fade

Goldman’s Vol Panic Index printed 9.57 on Nov. 5, returning to the panic zone with the largest two-day swing in series history after clients unwound protection mid-week and left the market underhedged into Thursday’s drop.

• Index spike: Reading of 9.57 marked the third-largest daily jump on record and the biggest two-day swing in the series.

• Underhedged setup: Clients aggressively cut protection during Wednesday’s relief rally, exposing the tape to Thursday’s reversal.

• Mag7 demand: Mag7 three-month put skew sits in the 89th percentile, showing concentrated downside hedging.

• Correlation: Nasdaq top-100 three-month implied correlation is back near Liberation Day peaks at 35.1%.

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Trend funds set to sell $28 billion of SPX futures

Goldman expects CTA signals negative across roughly 60% of global equity markets, including the S&P 500, with an estimated $28 billion of SPX futures selling over the next week.

• Near-term selling: $28 billion of S&P 500 futures selling is estimated for the next week.

• Month-ahead: Another $45 billion is projected over the next month, potentially pushing positioning net short.

• Key levels: Important S&P levels cited are 7,685 and 7,550.

• Coverage: Negative signals span about 60% of global equity markets.

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Goldman flags Nasdaq’s multi-year base trendline as critical

Goldman’s top tech specialist said the Nasdaq 100 is re-testing its base trendline from the April 2025 and March 2026 lows after a roughly 5% weekly drop, its fourth straight weekly loss.

• Trendline test: Friday’s NDX close near 26,990 sat about 1% above the line and 14% below the Oct. 6 high of 31,361.

• SOX damage: The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 28% over 22 days.

• Positioning context: The level is now the most important technical line for the tech complex after the recent rout.

• Broader note: A break would mark a deeper structural shift for the AI-led tape.

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Hello Capitalist Insiders!

• Former China TV reporter is the alleged Nvidia spy

• Strategy bought $208M preferred stock, just $65M in Bitcoin

• Wall Street’s biggest buyer is back: $5B daily

• Near-record earnings growth hides dangerous cracks

• Tech valuation hits multiyear low after AI rout

• The AI reckoning arrives: investors brace for more pain

• Inflation data & AI earnings collide this week, Things are going to get volatile.

• Whales move billions into BlackRock Bitcoin ETFs

Former China TV reporter is the alleged Nvidia spy

Alice Huang, the MegaSpeed executive at the center of the Nvidia China Spy Probe probe, moved from journalism into finance before joining the Singapore cloud firm previously scrutinized for Nvidia chip sales to China.

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Get the edge on what you need to know today:

Capitalist Insider: AI junk bonds face $17.3B blast radius as yields hit 16%

• Trump: “Dumocrats” just vaporized $2.3T from your 401k

• Nasdaq plunges into correction on AI data-center fears

• October jobs jump 165K, putting December hike back in play

• VIX surges in biggest jump since April amid AI rout

• Tech hedge funds erase entire 2026 gains in one day

• Democrats demand national data-center moratorium after midterms

• Analysts split on buying the AI dip after Thursday’s rout

• Retail traders dump most stocks in a day since Covid

• Selloff spreads to every S&P sector in $1.7 trillion drop

Trump: “Dumocrats” just vaporized $2.3T from your 401k

President Trump pinned Thursday’s steep equity decline on the Democratic midterm sweep, writing that 401(k)s had dropped and that the market suffered one of its worst days in history based on the election results.

• Truth Social posts: Trump wrote that the market “suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election” and told followers “it wasn’t Republicans, it was Dumocrats.”

• Market numbers cited: The Dow fell 1,833 points, or 3.44%, the Nasdaq dropped 5.52% and entered correction territory, and the S&P 500 declined 4.36%.

• Recovery pledge: Trump said the market would soon be “BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE,” one way or the other.

• One-day reversal: The selloff wiped out Wednesday’s post-election gains, with AI and chip stocks leading the decline.

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Your money matters. We are not going anywhere.

The climb ahead is steep and the market can be cruel. But Americans built fortunes from raw ambition! The railroad barons who opened a continent, the oil wildcatters who drilled through dry holes until the gusher hit, the traders who turned American free enterprise into the world’s capital of capital.

They went through worse and they bet everything on the American idea that markets and drive create wealth. We will not watch that edge get dulled.

We press for prosperity every session, even through the drawdowns, the way the builders of this country did.

All of us here at The Capitalist appreciate your support, your loyalty and your time to read us everyday, so we make this promise to you.

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We are not going anywhere.

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October jobs jump 165K, putting December hike back in play

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, more than double consensus expectations, as the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% and put a December rate hike back on the table.

• Private payrolls surge: Private employment rose 159,000, with professional and business services adding 70,000 jobs, well above the prior-year monthly average.

• Revisions lift prior months: August and September were revised higher by a combined 84,000, reinforcing the strength of the labor market heading into the print.

• Unemployment dips: The jobless rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%, against expectations it would hold steady, while average hourly earnings rose 0.4% month-over-month.

• Yields climb on data: Two-year Treasury yields rose as much as 7 basis points as traders priced roughly 70% odds of a quarter-point hike at the December meeting.

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Nasdaq plunges into correction on AI data-center fears

The Nasdaq Composite slid more than 5% Thursday into correction territory, more than 10% below its October high, as a Democratic midterm sweep ignited fears that new data-center rules could slow the AI buildout.

• Democratic sweep drives selloff: Investors dumped AI and chip shares after Democrats took both chambers, with Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa having campaigned on an immediate moratorium on data-center approvals.

• Chip index bloodbath: The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12%, its worst day since March 2020, while Nvidia dropped more than 9% as hyperscalers and related names also sank.

• Trillions erased overnight: Roughly $2.5 trillion vanished from U.S. equities in the session, reversing Wednesday’s post-election bounce and sending the S&P 500 down more than 4%.

• Friday bounce attempt: Nasdaq futures pointed higher early Friday as dip-buyers stepped in, though the move recovered only a fraction of Thursday’s losses.

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VIX surges in biggest jump since April amid AI rout

Wall Street’s fear gauge jumped as much as 5.7 points to above 28 on Thursday, its largest low-to-high swing since April, as the tech selloff caught few options traders prepared.

• Largest move since April: From its intraday low to high, the VIX moved more than 11 points, the biggest one-day swing since April 9, and closed near its highest level since March 31.

• Options scramble: Nearly 800,000 VIX calls traded by midday, roughly 3.5 times the 30-day average, as traders rushed for protection.

• Liquidation tape: One trader described the action as a liquidation rather than a macro-driven move, with oil and rates relatively stable while the equity tape deteriorated.

• Vol-control selling: Mechanical strategies and leveraged ETF flows added to the pressure, with Nomura estimating tens of billions in volatility-related selling into the close.

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Tech hedge funds erase entire 2026 gains in one day

TMT hedge funds fell more than 4% on Thursday and are now roughly flat to slightly positive year-to-date, wiping out a roughly 24% AI windfall built earlier in the year, according to Goldman’s Prime desk.

• Round-trip complete: The one-day hit erased the gains accumulated before the June/July AI selloff, leaving the group essentially back to even for 2026.

• Nasdaq context: The move came as the Nasdaq suffered its worst session since the early Covid period, with mechanical and leveraged flows amplifying the decline.

• Positioning reset: Gross longs that had tracked hyperscaler performance were reduced, leaving less residual demand to absorb further selling.

• Prime desk update: Goldman’s end-of-day note framed the performance as a sharp reversal after months of AI-driven outperformance.

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Democrats demand national data-center moratorium after midterms

Bernie Sanders and other Democrats called for a national data-center moratorium after their midterm sweep, citing voter referendums and state-level campaigns that targeted AI infrastructure.

• Sanders call: Sanders wrote “National data center moratorium now,” arguing Americans do not want Big Tech oligarchs wrecking the environment or gutting jobs.

• State-level pledges: Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on a moratorium on new approvals, while other incoming Democratic governors in key buildout states signaled similar pauses.

• Voter signal: A CNBC poll found 56% of voters said AI and data centers were crucial or major factors, and 65% of those voters backed Democratic candidates.

• Capacity at risk: Democratic-won states account for a substantial share of planned U.S. data-center capacity, raising questions about the pace of the AI buildout.

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Analysts split on buying the AI dip after Thursday’s rout

Dan Ives called the tech selloff a golden buying opportunity for marquee names, while other strategists warned against catching falling knives as the Nasdaq entered correction territory.

• Ives view: Ives said the pullback in Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia is overdone and comparable to the Covid and tariff selloffs, framing it as a chance to add to core holdings.

• Caveats remain: Barron’s live coverage noted calls to buy the dip but flagged ongoing questions about data-center timelines and whether the AI trade can recover quickly.

• Against the dip: David Bahnsen and others argued investors should not chase the decline, pointing to the risk that oversold conditions can stay oversold.

• Modest Friday bounce: Early Friday gains recovered only a fraction of Thursday’s losses, leaving the broader trend still under pressure.

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Retail traders dump most stocks in a day since Covid

Retail investors sold a net $338 million of single stocks on Thursday, the largest one-day outflow since March 2020, according to Vanda Research.

• Largest since 2020: The outflow marked the biggest single-day retail selling of individual names since the early pandemic crash.

• Concentration in tech: The selling hit AI and chip-related names hardest as the broader market reversed Wednesday’s gains.

• Contrast with prior day: Retail activity had been more constructive earlier in the week before the midterm results and AI fears accelerated the decline.

• Broader tape: The move coincided with heavy institutional and mechanical selling, amplifying the overall session loss.

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Selloff spreads to every S&P sector in $1.7 trillion drop

The decline expanded beyond AI names to every S&P 500 sector on Thursday, contributing to a roughly $1.7 trillion drop in the index as safe-haven assets outperformed.

• Broad participation: All 11 S&P sectors finished lower, with financials, industrials and consumer names joining the tech-led selling.

• Safe havens hold: Two defensive assets gained ground amid the carnage, providing relative shelter as equity volatility spiked.

• Low-vol outperformance: The Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF fell only about 1%, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin.

• Financials hit: Banks and brokerages including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood and Webull declined sharply as the selloff caught the group.

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Hello Capitalist Insiders!

• AI junk bonds face $17.3B blast radius as yields hit 16%

• Dip-buyers scavenge AI wreckage as Nasdaq futures bounce 1.3%

• Oil set for 16% weekly crash as Dems eye Iran de-escalation

• House Democrats eye crypto bill that hands power to the SEC

• Musk, Zuck and Bezos face Dem subpoena storm after midterms

• Bessent doubles down on Iran sanctions after midterm losses

• Florida voters slash homestead taxes as exemption hits $250k

AI junk bonds face $17.3B blast radius as yields hit 16%

Seven AI junk bonds totaling about $17.3 billion that back data-center projects in newly Democratic states have already been marked down about 5 points, nearly four times the decline in the rest of the $45.6 billion universe.

Read more

Todays brutal market crash gave a preview of what the next two years are likely going to look like under an Anti-AI Democrat Congress.

Chat GPT may still respond, Claude may still say hello, but America’s AI future is on life support. For all practical purposes AI advancement in America ceased to exist on the night of November 3rd.

The incoming Democratic House and Senate aim to put the brakes on AI, and with it America will sign its own digital death warrant, and the cost is going to be beyond anyones comprehension.

The Democratic sweep of the elections means that the landscape has changed entirely when it comes to AI. The free market approach is over and the age of government regulation is here.

Small-minded, vindictive politicians, many of whom have the flimsiest of grasps on what they seek to regulate, are seeking to impose their views and will on an industry that will be central to the world for decades to come. (Bookmark this: In time we will see the heads of AI dragged before Congress like the heads of Big Tobacco.)

The consequences of the next two years will be far-reaching, catastrophic, will likely be unrecoverable and it only took two days to see it start.

So here are five things that every incoming militant Democrat ought to know before they run their mouth anymore:

-Continues Below

Your money matters. We are not going anywhere.

The climb ahead is steep and the market can be cruel. But Americans built fortunes from raw ambition! The railroad barons who opened a continent, the oil wildcatters who drilled through dry holes until the gusher hit, the traders who turned American free enterprise into the world’s capital of capital.

They went through worse and they bet everything on the American idea that markets and drive create wealth. We will not watch that edge get dulled.

We press for prosperity every session, even through the drawdowns, the way the builders of this country did.

All of us here at The Capitalist appreciate your support, your loyalty and your time to read us everyday, so we make this promise to you.

Your money matters. We will staff the desks that bring you the news and information that matters so you can do what you do best, build your American Dream.

Subscribe

We are not going anywhere.

-Piece continues

First, there is a fundamental failure to understand where the AI industry is right now.

The AI industry has operated in a start-up mentality. It built its product, it was popular, and to get profitable it borrowed heavily to grow its capacity to reach that profitability. As Anthropic’s IPO documents revealed, these firms’ revenue is DWARFED by the scale of the loans and obligations they have signed.

We have covered before the scale of these loans and the threat they pose to these firms, but to now add restrictions, regulations, taxes, and levies on top of this already fragile arrangement is financial suicide.

The government regulation that Democrats will seek to impose will cover taxes on profits (that have not been made), environmental regulations on data center build-outs (that have not been built), as well as strangling the power generation facilities that the firms need to power the growth needed to become profitable in the first place!

There is the small matter of who is on the hook (you are, not the government…..yet)

The cost of the AI build-out in America is largely built on investments by private credit and pension firms. When you see a headline that says “X hundreds of billions to be invested by Z firm into Y project,” that money—be it bond raises or investment capital—has to come from somewhere. It’s come from the guys running your 401K.

If those investments go bad, (and they are starting to) then there is no return. Thats when the dominos start to fall. We have covered the “cockroaches” in pension funds before.

Most people have no idea if they are exposed; the first sign they might get will be when their 401K tanks because a data center they were unknowingly invested in gets denied or shut down.

And let’s not even talk about what this would do to the stock market.

Tell me how Democrats don’t understand economics without TELLING me that Democrats don’t understand economics.

Well, heaving a brick at the one sector that has carried the US economy is a good place to start.

Rightly or wrongly (we’re not here to talk about the merits of it), the concentration of growth in the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ is in AI. It’s a fact the S&P would not be where it is right now if not for AI and the firms associated with it.

Chipmakers like NVIDIA and AMD and stocks involved in the AI build-out (memory, optical, biotech) have surged because America has led the way. If Democrats do what they say they will, all of that will vanish and the market will implode. You think people are pissed about the Iran War being a bad idea? Just wait till they see their investments replaced with a smoking crater.

On top of that, the left seeks to control the AI firms.

Already there are calls to nationalize SpaceX and seize it from Elon Musk (and worse!)

This is a blatant, politically motivated revenge play, especially when certain AI companies have all but begged for government support as their debts and obligations spiral beyond the GDP of small nations, but in the end it won’t matter—the results will be the same.

Because at no point has the federal government been able to run ANYTHING efficiently. They can’t fix the potholes in the streets or prevent government programs from being defrauded to the tune of billions, yet apparently Congress in its infinite wisdom can regulate AI. Also it won’t stop at regulation. Full control will come.

We all lived through the Biden years, do you want to live in a world circa 2020 where AI has become a mini Dr Fauci in your pocket? Wired in to everything that you do? I suspect not.

And then there is the 8,000-pound gorilla in the room.

China

In the past few weeks we have already seen glimpses of the dark side of what AI can do. The hacks, the rogue agents. If Democrats seek to hamper home-grown AI at every turn, this will have cataclysmic results for Americans because we will be, for the first time, outgunned on the battlefield.

America has enjoyed superiority in combat practically since the days of the P-51 Mustang over Germany. In the future that will not exist.

Americans have been lulled into a sense of security because it is “generally” accepted that American AI models are “better” than other models. If Democrats slow the pace of development, the lead that America currently enjoys will evaporate and vanish.

Expert opinions vary, but broadly China is thought to be roughly a year to anywhere as little as 6 months behind America when it comes to AI development.

America needs the best tools it can have in this new fight. Democrat actions will hamper that. It would be like putting a 50 mpg gas restriction on a B-52. Great for the environment, not so great for long-range strike capability.

The wars of the future will largely be fought on the internet, in ways the average person will see (refrigerators switching off to create food scarcity or bank and crypto accounts being drained) to more nefarious and Machiavellian things like manipulating the algorithms on the content you see to sway people on certain subjects.

We already saw this on TikTok. In China what is served is content about how to be a good citizen. In the rest of the world it is content designed to unpick the cohesive fabric of society. You think that happened by accident?

In the future it will happen and you won’t even know it’s happening. Where do you think all the Anti-AI sentiment came from in the last few months? 43 out of 44 data center moratoriums passed this week.

Do you really think that all the people who voted against data centers knew what they were voting for? That it would affect their 401K? That it would wipe trillions of dollars off of their investments? One suspects not. They watched TikTok and were told “Data centers BAD.”

If Democrats walk down this path, as they almost certainly will, it will be the end of America’s position in the world. The glittering AI future will not belong to America. It might be a footnote in history, but given that China will likely win, it will likely be scrubbed as effectively as a certain incident in a certain Square.

America may have voted blue because they were mad about the Iran war, or the price of gas, or inflation. It is highly unlikely that the incoming Democrats will fix any of those things. They are fixated on subpoenaing everyone from Trump on down, banning guns and impeaching and arresting everyone they don’t like. Fixing gas prices is lower on the list.

What is absolutely certain is that if the incoming Congress pursues a misguided vendetta against AI, America will lose “Bigly”.

It’s already happening.

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Capitalist Insider: Bank of England hikes rates as Iran war keeps inflation burning

🚨BREAKING🚨 Nasdaq crashes into correction as tech dump erases the ENTIRE midterm rally

• Oil crashes below $90 as Vance blames Iran war for GOP rout

• Voters crush data centers: 40 of 41 ballot measures rejected

• Chip stocks plunge as AI purge hits day two after midterms

• Trump tells CNBC he can work with Democrats on far more issues

• Democrats map affordability and oversight push after midterm sweep

• Big Oil fears blue-wave fallout despite strong price year

🚨BREAKING🚨
Nasdaq crashes into correction as tech dump erases the ENTIRE midterm rally

The Nasdaq crashed 3.9% into correction territory Thursday while the Dow dropped more than 1,000 points, wiping out most of Wednesday’s post-election gains as traders dumped AI and chip stocks.

• Index moves locked: The Nasdaq Composite lost 1,168.52 points to 24,567.99; the S&P 500 fell 2.8% and the Dow slid 1,153 points, or 2.2%.

• Tech and chips hit: Broadcom and Nvidia each dropped about 6%, Qualcomm fell 11% on a weak outlook, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF sank 11% in its worst day since March 2020.

• Neoclouds and Musk names: CoreWeave lost 9%, Nebius 13% and Iren 14%; Tesla fell 9% and SpaceX 7%.

• Midterm driver: The sell-off followed Democratic wins that raised fears of slower data-center buildouts and a cooler AI capex cycle after the prior session’s relief rally.

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Oil crashes below $90 as Vance blames Iran war for GOP rout

Crude tumbled more than 8% Wednesday after Vice President JD Vance pinned Republican midterm losses on the Iran conflict, lifting hopes for a faster diplomatic exit and stripping the war-risk premium.

• Vance pins the loss: He posted that “the reason we lost is the war” and that “the president himself said so last night.”

• WTI and Brent settle: WTI fell 8.3% to $88.12 while Brent dropped 8.7% to $94.62, a two-month low.

• Deal incentive rises: Lipow Oil’s Andy Lipow said the results lead the market to conclude Trump might now be inclined to make a deal.

• UBS sees a floor: Dominic Ellis noted fundamentals still provide support with another $10–$15 of premium near $95 even as Brent tracks its worst week since COVID.

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Voters crush data centers: 40 of 41 ballot measures rejected

Voters backed restrictions or bans on data centers in 40 of 41 local measures across 10 states, sending a clear signal against rapid AI infrastructure growth.

• Texas flips governor: Gina Hinojosa unseated Greg Abbott on a platform that includes an immediate moratorium on new data centers.

• Goldman capacity hit: The bank sees moratoria potentially freezing 45% of planned U.S. capacity, with Texas projects especially exposed.

• Opposition surge: Share of Americans who “strongly oppose” a nearby data center rose from 24% to 61% in under a year.

• Energy stocks punished: Constellation and other power providers to giant facilities sold off as the blue wave took hold.

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Chip stocks plunge as AI purge hits day two after midterms

Qualcomm tumbled roughly 10% on a weak outlook and the broader semiconductor complex stayed under pressure as the post-election rotation out of AI accelerated.

• Semis valuation gap: Forward multiples on semiconductors sit at 13.8x, a 25% discount to the S&P and the widest since December 2018.

• Qualcomm guide weak: Soft chip-design margins and a cautious outlook weighed on the name and peers including Arm and Micron.

• Rotation continues: Staples, financials and healthcare held up while AI-linked hardware and neocloud names stayed soft.

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Trump tells CNBC he can work with Democrats on far more issues

President Trump struck a conciliatory note in a post-election call with CNBC, saying he can work with the new Democratic Congress on “many more things than people understand.”

• Conciliatory tone: He raised areas of potential overlap including trade views he said align with Bernie Sanders and financial items that could be mutually beneficial.

• Tariffs stay: He indicated he would not want to remove tariffs but left room for other deals.

• Markets digest: Futures cooled Thursday as investors weighed the new divided-government setup against ongoing AI caution.

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Democrats map affordability and oversight push after midterm sweep

Congressional Democrats plan a flurry of affordability and anti-corruption bills when they take power in January, setting up early clashes with the White House.

• Jeffries on impeachment: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said no Democrat has raised impeaching Trump with him and the focus is affordability and accountability.

• Agenda priorities: CNBC reported plans centered on household costs, health insurance, taxes and student loans.

• Oversight tone: Expected Oversight chair Robert Garcia posted “Lawyer up” shortly after the House flipped.

• No veto-proof majority: Activists push investigations, but the lack of a supermajority limits what can pass over a presidential veto.

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Big Oil fears blue-wave fallout despite strong price year

Energy executives see a demand-driven decade ahead from AI and population growth, yet the Democratic sweep raises fresh questions about permitting and the Iran-war premium.

• Leaders’ outlook: BP and Baker Hughes chiefs described a demand decade of investment tempered by geopolitics and price uncertainty.

• Price collapse: Wednesday’s oil drop of more than 8% underscored how quickly the blue-wave outcome repriced the conflict.

• Permitting risk: Analysts flagged that a Democratic Congress could slow or condition new energy infrastructure.

• Stocks under pressure: Energy names lagged the broader relief rally as traders weighed the policy shift.

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• Bank of England hikes rates as Iran war keeps inflation burning

• AppLovin and Unity rocket 18%+ as AI ads crush the Street

• Social Security hits wall in 2032: automatic 22% benefit cuts

• Data center backlash hands Big Tech a massive monopoly gift

• Nintendo profit plunges as Switch 2 sales crash 37%

• Toyota hikes profit forecast on hybrid boom and weak yen

Bank of England hikes rates as Iran war keeps inflation burning

The Bank of England delivered a rate hike as oil rebounded and the chip purge continued, marking the first increase since the conflict started.

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• Tesla and Space X tank as Dems sweep 2026

• AMD data center surge kills AI spend panic

• Democratic wins put AI data center buildouts at risk

• Musk’s $474M Texas bet fails

• Super Micro revenue nearly quadruples to $20B on AI

• CVS plans 2028 split to break up pharmacy and insurance

• Oil slips as Trump ties midterm loss to Iran war and prices

• Palantir hits first $2B quarter as commercial surpasses gov

Tesla and Space X tank as Dems sweep 2026

Dow futures and the index surged nearly 1,000 points Wednesday after Democrats flipped the Senate and House, sparking a relief rally even as SpaceX and Tesla fell on Texas results and AI regulatory fears.

• Relief rally takes hold: Futures turned green as the blue wave became clear; the Dow later jumped 975 points while S&P and Nasdaq also advanced.

• Musk names lag: SpaceX and Tesla dropped in premarket trading after all Ai moratoriums on the ballots passed; CoreWeave and other AI infrastructure names also lagged.

• Tuesday mixed close: The Dow fell 0.4% while the S&P rose 0.4% and Nasdaq gained 0.8% on chip strength ahead of results.

• AI muddy: Markets liked the gridlock potential, but AI-linked shares saw muted gains on concerns over data-center rules and spending.

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AMD data center surge lifts AI based stocks

AMD shares jumped after third-quarter results showed data-center revenue nearly doubling and a strong fourth-quarter outlook that calmed worries about an AI spending slowdown.

• Data center surge: Segment revenue rose 97% to roughly $8.5 billion as total quarterly revenue climbed 45% to about $13.4 billion.

• Guidance strong: Management guided fourth-quarter revenue near $17 billion; 2027 growth is expected above 80%.

• Demand quote: CEO Lisa Su said AI demand remains robust and the company is expanding capacity to meet it.

• Market reaction: Shares advanced in after-hours and premarket trading, helping lift chip names even as broader AI infrastructure lagged on election news.

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Democratic wins put AI data center buildout at risk

Gina Hinojosa’s victory in the Texas governor’s race and local ballot measures rejecting data centers raised the risk of moratoriums and tighter rules that could slow the AI infrastructure rollout.

• Texas blow: Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott after campaigning to halt new data-center construction, ending decades of Republican control.

• Local bans: Voters in more than 30 communities across nine states approved limits or moratoriums on data-center projects.

• Stocks react: AI data-center and infrastructure names dipped premarket on fears of regulatory hurdles in Texas, Ohio, and Georgia.

• Cost context: One analysis put the all-in cost of a U.S. AI data center near $49 billion per gigawatt, up sharply from three years earlier.

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Musk’s $474M Texas bet fails

SpaceX and Tesla shares fell early Wednesday after Elon Musk’s heavy Republican donations failed to stop Democratic wins in Texas’s Senate and governor races, putting his relocated empire under new scrutiny.

• Stocks hit hard: Premarket declines hit both names as results showed Democrats taking Texas; one analysis framed the moves as major hurdles for AI build-out tied to Musk.

• Donations miss: Musk spent heavily in Texas; the outcome left him with fewer political allies in the state where he moved operations from California.

• Qualcomm deal: SpaceX signed a multiyear agreement to use Qualcomm’s Dragonwing hardware and software in base stations for its Starlink Mobile network, challenging the big carriers.

• Analyst view: Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas now sees SpaceX generating positive free cash flow by 2031, four years earlier than previously expected, with Starship Flight 15 as a potential catalyst.

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Super Micro revenue nearly quadruples to $20B on AI

Super Micro Computer shares jumped more than 7% after fiscal first-quarter results showed revenue nearly quadrupling to $20 billion on surging AI server demand, with guidance also topping estimates.

• Blowout quarter: Profit reached $1.59 billion, or $1.75 a share, as AI infrastructure orders drove the top-line surge.

• Demand scale: An executive said a single AI order is now large enough to exceed an entire quarter from a year earlier.

• Stock reaction: Shares rose over 7% after hours and premarket; analysts called the print one of the best of the season.

• Outlook strong: Full-year guidance came in above prior targets as the company expands capacity for hyperscaler and AI customers.

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CVS plans 2028 split to break up pharmacy and insurance

CVS Health said it will break into two publicly traded companies by the first half of 2028, separating its drugstore operations from Aetna and the PBM while raising its full-year outlook after a beat.

• Breakup timeline: The split unwinds the $78 billion 2018 Aetna deal; one company will hold the 9,000-plus drugstores, the other the insurance and care businesses.

• Earnings beat: Adjusted EPS of $2.09 topped the $1.65 expected; the company raised guidance on strength in health-care benefits and pharmacy.

• Market focus: Investors weighed the strategic shift against risks in a federal drug program that had created a cliffhanger on the prior call.

• Strategic context: The move comes as pressure mounts on vertical integration in healthcare; Reuters and others traced the empire’s assembly before the planned dismantling.

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Oil slips as Trump ties midterm loss to Iran war and prices

Crude prices eased Wednesday after President Trump linked Republican midterm losses to the Iran war and high pump prices, while physical markets flipped from bidding war to fire sale as Gulf barrels returned.

• Trump connection: Markets assessed the political shift; Trump explicitly tied the defeat to high gasoline prices and the Iran conflict.

• Physical market: Dated Brent and North Sea Forties, which had stayed parabolic above $140 earlier, saw Gulf flows via ship-to-ship transfers exceed demand.

• Price levels: Brent traded near $104 and WTI near $97 amid choppy trading; Dubai benchmark slipped into contango for the first time since July.

• Supply view: JPMorgan said rising Middle East exports and softer demand are pushing the global market back into surplus; Goldman lifted its year-end Brent call to $105.

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Palantir hits first $2B quarter as commercial surpasses gov

Palantir CEO Alex Karp signaled he wants to dominate the entire market after the company posted its first $2 billion quarter, even as shares slid on slower contract momentum and commercial bookings concerns.

• Milestone quarter: Revenue nearly doubled; American commercial customers generated more revenue than government clients for the first time after a 148% surge.

• Karp stance: The CEO used the shareholder letter to declare traditional enterprise software sales “dead” and push for broader dominance.

• Stock reaction: Shares fell despite the beat and raised targets from some analysts; ARK bought the dip while investors focused on contract growth.

• Backlog signal: Slower contract momentum and new deal structures weighed on the narrative even as AI demand accelerated.

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Capitalist Insider: Trump teases “Mr. Veto” role and preemptive pardons if Dems sweep

• Blue wave to freeze AI centers dead on Election Day ballot

• Ternus Apple beats but memory costs crush holiday margins

• Anthropic’s $17B quarter hides an $895B compute bomb

• Qeshm strike erases Monday’s biggest oil drop since July

• AI bounce dies as tech enters Election Day correction

• Marvell plunges on $115B all-stock Lumentum deal

• Palantir slides as new contract growth slows despite the beat

• Dow futures drop on Election Day as Apple and Palantir slide

Blue wave to freeze AI centers dead on Election Day ballot

Americans vote Tuesday with prediction markets giving Democrats a 94% chance of the House and 78% of the Senate, as Ed Yardeni warned a sweep could deliver a cold shower for stocks and AI data-center anger put Oracle and utilities at risk.

• Markets not pricing the sweep: CNBC noted stocks are not fully pricing a Democratic sweep, so a blue wave could hit shares Wednesday while a GOP hold may spark a relief rally.

• Historical post-midterm pattern: The S&P 500 has risen in the year after every midterm since 1982, averaging about 0.2% after a day and 1.1% after a month across elections from 1980 to 2024.

• Yardeni cold-shower warning: A Democratic sweep could chill equities through gridlock and pressure on valuations, unlike the usual preference for divided government.

• AI data centers on ballot: Voter anger over AI data centers could show up in results, putting Oracle and utility stocks in the crosshairs.

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• This extremely powerful card gives you 0% intro APR into 2028 on balance transfers and purchases.

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Ternus Apple beats but memory costs crush holiday margins

In John Ternus’s first quarter as CEO, Apple posted record September-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion and $2.10 EPS, yet shares slid about 3% after he guided December gross margin to 45%-46% on unprecedented memory prices.

• iPhone and services lead the beat: iPhone revenue rose 17% to $57.58 billion and services hit a record $31.6 billion, though growth slowed to 9.8%, the lowest since 2023.

• Margin guide trails Street: December gross margin of 45%-46% versus 46.3% expected, driven by higher memory costs and the Siri AI ramp; Ternus called prices unprecedented.

• Inventory and China flags: Inventory surged 154% to $14.5 billion and Greater China missed in reports, while Duo supply timing remains hard to predict.

• Analysts mostly constructive: Several raised targets despite the soft outlook after the 12% revenue gain to a record fiscal year of $478.8 billion.

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Anthropic’s $17B quarter hides an $895B compute bomb

Anthropic’s amended S-1 showed third-quarter revenue near $17 billion, up more than 1,100%, yet the company swung back to a $567 million operating loss while disclosing $895.4 billion in spending commitments.

• Revenue explosion versus loss: Q3 revenue of $16.96 billion rose 1,127% year-over-year, but GAAP operating profit lasted only one quarter before the $567 million loss.

• Compute commitments dominate: Nearly $900 billion committed, $69.8 billion due within 12 months and extending to 2045, second only to Google, with plans to double capacity toward 7 gigawatts.

• Valuation pressure mounts: Investors pushed for a more cautious $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion IPO range; Dan Ives called an expected junk rating a gut punch.

• Governance and red flags: Public shareholders lack voting power and nine-month net losses reached $104 billion amid the growth.

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Qeshm strike erases Monday’s biggest oil drop since July

Crude plunged Monday on hopes of U.S.-Iran diplomacy, the largest decline since July, then rebounded Tuesday after reports of a U.S. strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island renewed supply concerns.

• Monday’s sharp selloff: Brent fell about 3% to $101.54 and WTI toward $94, with accounts of a 7-8% plunge on circulating peace drafts and Trump comments.

• Tuesday rebound on strike: January Brent rose 1.8% to $106.63 after the reported Qeshm Island action dimmed near-term deal hopes.

• Goldman lifts 2027 forecast: Struyven raised December 2027 Brent to $105 from $90, citing a larger geopolitical risk premium even as output recovers.

• Backwardation and flows: Brent 1-month/6-month ratio near war-era levels; some notes that reported normal flows exclude Iranian barrels and diesel/LNG shortfalls.

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AI bounce dies as tech enters Election Day correction

The information technology sector entered correction territory, down more than 10% from its recent record, after Monday’s AI rebound collapsed and the Nasdaq fell 1.1% in its largest intraday reversal since January.

• Equal-weight outperformance: The equal-weight S&P rose 1.1% versus 0.2% for the cap-weighted index, showing most stocks holding up as megacap AI names faltered.

• Nasdaq 100 in correction: The Nasdaq 100 closed more than 10% below its Oct. 6 peak, with chip stocks reversing early gains.

• VIX and calm fear: The VIX touched its highest since April but closed at 19.4 after a near-2% S&P drop, leaving options pros noting an unreactive gauge.

• Defensive rotation: Buying in Walmart, Berkshire and Lilly added hundreds of billions while chips sold off; Santoli argued the bull market still needs tech recovery.

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Marvell plunges on $115B all-stock Lumentum deal

Marvell fell sharply after unveiling a $115 billion all-stock acquisition of Lumentum, with the stock punished as investors digested the large AI optical bet amid a broader tech selloff.

• Deal size and structure: The all-stock transaction valued Lumentum at $115 billion, with exchange terms that left both names under pressure on the announcement.

• Market reaction: Marvell dropped about 13% and Lumentum fell hard as the AI trade faltered and oil plunged on the same day.

• Strategic rationale: The combination aims to expand addressable market in optical and AI infrastructure, though timing and integration risks weighed on shares.

• Broader context: The deal landed as chip stocks reversed earlier gains and the info tech sector moved into correction territory.

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Palantir slides as new contract growth slows despite the beat

Palantir reported strong quarterly results but the stock tumbled as new contract growth slowed and deal lengths shortened, adding to pressure on AI software names heading into Election Day.

• Revenue strength: The company posted solid top-line growth with commercial momentum, though total contract value growth decelerated sharply from prior quarters.

• Contract slowdown: New contract growth cooled and average deal duration shortened, raising questions about the sustainability of the AI software ramp.

• Stock reaction: Shares fell in after-hours and premarket trading alongside Apple as investors rotated out of high-multiple AI names.

• Market context: The drop fit a broader pattern of AI-related stocks giving back gains as the Nasdaq moved into correction territory.

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Dow futures drop on Election Day as Apple and Palantir slide

Dow futures fell 0.8% as Americans headed to the polls, with investors de-risking defensively and Apple and Palantir leading premarket declines after their earnings reports.

• Premarket pressure: S&P 500 futures slipped while the Dow took the brunt of selling as blue chips faced Election Day caution.

• Earnings movers: Apple and Palantir weighed on tech after their reports, while other names like Pfizer showed relative strength on guidance.

• Defensive posture: Investors reduced risk heading into results, with the broader AI trade still under pressure from the prior session’s reversal.

• Oil and geopolitics: Mixed signals from Iran added to the cautious tone as futures traded mixed to lower.

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• Trump teases “Mr. Veto” role and preemptive pardons if Dems sweep

• 74% of voters rate the economy negatively as affordability dominates

• Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to toss 20,000 suspect California ballots

• Active managers crush October as tech finally slips

• VIX hits highest since April then closes at 19.4 after sharp drop

• Shopify plunges after Q3 revenue and gross profit miss

• Pfizer hikes outlook to $62-64B sales after solid Q3 beat

• Yardeni: Street’s $500 S&P earnings by 2028 too optimistic

Trump teases Mr. Veto role and preemptive pardons if Dems sweep

Donald Trump told Fox News he would become Mr. Veto and govern by veto until a deal is cut if Democrats win the House or Senate, while floating preemptive pardons ahead of Tuesday’s midterms.

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Capitalist Insider: Gen Z fragrance craze lifts Estée Lauder sales 6.7%

• Oil crashes below $100 as Trump-Iran peace talks suddenly look real

• North Korea steals $6.4B from Binance in 20 minutes then $3.6B flees

• Marvell drops $115B bomb on Lumentum to own AI’s optical future

• Stocks rebound hard as oil crashes below $100 ahead of midterms and Apple

• Speculators dump $19.5B in gold as it smashes through $4,000

• OpenAI slashes funding round to $20B as Abu Dhabi takes the lead

• Ryanair warns fares could jump 20% as Iran war freezes wages

• Hedge funds go underweight AI for first time since 2023

Oil crashes below $100 as Trump-Iran peace talks suddenly look real

Crude tumbled more than 6% Monday as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Trump prefers a diplomatic end to the Iran war, pushing WTI under $100 ahead of the midterms.

• Price plunge: Brent fell 6.2% to $106.37 a barrel and WTI 6.2% to $97.63 after Rubio noted Trump has not decided but favors peace over force.

• Diplomacy signals: Iranian officials indicated a deal remains possible after two days of Qatar-mediated talks if demands are met tangibly.

• Leader response: Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered armed forces to meet any threat with an immediate, unrestricted response.

• Market lift: Lower oil helped stock futures rebound as investors returned to risk assets following last week’s tech selloff.

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• This extremely powerful card gives you 0% intro APR into 2028 on balance transfers and purchases.

• That’s right — you can now finance large purchases you’ve been sitting on without paying massive interest. Or, transfer crippling high interest debt to this card and let your payments go directly to paying down your balance, without piling on additional interest charges — all with no annual fee.

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North Korea steals $6.4B from Binance in 20 minutes then $3.6B flees

Binance logged $3.64 billion in net outflows, about 2.1% of its $171 billion in assets, after reopening withdrawals following its record $6.3 billion hack that the FBI blamed on North Korea.

• Hack scale: The theft, attributed by the FBI to North Korean hackers under the TraderTraitor operation, ranks as the largest crypto heist on record.

• Coverage status: Binance said it has replenished roughly 95% of the stolen amount using company funds and will absorb the remaining impact rather than pass losses to users.

• Withdrawal pace: Most of the net outflows occurred in the first hours after phased resumption began Sunday; volumes later stabilized.

• Market reaction: Bitcoin held near $78,000 as the exchange restored access across networks, with some less liquid tokens still limited.

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Marvell drops $115B bomb on Lumentum to own AI’s optical future

Marvell agreed to buy optical-parts maker Lumentum in an all-stock deal with an implied $115 billion enterprise value, positioning the combined company as a leader in AI data-center connectivity.

• Deal terms: Lumentum shareholders receive 4.5 Marvell shares for each of theirs, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2028.

• CEO framing: Matt Murphy called the move a once-in-a-generation opportunity as AI infrastructure shifts toward optical connectivity.

• Share reaction: Both stocks fell in premarket trading, with Marvell down about 3% and Lumentum about 4% below the implied deal value.

• Strategic context: The acquisition expands Marvell’s optical reach for chips used to train and run large language models amid ongoing AI infrastructure spending.

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Stocks rebound hard as oil crashes below $100 ahead of midterms and Apple

U.S. futures rose Monday as cheaper oil and Middle East diplomacy hopes encouraged buyers after last week’s tech selloff, with midterms and Apple’s first report under John Ternus ahead.

• Futures move: Index futures climbed, with Nasdaq up about 0.6% and broader benchmarks higher as WTI fell back under $100.

• Tech bounce: Semiconductors recovered some of Friday’s 7.2% SOX drop, though the Nasdaq 100 had its worst October month in a year.

• Apple focus: New CEO John Ternus faces investors after the close amid scrutiny of the $2,000 iPhone Duo and rising memory costs.

• Midterm backdrop: Early voting has already topped 53.6 million, with strategists watching for gridlock that markets have historically welcomed.

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Speculators dump $19.5B in gold as it smashes through $4,000

Gold broke below $4,000 support as Goldman data showed speculators sold $19.5 billion of futures over five straight weeks, marking the metal’s worst October since 2008.

• Liquidation scale: Speculators net sold $8 billion in the latest week alone, the fifth consecutive week of selling since late September.

• Positioning note: Falling real yields failed to support prices, and “Other” accounts still hold gross longs above their two-year median.

• Technical test: The metal hit its 100-week moving average; further support sits near $3,800 and the long-term trendline.

• Hedge performance: Gold has declined even as equity volatility rose, underscoring its limited reliability as a stress hedge in the current tape.

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OpenAI slashes funding round to $20B as Abu Dhabi takes the lead

OpenAI trimmed its latest fundraising target to $20 billion as Sam Altman signed deals in Abu Dhabi spanning energy, government, and investment while the company raises capital in the region.

• Funding adjustment: The reduced goal comes with a lower valuation target amid recent tech-stock turbulence.

• Abu Dhabi activity: Altman met the crown prince and signed four agreements that include AI tools for government and energy operations.

• PR move: The company is reportedly considering rebranding data centers as “AI compute campuses” to soften public resistance.

• Usage limits: OpenAI also tightened ChatGPT and Codex limits as infrastructure costs remain elevated.

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Ryanair warns fares could jump 20% as Iran war freezes wages

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said European airfares could climb as much as 20% next year once fuel hedges expire, after first-half profit fell 15% on war-driven jet-fuel prices.

• Profit hit: First-half earnings dropped 15% to 2.15 billion euros as higher fuel costs outweighed traffic growth.

• Cost response: The carrier is weighing a staff pay freeze and broader expense cuts while planning an $893 million share buyback starting in February.

• Fuel outlook: Management expects an extra €2 billion fuel bill from April 2027 if Middle East supply disruptions continue.

• CEO feud: O’Leary separately continued his public dispute with Elon Musk over the airline’s refusal to install Starlink Wi-Fi.

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Hedge funds go underweight AI for first time since 2023

Morgan Stanley data shows hedge funds have turned underweight AI names for the first time since early 2023 amid the largest sustained long-short de-grossing in more than 15 years.

• Positioning shift: Tech exposure collapsed to the 40th percentile in three weeks after being positioned for perfection.

• Performance hit: Goldman systematic long-short strategies lost 2.17% last week, their worst week since December 2023.

• Mag 7 beta: Hedge funds’ one-month long-short beta to the Magnificent Seven sits near the 97th percentile even as year-end compensation season limits drawdown tolerance.

• Flow detail: Information Technology was the most net-bought sector this week, yet that buying covers only about 40% of the prior three weeks’ selling.

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• Gen Z fragrance craze lifts Estée Lauder sales 6.7%

• Fox revenue jumps 22% to record on World Cup and ads

• Musk limits Grok Bot as serving costs prove unsustainably high

• Early voting tops 53.6 million ahead of midterms

• AI credit premium explodes as semiconductor CDS surges

• Median S&P earnings grow 14.4% as history favors tech

• OpenAI considers rebranding data centers as AI campuses

• U.S. retirement system earns C+ as health costs strain

Gen Z fragrance craze lifts Estée Lauder sales 6.7%

Estée Lauder reported higher first-quarter profit and sales as its turnaround advanced, with fragrance up 20% on demand from a younger customer base.

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Capitalist Insider: Half of big money still all-in as AI trade cracks

• Amazon loses over 11% after BRUTAL earnings report

• Binance hit by record $6.3B hack as Tether, Circle freeze funds

• Intel plunges 30% in worst day since 1974

• Alphabet loses $500B as AI Mode eats search ads

• Polymarket freezes after hackers drain $2.7M

• Reddit plunges 25% as three tech stocks tank on Q3

• Nvidia denies report China targeted Jensen Huang as spy

Amazon loses over 11% after BRUTAL earnings report

Amazon reported third-quarter results that missed expectations on Thursday, with free cash flow plunging to a negative $42.4 billion amid massive AI infrastructure spending while holding its 2026 capital expenditure forecast at $220 billion.

• Missed key metrics: Earnings per share came in at $1.89 versus $1.96 estimated, with revenue of $201.94 billion missing $202.31 billion as advertising fell short at $19.64 billion against $20.82 billion expected.

• AWS growth accelerates: Amazon Web Services revenue rose 39% to $45.98 billion, beating estimates, while overall operating margin reached nearly 14%, the highest ever, and the company projected AWS growth above 40% in 2027 and 2028.

• Record cash outflow: Trailing twelve-month free cash flow turned to a $42.4 billion outflow, nearly double the prior 2022 record of about $23 billion, driven by roughly $77 billion in property and equipment spending in the quarter.

• Capex and debt surge: Full-year 2026 capital expenditure remained guided at $220 billion with more planned for 2027, as long-term debt climbed to about $173 billion from $66 billion at the end of 2025 and shares fell more than 6% after hours.

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• This extremely powerful card gives you 0% intro APR into 2028 on balance transfers and purchases.

• That’s right — you can now finance large purchases you’ve been sitting on without paying massive interest. Or, transfer crippling high interest debt to this card and let your payments go directly to paying down your balance, without piling on additional interest charges — all with no annual fee.

This card has by far one of the longest intro APR periods we’ve seen. This Card Could Help You Pause High-Interest into 2028!

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Binance hit by record $6.3B hack as Tether, Circle freeze funds

Binance disclosed a security incident impacting about $6.3 billion in client assets on Thursday, the largest crypto hack on record, with Circle and Tether freezing roughly $3 billion as the exchange pledged to cover losses.

• Largest theft on record: The breach affected an estimated $6.3 billion, with around $3 billion in assets frozen on-chain so far, as Binance said it found no evidence of any wallet private key leak.

• Stablecoin freezes: Circle froze more than 800 million USDC and Tether froze more than 1.5 billion USDT tied to the incident, while Ripple assisted in halting related fund movements.

• Coverage and recovery: Binance committed to covering all losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users and company funds, temporarily suspending withdrawals while expecting to resume them within 48 hours.

• Market reaction: Bitcoin fell more than 4% to about $77,995 as the news weighed on crypto markets and Circle shares declined around 5% in after-hours trading.

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Intel plunges 30% in worst day since 1974

Intel shares tumbled as much as 30% on Friday after the chipmaker issued fourth-quarter guidance well below expectations, putting the stock on pace for its worst single-day drop since 1974 and erasing more than $100 billion in market value.

• Quarter beat expectations: Adjusted earnings reached 52 cents per share against 40 cents expected, with revenue of $16.51 billion up 21% year over year and data center revenue jumping 78% to $7.3 billion.

• Guidance disappoints: The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion versus roughly $17 billion expected and earnings of 25 cents against 43 cents forecast, citing ongoing PC market softness.

• PC demand weakness: Intel expects PC shipments to decline about 12% this year and another 10% in 2027, pressured by rising memory costs from AI data center demand and a factory incident in Israel.

• Historic sell-off: Only the July 5, 1974 decline of nearly 30% was worse in more than five decades of trading, as the stock remained up more than 80% for the year even after giving back substantial gains from its June peak.

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Alphabet loses $500B as AI Mode eats search ads

Alphabet shares plunged nearly 13% on Thursday, wiping approximately $500 billion from the Google parent’s market value after third-quarter results heightened worries over massive AI infrastructure spending and slowing search advertising growth.

• Massive market wipeout: Class A shares closed at $283.82, down 12.64%, marking one of the largest single-day market capitalization losses in Wall Street history.

• Revenue and spending: Quarterly revenue reached $127.6 billion, up 25% year over year, while capital expenditures hit about $51.4 billion with full-year guidance of $195 billion to $205 billion.

• Cloud strength: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled to $30.7 billion, rising 103% from a year earlier and exceeding analyst expectations.

• Core business pressure: Investor concerns focused on heavy AI and data center investments alongside slower growth in the core search advertising business that still drives much of the company’s revenue.

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Polymarket freezes after hackers drain $2.7M

Prediction market platform Polymarket reported an outage on its international exchange on Thursday after a hack of a third-party provider led to unauthorized withdrawals, prompting a trading halt and referral of the matter to U.K. authorities.

• Security incident details: The issue stemmed from a compromise of DebugBear, a website performance monitoring platform, with users reporting unauthorized fund withdrawals from their wallets.

• Trading response: Polymarket halted trading on the international platform as a precaution, fixed the issue on its end, and resumed operations at 3 p.m. ET while pledging to refund affected users.

• Fund impacts: Analytics showed one account withdrew at least $2.7 million across 710 wallets, with smaller losses under $10,000 set for restoration by October 30 and larger amounts requiring a release form.

• Law enforcement: The company referred the incident to U.K. law enforcement given DebugBear’s location there, while confirming its U.S. platform was not affected.

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Reddit plunges 25% as three tech stocks tank on Q3

Shares of Reddit, Roblox, Pinterest and ServiceNow dropped sharply after third-quarter earnings, with Reddit falling nearly 25%, Roblox 22% and ServiceNow 27% as user metrics, guidance and AI payoff timelines disappointed investors.

• Reddit and Pinterest declines: Reddit shares plunged nearly 25% on weaker daily active users and a current-quarter revenue forecast that missed estimates, while Pinterest fell 7% after revenue of $1.17 billion and adjusted earnings of 46 cents both came in below expectations.

• Roblox user weakness: Roblox dropped 22% as daily active users declined 9% year over year to 138 million, overshadowing beats on revenue and losses.

• ServiceNow AI concerns: ServiceNow sank 27% for its worst day on record after revenue of $4.11 billion roughly matched estimates but adjusted earnings of $1.00 missed, reigniting worries over AI disruption and delayed returns from new engineering investments.

• Guidance and context: ServiceNow slightly raised its full-year subscription revenue outlook while Reddit plans to test login requirements for forums, and all moves added to broader tech selling pressure.

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Nvidia denies report China targeted Jensen Huang as spy

Nvidia rejected a New York Times report on Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies had surveilled a suspected Chinese asset who met multiple times with CEO Jensen Huang, calling the interactions routine for a major customer.

• Report details: The account centered on Alice Huang, or Huang Le, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud company Megaspeed, who U.S. officials monitored over possible export control evasion and who developed a relationship with the Nvidia CEO.

• Nvidia response: A spokesperson said Huang meets thousands of customer executives annually, that such meetings were not unusual, and that customers do not receive trade secrets or national security information.

• Prior scrutiny: Nvidia stated that diversion allegations against Megaspeed were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year, and that the company was not briefed by the U.S. government on any concerns about the individual.

• Official reactions: Chinese authorities rejected the claims as groundless speculation, while the report noted Huang’s discussions with President Trump on AI and export controls.

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• Half of big money still all-in as AI trade cracks

• DoorDash swallows Instacart in $17B power grab

• Oil jumps to $104 as tech and crypto crash hard

• Fortinet plunges 26% after cutting service revenue outlook

• Chevron and Exxon surge as oil hits $117 while tech crashes

• Small caps hold firm as mega-tech dumps on AI spending fears

• Nasdaq faces make-or-break support test as tech crashes

Half of big money still all-in as AI trade cracks

Barron’s exclusive Big Money poll finds half of professional managers remain bullish on the AI trade, citing years of earnings growth still ahead, while skeptics warn of bubble risks.

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Capitalist Insider: Oracle jumps 11% on $225B 2030 revenue forecast

• Alphabet plunges after first double miss in years as AI burns cash

• Fed holds rates steady in 10-2 vote days before midterms

• Nasdaq futures slide as Alphabet miss revives AI spending fears

• Microsoft rises as Azure growth hits 48% and contrasts Alphabet miss

• Memory chip makers surge on SK Hynix demand outlook through 2029

• Bitcoin slips under $80,000 as $11 billion options expiry approaches

Alphabet plunges after first double miss in years as AI burns cash

Alphabet posted its first top- and bottom-line miss in nearly four years, sending shares down more than 10% as free cash flow turned sharply negative on heavy AI spending while search advertising slowed.

• Search growth slows: Revenue from search and other advertising rose 12% but missed estimates as AI chat tools took a larger bite out of the core ad business.

• Cash flow turns red: Free cash flow hit negative $9.07 billion against expectations of a positive result near $2.70 billion.

• Capex stays elevated: Third-quarter capital spending reached roughly $51.4 billion; 2026 guidance was held at $195-205 billion with a significant increase expected in 2027.

• Cloud still surges: Google Cloud revenue more than doubled, up 103%, remaining the one clear bright spot that beat expectations.

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Fed holds rates steady in 10-2 vote days before midterms

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75%-4% in a 10-2 decision, with two officials dissenting in favor of a hike as Chair Warsh stressed the need for more data before the midterms.

• Two officials dissent: Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack both voted for a quarter-point increase, Cook’s first dissent since joining in 2022.

• Inflation remains elevated: The statement said inflation remains elevated and the committee will wait for the accumulation of more information before acting again.

• Fewer meetings ahead: Warsh said one 2027 meeting will focus only on strategy with no rate vote, and two meetings in 2028 will be strategy-only.

• December hike still priced: Traders continued to price a high probability of another increase in December despite the pause.

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Nasdaq futures slide as Alphabet miss revives AI spending fears

U.S. stock futures pointed lower Thursday after Alphabet’s results reignited anxiety about runaway AI spending, dragging the Nasdaq while other Big Tech names were mixed.

• Alphabet leads the drop: Shares faced a potential record post-earnings loss of more than 10%, pulling futures lower across tech.

• Microsoft provides contrast: Microsoft rose on solid results and 48% Azure growth, limiting broader damage.

• Focus shifts from Fed: Markets looked past the prior day’s rate hold and refocused on earnings and the sustainability of AI capital outlays.

• Memory stocks still firm: Earlier strength in memory names on strong demand outlooks was overshadowed by the Alphabet reaction.

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Microsoft rises as Azure growth hits 48% and contrasts Alphabet miss

Microsoft shares gained after the company delivered solid results led by 48% growth in Azure, providing a counterpoint to Alphabet’s disappointment on AI spending and search.

• Azure drives the beat: Cloud growth remained robust, helping overall revenue rise roughly 19% and supporting the stock.

• Capex still heavy: Investors continued to scrutinize the pace of AI-related investment even as results cleared the bar.

• Earnings focus intensifies: The report landed amid a week when a large portion of the S&P 500 is reporting, keeping attention on Big Tech cash generation.

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Memory chip makers surge on SK Hynix demand outlook through 2029

Memory stocks advanced after SK Hynix posted record results and signaled that high-bandwidth memory and DRAM demand is sold out well into the later years of the decade.

• Record quarter: Operating profit and revenue set highs as AI-related memory orders remained strong.

• Sold-out visibility: Capacity is committed through long-term agreements covering a large share of 2027 and 2028 production.

• Nasdaq still lagged: The broader tech index underperformed despite the memory strength ahead of major earnings.

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Bitcoin slips under $80,000 as $11 billion options expiry approaches

Bitcoin traded back toward $80,000 after the Fed hold reinforced rate-hike expectations, with traders bracing for an $11 billion options expiration.

• Fed reaction muted: The cryptocurrency barely flinched at the rate decision even as December hike odds rose.

• Options overhang: A large expiry is set for late October, adding potential volatility before the midterms.

• ETF inflows mixed: Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows over recent days even as the spot price softened.

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• Oracle jumps 11% on $225B 2030 revenue forecast

• Anthropic IPO risks explode under public-benefit setup

• AI trade shows extreme divergence in positioning and volatility

• Oil drops as Vance restarts Iran peace talks

• Oil majors print record cash on $100+ crude

• Lilly soars as Zepbound demand drives outlook raise

• Housing fundamentals keep crumbling with rates over 7%

• Strong GDP meets rising inflation ahead of Fed pause

Oracle jumps 11% on $225B 2030 revenue forecast

Oracle shares rose sharply after the company projected fiscal 2030 revenue above $225 billion and outlined limits on additional fundraising, easing concerns about its debt load.

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Capitalist Insider: Retirees face $185,500 healthcare shock this year

• “Pocahontas” just picked a fight with this AI Leviathan

• SK Hynix posts 632% profit jump and plans $75B returns

• Fed expected to pause rates as midterms loom and Trump fumes

• Boeing shares crater 10% after cutting 737 delivery outlook

• AI trade rebounds but market breadth stays weak ahead of Fed

• Robinhood tumbles as crypto revenue crashes 55%

• Prediction markets face CFTC scrutiny as midterm odds shift

• Wall Street AI debt machine strains under data-center supply

“Pocahontas” just picked a fight with this AI Leviathan

Anthropic’s S-1 flags AI risks that may lack enough insurance coverage and draws a letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren over “deeply troubling” disclosures, while the company holds $131.7 billion in cash and could list as soon as Nov. 16.

• Cash pile towers: Anthropic’s $131.7 billion cash exceeds nearly every non-bank U.S. company except Berkshire Hathaway and Alphabet.

• Warren letter: Warren demanded answers on existential risks disclosed in the IPO paperwork.

• JPMorgan role: Anthropic tapped JPMorgan to lead the retail portion of its U.S. offering.

• Revenue split: The company earns primarily from businesses paying per unit of AI consumption rather than consumer plans.

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• This extremely powerful card gives you 0% intro APR into 2028 on balance transfers and purchases.

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SK Hynix posts 632% profit jump and plans $75B returns

SK Hynix reported a 632% surge in third-quarter operating profit on AI memory demand and outlined up to $75 billion in shareholder returns while forecasting supply shortages lasting into 2030.

• Profit beat: Operating profit of 88 trillion won topped the 76 trillion won consensus.

• Returns plan: The company aims for as much as $75 billion in dividends and buybacks.

• Shortage call: Long-term deals with 14 major customers secure over 50% of 2027-28 capacity.

• Peer lift: Shares of Micron, SanDisk and other memory names rose on the results.

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Fed expected to pause rates as midterms loom

Markets price a high probability the Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged Wednesday despite hotter inflation, with Chair Kevin Warsh set to explain the pause days before the midterms.

• Hold odds: Futures priced roughly a 95% chance of a hold and about 79% odds of a December hike.

• Warsh focus: Attention centers on how Warsh reconciles a hold with his earlier “timelier return to 2%” comments after September CPI.

• Midterm timing: The decision is the last before the Nov. 3 midterms.

• Hawkish signals: Analysts watch the number of dissents and language on inflation and oil.

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Boeing shares crater 10% after cutting 737 delivery outlook

Boeing shares posted their worst drop in 18 months after the company cut its commercial delivery forecast, saying it will miss the 500-plane 737 target and deliver about 90 787s while pushing the 737 Max ramp into late 2027.

• Delivery cut: The outlook reduction overshadowed better-than-expected cash flow.

• Ramp delay: A shortage of wings pushed the 737 Max production ramp to late 2027.

• Backlog size: The order book reached a record $745 billion.

• CEO pressure: Results put pressure on CEO Kelly Ortberg after the cautious growth timeline.

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AI trade rebounds but market breadth stays weak ahead of Fed

AI infrastructure and memory names powered gains after SK Hynix results, yet the broader market continues to show narrow leadership as investors await the Fed decision and Big Tech earnings.

• Non-AI lead: Stocks without AI exposure have beaten the S&P 500 by about 6 points in October.

• Futures move: Nasdaq futures rose on the memory boost while oil jumped.

• Breadth issue: The record run remains concentrated in a narrow group of tech-heavy stocks.

• Catalyst day: Alphabet, Microsoft and the Fed decision sit on the calendar.

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Robinhood tumbles as crypto revenue crashes 55%

Robinhood shares fell about 8-9% after third-quarter revenue reached a record $1.42 billion but crypto revenue dropped 55%, offsetting a sixfold surge in prediction-market sales.

• Crypto drop: Weaker crypto prices and trading volumes drove the profit miss.

• Prediction growth: Prediction-market revenue jumped six times.

• Analyst cuts: Several firms trimmed price targets after the results.

• Ripple add: The company said it will add Ripple’s stablecoin ahead of the report.

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Prediction markets face CFTC scrutiny as midterm odds shift

Kalshi added deposit caps for young traders while the CFTC probes Polymarket over US access, and betting markets have priced a Democratic House sweep.

• Kalshi limits: Default monthly deposit cap of $2,500 for users aged 18 to 20.

• Polymarket probe: CFTC is examining whether the platform violated a 2022 settlement barring US users.

• Midterm pricing: Polymarket House odds climbed toward 92 and Senate odds toward 66.

• Democratic angle: A House win could increase scrutiny of the industry and its ties.

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Wall Street AI debt machine strains under data-center supply

Financing for AI infrastructure is under pressure from a flood of data-center debt even as major raises continue to fund the buildout.

• Debt choke: Wall Street’s AI financing machine is starting to choke on supply.

• Market context: The strain arrives as AI stocks rebound ahead of earnings.

• Infrastructure focus: Data-center financing remains the pressure point.

• Timing: The issue sits alongside the Fed decision and Big Tech reports.

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• Retirees face $185,500 healthcare shock this year

• Wall Street buys everything ahead of Fed decision (except oil)

• Datavault stock crashes 50% after Bitcoin lockout

• Analyst sees 175% upside in SK Hynix on shortage

• Powder-keg day: Fed decision meets Big Tech earnings

• Prediction markets price Democratic congressional sweep

• Seagate posts record profits yet stock still plunges on AI fears

Retirees face $185,500 healthcare shock this year

A 2026 estimate puts health-care costs for retirees at $185,500 while the income needed to retire comfortably ranges from about $40,627 to $64,504 by state.

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Capitalist Insider: Ripple finally scores its own U.S. national bank charter

• NBA just handed Kalshi and Polymarket the keys to official betting

• Broadcom locks $63 billion to fund Anthropic’s AI chip spree

• Surgery Partners stock jumps 46% on $5.7 billion HealthSpan takeover

• SoftBank’s Son plans $50 billion AI bet in Malaysia

• Kalshi lands exclusive S&P Dow Jones deal for index contracts

• Celestica surges after AI boom and $40 billion 2027 target

• Whirlpool sinks on guidance cut while Boeing slips on miss

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NBA just handed Kalshi and Polymarket the keys to official betting

The NBA designated Kalshi and Polymarket as preferred prediction-market exchanges Monday and signed a memorandum of understanding with the CFTC focused on integrity protections and data sharing.

• Preferred status: The exchanges receive rights to NBA intellectual property, marketing, licensing, and official data from Sportradar to operate and settle authorized markets.

• Integrity framework: Agreements limit permissible contracts, bar league and team personnel from trading NBA event contracts, and require information sharing on suspicious activity.

• CFTC memorandum: The deal with the agency aims to maintain integrity of both the league and event-contract markets through coordinated monitoring.

• League statement: NBA media partnerships head Scott Kaufman-Ross said protecting game integrity is the top priority and that the partnerships create new fan-engagement opportunities.

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Broadcom locks $63 billion to fund Anthropic’s AI chip spree

Broadcom arranged a $63 billion special-purpose vehicle with Bank of America, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley to buy its chips and lease them to Anthropic, with residual-value support from the chipmaker.

• SPV structure: The vehicle will purchase Broadcom silicon and networking gear and lease it to the Claude developer, with deliveries expected to begin in 2027.

• Bank roles: Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley are arranging first-lien financing; Blackstone is providing the committed second-lien portion.

• CEO involvement: Broadcom CEO Hock Tan intervened after nearly two months of negotiations to help seal the package.

• Context: The deal ranks among the largest AI-infrastructure financings and sits alongside Anthropic’s broader compute commitments disclosed in its S-1.

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Surgery Partners stock jumps 46% on $5.7 billion HealthSpan takeover

Surgery Partners shares surged after HealthSpan Partners, an affiliate of Bon Secours Mercy Health, agreed to take the company private in a deal valued at about $5.7 billion including debt.

• Deal terms: Remaining shareholders will receive $23.50 per share, a roughly 49% premium to the prior close; Bain Capital retains its 39% stake.

• Scale: The combination adds more than 200 sites across 30 states and about 5,000 affiliated physicians to Bon Secours’ network.

• Timing: The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 and ends a multi-year strategic review.

• Share reaction: Surgery Partners rose as much as 48% on the announcement as outpatient surgery remains a focus for health systems.

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SoftBank’s Son plans $50 billion AI bet in Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son selected locations in Sarawak and peninsular Malaysia for $50 billion in AI, technology, and data-center investment.

• Locations: Son identified Kuching in Sarawak and areas on the peninsula during a video conference with Anwar.

• Scope: The outlay covers AI, new technology, and data centers and ranks among the largest planned investments in the region.

• Prior framework: SoftBank earlier signed a framework agreement in Kuching with Grab and state energy company PETROS to explore AI infrastructure.

• Confirmation: SoftBank has not publicly confirmed the $50 billion figure; Anwar disclosed the plan in a speech in Melaka.

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Kalshi lands exclusive S&P Dow Jones deal for index contracts

Kalshi became a preferred prediction-market platform for S&P Dow Jones Indices, gaining rights to list event contracts tied to benchmarks such as the S&P 500 that will settle against official index values.

• Preferred status: Kalshi is licensed as a preferred platform for S&P DJI index-linked event contracts; S&P DJI becomes a preferred provider for indices built from Kalshi data.

• Settlement: Forthcoming contracts will settle against official S&P DJI index values, the same reference standard used in professional markets.

• New indices: The collaboration opens the door for indices on economics, politics, and sports constructed from Kalshi event-contract data.

• Statements: Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour called S&P DJI the gold standard for benchmarks; S&P DJI CEO Cathy Clay said the deal extends its role into one of the fastest-growing market categories.

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Celestica surges after AI boom and $40 billion 2027 target

Celestica shares jumped after the company reported third-quarter revenue of $5.83 billion, up 83% year over year, and raised its outlook while targeting $40 billion in revenue for 2027.

• Quarterly results: Adjusted EPS reached $3.30, above the high end of guidance, with adjusted operating margin of 8.5%.

• Raised outlook: Full-year 2026 revenue guidance increased to $21 billion from $20.5 billion; adjusted EPS guidance rose to $11.55.

• 2027 target: Initial outlook calls for $40 billion in revenue, roughly 90% growth, with a 9.0% adjusted operating margin.

• AI demand: Management cited strong hyperscaler and frontier-lab demand as the driver of accelerating growth.

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Whirlpool sinks on guidance cut while Boeing slips on miss

Whirlpool shares fell after the appliance maker cut full-year guidance, while Boeing declined following an earnings miss as traders sorted through a busy premarket slate.

• Whirlpool cut: The company reduced its full-year adjusted earnings outlook, sending shares lower in extended trading and the premarket.

• Boeing miss: Shares slid after the aerospace company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly core loss.

• Market backdrop: The moves occurred as futures pointed higher on softer oil prices and continued interest in the Anthropic filing.

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• Ripple finally scores its own U.S. national bank charter

• Zcash co-founder: Shut the $125M grants spigot now

• Coca-Cola raises outlook as volumes jump 5% and prices hold

• SK Hynix to detail possible $12B special dividend Wednesday

• RedotPay weighs confidential $5B US IPO by year-end

• Hyperliquid plans first CFTC-regulated perps with Kraken parent

• UPS raises 2026 outlook and flags $15B data-center goldmine

Ripple finally scores its own U.S. national bank charter

Ripple received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Ripple National Trust Bank, a federally supervised national trust bank.

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