Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
UNITED STATES. GDP comes in hot but may soon go off.
VENEZUELA. A Trump-backed election is as fishy as it sounds.
IRAN. Markets start to price in near-term escalation.
FRANCE. The ECB’s president quits to speak her mind.
INDIA. The cockroaches move back onto the streets.
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UNITED STATES. Artificial ingredients
GDP comes in hot but may soon go off.
Third-quarter GDP rose 3.4% annualised, with strong AI-related investment offsetting higher oil prices and low consumer confidence. Weekly jobless claims came in at a 57-year low. Nasdaq futures, however, tanked on tech earnings upsets.
INTELLIGENCE. Artificial Intelligence (or Super Intelligence to Donald Trump) has rescued the US from recession, but may also send it there, if stock prices are an omen. Vast spending on data centres is yet to turn a profit. Alphabet’s negative cashflow saw its shares fall 12.6%, wiping out $500 billion in value (the GDP of Denmark). Amazon and Intel fell 7% and 23% in aftermarket trading. Federal debt, meanwhile, has hit 100% of GDP, the highest level since WWII.
FOR BUSINESS. While GDP is a lagging indicator, the Nasdaq is down 5.13% since its all-time high on 6 October. This isn’t great for Anthropic’s November IPO, but spare a thought for China’s tech sector. The ChiNext index is down 38% from its all-time high on 13 May, with unprofitability and circular financing also causing investor concern. At least its leading labs, Moonshot and Z.AI, can now claim to have bested Anthropic’s Fable 5 in key performance benchmarks.
VENEZUELA. Democracy in the Americas
A Trump-backed election is as fishy as it sounds.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Washington had proposed Caracas hold elections in 2027 but did not mention Trump's suggestion of making Venezuela the 51st state. President Delcy Rodriguez flagged state asset sales.