Economy
More than $3.2 trillion was erased from US stocks Thursday as the Nasdaq fell 5.5% and the S&P 500 fell 4.4%, a selloff that followed Democratic midterm gains and bets on tighter AI and data-center rules. UBS’s Mark Haefele said he does not think fundamentals justify a prolonged downturn, and markets reportedly showed a partial rebound the next session as some commentators argued the drop exposed regulatory risks rather than a full collapse in AI demand.
Edward Dowd said the AI bubble has burst, with semiconductors down 32% from June and breaking July lows. He said this is not a short call and that rallies will come, but that the longer-term trend has flipped and credit markets were the canary.
Adding voice to this, a Fringe Finance commentary argues that capital is rotating from speculative AI toward firms with real earnings, citing green Dow futures versus Nasdaq futures down about 0.5% and JPMorgan demand for large-cap quality over names such as CoreWeave. Citrini Research put annualized hyperscaler investment near $1 trillion against AI recurring revenue of about one-fifth that amount.
Relatedly, Microsoft declined to renew Oracle capacity after older Nvidia chips no longer met specifications, sending Oracle down 4% to below its $116 offering from four days earlier. Pause pledges by governors now cover 41% of planned US data-center capacity, including all of OpenAI’s sites and Oracle’s $300 billion build in Texas, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Michigan. New Mexico’s Deb Haaland said she planned a day-one moratorium on large-scale data centers.
Separately, Tuttle Capital Management filed with the SEC for five leveraged credit-default-swap ETFs on Oracle, CoreWeave, the Magnificent Seven, semiconductor firms, and hyperscalers, using 5-to-10-times leverage to profit if default-insurance costs rise even without a default. The firm also launched an ETF investing in companies that generate revenue from AI infrastructure bottlenecks.
In what some are calling a threat to US companies, Huawei unveiled a HarmonyOS desktop with no Intel, Qualcomm, or Windows parts, calling the Kirin X90 machine 100% China-made. Washington revoked Intel and Qualcomm licenses for Huawei in May 2024, and Huawei’s Windows license expired in March 2025. Beijing has ordered government organs to buy Chinese processors and operating systems. China accounted for 27% of Intel’s 2023 sales. That said, some analysts noted the Kirin X90 uses a 7nm process multiple generations behind leading chipmakers and is aimed at office workloads.
Turning to Main Street, another burger franchisee, Checkers and Rally’s operator Global Midsouth, filed for Chapter 11. Wendy’s franchisee Meritage Hospitality, which ran 314 restaurants, filed in September after closing 60 stores, with 60 more possibly shutting. Out West put 61 restaurants into bankruptcy as debt rose to about $449 million on food and labor costs, and Bloomin’ Brands offered $26.3 million for those assets.
In real estate, taxpayers are reportedly exposed to about half of $2.3 trillion in multifamily commercial real estate loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s $1.2 trillion book. Higher rates have blocked refinancings and lifted defaults, according to reports. Multifamily Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities delinquencies hit 8.1% after a $210 million Tiburon loan went unpaid, and Brookfield handed back the keys on a 785-unit Los Angeles tower, leaving an Apollo unit with a $360 million loan.
US Politics
A senior official said President Trump told aides before the midterms that he did not care about those contests and that foreign policy and his legacy mattered more than domestic affairs. Affordability concerns did not register, the official said, and Trump called the polling fake. In May, he said he did not think about Americans’ financial situation. In June, he said he could have kept inflation down but pursued his Iran agenda.
Now, facing backlash, the White House Office of Public Liaison sent more than 3,000 conservative groups a memo listing Trump accomplishments and a yellow-highlighted notice that it is monitoring their statements, press releases, and media engagements. A spokeswoman said the email was not a threat. Earlier liaison messages asked groups to share pro-Trump messaging without monitoring language.
Vice President JD Vance has reportedly broken with Trump over the Iran war, affordability, and the US-Israel relationship.
Meanwhile, Susie Wiles stepped down as White House chief of staff to join Trump’s political campaign team, with Stephen Miller taking over the role. According to Marjorie Taylor Greene, the change shows that Trump and Wiles want to keep control of the Republican Party and pick the next presidential nominee. She said that approach would leave the party with zero chance in 2028, because the coalition of voters who elected Trump will not support their candidate. Greene also predicted the White House would intensify its approach as Democrats prepare to investigate the administration after taking control of Congress.
Separately, Harmeet Dhillon is resigning as assistant attorney general for civil rights. She said she decided three weeks before the midterms but that Susie Wiles asked her to wait, and that she was not asked to resign. Sworn in April 2025, she redirected the Civil Rights Division toward issues including DEI, religious discrimination, transgender sports, gun rights, and election integrity as some 300 attorneys left and she recruited more than 130. Attorney General Todd Blanche praised her for enforcing the law without fear or favor, while Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she made a mockery of the division.
In state news, India-born Democratic Socialists of America member Nithya Raman unseated Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. She became a US citizen at 22, founded a homelessness coalition in 2017, and was in third place behind incumbent Bass and challenger Spencer Pratt before surging past Pratt 9 days after the election. She said she will fire LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, and union official Jamie McBride said officers will leave the department. With Zohran Mamdani in New York, the two largest US cities will now have DSA mayors.
In other California news, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will commute all 548 death sentences to life without parole, although the state Supreme Court must approve 382 cases of people convicted of a felony more than once. California has not executed anyone since 2006, and Newsom imposed a 2019 moratorium after voters kept the death penalty in 2012 and 2016. Critics, including Steve Hilton, accused Newsom of defying voters who twice rejected repeal, and some victims’ relatives called the decision the worst day of their lives.
Health
Former RFK Jr. aide Calley Means told Joe Rogan that White House staffers, including then-chief of staff Susie Wiles, stifled the Make America Healthy Again agenda for lobbyists. He resigned in October after failing to define ultra-processed foods. He said glyphosate appeared in a first MAHA report and vanished from a second after industry pressure, that Secretary Kennedy was kept out, and that the White House sided with Bayer at the Supreme Court. A White House spokeswoman said the administration has already secured MAHA victories, including overhauled dietary guidelines, and Secretary Kennedy posted gratitude to Wiles.
Geopolitics
The Treasury announced new Iran sanctions a day after Republicans lost the midterms. Secretary Scott Bessent said that under Operation Economic Outcast, parties are either with the United States or against it. The sanctions targeted an Indian couple accused of supplying false flags and certifications to vessels carrying Iranian petroleum, plus other India-based parties and a Turkish firm accused of supporting Iran’s aviation industry. Some reports described the timing as doubling down after voters punished Republicans over the war’s effect on prices.
In other news, the Arab-led Joint List will recommend Gadi Eisenkot form Israel’s next government, which would give him 67 of 120 Knesset seats after Ra’am also endorsed him. Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats on 27 October. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats and Eisenkot’s alliance 48, both short of a majority. The Joint List said it may support a government from outside the coalition rather than take posts, citing the occupation of Palestinian territory. However, Eisenkot has reportedly ruled out including the Arab-led Joint List in any government despite the endorsements.
Sources
Arab Parties Back Eisenkot, Handing Opposition 67 Seats Against Netanyahu
The Arab-led Joint List has said it will back Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a new government, dealing a heavy blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to remain in power.
Newsom Empties Death Row With One Letter After Voters Twice Kept It
I don’t think that’s democracy at work.
Multifamily CRE Meltdown: Taxpayers Hold Half as Defaults Mount
So, dear taxpayer, you’re on the hook for about half of the multifamily CRE debt.
US Chip Bans Backfire as Huawei Unveils Fully Homegrown HarmonyOS Desktop
Huawei unveiled its first desktop computer running its own HarmonyOS operating system on Thursday, a machine with no Intel or Qualcomm chip and no Windows, which the South China Morning Post reported is 100% domestically made.
Tuttle Files Leveraged CDS ETFs to Bet Against AI Debt Boom
Essentially, they would allow investors to bet that the market is underestimating the financial risks behind the AI buildout.
Dhillon Resigns From DOJ Civil Rights Post, Says She Quit Weeks Before Midterms at White House Request
I resigned three weeks ago, and Susie asked me to please wait until after the midterms.
Bessent Doubles Down on Iran Economic War After Midterm Defeat: ‘With Us or Against Us’
“As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us,”
AI Hype Fades as Capital Rotates to Real Earnings
a rotation away from speculative technology and AI-related investments and toward established businesses with more predictable earnings and cash flows.
Socialist Raman Unseats Bass as LA Mayor After Homelessness Record
Nevertheless, the people of L.A. have chosen the socialist with a track record of failing to stop the homeless epidemic to lead their city into the future.
Trump Tired of America First, Aides Say Legacy and Foreign Affairs Matter More
Trump thought foreign policy and his legacy mattered more than domestic affairs
Oracle Squeezed: Microsoft Dumps Aging GPUs as Blue Wave Freezes Data Centers
Put the two together and Oracle has a problem at both ends of its pipeline: its old capacity is too old to rent, and its new capacity may be too blue to build.
Yet Another Burger Franchisee Files Bankruptcy as Labor Costs and Beef Prices Bite
Another fast-food franchisee has filed for bankruptcy, becoming the latest casualty of mounting financial pressures squeezing restaurant operators across the United States.
Ex-RFK Aide Means Tells Rogan: White House Staffers Stifled MAHA for Lobbyists
What they frequently did is they tried to take Bobby out of the discussion.
White House to Conservatives: We’re Monitoring Your Statements
“We are monitoring statements, press releases, and media engagements from your organizations.”
AI Bubble Has Burst as Semiconductors Crash Through July Lows, Dowd Says
The AI bubble has technically burst.
Democrat Midterms Spark $3.2tn Tech Rout: AI Bubble or Regulatory Hangover?
Global financial markets have been thrown into a tailspin as investors bet on an AI slowdown after the US midterm elections.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: NewsTongue, NDTV World, Anna Kelly, Axios, Secretary Kennedy, Fox News, Todd Blanche, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Newsmax, ABC7 Eyewitness News, Kalshi Finance, Bloomberg, Oracle, Tuttle Capital, Laurent Lequeu, Jay Parsons, Fannie Mae, and dRisk.
