A Fed official raises the prospect of a half-a-percentage-point rate hike. Plus, fresh valuation focus on Anthropic's blockbuster IPO.
Nvidia investors are taking a crash course this week in the notion of key-man risk, while, for the broader market, inflation data loom large.
Here's what I'm thinking about this morning: key-person risk.
When my kids call out, "Dad!" it's usually to ask one question: "Where's Mom?" When my wife travels, screen time hits all-time highs, healthy eating habits plunge, and hygiene becomes suspect.
In other words, things fall apart. That's "key-person risk" in a nutshell. And, to be clear, I'm not the key person.
On Wall Street, Nvidia investors may now understand this feeling.
The chip giant's stock sank on Monday even as the broader market staged a remarkable rally. Investors appeared to be factoring in uncertainty about CEO Jensen Huang's future while betting that the rest of the AI trade could thrive despite Nvidia's troubles.
Some concern about Huang and Nvidia's China dealings had surfaced earlier. But the investigation raises a more pressing question for investors: What would Nvidia look like without the black-leather-jacketed man emblematic of its stratospheric rise?
Nvidia says Huang isn't going anywhere. Still, the investigation has put a spotlight on a succession problem that investors would probably rather not think about right now.
And Nvidia is far from the only thing demanding Wall Street's focus Tuesday.
October's inflation report could heavily influence the Fed's next interest-rate decision. After the closing bell, CoreWeave, a poster child for the debt-fueled AI boom, reports earnings.
My household, for the record, has a succession plan. We all wait for Mom to come home.
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-- History says a massive turnaround in the bond market may be coming. Here's why.
-- Why renters are now obsessed with 'boneless' couches
-- A new warning for Ozempic and Zepbound users
-- After three swings of more than 1,000 points for the Dow industrials in four sessions, Wall Street appeared to be headed for a quieter opening Tuesday. But can investors shrug off another inflation scare as easily as they've shrugged off the troubles at Nvidia?
-- Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller raised the possibility of a half-percentage-point rate hike if CPI comes in hotter than expected. The result has been a jump in the 10-year Treasury yield as gold prices slip.
-- Meanwhile, some investors continue to see opportunity in tech. Yardeni Research, citing strong earnings prospects despite the recent bout of volatility, makes the case that the selloff in semiconductors presents a buying opportunity.
-- But Anthropic's reported IPO filing snafu comes as investors are already reconsidering just how much AI companies are reasonably worth.
Wall Street seems willing to look past one kind of uncertainty, but a fresh flare-up of inflation might be harder to dismiss.
-- Find our inflation live coverage here.
-- Follow our real-time coverage of the markets.
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Thinking prenup?
They've been together for 14 years. Now they're considering combining households and finances. But what happens to their homes, their money and their children's inheritance?
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Thanksgiving sticker shock ...
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Gas prices have finally slipped below $4 a gallon. Good news for Thanksgiving travelers, right? Not so fast.
MarketWatch's Myra Saefong explains why this year's travel-intensive holiday could yet set a dubious record at the pump.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind ...
Months before the scandal surrounding Jensen Huang erupted, a short seller was raising questions about Nvidia's China business and its CEO's ties to a major chip buyer.
Now he's exclusively telling MarketWatch's Joseph Adinolfi that he has spotted similar warning signs involving other companies. Just how much further could these China troubles extend?
About me
Mark DeCambre is editor in chief of MarketWatch. He has spent more than 20 years covering Wall Street, markets and personal finance, and writes Need to Know, drawing on the award-winning journalism and analysis of the newsroom.
-Mark DeCambre
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