Emma Tucker
1. FROM MY DESK
Jensen Huang summoned his top finance executives to his office this summer. The AI economy, backstopped by (Nvidia's) increasingly outrageous bets, was teetering, and Huang wanted to make sure they were getting it right.
During the meeting, he tore into the woman who is now taking over for him as Nvidia CEO. Colette Kress was "a deer in the headlights," Huang said. As our reporting shows, he described her as a "reporting CFO" who couldn't help him define strategy as an "avalanche" of chip-supply commitments loomed.
Kress must now steer Nvidia through that avalanche-and a bigger one. Named interim chief executive Thursday after Huang resigned in the wake of two extramarital affairs, she must stabilize a company facing federal and internal probes while it searches for a permanent CEO.
This morning, we look at the fallout from Huang's exit-and why it signals Silicon Valley's power drain.
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2. TODAY'S HEADLINES
-- Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he would challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to lead the Democratic majority next year.
-- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is fighting for his job as some of President Trump's top advisers blame him for the Nvidia fallout.
-- A U.S. Army officer arrested in the U.K. over allegations of spying for Russia was caught in a sting operation and is expected to be charged on Sunday or Monday.
-- Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on Ukraine's economic collapse and weakening European support as hopes fade for a military victory or a Trump-brokered deal.
-- Degrees lead nowhere. Jobs don't exist. Welcome to India's youth revolt.
-- Former President Joe Biden's scaled-back book tour is rekindling questions over his health.
3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS
Follow our live financial coverage all day.
-- CVS's breakup won't satisfy Washington, but it could still work for Wall Street, writes David Wainer.
4. READ IT HERE FIRST
The U.S. cut Cuba off from the world's oil. Now it runs on American fuel.
After more than six decades of U.S. efforts to block trade with Cuba, the Trump administration's oil embargo has produced an unlikely result: The U.S. is now the island's primary fuel supplier. U.S. fuel arriving in smaller shipments has kept cars, trucks and household generators running, report Roberto Ferdman, Belle Cushing and Ashley Cai. U.S. ports have shipped more than 1.6 million barrels of fuel, worth over $230 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau data through August. The shipments have made U.S. exporters a lifeline for Cuba's private businesses, even if some of the fuel reaches the very government Washington is trying to squeeze.
5.
AI bots are using credit cards-and banks are racing to keep up.
Sudden advancements by artificial-intelligence bots are opening new fronts in the battles over who will control the future of consumer payments. Meta's Muse and other personal AI assistants have been empowered in recent weeks to make purchases on behalf of cardholders, marking new steps toward a potential future where consumers no longer need to initiate a purchase or press "buy" at checkout. That is generating excitement about AI bots' ability to create a new world order in payments. But inside banks and other payments companies and merchants, worries abound about the implications and whether bots will lead to elevated cases of fraud and returns, and open new legal risks, report AnnaMaria Andriotis, Ben Glickman and Gina Heeb.
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6. SEE THE STORY
They were the indispensable CEOs-until they weren't.
Nvidia is the most valuable company to abruptly lose a leader so instrumental to its fortunes-but it is hardly the first. Apple lost founder-and-rescuer Steve Jobs to cancer. (McDonald's) abruptly fired Steve Easterbrook, alleging an improper relationship with a subordinate. (Nissan) dropped Carlos Ghosn as chairman in 2018, just after police arrested him in Tokyo on allegations of financial misconduct and underreporting his income. The danger of losing a seemingly indispensable leader is known as key-person risk in investor parlance. Here's a look at how some companies managed.
7. HAPPENING TODAY
-- Johnny Depp stars in "Ebenezer," a new take on Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," out in theaters today. Check out what else is on this week's arts calendar.
-- Economic data: The Labor Department releases the October producer-price index.
-- Today's paper
8. THE NUMBER
>$100 billion
That's the estimated housing value held by homeowners age 65 and older in North Port, Fla., alone, according to Anthony Smith, a senior economist with Realtor.com. The figure underscores why the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area along Florida's southwest Gulf Coast ranks as America's richest retirement market. Buyers flock to the area for its variety, from golf communities and canal-front homes to master-planned developments built for aging in place.
9. AND FINALLY...
A New York construction worker fell for a tiny car-and started a rebellion.
Christina Dravis dragged a tiny, imported truck 300 miles north from Maryland to her home in upstate New York, only to find out it was illegal to drive. That's when she joined the resistance. "Kei" cars, the minuscule trucks, vans and sports cars native to Japan, are popping up across the U.S. despite carmakers not making or selling them here. Owners like Dravis are giving them a second life as recreational vehicles and work trucks. But they're running into roadblocks; New York is among several states that typically block owners from registering them. Now, an indignant coalition of kei-loving New Yorkers is fighting back.
10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM
-- Opinion: Jensen Huang's resignation as the CEO of Nvidia was necessary following reports of his affairs with a suspected Chinese spy and a subordinate. But it's also a regrettable loss for the company and America's AI industry, and maybe that was China's plan.
-- WSJ | Buy Side: How many credit cards should you have? The right number depends on your financial habits, credit history, spending needs and ability to manage payments.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
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