Meta ordered to pay $25B over privacy

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Meta ordered to pay $25B over Cambridge Analytica LINK

• A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company misled users over its privacy and content practices in connection with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
• Jurors found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws tied to Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of Facebook user data for 2016 election ads; the state had sought as much as $40 billion, while Meta argued for a fraction of that.
• Attorney General Raúl Torrez said he expects Meta to appeal, and that the payout would fund public education; he contrasted the figure with the $459 million that 48 other states are splitting over the same conduct.

Tesla beats on cash flow by spending less LINK

• Tesla posted adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share against the 44-cent consensus, and generated $1.53 billion of free cash flow where analysts had expected it to burn nearly $5 billion, a roughly $6.5 billion swing that lifted the shares.
• About half that cash surprise came not from strength but from spending: capital expenditure landed at $4.73 billion, some $3 billion below Tesla's own $7.77 billion estimate, meaning deferred outlays could bite in the fourth quarter if the company still aims to hit Musk's $25 billion full-year target.
• The market largely shrugged, the stock closed up 3.4% at $386.47 and added about 1% after hours, because attention has shifted to a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger, which Goldman called what would be the largest corporate combination ever, with no terms set and Musk warning shareholder support may be hard to win.

Facebook parent tops Q3 estimates with $64.6B in revenue LINK

• Meta shares jumped more than 4% in after-hours trading after it beat Wall Street's revenue expectations and confirmed plans to introduce a new class of non-voting stock.
• Third-quarter revenue came in at $64.6 billion, above the roughly $63 billion estimate, while per-share earnings and fourth-quarter revenue guidance both edged past forecasts.
• Guidance often drives the stock move more than past results, and the shares are up about 15% since early-September news on its Muse AI effort, with analysts watching whether further AI progress can sustain the gains after two years of flat trading.

Jensen Huang pushes Europe to embrace AI LINK

• Jensen Huang used Nvidia's GTC conference in Berlin on Wednesday to urge Europe to build its own AI rather than just use it, arguing the region's engineering precision gives it an edge in robotics and physical AI.
• Nvidia has committed nearly $10 billion to Europe's technology ecosystem, supplying the chips and software behind robotic "brains," which gives it a direct commercial stake in the region's manufacturers succeeding.
• Among the partnerships, Germany's Agile Robots plans to make 1,000 to 2,000 small humanoid robots next year with Nvidia, with production starting late this year, though Europe still lacks a home-grown player at the scale of Nvidia, Anthropic or OpenAI.

First US regulator finalizes stablecoin rules LINK

• The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has become the first US regulator to finalize its stablecoin rulebook under the GENIUS Act, the framework President Trump signed last year, with the rules set to take effect on January 18, 2027.
• The regime requires dollar-pegged tokens to be fully backed by US dollars or similarly liquid assets and audited annually, while opening paths for both banks and non-bank firms to issue payment stablecoins and setting standards for foreign issuers and custody.
• The final version softened a proposed crackdown on stablecoin rewards, interest-like payouts that banks fear could pull deposits from community lenders, dropping language presuming third-party arrangements unlawful, with the OCC saying it will instead police potential evasions case by case.

Macro News

• Bank of Korea holds rates at 3%, pausing after two hikes. LINK
• Norway's fund loses $30 billion as bond selloff hits holdings. LINK
• UK inflation reached 3.5%, bolstering expectations of a November rate hike. LINK
• France urges EU to hold crypto platforms liable for unchecked DeFi. LINK
• Tianjin court opens separate confiscation case over 61,896 bitcoin seized by Britain. LINK
• Japan-South Korea partnership could enable travelers to pay with yen-backed stablecoins. LINK
• UK approves Jackdaw gasfield, clearing major North Sea project for drilling. LINK
• China's CSI 300 enters bear market, down 20% from June peak. LINK
• Oman crude premium over Dubai falls to weakest since late July. LINK

Corporate News

• Nvidia launches container-sized AI data center promising deployment in weeks. LINK
• SAP revenue rises 13%, topping €10 billion as cloud sales surge. LINK
• Barclays plans 5,000 job cuts, citing AI and cost reductions. LINK
• eBay cuts 1,100 jobs to refocus on faster-growing, higher-value businesses. LINK
• IBM reports 5% quarterly growth, maintains 2026 revenue forecast. LINK
• OpenAI offers models and Codex through Google Cloud in rival partnership. LINK
• EA closes BioWare and cuts 400 jobs in broader restructuring. LINK
• Standard Chartered agrees to acquire Zodia Custody outright, terms undisclosed. LINK
• Nokia profit beats forecasts as AI and cloud demand lifts results. LINK
• Legal-tech startup Legora raises $550 million at $8.8 billion valuation. LINK
• Tech giants rush to patch critical PHP flaws after government warnings. LINK

Stocks

▲ Biggest winners

Skydance rose 11% after John Malone predicted SpaceX will invest $8 billion to $10 billion in Skydance. LINK

Super Micro Computer rose 10% after preliminary Q1 revenue guidance was raised to $18.5 billion-$19.5 billion. LINK

Zscaler rose 8% after announcing support for Nvidia's OpenShell reference architecture for safe AI agents. LINK

▼ Biggest losers

Netflix fell 5% after fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $0.67 missed consensus of $0.73. LINK

Expedia Group fell 5% after Q3 revenue missed estimates and guidance cut. LINK

DexCom fell 6% after Abbott cut its diabetes care growth outlook from high single digits to low-to-mid single digits. LINK

Research & Reports

• BIS says fintechs beat banks on cross-border costs; stablecoins retain friction. LINK
• Flexible AI centers could halve grid waits to four years. LINK
• DeFi activity rebounds on incentives and tokenized stocks as Ethereum revenue falls. LINK
• Coin Metrics finds crypto market gains predict slower USDC, faster USDT growth. LINK
• Economists warn California billionaire tax could reduce state revenue, not raise it. LINK
• Yardeni flags frothy AI stocks but sees no imminent crash risk. LINK