Economy

US Growth
Trump’s handling of the economy receives a historic low rating

Dissatisfaction with how Donald Trump is managing the US economy has reached a new record high in a CNBC poll, less than two weeks before the midterm elections. Among those surveyed, 65 percent are dissatisfied, compared to 60 percent in July. Meanwhile, 34 percent are satisfied, down from 38 percent previously.

This is the highest level of dissatisfaction that CNBC has recorded for any president since the polling began during the Barack Obama administration.

A key factor is that pessimism is also rising among Republican voters, with the share of dissatisfied respondents in that group increasing from 29 to 35 percent since the last poll.

These figures align closely with a New York Times/Siena poll published on Wednesday, in which 64 percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the White House’s handling of the economy.
 

AI and Jobs
Barclays invests in AI – cuts 5,000 jobs

The major British bank Barclays is set to cut 5,000 positions as part of efficiency measures driven by AI, according to several media reports. The reduction represents 5 percent of the bank’s workforce.

The news emerged as the bank released its third-quarter financial results. The outcome fell short of analysts' expectations on several fronts, Bloomberg reports.

“We will be using AI at scale,” said CEO CS Venkatakrishnan during a conference call following the report.

“But AI is the icing on the cake, not the foundation itself,” he added. 

The Oil Fund’s Investments
Norway’s Oil Fund Loses 300 Billion on Bonds

The Norwegian Oil Fund—the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund—has seen its value drop by the equivalent of nearly 300 billion kroner in the volatile bond market, according to performance data for the third quarter.

This loss represents just over 1 percent of the fund’s total holdings.

The decline is driven by rising market interest rates, which have caused the value of existing bonds to fall. As new bonds offer higher interest rates, older bonds with lower rates become less attractive, pushing down their market value.

SpaceX’s Path to the Stock Market
Analysis: Musk’s Mega-Merger Could Prove Costly for Shareholders

Speculation regarding a potential merger between Elon Musk’s companies, SpaceX and Tesla, has overshadowed this week’s quarterly earnings reports—yet the reports themselves highlight just how unusual such a combination would be, writes Bloomberg’s Liam Denning.

The space giant’s first-quarter profit of $4.4 billion eclipsed Tesla’s total profit over the past year. SpaceX is growing, while Tesla’s automotive business is slowing down. While a merger might facilitate financing, it also risks masking Tesla’s underlying problems.

Furthermore, Denning notes that SpaceX shareholders could end up disadvantaged, while Musk’s control would be further strengthened.

Meanwhile, Asa Fitch and Aaron Back of The Wall Street Journal point to the risks for Tesla shareholders. A merged entity could end up being worth less than the two companies combined as separate entities, and Tesla’s resources might end up being diverted to support other business operations. They, too, see potential financing advantages, but warn that the conglomerate could turn into a “confusing mess”—one for which shareholders would demand a discount in order to hold the stock.