Economy

Oil prices fall as hopes for peace grow

Oil prices continued to decline on Tuesday after Donald Trump stated that no further attacks against Iran are necessary and that the war is, for all practical purposes, over. Following a 6 percent plunge on Monday, Brent crude fell by another 1 percent-plus to approximately $91.50 per barrel—the lowest level since August, Bloomberg notes.

Trump’s statement followed a meeting on Monday with the Prime Minister of Qatar—a nation acting as a mediator—Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

Hopes for a swifter end to the war have been bolstered following the Democrats' gains in the midterm elections. Meanwhile, oil exports from the Persian Gulf have seen a strong recovery, putting further downward pressure on prices, Bloomberg reports.

The espionage scandal surrounding Nvidia
Sources: Nvidia learned of a secret investigation—and avoided scrutiny

The U.S. Department of Commerce was secretly investigating Nvidia’s dealings with the Singapore-based company Megaspeed. During this process, a high-ranking official at the agency, Jeff Kessler, engaged in direct discussions with the chip giant, according to the New York Times, citing various sources.

Investigators became aware of the conversation after Nvidia’s chief legal officer reached out regarding the matter—a development that reportedly came as a major surprise to them, leaving them to wonder exactly what Kessler had disclosed. These details are now being made public, following revelations that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was involved in an affair with Alice Huang, the head of Megaspeed. According to US intelligence, the woman is a Chinese spy.

The Department of Commerce investigation was dropped shortly after the leak. However, according to US media, the FBI has since launched a new investigation. It remains unclear whether there is any connection between Nvidia’s outreach and the closure of the initial case.

Downturn on Wall Street – Nvidia continues to slide

Nvidia, which plummeted more than 4 percent on Monday, fell further during Tuesday’s opening trading session in New York. By 7:45 PM, all three major stock indices were also in the red.

· S&P 500: -0,7 %
· Dow: -0,6 %
· Nasdaq: -1,2 %

Nvidia is down 6 percent. The decline follows an announcement by the AI ​​giant’s board over the weekend that it has launched an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a woman identified as a Chinese spy.

A report on unexpectedly large price increases in the US in October has led to rising interest rates and falling stock prices. Expectations for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are growing. Meanwhile, the price of oil has dropped by just over 2 percent, with a barrel of Brent crude now costing slightly more than $90.

Microsoft is under pressure following reports that Anthropic is set to unveil new products that will compete with Microsoft. The stock is down 2 percent.

AI-related stocks are falling, following a broader recovery on Monday. Semiconductor companies Intel and Arm are down 3 and 5 percent, respectively.

Memory companies Sandisk, Micron and Western Digital are down 3 to 5 percent.