AI Summary
5 min readAI Stocks Find a Floor, Iran Threatens Escalation, and Russia's Sabotage Campaign Intensifies
Friday's market action offered a tentative reprieve for AI stocks after the Nasdaq suffered its worst session since June. Futures edged higher despite global tech shares struggling to mount a meaningful rally, as investors continued weighing the massive borrowing that has fueled the AI infrastructure buildout. South Korea's SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, whipsawed dramatically—falling more than 4% before recovering—after the group called off plans to list its U.S. memory chip unit, citing market conditions while insisting the move didn't reflect any change in growth prospects.
The Pension Fund Dilemma
The AI boom has created an unusual tension inside America's public pension system. Journal finance reporter Joe Wallace noted that 13 of the largest public pension funds have racked up roughly $138 billion in returns from AI-linked stocks between the end of 2022 and June. "The portion of the stockholdings allocated to these AI-related stocks has more than doubled in under four years," Wallace said. These AI stocks have driven 57% of the funds' stock gains over the past four years, and nearly a third of their domestic stock holdings are now in AI-related names.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:18) **AI Stocks Show Tentative Signs of Recovery** - The sell-off in AI stocks pauses as Nasdaq futures inch higher despite ongoing global tech struggles.
- 2 (01:58) **Political Tensions Over AI Data Centers Split Public Pension Funds** - A wedge is forming between politicians opposing AI projects and the pension funds that have heavily invested in AI-linked stocks.
- 3 (03:31) **Midterm Attack Ads Reach Fever Pitch in Ohio Governor's Race** - With less than two weeks until the midterms, a controversial ad targeting Democratic candidate Amy Acton draws widespread criticism.
- 4 (04:49) **Oil Prices Climb as Iran Threatens U.S. and Gulf Assets** - Oil is on track for a weekly gain after Iran warns of strikes on U.S. warships and civilian infrastructure if the U.S. and Israel resume attacks.
- 5 (07:02) **Exclusive: Russia Scales Up Sabotage Campaign in Europe** - A failed drone attack on a cargo airport in Leipzig, Germany, marks an opening shot in a broader Russian sabotage offensive.
- 6 (09:38) **NATO Allies Struggle to Respond to Russia's Undeclared Warfare** - European democracies face a challenge in deterring Russia without resorting to tit-for-tat attacks.
- 7 (12:14) **New York City Council Votes to Ban Central Park Horse Carriages** - After 160 years, the industry will be shut down in June 2028 following decades of criticism and recent incidents.
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Show Notes
A.M. Edition for Oct. 23. The tech selloff shows signs of easing at the end of a rollercoaster week, even as signs of stress in the AI trade continued overnight, after one of the boom’s biggest winners SK Hynix halted a planned U.S. IPO of its memory-chip business. Plus, as politicians across the country push back against AI projects, WSJ reporter Joe Wallace explains why it’s creating a conflict with pension fund investments, which have raked in billions of dollars for Americans in AI-fueled returns. And New York City Council has voted to ban horse carriages, saying they will shut down the industry in 2028. Daniel Bach hosts.
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