What we’re reading (11/19)
“Nvidia Stock Soars After Q3 Earnings, Forecasts Top Estimates With Sales For AI Chips ‘Off The Charts’” (Yahoo! Finance). “Nvidia (NVDA) reported its third quarter earnings on Wednesday, beating analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines and offering a better-than-anticipated outlook. For the fourth quarter, Nvidia projects revenue of $65 billion plus or minus 2%. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $62 billion. ‘Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out,’ CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement.”
“Is AI A Bubble? Not So Fast.” (Tyler Cowen). “It’s far too early to say if AI is a bubble. But the technology’s power to transform society means that believing it’s a bubble can be something of a security blanket.”
“Why The Fed’s December Rate Decision Isn’t The Stock Market’s Biggest Worry” (MarketWatch). “Investors are making too big a deal over whether interest rates will be cut at the December meeting of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate-setting committee. Interest rates have surprisingly little ability to forecast the stock market’s direction.”
“Private Equity Firms Could Face More Litigation As They Push Into Retail” (Institutional Investor). “Private equity’s push into the wealth and retail channels could lead to class actions from individual investors in a way the sector has not previously experienced. But this increased litigation risk to PE could serve to help indirectly regulate retail investments in private assets, two researchers argue. “Private equity firms are not subject to the same regulations as public companies,” said William Magnuson, professor at the Texas A&M University School of Law. Under the PE model, investors have fewer rights and liquidity can be limited, among other things. In contrast, the SEC requires a long list of disclosures and standards for calculating fees and other expenses. With private equity set to enter 401(k)s, the gap between the two regulatory frameworks could lead to a flood of legal actions against PE firms.”
“Lawsuit Claims Farm Bureau Hid Fraudulent Activity From Insurance Regulators” (Iowa Capital Dispatch). “Two alleged whistleblowers are suing Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and its affiliates for alleged racketeering, wrongful termination and concealment of information from state regulators. The lawsuit alleges Farm Bureau officials repeatedly concealed from regulators in Iowa and other states instances of fraudulent activity committed by company agents or employees. The defendants’ conduct in the matter amounts to racketeering, obstruction of justice, and mail fraud or wire fraud, the lawsuit claims.”
