Susie Wiles replaced, tech stocks rebound, Cybertruck wind down (Updated)
11m 50s
Tech stocks recovered from a steep plunge following political concerns about AI regulation under a newly elected Democrat-controlled Congress, which has signaled plans to oversee data centers and demand executive testimony from major tech firms. In the U.S., President Donald Trump appointed Stephen Miller as chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles amid GOP setbacks, while ongoing scrutiny of Miller’s role in immigration policy raises political tensions. Meanwhile, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña resigned amid a banking crisis linked to Ueno Bank’s collapse, triggering impeachment proceedings and public protests over alleged misuse of pension funds. Europe faced significant disruption due to false bomb threats, leading to flight diversions and increased operational costs. The U.S. labor market showed resilience with strong job growth, pushing the Federal Reserve toward a rate hike. A federal court halted the construction of Trump’s Triumphal Arch near Arlington, citing procedural violations. Tesla has announced the end of Cybertruck production at its Texas factory by mid-next year, shifting focus to the CyberCab Robotaxi, as sales remain far below projections due to quality issues and recalls. These developments reflect a volatile mix of political transition, financial instability, and technological uncertainty shaping global markets and public trust.
Hi, I'm Kim Van Nel in Whanganui, New Zealand.
And I'm Christopher Waljasper in Chicago.
It's Friday, November 6th, today.
Tech stocks rebound after a massive dip
as investors weigh what a Democrat-controlled Congress could mean for AI.
A wave of hoax bomb threats,
forced flight diversions and emergency landings across Europe.
Donald Trump appoints Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff.
And Paraguay's president offers his resignation
as a bank collapse triggers a financial and political crisis.
This is Reuters World News,
bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines
in 10 minutes, seven days a week.
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Susie Wiles is out as White House chief of staff.
It's the first major shakeup,
following the GOP's brutal midterm losses.
U.S. President Donald Trump says his long-time advisor,
Stephen Miller, will step into the role next week,
writing on social media that Wiles would move into his political operation.
Miller was the deputy chief of staff
and is known for helping craft Trump's immigration policy.
U.S. markets rebounded on Friday after a massive sell-off,
sparked by concerns over the tech sector's future.
The Nasdaq saw its steepest dive in more than a year and a half on Thursday
after Democrats swept the midterm elections
and won key gubernatorial races in data center-heavy states
like Texas, Ohio and Georgia.
The dip wiped out around $3 trillion from the value of S&P 500 companies.
NVIDIA alone lost around $374 billion in market value.
But chip stocks bounced back Friday,
though they failed to recoup Thursday's losses.
So what have incoming lawmakers actually pledged when it comes to AI?
Here's Reuters' Courtney Rosen.
So far, there are two themes that are coming out.
One is that they're going to focus on data center regulation and AI safety.
That's one bucket.
And then the other theme is they're going to get CEOs
from the world's largest tech companies to answer questions.
For the last couple of years, when Democrats haven't been in power,
they haven't had the authority to compel testimony
from executives from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, SpaceX.
That's about to change, and they want to exercise that power.
But, Courtney says, it's not clear yet
whether Democrat control of Congress poses an existential threat
to the AI build-out.
President Trump, who ultimately signs off on legislation,
has brushed off calls for AI regulation,
and lawmakers or tech companies could themselves pivot.
Data center build-out takes years and years,
right?
You have companies that make deals.
They spend millions upon millions,
sometimes billions of dollars to build these centers,
especially in places like Texas or Ohio,
where we're seeing now governors that just got elected
who want to slow down or altogether stop construction of new data centers.
When I talked to investors, to analysts before the election,
they said to me that if data centers can't be built in one place,
they'll just move elsewhere.
There's lots of spots in the United States where you can put a data center.
And so, I'm going to talk to you about that.
So, they saw that the election with politicians coming in
that might have been opposed to data center construction,
they saw that as a short-term risk,
not a long-term issue for the AI trade.
The U.S. labor market strengthened in October,
with the Friday jobs report showing 165,000 new jobs added,
well above analyst expectations.
The Labor Department also revised the August and September figures up,
with the unemployment rate falling to just over 4%.
Traders now see a 78% increase in jobs,
with a 90% chance the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in December.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked construction
on President Trump's proposed 250-foot Triumphal Arch in Washington,
just hours after a planning commission approved the project.
The U.S. District Judge issued a 14-day restraining order
on construction of the arch
that would sit near Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump says it will honor veterans,
and serve as a military asset.
But opponents, including veterans groups,
argue the administration is moving forward
without congressional authorization.
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Dear compatriots,
today I'm heading to one of the most difficult moments of my life.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña
offered his resignation after the collapse of major digital bank
of the state of Paraguay.
But the government refused to let him back down.
Just minutes after Peña's announcement, however, the lower house of Congress voted to impeach him over his past ties to the bank.
Peña denies any wrongdoing and says he'll defend himself when it gets to the Senate.
Protesters quickly took to the streets, saying Peña must be held to account.
As Reuters correspondent Lucinda Elliott explains, the crisis began earlier this week,
when the central bank stepped in over concerns
Ueno didn't have enough money to cover its obligations.
Earlier this week, the government signed legislation
aimed at basically accelerating payments
through this deposit guarantee fund
to help make sure that money is returned to customers.
But they haven't provided a very firm timeline
for when all customers will regain full access to their money.
What the central bank has said
is that it's transferring customer accounts to other financial institutions, to other banks.
But that process seems to have created a few strains across the banking system in recent days.
There were several reports of outages of banking apps on Wednesday of other banks.
if those payments from the deposit guarantee fund are being made.
But what we hear is that Ueno customers still can't access the app
or the ATMs and the banks are shuttered.
President Peña has faced scrutiny in the past
because of his business ties to Grupo Vázquez,
the controlling group of Ueno.
And now he's being investigated.
Opposition lawmakers have really accused Peña
of the misuse of pension funds and an institutional cover-up.
Peña, who has repeatedly rejected any suggestion of improper ties to Ueno,
has described the controversy really as a political escalation
of what began really as a regulatory issue
and has argued that it should be addressed through the courts.
But prosecutors said on Thursday that Peña was among those
being investigated over the bank's failure.
He has not been taken in for questioning,
but they have issued arrest warrants for eight executives of that bank.
Kenyan cult leader Paul McKenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison
for the murders of 190 children who were starved to death on his orders.
Prosecutors say that he told followers to starve themselves
and their children to death to reach heaven before the end of the world.
Police began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in April of 2023.
Some had been buried alive.
In all, more than 400 bodies were found.
McKenzie denies forcing anyone to starve.
And European officials have been blaming Russia and Iran
for what they describe as hybrid attacks and acts of sabotage.
Moscow and Tehran both deny any such campaign.
Here's Europe news editor Peter Wilkinson.
I think we've got to expect more disruption ahead.
Even a false alarm can disrupt airlines' operations
with diversions and security inspections causing delays for passengers.
And the carriers have got to bear the advantage
of additional costs, including fuel and rebooking and disruption.
And this is in the long term going to lead to higher costs for passengers.
And finally, tests.
is winding down production of its Cybertruck at its Texas Gigafactory. That's according to CEO
Elon Musk in a post on X. Production will wrap up around the middle of next year,
freeing capacity for the newly launched CyberCab Robotaxi. Last year, Tesla sold just over 20,000
Cybertrucks in the US. That's down nearly 50% from the year before and well below the 250,000
annual sales that Musk had predicted. The Cybertruck has faced repeated recalls,
quality problems, and multiple price revisions. Now, it's not immediately clear whether the
Cybertruck will be moved to another facility or phased out entirely.
For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world,
check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app.
Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart
speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week.
We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
Tech stocks rebounded after a sharp sell-off driven by fears of AI regulation under a Democrat-controlled Congress, though market losses remained significant.
U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Stephen Miller as chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles, following Republican midterm losses and renewed political shifts.
Democrats have pledged to regulate data centers and AI safety, including requiring testimony from top tech executives—a shift in power from previous administrations.
President Peña of Paraguay offered his resignation amid a major bank collapse, sparking political turmoil and impeachment proceedings over alleged ties to the failing institution.
Europe faced widespread flight disruptions due to hoax bomb threats, highlighting ongoing risks from misinformation and hybrid attacks attributed to Russia and Iran.
The U.S. labor market strengthened with 165,000 new jobs reported, and the Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates in December.
A federal judge blocked construction of Trump’s 250-foot Triumphal Arch near Arlington, citing lack of congressional authorization.
Tesla is winding down Cybertruck production at its Texas factory, freeing space for the new CyberCab Robotaxi, amid declining sales and multiple recalls.
Summary:
Tech stocks recovered from a steep plunge following political concerns about AI regulation under a newly elected Democrat-controlled Congress, which has signaled plans to oversee data centers and demand executive testimony from major tech firms. , President Donald Trump appointed Stephen Miller as chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles amid GOP setbacks, while ongoing scrutiny of Miller’s role in immigration policy raises political tensions. Meanwhile, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña resigned amid a banking crisis linked to Ueno Bank’s collapse, triggering impeachment proceedings and public protests over alleged misuse of pension funds.
Europe faced significant disruption due to false bomb threats, leading to flight diversions and increased operational costs. S. labor market showed resilience with strong job growth, pushing the Federal Reserve toward a rate hike.
A federal court halted the construction of Trump’s Triumphal Arch near Arlington, citing procedural violations. Tesla has announced the end of Cybertruck production at its Texas factory by mid-next year, shifting focus to the CyberCab Robotaxi, as sales remain far below projections due to quality issues and recalls. These developments reflect a volatile mix of political transition, financial instability, and technological uncertainty shaping global markets and public trust.
FAQs
Tech stocks initially plunged after Democrats won key gubernatorial races in data center-heavy states, wiping out around $3 trillion in market value. However, the markets rebounded on Friday as investors assessed potential AI regulations and policy shifts.
Democrats plan to regulate data centers and prioritize AI safety, and aim to compel CEOs from major tech companies like OpenAI and Google to testify, a power they previously lacked under Republican control.
Data center construction is a long-term process, and companies are likely to relocate if new regulations emerge, ensuring continued build-out in other regions. This flexibility reduces the long-term threat of policy changes.
Peña offered his resignation after the collapse of Paraguay's major digital bank, Ueno, but was quickly impeached by the lower house over alleged ties to the bank. He denies wrongdoing and says the issue is a political escalation of a regulatory problem.
A wave of hoax bomb threats has led to flight diversions and emergency landings across Europe, causing significant delays, increased costs for airlines, and long-term higher expenses for passengers.
Stephen Miller, a long-time advisor known for shaping Trump’s immigration policy, has been appointed as the new chief of staff following Susie Wiles' departure.
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