• Markets: With the notable exception of the elephant in the room at Nvidia (more on that below), tech stocks made a comeback yesterday as stocks rose and oil prices fell. Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft all jumped up, as did chipmakers like AMD and Broadcom.

THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Soeren Stache/Getty Images

Shares of Nvidia fell 4.3% yesterday, after its CEO Jensen Huang admitted on Sunday to an affair with an alleged Chinese spy. The plunge wiped out nearly $230 billion of value in the world’s second-largest publicly traded company. And Nvidia’s place at the center of the AI industry means Huang’s infidelity could have ramifications beyond your Fidelity 401(k).

The chipmaker has effectively served as the central bank for the AI race with $500 billion in investments to help companies build out their AI infrastructure. Although the Nasdaq surged 2% yesterday, the reverberations from any negative impact the scandal has on Nvidia—especially if the board ultimately decides to take the complicated step of replacing Huang despite there being no clear succession plan—may be felt in all corners of the incestuous AI industry:

• Nvidia has billions tied up with OpenAI and Anthropic. Both companies rely heavily on Nvidia GPUs, although Anthropic also uses chips from Amazon and Google, while OpenAI is developing its own in-house chips.
• The chipmaker has lent ~$165 billion to neoclouds in need of a backstop during tumultuous times or early development stages.
• Nvidia is also the dominant investor in neolabs, the AI startups focused more on research and less on products.

Waves of change

Investors were already wary about the future of data centers after Democrats won control of Congress and several governorships in last week’s elections thanks in part to promises to halt construction of new facilities.

In the past, Huang worked wonders to ease US investors’ panic in the face of cheaper open-source AI models emerging from China…but it might be harder to reassure the market from inside a honeypot.

No cheat code for what happens next: While tech leaders are split on whether Huang will remain as CEO at the conclusion of the company’s investigation, many investors favor him staying put. Dan Ives, the senior managing director at Yorkville Ives & Co., told CNBC that the idea of replacing Huang is “comedy” and that Nvidia is still two to three years ahead of China on AI chips.—DL

      

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Now, you can join them as a TerraCycle investor. Invest at $6.91/share before the price changes November 12.

World

Tour de headlines

Jim Watson/Getty Images

🏛️ Impeachment articles filed against Pete Hegseth. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican and Trump critic who will leave Congress at the end of the year, introduced eight articles of impeachment against the defense secretary yesterday, likely forcing a vote on the issue this week. The articles accuse Hegseth of waging the war in Iran without a declaration from Congress and being involved in other unlawful attacks. Most Democrats are expected to support the impeachment effort, though even if it passes the House, it would likely wither in the currently GOP-controlled Senate. The unusual move to impeach a cabinet secretary comes after many Republicans—including the vice president—blamed the war in Iran for their party’s midterm losses. Hegseth, who plans to hold a press conference today, dismissed the impeachment push as “noise.”

⚕️FDA orders new warning on GLP-1s. The agency said it will require GLP-1 makers to include a warning about a rare eye condition known as NAION that can lead to blindness. The FDA said it found roughly six cases of NAION per 100,000 people taking GLP-1s each year, and just four cases among patients on a placebo or other diabetes medication. The drugs are already required to carry a similar warning in the UK, Japan, and Australia, and both Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk and Zepbound-maker Eli Lilly are facing lawsuits in the US from patients who claim the drugs impacted their vision. Both companies are fighting those suits and told news outlets that patient safety is their priority.

🎬 DC Studios to get a new head. Big news for your friend who insists that the Justice League could beat the Avengers: The co-CEOs of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran, said they’re stepping down from their leadership roles. The move is a shock to Hollywood, since the pair—who have been at the helm for four years and had a decade’s worth of plans—appeared safe in the wake of Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. because they were part of Skydance CEO David Ellison’s business leadership team. But in a twist worthy of Doomsday Clock, the pair will be replaced by Jeremy Latcham, a Marvel Studios veteran who will become the president and chief creative officer of DC Studios on Dec. 1.—AR

Seed of doubt

Morning Brew Inc.

Unlike the birds swarming your grandpa’s feeder, many Americans want nothing to do with seeds. Sales of seed-oil-free products soared 72% to $1 billion in the past year, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

What’s with the anti-seed sentiment? A legion of MAHA health influencers are promoting theories disputed by scientists that cooking with canola, corn, sunflower, and other seed oils comes with health risks. Instead, they recommend using butter, beef tallow, and olive oil. They say seed oils lack valuable nutrients, contain toxins, and cause inflammation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the oils are behind the surge in obesity.

Catering to these concerned shoppers, health brands and snack giants, including PepsiCo and Utz Brands, are filling shelves with a cornucopia of munchables cooked in costlier alternatives, including beef tallow.

What do health experts think?

Dietitians say seed oils are caloric and may lack the benefits of olive oil but are otherwise healthy if consumed in moderation:

• Moderate intake of seed oils is associated with improved heart health, as seed oils contain unsaturated fats, while animal oils have cholesterol-boosting saturated fats.
• Human studies have shown no causal link between seed oil consumption and increased inflammation.
• One expert told NPR that fears about toxins in seed oil-cooked foods are unfounded.

But…Experts still recommend avoiding ultra-processed foods due to their high sugar and salt content—not because they often contain seed oils.—SK

      

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APRÈS-SKI CHICKEN BUCKET

Niv Bavarsky

Colonel Sanders is about to have that classic American tourist experience where you go to Italy and get an unshakable feeling that nobody wants you there. Except in this case, the Colonel’s fried chicken business really isn’t welcome. KFC recently announced it’s set to open two locations in the Italian Alps next month, igniting backlash from locals who think it will stain the area’s luxurious reputation and authentic Alpine cuisine.

The first fast-food joint on any Italian ski slope: KFC Italy said the new restaurants—set to open on Dec. 5 on the mountains of Cortina d’Ampezzo and Madonna di Campiglio in the Dolomites—are aimed at surprising people and “reaching places” where you wouldn’t expect to find them.

KFC got the surprise part right:

• Local officials have reportedly asked mountain operators to reconsider the KFC plans after being caught off guard by the finger-lickin’ news.
• Alberico Zardini, the largest shareholder in a company that manages ski lifts in Cortina, told a local publication that he will pursue legal action against mountain executives if they go ahead with this “disgraceful,” “absurd,” “shameful,” and “mad decision.”

The wing that broke the camel’s back? Between throngs of visitors waiting to take selfies at historic sites, and noise pollution from helicopters and loud DJ sets, Dolomites locals were already concerned that a tourism boom was eroding their Alpine traditions.—ML

      

Reader Poll

Matty’s work-life balance

AI took grunt work, so PwC is training people to think

Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images

As the Big Four speed run AI adoption, PwC said it plans to put 85,000 employees through a six-month critical-thinking certification. The decision to implement the program next month comes after company analysis revealed that AI has pushed entry-level roles to increasingly include high-level skills, like judgement and leadership, more than they did seven years ago.

Now, the firm wants to make sure its hires can think for themselves, especially considering the sheer number of engineers and tech experts it’s hired in the last two years.

How do you learn critical thinking without getting scammed into overpaying for a bad used car? PwC sees an AI solution to an AI-created problem. The certificate program will assess the employee’s thinking style and then practice “realistic simulations” with AI coaches.—MM

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News

What else is brewing

• California voters rejected a tax on the state’s billionaires, after the measure, which was unprecedented in modern times, received an intense and expensive pushback from the ultrawealthy. The Associated Press was only able to call the outcome of the close vote last night.
• Anthropic debuted its more powerful, faster models, Claude Fable 5.2 and Claude Mythos 5.2, yesterday as it continues to gear up for its IPO.
• France accused Iran of being behind recent cyberattacks on supermarket fridges.
• Elon Musk said Tesla “will have to return deposits for a lot of people” because of the decision to wind down Cybertruck production.
• Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault.
• An apocalyptic sci-fi novel by 81-year-old author M. John Harrison won this year’s Booker Prize.

recs

• The Infatuation’s list of the best new restaurants in America.
• Zoom way in with this year’s winners of a contest for photos taken through microscopes.
• How to move forward when you’re stuck in research mode.
• Gifts for runners that Morning Brew Daily’s Toby Howell recommends.**

^{*A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

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Brew Mini: Your sample clue of the day is “Pizzazz.” Play the Mini here.

Accounting trivia

Happy International Accounting Day, which falls on Nov. 10 (but who’s counting?)! To celebrate, let’s see how well you know your accounting terms. We’ll give you a common accounting acronym, and you have to name it.

1. CPA
2. GAAP
3. AP
4. AR
5. NI
6. GL

Answer

1. Certified Public Accountant
2. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
3. Accounts Payable
4. Accounts Receivable
5. Net Income
6. General Ledger

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: cornucopia, meaning “an abundance.” Thanks to Mark Adkins from St. George, Utah, and a whole bunch of other readers for a suggestion that has us ready for Thanksgiving. Submit another Word of the Day here.