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Sunday, November 8, 2026Nov 8, 2026 · morning edition

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White House scraps AI meeting with Nvidia, Meta, AMD chiefs

The Trump administration canceled a Friday advisory-panel session as tech and chip stocks sold off and Democrats' midterm wins raised the odds of tighter AI rules.

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8 moves
Jensen HuangPolicyAI & techNVDA · META · AMD · ORCLAI read · ▼ AI's cheerleaders lose a meeting

White House cancels AI advisory meeting with tech chiefs

The move

The Trump administration canceled a Nov. 6 meeting of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a panel that includes Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, AMD CEO Lisa Su and Oracle CTO Larry Ellison, an Energy Department spokesperson confirmed. The meeting was meant to advise a new White House "Super Intelligence Task Force." The agency's meeting page briefly listed Nov. 13 as a new date before the agency retracted it by email.

Why it matters

The cancellation landed in a week when tech and chip stocks sold off on investor worries about AI spending, after Democrats' midterm wins raised the odds of tighter rules on AI data centers.

The bear case

A rescheduled advisory meeting is a logistics issue, not evidence the administration's AI policy stance has shifted.

What to watch

Whether the Energy Department sets a new date for the panel to meet.

Source · American BazaarRead original ↗Report an error
Changpeng ZhaoSecurity breachFinancePrivateAI read · ▼ Crypto's costliest heist

Binance says hackers stole about $6 billion

The move

Binance disclosed on Oct. 29 that hackers had breached its digital wallets and stolen roughly $6 billion, which CNN called the largest crypto heist on record. Binance suspended withdrawals, said it would cover all losses from company funds and an emergency reserve, and resumed withdrawals within days. Crypto-tracing firms including Chainalysis said they had high confidence a North Korean hacking group was responsible; North Korea denied involvement. Changpeng Zhao, who co-founded Binance and remains its largest shareholder, said on X that he expects user funds to be fully covered.

Why it matters

Binance's initial investigation traced the breach to a compromised engineer's laptop that reached an internal service container, and tracing firms froze about $3 billion of the stolen funds, showing both how deep the access was and how much can be clawed back on a public blockchain.

The bear case

Binance's pledge to cover losses from its own funds and a reserve has not been independently verified against the exchange's balance sheet.

What to watch

Any formal government attribution of the hack.

Source · CNNRead original ↗Report an error
Masayoshi SonAcquisitionAI & techSFTBYAI read · ▼ Beijing says no

China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion ABB Robotics deal

The move

China's foreign-investment security review office told SoftBank it would block the firm's planned $5.4 billion purchase of ABB's robotics division, ABB confirmed Nov. 5. The deal had already cleared China's competition review in February and the European Commission in March. ABB said the two companies are "in close dialogue and are working constructively on the transaction"; neither company commented further.

Why it matters

Reports say Chinese regulators were concerned that robotics data from the unit could be sent overseas and used to train AI models, including OpenAI's, in which SoftBank is a major investor. It is the second major tech deal China has blocked this year, after unwinding Meta's purchase of AI startup Manus.

The bear case

SoftBank is reportedly weighing whether to reapply or spin off part of the business to win approval, so the deal may not be dead yet.

What to watch

Whether SoftBank resubmits the deal in a restructured form.

Source · Robotics 24/7Read original ↗Report an error
Marc BenioffAcquisitionAI & techCRMAI read · ▲ Fourth deal, same playbook

Salesforce agrees to buy voice-AI startup Cresta

The move

Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, a voice-AI platform used by Marriott, Comcast and Alaska Airlines for customer-service calls, the company announced Nov. 4. Salesforce did not disclose a price and plans to fold Cresta into its Service Cloud product. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of Salesforce's fiscal 2028, subject to regulatory approval.

Why it matters

Cresta is Salesforce's third acquisition announced in two weeks, after Rune Technologies and the $5.66 billion purchase of Braze, as CEO Marc Benioff keeps adding AI customer-service tools to compete with rivals selling their own AI agents.

The bear case

Salesforce hasn't said what it paid, and a rapid string of acquisitions can be harder to integrate cleanly than a single large deal.

What to watch

Whether Salesforce discloses Cresta's purchase price in a future filing.

Source · Salesforce (press release)Read original ↗Report an error
Carlos Slim Helu & familyInvestmentIndustrialsBAKAI read · ▲ Buying into a distressed giant

Carlos Slim entities disclose 6.5% stake in Braskem

The move

Entities linked to Carlos Slim Helu, including Control Empresarial de Capitales and two family foundations, disclosed combined ownership of about 6.5% of Braskem's Class A shares in a Schedule 13D filed Nov. 6 with the SEC. The filing says the shares were bought for investment purposes and that the group does not intend to seek control of the company.

Why it matters

Braskem, the Brazilian petrochemical maker, has spent 2026 restructuring more than $11 billion in debt, and its Mexican joint venture Braskem Idesa filed for Chapter 11 protection in August. Slim's camp is already a creditor in that restructuring, so a fresh equity stake adds to his exposure to how it plays out.

The bear case

A 6.5% stake with no board seats and an explicit "no control" statement gives Slim little direct say over a restructuring that creditors have already pushed back on once.

What to watch

Whether Braskem's parent reaches a deal with bondholders on its debt restructuring.

Source · SEC EDGAR (Schedule 13D)Read original ↗Report an error
Giancarlo DevasiniInvestmentFinanceMTAAI read · ▲ Doubling down on gold-adjacent bets

Tether's Devasini lifts stake in a gold royalty firm to 14.6%

The move

Tether Global Investments Fund and Tether International, entities tied to Tether co-founder Giancarlo Devasini, disclosed owning 13,663,050 shares of Metalla Royalty & Streaming, or about 14.6% of the company, in a Schedule 13D/A filed Nov. 4 with the SEC. Paolo Ardoino and Jean-Louis van der Velde are also named as reporting persons on the filing.

Why it matters

The stake extends Tether's push to tie stablecoin-linked cash to gold and gold royalties, a strategy the company has pursued since 2025 alongside a stake in Gold.com and holdings of physical gold bars.

The bear case

Metalla is a small royalty company; even a 14.6% stake is a minor line item next to Tether's broader gold and bitcoin holdings.

What to watch

Any further SEC filings on Tether-linked ownership of gold-royalty firms.

Source · SEC EDGAR (Schedule 13D/A)Read original ↗Report an error
Charles Koch & familyDivestitureOtherIBTAAI read · ▼ Trimming after a big run-up

Koch's holding company sells 700,000 Ibotta shares

The move

KDT Ibotta Holdings, the Koch, Inc. entity that holds Charles Koch's stake in Ibotta, sold 700,000 Class A shares for about $41.8 million in three open-market trades on Nov. 3 and 4, according to a Form 4 filed with the SEC. The sales cut its stake to 3,689,129 shares, down from the 4,389,129 shares it had reported owning.

Why it matters

The sales follow Ibotta's Nov. 2 earnings report, when the company beat its own revenue guidance and its stock jumped. Trimming into strength after a run-up is common and doesn't necessarily signal Koch has soured on the stock.

The bear case

Koch, Inc. still owns nearly 3.7 million shares, so this looks like partial profit-taking rather than an exit.

What to watch

Koch, Inc.'s next 13F-HR, due around mid-November, for the stake's new size.

Source · SEC EDGAR (Form 4)Read original ↗Report an error
Jeff BezosDelayAerospacePrivateAI read · ▼ Another slip for New Glenn

Blue Origin pushes New Glenn's return to January 2027

The move

Blue Origin delayed the next launch of its New Glenn rocket to January 2027, after earlier targeting the end of 2026, CNBC reported Nov. 5. The company is still rebuilding the Cape Canaveral launchpad damaged in a May hot-fire-test explosion, and bad weather over the summer added to the delay. CEO Dave Limp told employees the change "doesn't diminish what we've accomplished or the importance of the work still ahead."

Why it matters

The delay has slowed deployment of Amazon's Leo satellite constellation, which depends partly on Blue Origin for launches; Amazon has shifted some launches to United Launch Alliance and Arianespace in the meantime.

The bear case

Blue Origin has pushed New Glenn's schedule before, so a further slip of about 10 days from its prior internal target is a familiar pattern rather than a one-off setback.

What to watch

Whether Blue Origin confirms a specific January 2027 launch date.

Source · CNBCRead original ↗Report an error

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