Nvidia's Huang Resigns, North American Stocks Slide; Bank of Canada Minutes Reveal Rate-Hike Debate

Source: Fox Business, CNBC, The New York Times, BNN Bloomberg, Global News, The Canadian Press, Mortgage Professional America and Semafor

📊 North American Markets Today

Nvidia names Colette Kress interim CEO after Jensen Huang's abrupt resignation

Nvidia said Thursday that co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang had resigned abruptly following reports that he had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs, and that chief financial officer Colette Kress had been named interim CEO. Kress has been Nvidia's CFO since September 2013, after serving as CFO for Cisco's business technology and operations finance unit and spending 13 years at Microsoft, including as CFO of its server and tools division.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and turned a struggling startup into one of the world's largest companies by market capitalization, becoming the figurehead of the AI boom. Bret Kenwell, a U.S. investment analyst at eToro, said Kress has been a familiar presence at Nvidia and on its conference calls, offering "a recognizable voice during an already fragile situation" that should provide stability and reassurance to investors.

Others are more cautious. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, called Kress a "safe pair of hands" but said she "lacks global status" and is "unlikely to be able to forge such deep commercial ties," leaving Nvidia facing uncertainty over strategic priorities, pricing and supply agreements. Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management, called the resignation "the worst-case scenario during this entire saga." Nvidia reports quarterly results on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

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Huang scandal revives push in Washington to tighten China chip curbs

Less than a week before President Donald Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, the scandal engulfing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is bolstering the case for U.S. lawmakers seeking tighter restrictions on China's access to advanced AI chips. Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen who is not related to him, was reportedly recruited by Chinese intelligence to gather information.

Lawmakers want measures such as the AI Overwatch Act, the Chip Security Act and the MATCH Act folded into this year's National Defense Authorization Act; all are aimed at limiting the flow of advanced chips to U.S. adversaries, particularly China. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Congress on Tuesday to pass the bills, and House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., called for chip export controls to be included in the annual defense policy bill.

Alice Huang helped facilitate at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to China, according to The Information. Short seller Culper Research estimated in May that more than 20% of Nvidia's revenue for the year ended July 2025, or about $43.2 billion, came from China through illegal GPU diversion and Southeast Asian intermediaries. The Commerce Department is finalizing a rule aimed at preventing Chinese AI firms from remotely accessing advanced chips through data centers in other countries.

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Cerebras jumps 17% after revenue beat and new Microsoft deal

Cerebras Systems reported better-than-expected revenue and quarterly guidance on Thursday and announced a new deal with Microsoft, sending the stock up 17% in extended trading. Core revenue grew 70% from $135.7 million a year earlier, compared with 103% growth in the second quarter.

CEO Andrew Feldman told CNBC that long lead times and higher costs for GPUs create an opening for Cerebras. He said Microsoft signed the deal in October and revenue should begin to show up in the first quarter of 2027; the company already has deals with Amazon and Oracle and is evaluating financing options to meet rising demand.

For the fourth quarter, Cerebras expects a core gross margin of 47% to 49% and revenue of $310 million to $330 million, above analyst expectations of 42.1% and $271 million. It expects revenue to triple in 2027 to about $2.85 billion, slightly below the $2.92 billion analysts expected. The shares are down about 47% since its Nasdaq debut in May.

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US 30-year mortgage rate stays above 7%, existing home sales hit 16-year low

U.S. mortgage rates slid for a fourth consecutive week but remain above 7%. Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 7.11% from 7.18% a week earlier; a year ago the rate averaged 6.24%. Hopes that rates could fall below the 7% threshold have so far gone unmet, and industry experts say that level is unlikely to be breached soon.

High rates and high prices are keeping buyers and sellers on the sidelines. Sales of existing homes fell 8.8% in October from a year earlier and 5.5% from September's pace, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. "I don't think affordability challenges are going away any time soon, because I don't think we're likely to see substantially lower mortgage rates," said Brad Case, chief residential economist at Homes.com.

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TSX closes down 274 points as base metals weigh

Canada's main stock index closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by losses in the base metals sector, while U.S. markets also ended in the red. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 274.53 points to 36,137.19.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 189.40 points to 52,297.09, the S&P 500 lost 26.98 points to 7,592.40 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 100.10 points to 25,366.09. The Canadian dollar traded at 70.15 U.S. cents, compared with 70.52 cents on Tuesday.

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KPMG sees a 'gradual and bumpy recovery' for Canada's economy

Canada's economy faces a "gradual and bumpy recovery" over the next couple of years, KPMG's fall economic outlook says. The firm forecasts growth of 1% in 2026, accelerating to 1.8% in 2027 and 2% in 2028.

Growth in 2026 is expected to be "tepid" and "sub-par," with Trump's trade war weighing on Canada, but continued consumer spending, rising investment in AI-related infrastructure, Canadian adaptation to U.S. tariffs and modest population growth should keep the economy resilient. The forecast does not bake in a trade deal: "A thaw in trade tensions looks likely, particularly after the midterms, but we have not baked it in given past head fakes."

Analysis by RBC economists shows AI investment has yet to lift Canadian GDP the way it has in the United States. Senior economist Claire Fan noted that purchases of computers and peripheral equipment surged 28% in the first half of 2026, but 75% of that equipment was imported. KPMG expects the loonie to average between 1.40 and 1.42 per U.S. dollar near term and to pick up steam in the second half of 2027.

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Finance Minister Champagne: energy investment lays the base for Canada's growth

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told a Halifax Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Thursday that Ottawa is investing in energy infrastructure to create a foundation for the technologies that will power the 21st-century economy. "When you invest in foundational pieces like energy, you cannot be wrong, because energy will be key to power our economy for now and obviously the future," he said.

The federal budget tabled last week committed $50 billion to implementing Ottawa's electricity strategy, which aims to double the size of the grid by 2050, including more than $38 billion in tax credits the government says will remain in place until 2042. It also promised $4 billion over 10 years for electricity infrastructure and signalled plans to update the Clean Electricity Regulations to allow more flexibility and pave the way for an LNG build-out.

AI companies have shown explosive interest in Canada's energy. A York University report found the country's 194 existing data centres can draw 1.6 gigawatts, while 213 sites under construction or announced could consume more than 14 times that, about 22.7 gigawatts, with roughly 92% of planned capacity proposed for Alberta. "AI is energy, in a sense. You don't have AI if you don't have energy," Champagne said.

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Bank of Canada minutes: council weighed two paths before hiking to 2.5%

Bank of Canada's Governing Council went ahead with its first rate increase since July 2023 at its Oct. 28 meeting despite deep uncertainty about global energy markets and Canada-U.S. trade relations, according to minutes of the deliberations. The council weighed holding the policy rate at 2.25% against raising it to 2.5% during discussions from Oct. 20 to Oct. 28, and concluded the balance of risk had tilted toward action.

An eight-month-old Middle East conflict had pushed benchmark crude about US$35 a barrel above the assumption in the Bank's July Monetary Policy Report, the dominant pressure point in the talks. Canada's annual inflation rate reached 3.2% in September, driven almost entirely by energy and transportation costs; core inflation remained near 2%, but members warned the buffer was narrowing.

The Bank now sees headline CPI reaching 3.5% by the end of 2026 and staying above 3% through most of 2027 before returning to the 2% target by mid-2028. Canada's labour market shed 4,700 jobs in October, pushing unemployment to 6.7% from 6.5%. The next rate decision is scheduled for Dec. 9.

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Saudi output rebound pushes OPEC production near prewar levels

Saudi oil production rebounded in October, driving OPEC's overall output to near prewar levels for the first time and helping keep crude prices down even as Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz pick up. OPEC production rose by 1.97 million barrels a day, the majority of it from higher Saudi output, according to the cartel's latest data.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said last week that the company aimed to "maximize production" in the fourth quarter, expecting demand to be bolstered by efforts to replenish inventories drawn down in the early months of the Iran war. U.S. military escorts, ship-to-ship transfers and pipelines to ports away from the Strait of Hormuz have helped restore output, and Saudi Arabia has stepped up shipments through its eastern ports as Houthi militias threaten the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Iraq and the UAE also hit fresh highs for the year.

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Canadian Tire cuts prices on 5,000 items to court holiday shoppers

Canadian Tire is working to become more of a gifting destination even as shoppers keep facing economic pressure. The retailer, which also owns SportChek, Mark's and Party City, has cut prices on more than 5,000 goods, including gift wrap and ornaments, and expanded its toy department.

CEO Greg Hicks estimates the holiday market is worth more than $5 billion. On a call with analysts he said tariff tensions and the war in Iran have driven up household costs such as gas, causing a big drop in consumer confidence, and that "the bar is higher" for shoppers who want value, relevance, convenience, price and a retailer they trust. He expects those conditions to last another year to 18 months.

Canadian Tire also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.825 per share from $1.80 and reported net income attributable to shareholders of $219.6 million, or $4.27 per diluted share, up from $169.1 million or $3.13 a year earlier. Revenue rose to $4.32 billion from $4.11 billion and comparable sales grew 3.2%. The shares rose almost 7%, or about $14, to roughly $218 in mid-morning trading. CFO Darren Myers said October got off to a slower start: "Clearly, winter has not showed up."

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