(Bloomberg) — China and the European Union have made little headway in repairing ties since a summer summit, the bloc’s top envoy to Beijing said, though the Asian nation’s easing of rare earth controls offered a chance for reset.

“Since the summit, things have not improved,” Jorge Toledo, the EU’s ambassador to China, said Thursday during a panel discussion in Beijing. “Things have been difficult because of many factors, but especially when it comes to supply chains, export control, et cetera.”

Beijing has been throttling shipments of rare earth magnets, posing a major threat to European manufacturers that have struggled to diversify supply chains from China. An agreement reached last month between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, has allayed some of the EU’s concerns.

China’s recent suspension of export controls was “good news” that represented an opportunity, according to Toledo.

“Let’s build on that to try and make progress,” he said. “We in the European Union have no desire for bad relations with China.”

Toledo also criticized “attacks” lodged at the EU in Chinese media, which he described as an effort to “blame” the institution for all the problems.

“The EU is nothing different from that union of its member states,” Toledo said. “Ignoring that there is a political union, that there is a political will, and that there is a union behind all we do, would be risky and would not be conducive.”

PepsiCo’s board recently announced a 5% increase in its quarterly dividend, raising the annualized payout to US$5.69 per share, effective with the June 2025 distribution and payable to shareholders on January 6, 2026.

This move signals management’s ongoing commitment to returning capital to investors and may reflect confidence in PepsiCo’s ability to generate strong cash flow even amid broader market uncertainties.

We’ll explore how this dividend increase could reinforce PepsiCo’s investment narrative, especially its emphasis on shareholder returns and consistent cash generation.

PepsiCo Investment Narrative Recap

To be a PepsiCo shareholder, one needs to believe in the company’s continued ability to balance global scale with category leadership, even as it faces evolving consumer behaviors and rising regulatory demands. The recent 5% dividend increase underscores PepsiCo’s emphasis on stable shareholder returns, but it does not significantly alter the near-term catalyst of growing its permissible snack and beverage portfolio or address the persistent risk of shifting consumer health trends and regulatory scrutiny.

Among recent announcements, the launch of Pepsi® Prebiotic Cola, a lower sugar beverage scheduled for early 2026, stands out as most relevant. This move aims to capture demand for healthier alternatives, which directly supports PepsiCo’s focus on evolving its product mix in response to consumer wellness trends, the very area where future growth potential and competitive positioning are most tested.

Yet, even as PepsiCo increases dividends, investors should be aware that broader regulatory changes and consumer shifts could more rapidly impact its…

PepsiCo’s outlook anticipates $101.5 billion in revenue and $11.8 billion in earnings by 2028. This implies a 3.4% annual revenue growth rate and a $4.2 billion increase in earnings from the current $7.6 billion.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Stocks fell again on Tuesday as technology shares continued to retreat on concerns about valuations of artificial intelligence-related stocks and as bitcoin dropped briefly below $90,000, a sign of reduced risk-taking by investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 498.50 points, or 1.07%, to settle at 46,091.74. The S&P 500 lost 0.83% to end the day at 6,617.32. It was the broad-based index’s fourth straight losing session, making for its longest slide since August. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 1.21% to finish at 22,432.85. At their lows of the session, the blue-chip Dow was lower by nearly 700 points, or 1.5%, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq had fallen 1.5% and 2.1%, respectively.

The day’s moves were pressured by AI chip darling Nvidia, which fell almost 3%, and fellow “Magnificent Seven” members Amazon and Microsoft. Amazon was last down more than 4%, while Microsoft slumped nearly 3%.

“We could see an 8% [or] 9% decline when all is said done,” CFRA’s chief investment strategist Sam Stovall said about the S&P 500. “It might even end up concluding sooner if we get the kind of earnings that our analyst is expecting for Nvidia, and if we get employment data that is weak but not pointing to recession.”

Nvidia has plummeted more than 10% this month leading up to the chipmaker’s third-quarter results due after Wednesday’s close. The company, which is reporting toward the end of a strong earnings season, has been at the center of a debate about the strength of the AI-powered market rally this year, as worries have grown about pricey tech valuations and the soundness of AI fundamentals due to a boom in Big Tech debt offerings.

“If the top company within the top industry within the top sector says very optimistic things about the future while at the same time reporting better than expected earnings, revenues and profit margins, I think that would go a very long way to calming investor nerves,” Stovall said. “The real question is, ‘When do we monetize all of this capex?’ And that’s something that’s not going to happen this quarter or next, but it is something that is expected in the not too distant future.”

A big AI partnership announced Tuesday failed to lift related stocks like such deals have in the past. AI-startup Anthropic said it will spend $30 billion with Microsoft and, in turn, Microsoft and Nvidia will invest billions in Anthropic. Nvidia and Microsoft remained deep in the red following the deal.

“We’re going through a natural digestion of gains at this point, and people have to question the backdrop,” the strategist continued. “Something else will have to happen to make the investors say, ‘Well, wait a minute, maybe I was too early on my worries.’”

Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 on Tuesday before recovering. Many tech investors also have large cryptocurrency holdings, so the pullback raised worries that a bigger stock market drop may follow. Bitcoin was last trading just above $92,000.

Outside of tech, Home Depot shares slipped after the home improvement reported an earnings miss and cutting its full-year outlook.

LONDON — European markets resumed their sell off on Wednesday amid lingering doubts over tech stocks, with investors eagerly awaiting Nvidia earnings later.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.2% lower at around 8:20 a.m. London time (3:21 a.m. ET), with most sectors and major regional bourses in negative territory. Switzerland’s SMI index bucked the trend, adding around 0.3%.

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Monday fell by -0.92%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) fell by -1.18%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) fell by -0.83%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ25) fell -0.83%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ25) fell -0.69%.

US stock indexes fell on Monday ahead of key news later this week, including a raft of delayed US economic reports and Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday. Stocks had some underlying support from a +3% jump in Alphabet after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $4.9 billion stake in the company.

The markets are looking ahead to Nvidia’s earnings report after Wednesday’s close for further information on the AI outlook. Also, earnings from Walmart, Target, and Home Depot this week will provide insight into the health of consumer spending.

This week’s US economic schedule is very heavy as a deluge of delayed economic reports will be released. Tuesday brings the ADP weekly employment report, the NY Fed’s US business leaders survey, industrial production, Nov NAHB housing index, Aug factory orders, and Aug durable goods orders. Wednesday brings MBA weekly mortgage applications, Aug trade balance, and the Oct FOMC meeting minutes. Thursday brings weekly unemployment claims, the Sep unemployment report, the Philadelphia Fed report, Oct existing home sales, and the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey. Friday brings real earnings, the S&P US manufacturing and services PMI reports, the University of Michigan’s US consumer sentiment index, and the Kansas City Fed’s services activity report. Other delayed US economic reports are also expected to be released in the coming days but have not yet been scheduled.

Monday’s economic news was supportive for stocks as the Nov Empire manufacturing general business conditions survey unexpectedly rose +8.0 to a 1-year high of 18.7, stronger than expectations of a decline to 5.8.

The markets are discounting a 41% chance of another -25 bp rate cut at the next FOMC meeting on December 9-10.

On the bullish side for stocks, Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Monday reiterated his call for a rate cut at the December FOMC meeting due to his view that the US labor market is near “stall speed.” A noted dove, Mr. Waller is being considered by President Trump to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair, whose term as Fed Chair expires in May 2026.

Q3 corporate earnings season is drawing to a close as 460 of the 500 S&P companies have released results.  According to Bloomberg Intelligence, 82% of reporting S&P 500 companies exceeded forecasts, on course for the best quarter since 2021.  Q3 earnings rose +14.6%, more than doubling expectations of +7.2% y/y.

Overseas stock markets closed lower on Monday.  The Euro Stoxx 50 closed down -0.93%.  China’s Shanghai Composite fell to a 1.5-week low and closed down -0.46%.  Japan’s Nikkei Stock 225 dropped to a 1-week low and closed down -0.10%.

Interest Rates

December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ5) rose by +3 ticks.  The 10-year T-note yield fell -1.6 bp to 4.133%.  T-note prices rose slightly on speculation that long-delayed US economic news scheduled for release this week will show weakness in the economy and easing inflation pressures, which could allow the Fed to keep cutting interest rates.  T-notes were undercut by news that the Nov Empire manufacturing general business conditions index unexpectedly rose to a 1-year high, a hawkish factor for Fed policy.

European government bond yields moved lower on Monday.  The 10-year German bund yield fell -0.7 bp to 2.712%. The 10-year UK gilt yield edged to a 1-month high but ended the day down -3.9 bp at 4.535%.

The European Commission raised its 2025 Eurozone GDP forecast to +1.3% from a May forecast of +0.9% and kept its 2025 Eurozone inflation forecast unchanged from May at +2.1%.

ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said financial stability risks “remain elevated in view of uncertainty over geoeconomic trends and the ultimate impact of tariffs in a volatile international environment.”

Swaps are discounting a 2% chance for a -25 bp rate cut by the ECB at its next policy meeting on December 18.

US Stock Movers

Alphabet (GOOGL) rose more than +3% to lead gainers in the Nasdaq 100 after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $4.9 billion stake in the company.  Tesla (TSLA) rose more than +1%.  However, the other Magnificent Seven stocks closed lower, with losses of more than -1% in Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Meta (META).

Amazon.com (AMZN) fell -0.8% after Bloomberg reported that the company is looking to raise $12 billion from its first US bond sales in three years, suggesting an intention to accelerate spending on AI and other areas.

Chip stocks nearly all closed lower on Monday. Micron Technology (MU) was up more than +4% early in the session after Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target on the stock to $300 from $250, but then gave up those gains and ended the day down nearly -2%.  Qualcomm (QCOM) closed down more than -4%.  Marvell Technology (MRVL), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Microchip Technology (MCHP), and Align Technology (ALGN) all closed with losses of more than -3%.

Crypto stocks fell due to Monday’s -3.5% decline in Bitcoin (^BTCUSD) to a new 7-month low.  Coinbase (COIN)fell more than -7%, and Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) fell nearly -5%.

Zymeworks (ZYME) rose +29% and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) rose +21% after their collaboration on an experimental combination therapy for cancer of the stomach and esophagus showed topline results from a late-stage trial.

Rubrik (RBRK) fell -2.6% even though Mizuho Securities upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral with a price target of $97.

Gap (GAP) fell -1.6% even though Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight with a price target of $30.

Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) rose +2.8% after UBS upgraded the stock to buy from neutral with a price target of $166.

Aramark (ARMK) fell more than -5% after reporting Q4 revenue of $5.05 billion, weaker than the consensus of $5.17 billion.

Dell Technologies (DELL) fell by more than -8% to lead losers in the S&P 500 after being double-downgraded by Morgan Stanley to underweight from overweight with a price target of $110.

HP Enterprise (HPE) fell -7% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight.

Sealed Air Corp (SEE) fell more than -3% after Stifel downgraded the stock to hold from buy.

HP Inc (HPQ) fell more than -6% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight with a price target of $24.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency plunged below $91,500 Monday, deepening a selloff that’s erased all of its gains for the year. In the options market, traders are making increasingly bearish wagers, on the conviction that the slide is far from over as deep-pocketed buyers beat a retreat.

The shift in sentiment has been swift and sharp. Demand for downside protection — particularly at the $90,000, $85,000 and $80,000 levels — has surged. Protective options expiring later this month are seeing especially heavy activity, according to data from Coinbase-owned Deribit.

After riding Bitcoin to the highs just weeks ago, traders have snapped up more than $740 million worth of contracts betting on continued declines expiring in late November — far outpacing interest in bullish positions.

“The absence of conviction-based spot demand has become increasingly apparent as buyers who accumulated positions over the last six months now find themselves significantly underwater,” said Chris Newhouse, director of research at Ergonia, a firm specializing in decentralized finance.

The pain has been concentrated in companies known as digital-asset treasuries — firms that stockpiled large amounts of cryptocurrencies earlier this year in an effort to become crypto-hoarding bets in the stock market. While Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. just bought another $835 million worth of Bitcoin, some of his corporate peers are facing growing pressure to sell assets to protect their balance sheets.

That selling has created a psychological overhang: A market crowded with investors who are too deep in the red to buy more, but not yet ready to cut their losses.

A sentiment index compiled by data-analytics platform CoinMarketCap — tracking price momentum, volatility, derivatives, and more — indicates crypto participants are mired in a state of “extreme fear.”

Larger economic forces are weighing on sentiment, too. Traders are eyeing Wednesday’s earnings from Nvidia Corp. — a bellwether for tech and speculative risk — as well as shifting expectations for a possible interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve in December. The S&P 500 fell more than 1%, hitting sentiment for risk assets of all stripes.

“I think the Fed and AI bubble talk are two major headwinds for crypto and risk assets heading into the end of the year,” said Adam McCarthy, a research analyst at Kaiko. “The AI risk is likely compounding and affecting risk sentiment in crypto, adding that to the chatter from FOMC officials, you’re looking at a sustained downtrend for Bitcoin.”

Ethereum’s token, Ether, is proving especially vulnerable. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency slumped to $2,975, bringing its decline to 24% since early October.

“Ether is very vulnerable to this theme as the biggest digital asset treasury firms are currently underwater on their positions,” said Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata.

The broader market has been reeling since a sharp liquidation wave in early October erased about $19 billion in digital assets. Open interest in crypto futures contracts has dropped, particularly in smaller tokens like Solana, where positioning has fallen by more than half, according to Coinglass data.

“That riskoff tone spills into crypto markets, where sentiment remains fragile — the latest drawdown reflects broader macro jitters rather than structural flaws,” said Thomas Perfumo, global economist at crypto exchange Kraken.

Bitcoin and Ether were trading at $91,970 and $3,020, respectively, at 8:21 a.m. in Singapore on Tuesday.

JOBS, DELAYED

NVIDIA EARNINGS

(RTTNews) – The South Korea stock market on Friday halted the four-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 220 points or 5.5 percent. The KOSPI sits just above the 4,010-point plateau and it may see a technical rebound on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index plummeted 159.06 points or 3.81 percent to finish at 4,011.57 after trading between 4,011.40 and 4,092.76. Volume was 396.5 million shares worth 17.9 trillion won. There were 717 decliners and 169 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.36 percent, while KB Financial tanked 3.00 percent, Hana Financial contracted 1.87 percent, Samsung Electronics plunged 5.45 percent, Samsung SDI plummeted 5.83 percent, LG Electronics surrendered 2.49 percent, SK Hynix cratered 8.50 percent, Naver stumbled 4.52 percent, LG Chem declined 2.86 percent, Lotte Chemical skidded 2.07 percent, SK Innovation dropped 3.50 percent, POSCO Holdings sank 2.33 percent, SK Telecom fell 0.37 percent, KEPCO crashed 3.76 percent, Hyundai Mobis shed 0.67 percent, Hyundai Motor tumbled 2.15 percent and Kia Motors lost 0.85 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened lower on Friday but hugged the line for most of the day before ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow shed 309.74 points or 0.65 percent to finish t 47,147.48, while the NASDAQ rose 30.23 points or 0.13 percent to close at 22,900.59 and the S&P 500 dipped 3.38 points or 0.05 percent to end at 6,734.11. For the week, the NASDAQ dipped 0.5 percent, the Dow rose 0.3 percent and the S&P perked 0.1 percent.

Weakness among technology stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street early in the session amid lingering valuation concerns. However, gains from tech heavyweights Nvidia (NVDA), Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and Tesla (TSLA) dragged the NASDAQ into the green.

While some traders used the initial slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, buying interest remained somewhat subdued amid uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Recent comments from Federal Reserve officials and indications that key U.S. economic data may never be released due to the government shutdown have reduced confidence that the central bank will lower interest rates next month.

Crude oil prices rallied on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil depot in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $1.28 or 2.2 percent at $59.97 a barrel.

Breaking Rust’s “Walk My Walk” is currently the No. 1 song on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart

The song was created using artificial intelligence by Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor

Taylor is also listed as the composer of AI-generated country songs released under the artist name Defbeatsai

Who is Breaking Rust?

The No. 1 song on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart for the week of Nov. 8, 2025 is “Walk My Walk” by Breaking Rust, a seemingly gritty track featuring a raspy vocal performance of lyrics from the perspective of a “rough” and “raw” man who “ain’t selling my soul for a seat at your table.”

Breaking Rust, however, is not a real person at all. “Walk My Walk” is a song created using artificial intelligence by someone named Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, according to credits listed on Spotify.

While debates about AI’s relationship to art are more tense than ever, listeners have embraced “Walk My Walk” by Breaking Rust. Of course, it’s unclear if they’re all aware the track was composed by a computer.

In addition to topping the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart, “Walk My Walk” currently sits in the top 10 of the all-genres chart on iTunes, while Breaking Rust’s Resilient EP is in the top 10 on the platform’s albums side.

Breaking Rust also boasts over 2.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, where “Walk My Walk” has over 3.6 million streams to date.

And who exactly is the person behind Breaking Rust? Taylor doesn’t seem to have much of an online presence, though they’re also listed as the composer of AI-generated country songs released under the artist name Defbeatsai — many of which are comically raunchy.

In September, Spotify announced stronger AI protections for artists, songwriters and producers.

At the time, the streaming service stated that over 75 million spam tracks were removed from the platform, which expressed a focus on “improved enforcement of impersonation violations,” “a new spam filtering system” and “AI disclosures for music with industry-standard credits.”

However, Breaking Rust and Defbeatsai are each currently labelled as a “verified artist” on Spotify.

Recently, Xania Monet made history as the first known AI-generated singer to appear on a Billboard radio airplay chart. Creator Telisha Nikki Jones sat down with Gayle King for a CBS Mornings interview earlier this month after landing a multimillion-dollar recording contract with Hallwood Media for Monet.

Jones explained she writes all the lyrics to Monet’s songs (including the hit “How Was I Supposed to Know?”) and produces them using the AI app Suno with guiding prompts like “female voice,” “soulful vocals,” “slow tempo,” “R&B style,” “light guitar” and “heavy drums.”

“Xania is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person,” she said.

“But you can’t sing! So in that sense, she’s not a real person,” King, 70, shot back. “What do you say to people who say she may be an extension of you, but other singer who have worked hard, who have practiced their craft, who are struggling to get heard, who are really doing the actual singing, you seem to have taken a shortcut through all of that?”

“I wouldn’t call it a shortcut, because I still put in the work,” said Jones. “Anytime something new comes about and it challenges the norm and it challenges what we’re used to, you’re going to get strong reactions behind it. And I just feel that AI is the new era that we’re in. I look at it as a tool, as an instrument. Utilize it!”

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The forecasts are eye-popping: utilities saying they’ll need two or three times more electricity within a few years to power massive new data centers that are feeding a fast-growing AI economy.

But the challenges — some say the impossibility — of building new power plants to meet that demand so quickly has set off alarm bells for lawmakers, policymakers and regulators who wonder if those utility forecasts can be trusted.

One burning question is whether the forecasts are based on data center projects that may never get built — eliciting concern that regular ratepayers could be stuck with the bill to build unnecessary power plants and grid infrastructure at a cost of billions of dollars.

The scrutiny comes as analysts warn of the risk of an artificial intelligence investment bubble that’s ballooned tech stock prices and could burst.

Meanwhile, consumer advocates are finding that ratepayers in some areas — such as the mid-Atlantic electricity grid, which encompasses all or parts of 13 states stretching from New Jersey to Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C. — are already underwriting the cost to supply power to data centers, some of them built, some not.

“There’s speculation in there,” said Joe Bowring, who heads Monitoring Analytics, the independent market watchdog in the mid-Atlantic grid territory. “Nobody really knows. Nobody has been looking carefully enough at the forecast to know what’s speculative, what’s double-counting, what’s real, what’s not.”

Suspicions about skyrocketing demand

There is no standard practice across grids or for utilities to vet such massive projects, and figuring out a solution has become a hot topic, utilities and grid operators say.

Uncertainty around forecasts is typically traced to a couple of things.

One concerns developers seeking a grid connection, but whose plans aren’t set in stone or lack the heft — clients, financing or otherwise — to bring the project to completion, industry and regulatory officials say.

Another is data center developers submitting grid connection requests in various separate utility territories, PJM Interconnection, which operates the mid-Atlantic grid, and Texas lawmakers have found.

Often, developers, for competitive reasons, won’t tell utilities if or where they’ve submitted other requests for electricity, PJM said. That means a single project could inflate the energy forecasts of multiple utilities.