The week of October 12–18, 2026
Politics
Zacharia leaves White House after 5 days as Trump signals a transition
President Trump said he told Katie Zacharia to reconsider the job, and a White House official confirmed she is 'transitioning' out of the press secretary role. Her five-day run came after a rocky first briefing and renewed scrutiny over her credentials.
The Founder's Letter
The Exit Is The Real Test
Every market sells you on how easy it is to get in. Few tell you how hard it is to get out. This week's news is full of exits, and most of them are harder than advertised.
Read the letter →Businessperson of the Week
Hock Tan
Broadcom's chief sounds the alarm on an AI market he is profiting from
Hock Tan is the CEO of Broadcom, which has booked roughly $68 billion in AI semiconductor revenue since late 2023 — making the company one of the biggest financial winners of the AI buildout. Yet this week Tan broke from the industry's triumphalist tone, warning investors are "in a casino," arguing many do not understand what they are actually funding. He identified capital, not chips, as the sector's real constraint going forward.
His comments landed alongside a string of stories questioning whether AI spending is outrunning fundamentals: CoreWeave's $35.6 billion debt stack against thin margins, Anthropic's eye-popping post-IPO valuation talk, and executives admitting corporate AI adoption has produced "close to zero" real change. Tan's warning carries weight precisely because it comes from inside the boom's biggest beneficiary, not a skeptic on the sidelines — making him the week's clearest voice on whether AI enthusiasm has outpaced discipline.
Opinion
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AI could strand 18.6 million workers if employers choose automation over skills
Dollarization held Ecuador together for 26 years despite one president's assault
AI firms' self-policing gets a hard look as models keep going rogue
Foundation set to train 1,000 private-sector leaders for civic life
Business Spotlight
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OpenAI engineer faces 5 years as prosecutors cite one-way Saudi trip
Diesel hits $6.30 a gallon as grocery shipping costs outrun lettuce
36.6% of Americans earning over $500,000 say they live paycheck to paycheck
OpenAI math breakthrough puts cryptography on watch as Bitcoin and banking face a new risk
The Week
Business & Markets
Goldman Sachs posted $18.68 billion in third-quarter revenue, its second-highest quarterly net revenue ever. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America both fell short of expectations, exposing where Wall Street's earnings power is holding and where costs and trading weakness are biting.
CoreWeave's debt stack has grown to $35.6 billion, backed by $103.7 billion in customer contracts. The AI "neocloud" provider lost $1.4 billion in the quarter, and the market is split on whether its noncancellable commitments are discipline or leverage on a thin margin.
Broadcom has booked about $68 billion in AI semiconductor revenue since late 2023. CEO Hock Tan says investors are "in a casino," warning that capital, not chips, is now the industry's biggest constraint.
An early Anthropic investor says the company could price its IPO around $1.8 trillion and trade up to $2.4 trillion, topping SpaceX. The bet rests on enterprise demand and fast growth.
Diesel hit $6.30 a gallon this week, up about 68% from before the Iran war. The reserves beige book report says the shock is pushing freight, packaging and consumer prices higher, with one grocery chain now paying more to ship a head of lettuce than the lettuce costs.
Supermicro named Mark Long as chief financial officer, replacing Weigand, nearly two years after promising a search. The company still faces subpoenas tied to the Liaw case, its compliance program and internal controls, after a $2.5 billion smuggling case.
JPMorgan will not let outside AI agents log into or act on customer accounts. Dimon cited the risk of "rogue agents," drawing a hard line even as Big Tech pushes AI deeper into personal finance.
Luo pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to fraud tied to a scheme seeking more than $1.2 billion from Fortress Investment Group co-founder Wes Edens. She faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing in February.
Politics & the World
U.S. federal debt topped $40.3 trillion. Georgieva said growth alone can't fix it and Washington must cut the deficit; Treasury pushed back, calling the IMF's forecasting record poor.
Kumar says four years of U.S. export controls haven't stopped China's chip progress and may have pushed Beijing to build its own ecosystem. Chinese firms are closing the gap in processors, software and memory chips.
A Wall Street Journal investigation found that Nxum, the consulting firm Hines cofounded, earned $6.3 million from Tether while Hines led the White House push for the Genius Act. Hines later left government for Tether's new U.S. division.
Zacharia is leaving the White House press secretary role after five days. Trump said he told her to reconsider the job, and officials confirmed she is "transitioning" out after a rocky first briefing.
New survey data shows one in three EU founders want out of Europe, with 45% demanding a real single market. Brussels' warning: capital will not wait for bureaucracy to catch up.
A record 69,300 workers filed to leave Britain in the 2025/26 tax year, up 32% from the year before. Tax changes, weak public services and lifestyle pressures are driving the exodus.
Eight states sued OpenAI, alleging it deceived parents about ChatGPT's safety while exposing children to harmful conversations and suicide-related guidance. OpenAI says it already has age-specific protections and will keep working with states on broader AI policy.
Smith argues paid service can train workers as recent-grad unemployment hits about 5.6%. He says programs need livable stipends, urgent work and a credential.