FirstFT: Nvidia overtakes Apple and Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable company
Chief executive Jensen Huang has said Nvidia is at the centre of ‘a new ‘industrial revolution’ © I-Hwa/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is an onsite version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here
Good morning.
Nvidia has leapfrogged Microsoft and Apple to become the most valuable publicly listed company in the world, following months of explosive share price growth driven by demand for its chips and an investor frenzy over artificial intelligence.
The company’s shares climbed 3.5 per cent to $135.58 on Tuesday, bringing its market capitalisation to $3.335tn and surpassing the two tech giants that have long jostled for pole position on US stock markets.
In less than two years Nvidia has been transformed from a $300bn company grappling with a chip glut exacerbated by a cryptocurrency bust into one of the most powerful tech companies in the world, in a rally that has shocked even bullish observers. Read more on the company that began life building computer graphics cards for video gamers.
AI frenzy: Massive share price rallies for high-profile groups such as Nvidia have spurred a growing debate about whether the US stock market is being driven by speculative hype.
Here’s what I’m watching today:
Monetary policy: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis president Neel Kashkari and Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Thomas Barkin are due to speak at public events. The Bank of Canada will publish the minutes of its June 5 monetary policy meeting.
Economic data: Initial and continued unemployment claims for the week ended June 15 are published later and the US Department of Commerce’s census bureau is set to report housing starts for May. Argentina’s government releases May trade balance data.
Companies: Elon Musk launches a charm offensive to win back advertisers to his social media platform X at the annual advertising festival in Cannes. Retailer Kroger reports first-quarter revenue.
Markets closed: The US commemorates the ending of slavery with the Juneteenth holiday.
1. Exclusive: Technology giants such as Google and high-profile start-ups like OpenAI are escalating their security vetting of staff and potential recruits after warnings from US officials about the threat of Chinese espionage. However, there are also concerns about a rise in xenophobia at US tech companies given the prevalence of skilled workers of Asian descent. Read more on what Palantir’s chief executive Alex Karp calls “a huge problem”.
2. Israel’s military has approved “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon”, as fears grow that Israel and Hizbollah could slide into a full-blown conflict. Military exchanges between Israeli and Hizbollah escalated last week after Israel killed one of the militant group’s commanders in an air strike. US envoy to the region Amos Hochstein warned yesterday the two sides have reached “a serious time and a critical moment”.
US arms: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed US President Joe Biden’s decision to withhold a shipment of large bombs to Israel as “inconceivable”.
Gaza: Armed gangs, including Hamas-backed groups, have plundered at least $120mn from banks in the enclave’s north in the past two months, according to UN estimates.
3. Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine at a meeting between the two leaders earlier today in Pyongyang. Putin is making his first visit to the isolated communist country in more than two decades and is expected to sign a new strategic partnership to deepen trade and military ties. Watch as the two leaders greet each other in the early hours.
4. Inflation in the UK has hit the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target for the first time in three years. The figure marks a milestone for the UK economy following the worst inflationary upsurge in a generation. The data also puts the UK ahead of the US and the Eurozone in the race to tame inflation. Here’s what the data means for UK interest rates.
5. Ecuador is to suspend a visa waiver agreement with China, citing a “worrying increase” in arrivals after the South American country became an important staging post on a global migrant route to the US. The country’s foreign ministry said nearly half of Chinese travellers who entered Ecuador did not leave “through regular routes” or within the 90 days permitted. Last year the number of Chinese people detained at the US southern border rose 10-fold from the previous year.
Go deeper: Earlier this year, FT reporters visited the Darién Gap, the jungle frontier between Colombia and Panama, and spoke to people making the treacherous journey to the US.
© FT montage; Getty ImagesMillions of Americans are opting to continue buying combustion-engine cars over electric vehicles. High sticker prices and elevated interest rates that are pushing up monthly lease payments, have combined with anxiety over driving range and charging infrastructure to chill buyers’ enthusiasm, even among those who consider themselves green.
We’re also reading . . .EU politics: The bloc must prepare for five years of radical change or risk being left behind by the US and China, writes Laurence Boone, a former French minister of state for Europe.
Guinness Nigeria: Diageo recently sold its stake to family-run Tolaram, as groups with a larger local footprint in the African nation grab opportunities created by western exits.
Remote work: The contentious issue of working from home has become an ideological battleground that needs a scientific approach, writes Anjana Ahuja.
From the US to China, industrial policy is back as a powerful motivator for government intervention, writes Martin Wolf. As it becomes more pervasive in discourse and practice, politicians need to approach their decisions with care. Success is as much a risk as failure.
Take a break from the newsIn the century and a half that professionals have been playing organised baseball, only one play is still known as “The Catch”. With his back to the infield, arms outstretched, Willie Mays caught the drive, twirled, cap falling off, and hurled a mighty throw back to the infield, freezing the base runners in place. Mays, who has died at 93, was the rare player who made such superhuman feats seem routine, writes Jurek Martin.
Willie Mays blasted nearly as many home runs as Babe Ruth and led the league in stolen bases four times during his illustrious 22-year career © APAdditional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm
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