Pressure from last week's decline in US tech stocks spilled over into Asia, with investors beginning to ask when AI compute spending will translate into cash flow. The US midterm elections have also pushed data centers, power costs, and crypto policy into the arena of ballots and capital contention.
1 | AI investment return concerns weigh on Asian stocks, Nikkei falls 0.5% on Monday
Bloomberg reported before the Asian open that Nikkei and South Korean stock index futures were lower. Reuters subsequently reported that the Nikkei fell 0.5%, the KOSPI fell 0.8%, the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index fell 0.4%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose 0.4% and 0.6% respectively. Markets are concerned about whether AI capital expenditure can translate into profits. Reuters cited Goldman Sachs estimates that hyperscale cloud providers' capital expenditure will reach nearly $800 billion this year, rising to $1.2 trillion by 2027, while S&P 500 EPS growth is expected to slow from nearly 30% in 2026 to 18% in 2027. This does not mean AI demand has disappeared, but rather that investors are shifting from chasing compute expansion to scrutinizing cash flow and debt capacity. The US tech stock selloff occurred on Friday, October 30; US spot markets were closed on November 1, making Monday's Asian trading the new development within this window.
(Sources: Reuters / Bloomberg / Associated Press)
2 | Data center moratorium enters governor races, OpenAI plans to rebrand facilities as "AI compute parks"
The Information reviewed 36 governor races and found that in 21 states at least one major-party candidate advocates pausing new data center construction, with moratorium-backed candidates favored in 8 states and 7 others too close to call. A Pew Research Center survey from July to August showed that six in ten US respondents are not very or not at all willing to have new data centers built locally.
Axios reported that OpenAI plans to launch policy and public relations initiatives after Tuesday's midterm elections, including signing agreements with communities, pushing state-level legislation, and calling data centers "AI compute parks." These remain company plans and have not yet become policy or project commitments. Compute demand is running up against local power, land use, and employment interests, and companies are beginning to seek social acceptance beyond construction permits.
(Sources: The Information / Axios / Pew Research Center)
3 | Bulgaria runoff count passes halfway, Yotova leads temporarily with 58%
Bulgarian National Television, citing preliminary vote counts from the Central Election Commission as of midnight on November 2: 52.42% of polling stations have been processed, with Iliana Yotova and Kiril Valchev currently at 57.95%, and Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev at 39.01%. The Associated Press had earlier estimated 58% to 38% based on preliminary results from polling agencies, and Gyurov has already conceded defeat. The official vote count is still underway.
Deutsche Welle noted that Yotova opposes military aid to Ukraine and advocates dialogue with Russia, while stating that Bulgaria should continue on its European path. The president has no executive power but can veto legislation, appoint interim governments, and represent the country in foreign affairs. If the final results are confirmed, the direct election will give Yotova a full term and a political mandate, and aid to Ukraine and relations with Russia will continue to affect EU internal coordination.
(Sources: Bulgarian National Television / Associated Press / Deutsche Welle)
4 | Crypto super PACs spend nearly $170 million before the election, with funds leaning more toward Republicans
CoinDesk reported on Sunday that three major crypto super PACs have spent nearly $170 million in this midterm election cycle, with all three generally leaning toward supporting Republican candidates or opposing Democratic candidates. U.S. Federal Election Commission filings show that Fairshake had spent approximately $169.5 million cumulatively as of October 14, of which $139 million was transferred to affiliated committees; the total reported amount cannot be directly equated with payments to candidates or advertising expenses.
CoinDesk's figure is cumulative spending for the election cycle, not new spending in the past 24 hours. The industry uses independent political organizations to influence candidates and voters, but spending does not automatically translate into legislation; the seat distribution in the new Congress and bipartisan support will still determine whether crypto market legislation can advance.
(Sources: CoinDesk / U.S. Federal Election Commission)
Also worth knowing ↓
Florida Republicans currently lead Democrats by 3 percentage points in early voting. Axios reported on Sunday, citing early voting statistics, that although registered Republican voters lead by 11 percentage points, ballots already cast show only a 3-point lead; early voting data cannot directly represent the final result. (Source: Axios AM)
Crypto payment card platforms use high cashback to attract users, and some companies are still losing money after acquiring customers. CoinDesk interviews said that KAST shifted from near break-even to a loss after increasing growth investment, and the platform hopes users will further trade, borrow, or purchase services to offset reward costs. The interviews did not disclose the scale of the losses. (Source: CoinDesk)
Ukraine's military says 167 people evacuated from dangerous areas of Kherson before a localized ceasefire ended. A six-day ceasefire around Oleshky ended on Sunday night. The Associated Press and Reuters reported the evacuations and the end of the ceasefire, which covered only a limited area and did not represent a ceasefire along the broader front line. (Source: Associated Press / Reuters (republished))
A community test of the RTX 4060 laptop showed that matrix operation throughput increased after unlocking. GitHub reported that the test's FP16 and BF16 results improved by 49.38% and 56.92%, respectively, but there was only one successful execution, power and temperature control were incomplete, the tool is not an official Nvidia feature, Secure Boot and BitLocker protection were temporarily disabled during the operation, and performance returned to its original values after a reboot. (Source: GitHub test records / Tom's Hardware)
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