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Hello, this is Leonie Kidd with today's edition of Morning Squawk.
Trouble had been brewing, but over the weekend the story broke that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang - the so-called 'torchbearer of AI' - has been having an affair with a woman that U.S. intelligence believes to be a Chinese spy.
The news has sent shockwaves through the markets, with investors scrambling to assess the potential fallout for the AI industry more broadly.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has issued an apology to his family, the company and investors after admitting to an affair with a woman who is alleged to be a Chinese spy.
The stock is under heavy selling pressure in premarket trading, currently down over 5% and lower by over 6% in Frankfurt.
Analysts are struggling to assess the impact. Yorkville Ives and co Partner, Dan Ives, called this a "black-eye moment for Jensen," that will create an overhang for the stock. Ben Emons from Fed Watch Advisors highlighted the "key-person" risk at Nvidia. He added that in the event Jensen Huang did take leave or step down, Nvidia could turn to the following people to step up:
Nvidia's move is keeping Nasdaq futures under pressure, with the index dipping in and out of the red this morning. The Dow and S&P futures are holding just above the flatline.
Nvidia is dragging down certain parts of the market in early trading, with Intel , Micron and Qualcomm also in the red.
However, Broadcom and AMD are higher.
It was a strong session for some of Asia's biggest chip stocks , with TSMC , Samsung and SK Hynix all trading higher despite the scrutiny around Nvidia.
Berkshire Hathaway has doubled its share buybacks in the third quarter, repurchasing around $9.6 bn of its stock.
The move came as the group posted a 5.8% drop in operating earnings, as insurance underwriting and investment income fell.
CNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning.
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CNBC's Leslie Picker will report live from Goldman Sachs' Alternative Investment Conference and speak exclusively to CEO David Solomon.
A wave of threats is testing Europe's defenses
Cyberattacks , bomb threats against passenger flights, civil unrest and suspected acts of sabotage across Europe have raised questions about the continent's resilience — and how prepared it is to defend itself against modern security threats.
Hackers remotely manipulated refrigeration systems at supermarkets across Europe last week, forcing retailers to discard spoiled food and exposing vulnerabilities in everyday infrastructure.
— CNBC's Jason Gewirtz, Fred Imbert, Jim Cramer, Terri Cullen, Lim Hui Jie, April Roach and Elsa Ohlen contributed to this report.
