Stock markets tumbled Friday as fears of an AI bubble deepened a tech selloff, with investors also rattled by weak economic data and a prolonged US government shutdown.The tech-heavy Nasdaq index was down almost two percent near midday on Wall Street, with shares in the world’s most valuable company, AI chip designer Nvidia, shedding more than four percent.”It’s one thing for equity markets to suffer a general pullback, as happened during the Trump Tariff Tantrum in April,” said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation financial services firm.”But it’s quite another to see stocks at the vanguard of AI development getting trashed. What adds to concerns is that there has been no obvious catalyst for the selloff,” he added.Massive investments in artificial intelligence have fuelled a tech rally this year, but some investors fear the valuations are now too high, sparking a selloff this week.”Some analysts warn that this year’s artificial-intelligence-led rally has finally come to a halt,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.”Others suggest markets needed to cool down anyway with indices racing to record highs without much pause and new stimulus,” he added.Investors were also rocked by data showing US consumer sentiment dipped in November to its lowest level since mid-2022.The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment dropped by six percent this month, preliminary estimates indicate, to a reading of 50.3 from October’s 53.6 figure.It came a day afer a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed US layoffs hit the highest level in 22 years last month.Investors have been forced to use private data as a guide to the state of the world’s biggest economy because the longest-running US government shutdown has closed numerous departments.The shutdown also forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights on Friday after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered reductions to ease the strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay.While the latest jobs figures came a day after news that private hiring had increased, it sparked concerns about the labour market and put pressure on the Fed to cut borrowing costs for a third successive meeting in December.However, comments from central bank officials suggested another reduction was not certain, echoing boss Jerome Powell’s warning last week.Markets were also pressured by official data showing China’s exports fell in October for the first time in eight months as trade tensions flared in the weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump reached a detente.London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index was dragged down by double-digit falls in the share prices of online property business Rightmove and British Airways owner IAG following earnings updates that undershot market expectations.- Key figures at around 1640 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 46,616.29 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,646.42 New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 22,621.37London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,682.57 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,950.18Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,569.96Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 50,276.37 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 26,241.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,997.56 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1576 from $1.1548 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3165 from $1.3135Dollar/yen: UP at 153.05 yen from 153.04 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.83 pence from 87.91 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $63.56 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $59.63 per barrelburs-bcp-lth/tw

Two women, two states, two landslide wins. Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill aren’t just the new governors of Virginia and New Jersey — they’re the fresh faces of a centrist movement seen as key to the revival of Democratic Party politics.Former public servants who entered Congress together in 2019, Spanberger and Sherrill have long shared more than just political goals. After Tuesday’s sweeping victories, they’re being hailed as the pragmatic wing of a party still desperate to define itself after defeat to Donald Trump’s Republicans in 2024.Spanberger, 46, made history as Virginia’s first female governor, cruising to victory with a stunning 14-point lead in the East Coast state of more than eight million. In New Jersey — a state of a similar size in the same region — Sherrill, 53, defied expectations with a similarly commanding win, beating her Republican rival by more than 13 points.While neither state has backed a Republican presidential candidate in over two decades, Trump’s strong showing last year — narrowing the gap with Kamala Harris — had Democrats sweating. Spanberger and Sherrill’s decisive wins appear to have calmed those nerves, at least for now.- Service before politics -In 2019, after two years of Trump in the White House, Democrats regained the majority in the House of Representatives. Spanberger and Sherrill arrived in Washington as part of a wave of centrist Democrats focused on security, service and problem-solving. Their backgrounds read like resumes built for leadership.Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot, Naval Academy graduate, Georgetown University-trained lawyer and federal prosecutor. Spanberger spent years as a CIA officer, working undercover on overseas missions.When they first came to Congress, they bunked together in Washington, forging a friendship that has lasted through campaigns and Capitol Hill chaos. Sherrill recently told CNN the pair frequently discussed their campaigns.”Here’s somebody who comes from that national service background like I do, someone who’s a mom, like I am. She has three kids, I have four,” she said.- Future of the party -Their policy platforms struck a similar chord with voters: a laser focus on the cost of living.In her victory speech, Spanberger promised to “focus relentlessly on what matters most, lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian.”With inflation still biting and Democrats bruised from the 2024 elections, that message resonated. But Spanberger and Sherrill aren’t the only ones shaping the party’s future.In New York, newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani — a 34-year-old progressive, Muslim, and self-described democratic socialist — rode a wave of enthusiasm with the same message about affordability.But his broader political outlook poses a sharp contrast to the centrism of Spanberger and Sherrill, begging the question: Who best represents the future of the Democratic Party?Political scientist Wendy Schiller of Brown University says the two governors “believe in the core Democratic messaging, but they’re centrist, meaning they aren’t perceived as too ideological.”That could be a winning formula in swing states, unlike deep-blue New York.With Trump set to leave the White House in 2028, the stage is already being set. And Spanberger and Sherrill may be just getting started.

Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers working without pay amid congressional paralysis over the federal budget.Forty airports were slated for the slowdown, including major hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.With Republicans and Democrats in a bitter standoff over spending priorities, including healthcare, Congress has ground to a standstill, leaving the entire federal funding spigot closed.Vast numbers of government employees, including vital airport staff, are either working without pay or furloughed at home, waiting for the now nearly six-week crisis to end.The flight reductions were to take effect gradually over the coming days, starting at four percent and rising to 10 percent next week if Congress still hasn’t reached a funding deal.About 840 flights scheduled for Friday were canceled, according to tracking website FlightAware.The most affected airports were Chicago O’Hare, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth, according to data analyzed by AFP.”This is frustrating. We don’t need to be in this position,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told CNBC.The upheaval means ordinary Americans are now directly feeling the impacts of the Washington fight, where the funding shutdown began October 1, increasing pressure on both parties.The Senate was expected to try for the 15th time Friday to approve a short-term, House-passed funding measure that would reopen the government — but the vote was expected to fail like the previous 14.US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Democrats, saying they should vote to reopen the government.”If Democrats are going to go home this weekend, and they’ve kept the government shut down, that’s shameful,” Duffy told reporters at Reagan National Airport.However, Republicans control Congress and Democrats have said they will refuse to sign off on the majority party’s budget plans, including severe healthcare cuts.- ‘Hurting people’ -The flight reduction measures come as the country enters its busiest travel time of the year, with the Thanksgiving holiday just weeks away.”This will get serious if things drag on to Thanksgiving,” retiree Werner Buchi told AFP at New York’s LaGuardia airport as he waited for his daughter to arrive on a flight from Wilmington, North Carolina.Rhonda, 65 — who arrived at LaGuardia without a hitch from Portland, Maine — worried about holiday plans “that could be ruined because people won’t talk to each other. This is hurting a lot of people,” she said.American Airlines said in a statement that its scheduled reduction amounted to 220 flight cancellations each day.Delta Air Lines said it was cutting about 170 flights scheduled for Friday, while broadcaster CNN reported Southwest Airlines axed around 100 flights set for that day.More than 6,800 US flights were delayed Thursday with some 200 cancellations, FlightAware data showed, with passengers facing long lines at security checkpoints.Travelers at Boston and Newark airports also faced average delays of more than two hours, and those at Chicago’s O’Hare and Washington’s Reagan National more than an hour.Authorities said they wanted to act before an accident occurred.”We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself, when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.- ‘Safe to fly’ -President Donald Trump’s administration sought to reassure people that flying remains safe.”It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the proactive actions we are taking,” Duffy said on social media late Thursday.But many in high-stress aviation-related jobs are now calling in sick and potentially working second jobs to pay their bills.