Monday, May 18Monday, May 18AI-Driven Inflation and Recent Financial Trends
The surge in agentic AI adoption has significantly increased demand for CPUs, though Morgan Stanley cautions against following the trend to invest in chipmakers like Intel and AMD, suggesting the hype may not translate into sustained financial gains . While AI-related technology stocks have contributed to broader market rallies, the relationship between AI-driven layoffs and stock performance remains ambiguous, with no clear correlation between workforce reductions and equity gains .
AI Backlash as a Financial Risk Public sentiment toward AI has turned increasingly negative, posing a growing business risk. Polling data reveals that 70% of Americans believe AI is advancing too quickly, with skepticism rising across political and generational lines. This backlash has begun to impact the industry, particularly in securing compute power, as data center expansions face cancellations due to community resistance. Morgan Stanley analysts warn that public pushback could become a "binding constraint" on AI growth, potentially dampening investor confidence . Despite global optimism—with 59% of respondents in 2025 expecting AI to do more good than harm—the industry’s PR challenges threaten its rapid expansion .
Monetary Policy and Inflation Concerns Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as Federal Reserve Chair has revived debates around monetarism, a policy approach that could influence inflation dynamics. His leadership may signal a shift in the Fed’s response to inflationary pressures, particularly as global markets react to rising oil prices and bond yields, which have contributed to recent declines in equities . The interplay between AI-driven economic shifts and monetary policy remains a key factor in financial stability.
AI’s Evolving Market Phase The AI industry is transitioning from a focus on model capabilities to organizational adoption, with success increasingly dependent on how well companies integrate AI into their operations. This shift may influence financial markets, as investors reassess the long-term viability of AI-driven growth beyond short-term hype .
Global Markets End Week Lower as Oil, Inflation and Bond Yields Shake Investors Global markets ended the week lower as oil prices and bond yields climbed. AI-related technology stocks remained a…
europesays.com · about 9 hours ago
IIF APPLAUDS KEVIN WARSH ON HIS CONFIRMATION AS CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE – Insurance News The following information was released by the Institute of International Finance: The Institute of International Finance congratulates Kevin…
europesays.com · about 9 hours ago
Eval engineering: The missing piece of agentic AI governance As artificial intelligence agents become more powerful, agentic AI governance becomes increasingly important – and yet, todays governance…
europesays.com · about 9 hours ago
Numisma Bank pledges to supply record amounts of cash dollars to the Central Bank of Libya in its Second Phase of cash injection to the Libyan market The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) reported today that Numisma Bank pledged to supply record amounts of cash…
europesays.com · about 11 hours ago
Agentic AI Craze Drives Significant Increase in CPU Demand, But Morgan Stanley Pours Cold Water: Dont Follow the Trend to Buy Intel, AMD. Tradingkey – Since the beginning of this year, amid the surge of Agentic AI, market demand for CPU…
europesays.com · about 12 hours ago
AI-related layoffs a boost for stocks? Not necessarily Artificial intelligence has ushered in a bull run in stocks that has taken the broader market to new…
europesays.com · about 12 hours ago
AI backlash becomes a real business risk If AI were a candidate for political office, it would be losing in a landslide.Why it matters: The AI hype cycle would have you believe the technology is inevitable. But AI backlash is growing, as people worry it will steal their jobs, jack up electricity rates and further enrich the wealthy, all while hurting the environment. State of play: A commencement address went viral this week after Florida real estate executive Gloria Caulfield said artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution, sparking a chorus of boos from the crowd.The speaker could have avoided the jeers had she checked the latest polls: Only 18 of young people ages 14 to 29 say they feel hopeful about AI, according to a recent Gallup survey.The disdain spans generations and political parties. An Economist/YouGov poll released this week showed over 70 of Americans think AI is advancing too quickly, with 68 of Republicans and 77 of Democrats saying its moving too fast.Other YouGov polling shows negative views of AI rising from 34 three years ago to just over 50 now.Between the lines: AI executives arent doing much to quell the backlash, which is already showing signs of slowing the industry. Some of them appear unfazed — or unaware.In previous conversations with Axios, AI executives at multiple frontier AI labs were surprised by the negative opinions. They see AI as just as inevitable as the rise of the internet.Asked about backlash to AI, Superhuman Mail CEO Rahul Vohra — whose company makes an AI-powered email assistant — seemed unfamiliar with the premise of the question. After hearing about poor polling around AI, he responded: We dont really see that.Data: Economist/YouGov; Chart: Sara Wise/AxiosWhat theyre saying: While the tech underlying AI is here to stay, What is not inevitable is that these technologies will be embedded in every aspect of our lives, become indispensable, or replace humans, Dr. Avriel Epps, assistant professor at University of California, Riverside, said in an email to Axios.Nothing in the future is inevitable and no single person, company, or group gets to decide what will happen in the future.Threat level: Negative AI sentiment could become a financial liability for AI labs if it continues to curb access to their most valuable resource: compute power.A record number of data centers, which provide the compute AI companies use to answer user queries, were canceled in the first quarter of 2026 amid resistance from communities, per Heatmap Pro data.Public pushback is emerging as a binding constraint, particularly around data center buildout, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note about market risks associated with the midterms.These data center setbacks are sapping confidence among investors, according to a note investment bank Jefferies sent to clients.Reality check: AI has been around for years and is bound to be a central part of American life, whatever form it ultimately takes.Some version of AI is inevitable ... but we have choice, said Arun Bahl, the CEO of Aloe, an AI company that builds models designed to be trustworthy. Is it the dystopian plot? Or can we have tools that humans trust? Globally, opinion is more positive, with the share of respondents expecting AI to do more good than harm rising to 59 in 2025 from 55 in 2024, according to Stanford data.The bottom line: The AI industry has a serious PR problem that threatens to inhibit the rapid growth that its leaders have taken for granted.
axios · about 14 hours ago
Kevin Warsh confirmed as next Federal Reserve chair The US Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed), approving President…
europesays.com · about 16 hours ago
This AI Stock Keeps Winning Contracts Its Competitors Cant Even Bid On Most artificial intelligence (AI) investment stories revolve around chips, cloud capacity, and model training. Its starting to get…
europesays.com · about 18 hours ago
US-Iran war, crude oil prices to Q4 results FY26: Top five triggers that may dictate the Indian stock market this week Indian stock market: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 ended their two-session winning streak on Friday, May 15,…
europesays.com · about 18 hours ago
New Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, Resurrects Monetarism The emergence of Kevin Warsh as a new Federal Reserve Chair has revived an economic debate we closely…
europesays.com · about 19 hours ago
The AI race is entering a new phase The Last Word: AIs next battle is not the model, but the organisation. From What can the model do? to What can the organisation absorb? For the past few years, attention has centred on the models: who had the smartest system, the fastest capability gains and the most impressive demonstrations. But the more important battle […] The AI race is entering a new phase was originally published on Emerging Europe.
emerging europe · about 19 hours ago