Nvidia CEO Exit Rattles Markets as US Inflation Runs Hot and BoE Hikes

Jensen Huang's resignation as Nvidia CEO and the resulting political fallout lead the day, alongside hotter-than-expected US October inflation, a global Microsoft outage and a Bank of England rate rise to 4%.

Maz Vantage · 13 Nov 2026

Nvidia leadership shake-up dominates

Nvidia, one of the world's largest listed companies, is in the middle of a governance and political storm. Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive after reports of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman US intelligence is said to regard as a Chinese spy (BBC). Chief financial officer Colette Kress has been named interim CEO, and the company could keep her or pick another candidate; names floated include Ian Buck and Arm Holdings chief Rene Haas (The Guardian).

Huang and the US commerce secretary are expected to testify before Congress in the coming weeks, with bipartisan concern about national security and calls for a tougher line on China (The Guardian). Nvidia has also hired a major US law firm to look into the matter (BBC). The Guardian reported that Nvidia's shares have been sliding since the affair came to light (The Guardian). The episode matters for markets because of Nvidia's weight in the AI trade and its exposure to US-China tensions.

Chips, tech and a global outage

Elsewhere in semiconductors, Broadcom shares gained around 25% in four trading days after closing at $293.69 on 6 November, a move the Nasdaq-published article says has been matched only a handful of times since 2009 (Nasdaq). Investing.com noted that Super Micro has fallen 32% in a month and trades at about 6 times earnings (Investing.com).

A large Microsoft outage affecting services such as Outlook and Teams hit users in several regions, including US tech companies and Indian airlines. Microsoft said some servers are returning to service as a recovery process continues (The Guardian).

The AI company behind the Claude chatbot is set to list with shares offered at $70 to $78, below what had been expected, according to the BBC (BBC).

US inflation and the Fed

US consumer prices rose 0.4% in October from the previous month, higher than expected, driven by shelter, food and energy costs (BBC). The Federal Reserve last issued an FOMC statement on 28 October (Federal Reserve), and on 12 November it published a revised tentative schedule of its 2027 policy meetings (Federal Reserve).

Central banks and growth outside the US

The Bank of England raised Bank Rate to 4% at its November meeting, from 3.75% previously held (Bank of England). UK output grew 0.7% in the three months to September, the fastest pace in more than two years (BBC). The European Central Bank held its latest monetary policy press conference on 29 October, and ECB board member Isabel Schnabel gave a speech titled "Made in Europe" today (ECB).

In Japan, Investing.com reported that Mizuho's first-half profit rose 47% and that the bank raised its annual outlook (Investing.com).

Sources