☕ Trump and Mamdani to meet

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This story is a classic.

Long-lost classical music pieces by renowned composer Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed for the first time in 320 years. Researchers discovered two undated and unnamed organ pieces in the 1990s and worked for decades to confirm their origin. The works are believed to have been written by Bach in 1705, during the early stages of his career. This week, they were performed for the first time at a church in Leipzig, south of Berlin, where Bach is buried. Germany’s Culture Minister, Wolfram Weimar, called it a “great moment for the world of music” and “a source of great joy for many, many music lovers around the world.”

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Some headlines from this morning:

• President Trump signed legislation requiring the Department of Justice to release Jeffrey Epstein's sealed files within 30 days. The move marks a reversal for Trump, who opposed the bill until Republican House members defied him last week by advancing it to a floor vote. The bill passed with near-unanimous support, receiving all but one vote in the House and clearing the Senate without opposition. Trump's resistance had drawn scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in 2019.

• Turkey will host next year's COP31 climate summit after reaching a compromise with Australia, which withdrew its competing bid. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Australia agreed to step aside in exchange for an Australian minister chairing the conference, an arrangement rarely seen at UN climate talks. The deal comes during COP30 in Brazil, which has faced criticism for a decline in global participation after major powers, including the U.S., declined to attend. The 190 nations comprising the UN climate body must still ratify the arrangement, though significant opposition is not expected.

• At least 26 people, including three children, were killed after Russian forces launched drone and missile strikes on Ternopil in western Ukraine on Monday. The attack injured 93 others and marked one of the deadliest strikes in the region since Russia's 2022 invasion began. Russia deployed 476 drones and 48 missiles in the assault, with several hitting residential buildings in the city. The strikes come as the White House confirmed ongoing discussions with Russia over a proposed 28-point peace agreement for Ukraine.

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President Trump will meet New York's democratic socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday, in what's shaping up as a clash between two of America's most contrasting political figures. Here's what you need to know.

The meeting

Trump endorsed Mamdani's opponent during the election and threatened to cut federal funding to New York if voters backed the 34-year-old's democratic socialist agenda. Mamdani responded by challenging Trump to debates and addressing him directly during his televised victory speech.

"Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran 'Kwame' Mamdani, has asked for a meeting," Trump wrote on Truth Social, incorrectly labeling Mamdani a communist.

Mamdani's spokesperson Dora Pec confirmed the meeting is happening, saying it's "customary for an incoming mayoral administration." She said the mayor-elect will focus on "the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago."

Mamdani’s victory

Mamdani won with 50.4% of the vote, beating his closest rival by nearly 10 points. His campaign centered on affordability policies including free buses and a state-run grocery store pilot program funded by higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers.

The victory sent shockwaves through both Republican and traditional Democratic circles, who had backed other candidates.

Beyond threatening to restrict New York's federal funding, Trump also threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda but is now a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Mamdani has talked about "Trump-proofing" New York by diversifying the city's funding sources and resisting the deployment of federal agents.

Trump vs Mamdani

The meeting is the pair's first face-to-face encounter.

Mamdani's focus on cost-of-living issues appears to have influenced the Trump administration's agenda. Shortly after Mamdani's win, the White House announced an "affordability week" and other cost-of-living measures.

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Major tech companies, such as Nvidia and Meta, have seen their share prices drop significantly this week, with some analysts warning that we may be witnessing the beginning of a tech and AI bubble bursting.

The drop drew comparisons from commentators to the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s. Fears have been compounded by reports of circular investment in the AI world and by some high-profile investors withdrawing from AI stocks.

We catch you up on what this all means.

What happened to the stocks?

Throughout November, technology stocks have had their worst performance in months. The Nasdaq, a stock market index that tracks America’s largest companies, fell about 3% over one week.

Nvidia, the company that makes the computer chips powering artificial intelligence, dropped around 10% during November but has now bounced back.

Concerns centre around a group that Wall Street calls the Magnificent Seven. That group includes Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla. Together, they've all dropped around 5% this month.

What’s a bubble?

A market bubble occurs when stock prices rise far above what they're actually worth based on a company's real performance.

The classic example is the dot-com bubble from the late 90s. Internet companies saw their stock prices skyrocket based purely on excitement about the internet, even though most had no profits. When that bubble burst in March 2000, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 77%.

Is it an AI Bubble?

In 2025 alone, the world's largest tech companies are expected to spend between US$300-400 billion on AI.

Despite this spending, it's not yet clear whether AI will generate enough revenue and profits long-term to justify these massive investments. Put simply, the demand hasn't yet translated into profits.

Another concern is that companies successfully using AI are finding it takes 2 to 4 years to see a return on investment, much longer than the 7 to 12 months usually expected for technology investments.

However, the price-to-earnings ratio, which measures whether a stock is over- or undervalued, is 39 for the technology sector. This is more than usual, but during the 2000s dot-com bubble burst, some stocks were sitting at 148.

Circular investment and stock withdrawals

Circular investment happens when tech companies invest in each other's projects while simultaneously buying products and services from one another.

Critics say a recent deal between Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Anthropic resembles the dot-com bubble when telecommunications companies financed each other's growth, artificially inflating revenues on both sides. When that unravelled, it contributed to widespread bankruptcies.

Further, Michael Burry, the investor who famously predicted the 2008 housing market collapse, recently disclosed that his fund purchased over US$1b in bets against Nvidia. Peter Thiel, a big Silicon Valley investor, also withdrew all his investments in Nvidia.

So, will the bubble burst?

AI companies say the fears are overblown, pointing to the profitability of tech companies and the genuine demand for AI-powered services that distinguish the current excitement around AI from the dot-com bubble of the 1990s.

NVIDIA also saw its stock jump 3% after revealing that its profits jumped 65% in just one quarter.

Further, despite the volatility this month, the S&P 500 was still up about 13% for all of 2025 as of mid-November. So recent declines have only erased a few weeks of gains, not long-term value.

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