Zuckerberg, Meta Directors Agree to $190 Million Settlement of Shareholder Privacy Case

Stocks

Political

Summary:

The deal ended litigation by shareholders who accused the Facebook co-founder and other defendants of saddling the company with billions ‌of dollars in fines and legal costs.

Mark Zuckerberg and current and former leaders of Meta Platforms (META) agreed to pay the company $190 million to resolve shareholder allegations that they damaged Meta by violating Facebook users' privacy, according to a settlement unveiled on Thursday.

The deal ended litigation by shareholders who accused the Facebook co-founder and other defendants of saddling the company with billions ‌of dollars in fines and legal costs stemming from violating privacy regulations.

The agreement fleshes out a deal announced in court on July 17 that ended a scheduled eight-day trial on its second ‌day. Shareholders were seeking $8 billion from Zuckerberg and 10 current and former directors and officers for allegedly allowing Facebook users' personal information to be accessed without their consent.

The defendants had denied all allegations.

The settlement dramatically cut short the trial before a string of high-profile witnesses took the stand, including Zuckerberg, billionaire investor and Meta board member Marc Andreessen, former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and former Facebook board members Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Palantir Technologies,⁠ and Reed Hastings, the co-founder of ‌Netflix.

Facebook in 2021 changed its name to Meta, which is also the parent company of Instagram and WhatsApp. The company was not a defendant.

“As one of the largest cash recoveries ever in a derivative action, this settlement confirms that ‍proper oversight of a company’s compliance obligations is not optional - it’s essential,” said Geoff Johnson, an attorney with Scott + Scott, one of the firms that led the litigation.

Derivative lawsuits recover money from directors and executives, which is paid to the company and therefore benefits shareholders indirectly. Boeing directors agreed to a record settlement in an oversight case in 2021 for $237.5 million. The settlements in derivative cases are often paid from directors' ‌and officers' liability insurance policies.

The shareholders who brought the case, including public employee pension funds, claimed directors failed to oversee Zuckerberg and Sandberg, who were allowed to run an illegal data-harvesting enterprise.

The lawsuit was filed in the wake of the scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct British political consulting firm.

The firm secretly accessed data from tens of millions of Facebook users to create targeted messages for clients that included Donald Trump during his successful U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Officials from Trump's 2016 campaign have said Cambridge Analytica played a minor role in the election.

Those revelations led to a ⁠record $5 billion fine by the Federal Trade Commission and a series of other legal settlements. Zuckerberg was also accused of trading Meta stock to benefit from inside information.

A judge in 2023 declined to dismiss the lawsuit before trial and called the allegations "wrongdoing on a truly colossal scale," but experts said the legal standard meant it was still going to be a difficult case for investors.

The defendants said the evidence ‍at trial would have shown that Facebook had ⁠robust operations to protect user data. They accused Cambridge Analytica of deceit.

The oversight allegations are known as Caremark claims, considered the most difficult to prove under Delaware corporate law. If plaintiffs had prevailed in the trial, the case would have been appealed to the Delaware ⁠Supreme Court.

“This was the first case to take a Caremark claim to trial, and, in the process, we sent a clear message that even the most powerful directors and officers must ‌take their oversight obligations seriously," said Maxwell Huffman, another Scott + Scott attorney.

Source: Reuters

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Stocks

Political

Wall Street stocks slid on Thursday in a sharp reversal from an early rally, as technology gains faded after a boost from Nvidia's earnings and U.S. jobs data muddied the labor market outlook.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) ended lower after surging as much as 5% earlier in the day. Most chip-related companies also were negative, with an index of semiconductors (.SOX) also down.

Both the Nasdaq and Dow swung more than 1,000 points from their highs of the day to their lows, with the Nasdaq ending down more than 2% after being up 2.6% at its intraday high. Wall Street's fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility index (.VIX), jumped.

Investors have worried about lofty technology valuations amid concerns over steep artificial intelligence spending, with the Nasdaq now sharply off its October high.

In addition, data showed the U.S. unemployment rate rose in September even as employers added more jobs than economists had expected. Traders now see an increasing chance of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December.

"I expected the market to be up today just based on the strength of Nvidia's earnings and the recent skepticism about AI investment. Nvidia's earnings obviously dispelled a bunch of those fears," said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management in St. Louis.

While it is difficult to pinpoint a cause for the market's reversal, he said "we've been in kind of a defensive type of trading action for the last two weeks, so it could be a continuation of that."

The consumer staples sector (.SPLRCS) was the S&P 500's only gainer, while technology (.SPLRCT) was down the most.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 103.07 points, or 1.52%, to end at 6,539.09 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 479.64 points, or 2.16%, to 22,084.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 381.52 points, or 0.83%, to 45,757.25.

Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, forecast sales above analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter and surpassed expectations for third-quarter revenue.

In addition, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shrugged off concerns about AI on a call with analysts, saying, "We see something very different."

Among gainers, Walmart (WMT.N) advanced after the retailer raised its annual forecast for the second time this year and set a December date to change its stock listing to the Nasdaq from the NYSE.

Source: Reuters

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Political

Stocks

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday in the House that would block the purchase of Chinese chipmaking equipment by CHIPS Act grant recipients for ‌10 years.

The bill targets a range of chipmaking tools from complex lithography equipment, like that produced by Dutch manufacturer ‌ASML, to machines that slice and dice the silicon wafers on which chips are printed.

The bill was introduced in the House by Republican Jay Obernolte and Democratic member Zoe Lofgren. In the Senate, Democrat Mark Kelly and Republican Marsha Blackburn plan to introduce the bill in December.

Passed ⁠under the Biden administration in 2022,‌ the CHIPS Act was designed to boost the U.S. chip manufacturing industry and allocated $39 billion to spur the construction of new ‍factories and expand existing facilities.

Chip manufacturers such as Intel, Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung Electronics have received grants under the law, though the U.S. later converted Intel's grant money into an equity stake.

China has invested more than $40 billion in the chip industry ‌with a focus on manufacturing equipment, and the market share of such equipment has grown substantially, according to background material provided by the lawmakers.

U.S. chip equipment makers have grown concerned that export restrictions on their tool shipments to China will lower sales and hurt their ability to invest in research and development. The use of CHIPS Act grant money ⁠to buy Chinese equipment has compounded the issue.

The largest American chipmaking tool companies include Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA.

Though Chinese equipment is the main target of the legislation, the bill also blocks tools from other nations of concern such as Iran, ‍Russia and North Korea.

There are ⁠exceptions carved out in the bill that include the ability for the U.S. to grant waivers if specific tools are not produced in the U.S. ⁠or by its allied countries.

The bill would only block imports to the U.S. and would not affect ‌the foreign operations of CHIPS Act grant recipients.

Source: Reuters

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Political

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after talks with a top U.S. Army official on Thursday that he was ready to work with Washington on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, and he expects to discuss it with President Donald Trump in coming days.

European countries are pushing back against the U.S.-backed plan, which sources said would require Kyiv to give up more land and partially disarm, conditions long seen by Ukraine's allies as tantamount to capitulation.

Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv that Ukraine and the United States would work together on elements of the plan.

KYIV READY FOR 'CONSTRUCTIVE' WORK

"Our teams -- Ukraine and the USA - will work on the points of the plan to end the war," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. "We are ready for constructive, honest and prompt work."

Zelenskiy's office did not comment directly on the content of the 28-point plan, which has not been published, but said the Ukrainian leader had "outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people".

"In the coming days, the President of Ukraine expects to discuss with President Trump the existing diplomatic opportunities and the key points required to achieve peace," it said.

Trump and Zelenskiy clashed in front of television cameras in a disastrous meeting for the Ukrainian leader at the White House in March, but talks went more smoothly when he visited the White House this summer.

The White House said senior Trump administration officials had met Ukrainian officials in the past week to discuss the plan.

Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in the meetings and that Washington was having good conversations with both sides about how to end the war.

GENERAL SAYS RUSSIA CONTROLS KUPIANSK

The acceleration in U.S. diplomacy comes at an awkward time for Kyiv, with its troops on the back foot on the battlefield and Zelenskiy's government undermined by a corruption scandal. Parliament fired two cabinet ministers on Wednesday.

Moscow played down any new U.S. initiative.

"Consultations are not currently under way. There are contacts, of course, but there is no process that could be called consultations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He said Russia had nothing to add beyond the position President Vladimir Putin laid out at a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in August, adding that any peace deal must address the "root causes of the conflict", a phrase Moscow has long used to refer to its demands.

With another winter approaching in the nearly four-year-old war, Russian troops occupy almost one-fifth of Ukraine and are slowly advancing while bombarding Ukrainian energy supplies and cities as the cold winter sets in.

The Kremlin said on Thursday Putin had visited the command post of the Russian forces' "West" grouping where he met the chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, and other top military brass.

Gerasimov told Putin that Russian forces had taken control of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, a city Moscow sees as an important target in its westward push through central and eastern Ukraine. Reuters could not independently verify his statement.

Russian forces are also poised to capture the ruined eastern railway hub of Pokrovsk. Video released by Russia's defence ministry on Thursday showed its troops moving freely through the southern part of Pokrovsk, patrolling deserted streets lined with charred apartment blocks.

'PEACE CANNOT BE CAPITULATION,' SAYS FRANCE

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels did not comment in detail about the U.S. plan, but indicated they would not accept demands for Kyiv to make punishing concessions.

"Ukrainians want peace - a just peace that respects everyone's sovereignty, a durable peace that can't be called into question by future aggression," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. "But peace cannot be a capitulation."

Rubio said earlier on X that Washington would "continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict".

"Achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions," Rubio said.

Source: Reuters

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Economic

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack on Thursday gave indications that she thinks the central bank could be nearing the end of what could be a brief rate-cutting cycle.

The policymaker told CNBC that she thinks the current level of interest rates is “barely restrictive, if at all” when it comes to the economic impact.

Restrictiveness is a key metric for Fed officials, who are divided ideologically over whether labor market weakness or inflation is a bigger threat. Hammack has been more in the hawkish camp when it comes to inflation, preferring higher rates and more restrictive policy as a bulwark against another surge in prices.

“I think that we need to maintain a modestly, somewhat restrictive stance of policy to make sure that we are continuing to bring inflation back down to our 2% objective,” she told CNBC’s Steve Liesman on “Squawk on the Street.” “Right now, to me, monetary policy is barely restrictive, if at all, and I think we need to make sure that we’re maintaining that somewhat restrictive stance to bring monetary to bring in place.”

Hammack added that she thinks the current federal funds rate, targeted in a range between 3.75%-4%, is “right around a neutral rate,” indicating it does not need to come down much further.

As a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year, Hammack serves as a key policy voice.

The Fed next meets Dec. 9-10, and market expectations have swung from a near-certainty that the committee would approve a third consecutive quarter percentage point reduction to now pricing in about a 60% probability that the committee will stand pat, per the CME Group’s FedWatch tracker of futures prices. Minutes from the October meeting, released Wednesday, detailed the sharp divide among committee members.

While focused on inflation, Hammack expressed concern over current price levels, noting that interviews she and her staff have conducted around the Cleveland area indicate labor market pressures as well as inflation concerns that are causing difficulty for households to make ends meet.

“What we hear from the workers is that they’re holding on to their jobs for dear life, if they have them,” she said. “We are in this slow, this low-hiring, low-firing environment. But what I also heard ... was that the money that they have coming in is just not stretching as far as it used to. What used to cost $30 now costs $5, and so ... that inflationary pressure is still very salient for them.”

Addressing the September nonfarm payrolls report released Thursday, Hammack called the picture “mixed” as it showed both higher-than-expected payrolls growth and a tick up in the unemployment rate.

Source: cnbc

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

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Commodity

Political

The Trump administration said it is seeing signs that its sanctions on major Russian oil producers are crimping the economic engine that has allowed Moscow to continue to fund its war in Ukraine.

Prices for Russian oil have plunged as major Indian and Chinese buyers moved to comply with the sanctions before the Friday deadline for companies and banks to wind down business with Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, a senior Treasury Department official told reporters on a briefing call. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations between the department and foreign buyers.

The official said the buyers have said they planned to cancel, pause or seek ways out of their forward purchases of Russian oil because of the sanctions announced in October.

The United States is promoting the penalties as President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is trying to advance a plan aimed at ending the war. The plan calls for major concessions from Ukraine’s leadership on territory and weaponry, but it was not immediately clear what, if any, concessions have been asked of Russia.

The sanctions were intended to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bring an end to the war that began when Russia invaded in February 2022. U.S. officials on Thursday pointed to the price of key grades of Russian oil now selling at multiyear lows, citing publicly available data.

Officials also said they have seen significant outreach from foreign governments and the private sector for guidance on how best to sever their ties to Rosneft and Lukoil.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and bipartisan lawmakers had for months pressured Trump to impose harsher sanctions on Russia's oil industry.

Trump’s efforts to end the war have failed to gain traction. The Republican president has expressed frustration with Putin’s refusal to budge from his conditions for a settlement after Ukraine offered a ceasefire and direct peace talks.

Source: AP

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Stocks

Nvidia Earnings Ignite Broad Market Rally

Daily NVIDIA Corporation

U.S. equities are posting strong gains on Thursday as Nvidia’s standout quarterly results restore confidence in the AI trade and lift all major indexes.

Why is the stock market up today? Nvidia earnings boosts tech_2

Daily Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC)

At 16:54 GMT, the S&P 500 is up 1.38% at 6,733.68, the Nasdaq has climbed 1.76% to 22,962.117, and the Dow Jones is higher by 1.15% at 46,669.98. Traders are treating Nvidia’s 62% year-over-year revenue surge to $57 billion as confirmation that enterprise and cloud spending on AI remains firmly intact.

Nvidia also topped earnings expectations with $1.30 per share versus projections of $1.26, while projecting fourth-quarter revenue of $65 billion plus or minus 2%, well above the $62 billion forecast. CEO Jensen Huang underscored continued strength in AI demand, noting that cloud GPUs are fully booked and Blackwell-related sales continue to expand rapidly.

How Strong Is AI Infrastructure Demand Right Now?

Nvidia’s data center revenue reached $51.2 billion, up 25% from last quarter and 66% from last year, reinforcing the scale of AI infrastructure spending by hyperscalers. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Google expect to commit more than $380 billion to AI infrastructure this year, with management teams across the group signalling continued investment rather than moderation.

During the earnings call, CFO Colette Kress highlighted practical returns from these deployments, noting Meta’s improved user engagement from AI recommendation engines, Anthropic’s expected $7 billion in annual revenue, and Salesforce’s 30% jump in engineering efficiency from AI-assisted coding. Traders see this as evidence that capital flowing into AI infrastructure is producing measurable payoffs.

Which Stocks Are Benefiting the Most?

Technology is leading sector performance with a 1.6% rise to 5,700.29. Nvidia shares are up 2.56% to $192.29, while Broadcom is gaining 4.77% and AMD is rebounding strongly. The enthusiasm extends to the “Magnificent Seven,” with Alphabet Class C up 3.31% and Tesla higher by 4.27%.

Gains are not limited to tech. Communication Services is advancing 1.95%, Energy is up 1.61%, and Consumer Discretionary is rising 1.51%.

Notable individual movers include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, up 6.69%, and Diamondback Energy, gaining 3.62%, reinforcing the broad enthusiasm across sectors.

Is Market Sentiment Turning Toward Renewed Growth?

The strength of today’s rally reflects a clear shift in sentiment. Investors who had raised concerns about an AI bubble now appear more confident after Nvidia revealed $500 billion in GPU orders for 2025 and 2026, with Kress suggesting this total will increase further. Analysts note that these commitments reduce uncertainty around sustained demand through next year.

Short-Term Market Forecast

With hyperscalers maintaining aggressive investment plans, Nvidia delivering stronger-than-expected guidance, and sector gains broadening across the S&P 500, short-term sentiment leans bullish. Traders will watch for further confirmation in upcoming earnings reports, but today’s reaction suggests the market views AI spending as durable rather than overextended.