Good morning. Germany is heading for early elections after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence. The market was prepared: Germany’s main stock index, the Dax, barely moved and Bund yields were steady. It has been a wild year for democracy. Let’s hope things calm down over the holidays (looking at you, Brazil). Email us: robert.armstrong@ft.com and aiden.reiter@ft.com.
Chips ‘n’ China
The semiconductor industry is the place where the euphoric US stock market and America’s trade war with China meet. For the past two years, AI hype has supercharged American semi stocks, including chipmakers Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom and Micron, as well as makers of chipmaking tools such as Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA.
