Tech Titans and Economic Jitters: Nvidia's Surge and India's EV Dreams

Nvidia's earnings in 2024 skyrocketed, doubling from the previous year and outpacing what experts had predicted. This tech giant is riding high on the success of its new Blackwell AI chip, which has Big Tech companies investing heavily. Nvidia isn't worried about DeepSeek, insisting that efficient AI models will still need plenty of processing power. Consumer surveys from the Consumer Board and the University of Michigan paint a different picture. People are getting more worried about the economy and inflation. This worry has caused something called an "inverted yield curve, " where the 10-year Treasury yield dips below the 3-month note. This is often seen as a warning sign of a recession in the next 18 months. Despite Nvidia's impressive earnings and Big Tech's big spending, there's a sense of unease about the U. S. economy. It's unclear if the tech industry can steady the ship. Meanwhile, in India, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk had to postpone a visit to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Musk cited "heavy Tesla obligations" as the reason. India has been eager for Tesla to start making cars there. The Indian government has been trying to make this happen by introducing new policies to support electric vehicle manufacturing. Last year, India rolled out an EV policy aimed at lowering import duties on electric vehicles to just 15% from around 70%. This policy is set to start accepting applications before the end of March. The goal is to make India a more attractive place for companies like Tesla to set up shop. Ammar Master, a South Asia director of automotive at GlobalData, sees this as a clear signal that India is ready to support EV manufacturing.