Axios

Tech stocks plunged Thursday in the most visible sign yet that investors are growing worried about a slowdown in the AI boom.

The latest: The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was down 4.7% at 3 p.m., with just an hour left in trading. The broader stock market was also down sharply.

• The sell-off is shaping up to be the stock market's worst showing since the April 2025 tariff panic.

LIV Golf is officially shutting down, with attorneys on Thursday telling a bankruptcy court in New Jersey that the Saudi-backed league would transition from a restructuring plan to a liquidation.

Driving the news: This comes less than 24 hours after investment firm BC Partners walked away from a $300 million investment in LIV Golf, which had been on life support since Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund pulled its financial support.

Productivity growth was strong in the third quarter, the latest sign that America's growth potential looks bright.

Driving the news: Output per hour of labor rose at a 3.6% annual rate in the July through September period, the Labor Department said Thursday morning, the strongest in a year.

Zipline, a South San Francisco-based drone delivery service, on Thursday announced that it's raised $1.5 billion at a $21.5 billion post-money valuation. It also expanded its Walmart partnership.

Why it matters: Drone delivery may eventually supplant data centers as the target of local community ire against Big Tech, as evidenced by a recent battle between my hometown and Amazon.

Voters clearly put the brakes on the AI buildout this week, but the biggest tech companies kept on rolling.

Why it matters: The rally in the shares of the likes of Microsoft and Amazon reflects a growing realization on Wall Street that a slowdown in the AI race may not be such a bad thing.

• If companies can put off enormous spending commitments, they get to show healthier cash flows, avoid financing costs and possibly sidestep risky investments.

The Democratic Party's blue wave in Tuesday's midterm elections washed over Wall Street Wednesday, sending stocks sharply higher.

Here are five key takeaways for investors:

Oil prices fell sharply Wednesday as traders weigh signs — including a widely circulated post by Vice President JD Vance — that the midterm election will add pressure on the White House to find an offramp from the Iran conflict.

Why it matters: Elections have consequences.

A recurring subplot of President Trump's term has been a desire to replace Biden appointees to the powerful Federal Reserve Board of Governors — even ahead of their terms ending — with allies. That effort now looks dead in the water.

Why it matters: Even if Trump succeeds in his efforts to fire governor Lisa Cook, or to oust any of the other three Biden-era holdovers on the seven-member board, a Democratic Senate will likely block any replacements it views as insufficiently independent from the administration.

Ford says drivers who don't want their cars collecting and sharing personal information can go "full '80s mode" by turning off connectivity altogether.

Why it matters: Earning consumers' trust on data privacy is becoming critical for automakers racing to turn vehicles into intelligent personal assistants, prompting new assurances that customers' personal information is safe.

The stunning Democratic victory in midterm elections Tuesday will have consequences for U.S. economic policy. But they are likely to be subtle, and revealed over time.

The big picture: President Trump has, for the most part, shaped economic policy through executive action rather than by passing laws. His executive powers will remain intact even after Democrats take hefty majorities in both the House and Senate in January.