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By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nvidia’s sales of the computing chips powering the artificial intelligence craze surged beyond the lofty bar set by stock market analysts in a performance that may ease recent jitters about a Big Tech boom turning into a bust that topples the world’s most valuable company.

The results announced late Wednesday provided a pulse check on the frenzied spending on AI technology that has been fueling both the stock market and much of the overall economy since OpenAI released its ChatGPT three years ago.

Nvidia has been by far the biggest beneficiary of the run-up because its processors have become indispensable for building the AI factories that are needed to enable what’s supposed to be the most dramatic shift in technology since Apple released the iPhone in 2007.

But in the past few weeks, there has been a rising tide of sentiment that the high expectations for AI may have become far too frothy, setting the stage for a jarring comedown that could be just as dramatic as the ascent that transformed Nvidia from a company worth less than $400 billion three years ago to one worth $4.5 trillion today. read more

By KEN SWEET, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — President Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, using a legal maneuver to keep his budget director Russell Vought as acting director of the bureau while the Trump administration continues on its plan to shut down the consumer financial protection agency.

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Levenbach is currently an associate director inside the Office of Management and Budget, handling issues related to natural resources, energy, science and water issues. Levenbach’s resume shows significant experience dealing with science and natural resources issues, acting as chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during Trump’s first term. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Target’s third-quarter profit tumbled as the retailer struggles to lure shoppers that are being pressed by stubbornly high inflation.

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The Minneapolis company said Wednesday that it expects its sales slump to extend through the critical holiday shopping season. The company also announced that it’s planning to invest another billion dollars next year to remodel stores, build new ones, increasing the total cost for the makeover to $5 billion.

Investors have punished Target’s stock recently, sending it down 43% over the past year. Shares were essentially flat in early trading Wednesday. read more

By nearly every metric, it’s getting harder to buy a home in the United States.

In Tampa Bay, the median home price shot up about 14% to $398,000 in just the past four years, according to data from Florida Realtors. Wages have not kept up, leaving more would-be buyers trapped renting.

Across the country, the median age of first-time buyers is now 40, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. That’s a far cry from 1980s, when most first-time buyers were in their late 20s.

This month, President Donald Trump voiced his support for a potential fix: a 50-year mortgage.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump compared the idea to the creation of the 30-year mortgage under President Franklin Roosevelt. That innovation helped make homeownership the norm in the United States.

The logic is simple — if you lengthen the life of the loan from 30 years to 50, then the monthly payment will drop, lowering the barrier to entry for prospective home buyers.

But the longer it takes to pay down the interest, the higher the total costs will be at the end of the loan period. Plus, these loans would likely come with higher interest rates. read more

Billionaire and two-time space traveler Jared Isaacman has a new date set to appear before a Senate committee now that he’s been renominated by President Trump to become the next NASA administrator.

Isaacman had already been set for a full Senate vote with bipartisan support back in May to succeed the role last held by former Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who left at the end of Biden administration. Trump, who at the time was in a spat with Isaacman ally Elon Musk, pulled his nomination.

Isaacman made his fortune with Shift4, a credit card processing company, and also founded Lakeland-based Draken International, which trains fighter pilots. He funded two missions to space, flying on SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft leading the Inspiration4 flight in 2021 and on last year’s Polaris Dawn flight.

Now, though, the renominated entrepreneur is slated to return to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Dec. 3 for a new confirmation hearing.

“This is a critical moment for @NASA as it works to deploy the historic funding secured in the One Big Beautiful Bill to beat China back to the moon and bolster U.S. leadership in space,” Committee Chair Sen. Ted Cruz posted to X on Tuesday after meeting with Isaacman. “I know @rookisaacman is committed to having American astronauts return to the lunar surface and to developing the capacity to reach Mars.” read more