TSX slips after index extends retreat from all-time high
Nvidia had the entire technology sector excited this week after it announced that it intends to support OpenAI’s next-generation AI infrastructure for training and running upcoming models. According to Nvidia, this translates to millions of its GPUs.
President Trump’s executive order to raise the application fee on new H-1B Visas to $100,000 has raised some eyebrows. However, apparently the H-1B program needs to be reformed, since it is dominated by technology workers who frequently reapply from outsourcing firms that supply workers to Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft. In fact, Tata Consultancy Services Limited is the second largest applicant for H-1B Visas, so their outsourcing business will be impacted. India dominates the H-1B visa applications, followed by China.
The irony is that three Stanford University economists recently did a study on why computer science graduates are having a harder time finding jobs. Computer science dominates Stanford’s undergraduates, so the tough job market was hindering even some Stanford graduates. Complicating matters further, technology layoffs and outsourcing demands appear to have also complicated the job opportunities for computer science graduates.
I suspect that since the technology industry has ready access to President Trump, the fee for H-1B Visas may fall after the outsourcing to India and other countries slows down and the H-1B Visa program is reformed. In the meantime, there are apparently a lot of computer science graduates looking for jobs, so the technology industry should not be adversely impacted in the near term.
Meanwhile, France’s budget impasse is raising the call for a “wealth tax,” which is being called a “soak-the-rich” relic of France’s socialist past. This wealth tax is being pushed by French economist Gabriel Zucman, a former adviser to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Specifically, Zucman wants to impose a 2% tax on the assets of people with a net wealth of 100 million euros ($118 million). Zucman has seized the current budget gridlock to demand a contribution from France’s billionaires and centimillionaires as a matter of “fiscal justice.” Apparently, Zucman aims to push his wealth tax movement to other countries in the midst of financial distress, like Brazil.