Artificial intelligence-driven growth in U.S. data centers is sharply increasing electricity demand and pushing utilities into one of their largest capital spending and borrowing cycles in decades. As companies finance multi-year upgrades to generation, transmission, and grid resilience largely through bond markets, investors face a changing risk profile shaped by higher leverage, regulatory constraints on rates, and differing protections between operating-company and holding-company debt.

On December 21, 2025, Bank of America, Bernstein and Jefferies reaffirmed buy ratings on Nvidia, citing a $500 billion outlook across Blackwell, Rubin and networking through 2026. BofA and Bernstein kept $275 targets, Jefferies set $250. Analysts highlighted early‑2026 Blackwell‑based LLMs, valuation metrics, and pending H200 export licenses to China.

In December 2025, Tencent was reported to be using Datasection's data centers near Osaka and in Sydney to access thousands of Nvidia's latest GPUs under multi‑year contracts, despite U.S. export limits on high‑end chips to China. Datasection's initial batch of 15,000 Blackwell processors and planned deployment of tens of thousands of B300 chips underpin deals exceeding $1.2 billion, while the company faces investor scrutiny, short‑seller criticism, and regulatory sensitivity around its links to Chinese clients and Singapore‑based First Plus Financial Holdings. The firm says its GPU projects are fully compliant with applicable laws and rely on approvals from Nvidia and the U.S. Commerce Department.

On Dec. 11, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said one company holding about 50% of the US EV market is unhealthy, as he unveiled Rivian’s Autonomy and AI stack. He detailed in‑house chips, expanded Universal Hands‑Free, a 2026 point‑to‑point mode, and a path to personal Level 4. The article was updated on December 21, 2025.

Two Canadians from Ontario and Prince Edward Island lost a combined $2.3 million to an AI-enabled deepfake cryptocurrency investment scheme. The Ontario victim lost $1.7 million after being deceived by a fake Elon Musk video, while the other victim lost $600,000 after watching a clip falsely linked to Dragon's Den. The report was updated on December 21, 2025.

Nvidia has confirmed plans to build a new campus in Kiryat Tivon, Israel, designed to host around 10,000 employees and potentially double its current local workforce. The site will span 22.5 acres with 160,000 square meters of buildings, with construction expected to start in 2027 and first occupancy targeted for 2031. The project involves several billion dollars in investment and could make Nvidia the largest private employer in the country while raising infrastructure concerns in the surrounding area.

Masayoshi Son is pushing SoftBank to lock in the remaining $22.5 billion for OpenAI by year-end, reportedly using asset disposals and borrowing. The group has sold its $5.8 billion Nvidia stake, pared $4.8 billion in T-Mobile US, and expanded Arm-backed margin loans to lift unused capacity to $11.5 billion.

Caterpillar Inc. fell 4.7% on Wednesday, its sharpest one‑day decline since April, and was down about 9.6% by Thursday after five sessions, pulling back from a record high near $627.50. Analysts said skepticism about AI‑driven trades is weighing on AI‑linked names, while Caterpillar points to a November Vertiv partnership focused on on‑site power and cooling for data centers.