Market Beats | Amazon’s Global Data Center Footprint Exposed; Trump Family Hit by Crypto Rout; BMW Considering Range Extenders for EV Lineup; Aramco Weighs Major Asset Sales to Raise Over $10 Billion; Bitcoin ETFs Head for Second-Worst Month of Outflows; Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Comey and Letitia James; Trump Weighs Allowing Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China

—— Amazon’s Global Data Center Footprint Exposed; Trump Family Hit by Crypto Rout; BMW Considering Range Extenders for EV Lineup; Aramco Weighs Major Asset Sales to Raise Over $10 Billion; Bitcoin ETFs Head for Second-Worst Month of Outflows; Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Comey and Letitia James; Trump Weighs Allowing Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China

1. Amazon’s Global Data Center Footprint Exposed

Amazon.com Inc.’s data center operation is much larger than commonly understood, totaling more than 900 facilities in more than 50 countries, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and investigative website SourceMaterial.

Amazon Web Services is best known for sprawling data center hubs in Virginia and Oregon. But those sorts of enormous complexes, which the company owns or operates through long-term leases, don’t account for its full footprint. The cloud unit also stashes server racks in hundreds of so-called colocation facilities, renting space that as of last year provided about a fifth of the computing power at Amazon’s disposal, according to the documents. Called “colos” in the industry, the rented data centers are typically subdivided among different clients. The AWS presence in such facilities ranges from a few server racks in a dedicated room to most or all of enormous buildings in places like Frankfurt and Tokyo, the documents show.

AWS doesn’t disclose the locations of individual data centers for security reasons and to keep operational details out of the hands of competitors. The documents shine a light on Amazon’s cloud computing operations at a time when investors are keen for insights into whether AWS has sufficient capacity to meet the enormous computing demands for artificial intelligence. They also show that AWS is one of the world’s largest renters of colo space, suggesting it has the flexibility to offer customers a range of services around the globe.

“There are big data centers everyone talks about, but the reality is there are also these smaller cloud resources that are invisible,” said Nic Benders, chief technical strategist at New Relic, which helps businesses manage their technology infrastructure. “The cloud providers do not like to tell you where they are.”

As of early 2024, AWS was relying on more than 440 colocation data centers. The company also operated from more than 220 additional rented “edge” locations, which provide access points to Amazon’s network near major metropolitan areas, often inside telecommunications hubs operated by third parties.

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2. Trump Family Hit by Crypto Rout

In President Donald Trump’s second term, crypto assets transformed his family’s wealth. Now the Trumps — and their followers — are getting a crash course in the wild volatility ingrained in digital currencies.

The value of a Trump-branded memecoin has fallen by about a quarter since August. Eric Trump’s stake in a Bitcoin mining venture has shed roughly half its value from its peak. And shares of Trump’s social media company, which started hoarding Bitcoin this year, are hovering near an all-time low.

The selloff is part of a broader rout that’s wiped out more than $1 trillion in digital assets. The Trump family’s fortune has fallen to about $6.7 billion from $7.7 billion in early September, largely tied to its expanding crypto-related ventures. These holdings involve complex deals beyond simple bets on coin prices, exposing everyday investors to greater risk.

Bitcoin has seen major crashes before and later surged, but the Trumps have buffers. Their crypto ventures generate income beyond token prices — such as World Liberty Financial, where they receive proceeds from token sales regardless of market value.

“Retail investors can only speculate,” said Jim Angel, a finance professor at Georgetown University. “The Trumps can speculate, create tokens, sell them and make money off those transactions.”

Eric Trump remains bullish, urging investors to buy dips and embrace volatility.

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3. BMW Considering Range Extenders for EV Lineup

BMW AG is weighing adding range-extender technology to some of its electric vehicles amid rising demand for the system made popular by Chinese automakers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company is considering range-extender versions of larger models such as the X5 SUV and 7-Series sedan, which have enough space to integrate a small combustion engine. If adopted, BMW would become the first German automaker to offer the technology, which is still rare in Europe. German brands have been losing ground in China to local competitors like BYD, and range extenders have become especially popular among SUV buyers.

Range-extended EVs use a small gasoline engine solely as an onboard generator to recharge the battery — unlike hybrids, the engine does not drive the wheels. BMW already builds key components such as small efficient engines and gearboxes, reducing the cost of adopting the technology.

“In evaluating customer behavior, needs and market developments, BMW continually reviews the potential of various technologies,” the company said, without elaborating.

Other automakers are pursuing similar plans: Stellantis NV is preparing a range-extended Ramcharger pickup for the US, and Volkswagen’s Scout brand aims to launch rugged extended-range SUVs in the coming years. Renault is also considering the technology as part of its upcoming business strategy.

“For middle to bigger sized cars, it makes no sense to force all-electric models,” Renault CEO Francois Provost said. “We need to think about clients, and range extenders are a good solution.”

Chinese models using the system include BYD’s Yangwang U8, AITO’s M9 and Li Auto’s L9.

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4. Aramco Weighs Major Asset Sales to Raise Over $10 Billion

Saudi Aramco is considering selling a range of assets to raise billions of dollars in what could become its largest disposals ever, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company is evaluating the sale of a stake in its oil export and storage terminals, with potential proceeds exceeding $10 billion. Banks have been asked to pitch feasibility studies, and options include raising fresh equity or structuring the deal similarly to the recent $11 billion Jafurah gas project transaction with BlackRock’s GIP.

Aramco may launch a formal sale process for its terminals business early next year. The firm is also exploring selling parts of its real estate portfolio, which could also be worth billions, amid Saudi Arabia’s push to open its property market to foreign ownership.

Aramco’s main export and storage hubs are located at Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf and similar facilities on the Red Sea. Internationally, it owns stakes in terminals in the Netherlands and leases storage in Egypt and Okinawa, Japan.

Oil prices have fallen about 20% this year. While output has increased, Aramco has delayed projects and accelerated asset sales to free up capital. The new deals would represent a shift from earlier focus on pipelines. Aramco remains central to Saudi Arabia’s economy, with energy revenue and dividends supporting its costly economic transformation.

The company continues investing in large-scale projects such as Jafurah, slated to begin output this year and reach full capacity by 2030.

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5. Bitcoin ETFs Head for Second-Worst Month of Outflows

Exchange-traded funds investing in Bitcoin are on track for their worst month of outflows since launching nearly two years ago, deepening pressure across an already fragile crypto market.

So far in November, US-listed Bitcoin ETFs have seen $3.5 billion in redemptions, nearly matching the record $3.6 billion outflow in February, Bloomberg data show. BlackRock’s IBIT — holding about 60% of total ETF assets — has already posted $2.2 billion in outflows this month, putting it on course for its weakest month absent a sharp reversal.

Bitcoin itself is heading toward its worst monthly performance since the 2022 crypto meltdown. After dropping to $80,553 on Friday, the token recovered slightly over the weekend to $85,951, but remains down 8% year-to-date.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a key gauge of market sentiment since their debut in January 2024. They also create a feedback loop: inflows accelerate rallies, while outflows amplify declines.

Citi Research quantified the effect: every $1 billion pulled from Bitcoin ETFs pushes BTC lower by roughly 3.4%. Analyst Alex Saunders recently set a bear-case year-end target of $82,000, assuming zero inflows. Instead, billions have exited — implying room for further downside.

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6. Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Comey and Letitia James

A federal judge has thrown out criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the indictments was unlawfully appointed.

US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled Monday that Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was illegal. As a result, the indictments against both Comey and James were dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could refile the charges in the future.

Halligan was installed by President Donald Trump in September after her predecessor resigned under pressure for failing to bring charges. She was the sole prosecutor who secured separate grand jury indictments against Comey and James.

Comey had been charged in September with allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction related to his 2020 testimony. James was indicted in October on one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements related to a Virginia mortgage.

Both officials have denied any wrongdoing and are contesting the allegations in court.

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7. Trump Weighs Allowing Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China

President Donald Trump is considering whether to allow Nvidia Corp. to sell its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, with the final decision resting with him, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.

Lutnick told Bloomberg TV that Trump is listening to “lots of different advisers” and said the president “understands Xi Jinping the best.” Bloomberg previously reported that US officials have begun early discussions on whether Nvidia can sell H200 chips to China.

The issue highlights a tension between promoting economic growth and protecting national security. Lutnick framed the decision as a choice between keeping China tied to US technology or withholding top-tier chips to maintain an edge in the global AI competition.

Allowing H200 sales would mark a major easing of export controls first imposed in 2022. National-security hawks in Congress are already preparing to oppose any such move.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — who has a close relationship with Trump — is pushing hard to regain access to the Chinese market. China earlier blocked purchases of Nvidia’s lower-end H20 chips, leaving the company fully excluded from Chinese AI-chip sales this year.

Lutnick said Huang has “good reasons” for wanting to sell to China and noted that “an enormous number” of others agree it should be considered.

“It’s a really interesting question,” he said. “He’s got all the information and lots of experts advising him, and he’ll decide which way to go.”BLS was already strained by staffing shortages before the shutdown, forcing it to suspend parts of the CPI sample and rely more heavily on imputation. It has lacked a permanent commissioner since President Donald Trump dismissed the previous one in August, and about one-third of senior leadership roles remain vacant.

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