WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode: What’s News in Markets: Tariff Fear, Delta Soars, AMD + OpenAI
Date: October 11, 2025
Host: Francesca Fontana

Episode Overview

In this week’s "What’s News in Markets," host Francesca Fontana recaps the most significant stock moves and the news shaping markets. The episode covers dramatic market swings fueled by new tariff threats, Delta Air Lines’ strong earnings, AMD's groundbreaking partnership with OpenAI, and the expanding role of AI in food delivery. Listeners get a snapshot of market psychology, business victories, and the technological edge reshaping industries.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Market Volatility: Tariff Fears Trigger a Selloff

[00:28 – 01:48]

• Backdrop: Markets were setting records earlier in the week, buoyed by optimism around the AI sector.
• Trigger Event:
  • On Friday, President Trump’s post on Truth Social threatening to cancel a planned meeting with China’s leader and calling for a “mass increase in tariffs on products from China” sparked a sharp selloff.
    • “US stocks gave up their gains for the week…We saw chip stocks take a tumble. So did oil prices. But do you know what was up? Good old fear.” (Francesca Fontana, 00:45)
  • Market Reaction:
    • Wall Street’s fear gauge (CBOE VIX) jumped into double digits for percentage gain on Friday.
    • All three major indexes closed the week down:
      • S&P 500: -2.4%
      • Dow: -2.7%
      • Nasdaq: -2.5%

2. Bright Spot: Airline Stocks Take Flight

[01:49 – 02:46]

• Delta Air Lines:
  • Surprised the market with an earnings and sales beat, showing renewed travel demand.
    • “Investors were celebrating Delta’s earnings and sales beat...The company said it expects that demand to continue to bounce back and it's aiming for a record holiday season.” (FF, 01:58)
  • Significance: Marked a turnaround from earlier in the year, when demand slumped under geopolitical tensions and tariff worries.
  • Stock Gains:
    • Delta: +4.3% (Thursday)
    • United: +3.3%

3. Big AI Deal: AMD’s Historic OpenAI Partnership

[02:47 – 03:56]

• AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)
  • Seeks to rival Nvidia in the AI chip space.
  • Major News:
    • Announced a multibillion-dollar deal with OpenAI for AI data centers using AMD chips.
      • “The two are going to be working together on artificial intelligence data centers that run on AMD chips. OpenAI committed to purchasing 6 gigawatts of AMD's chips.” (FF, 03:14)
    • OpenAI receives warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares (~10% of AMD) at $0.01 per share, awarded in phases.
  • Stock Movement:
    • AMD soared 24% on Monday, gained further through Wednesday.
    • Fell nearly 8% with the Friday selloff, but still ended up around 30% on the week.
  • Memorable Aside:
    • “And no, sorry, Back to the Future fans, it's apparently pronounced gigawatts, not gig gigawatts.” (FF, 03:26)
    • Personal reflection: “Now, I’m an analog person…on the whole I was not built for it, right? I hate texting, I love typewriters, and I love getting mail, handwritten letters hand delivered to me by a person. And I never want to watch a film written by or starring some kind of generative AI.” (FF, 03:44)

4. The Future of Food Delivery: Robots Roll Out

[03:57 – 04:43]

• Serve Robotics + DoorDash
  • Serve Robotics announced a multi-year partnership with DoorDash for AI-powered food delivery robots.
    • “Guys, the future of food delivery is here. And guess what? It’s AI. Robots.” (FF, 03:57)
  • Serve’s self-driving robots already active in LA, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta (with Uber Eats).
  • Stock Impact:
    • Serve Robotics stock jumped 29% on Thursday and ended the week up 14%.
  • Host’s Tone:
    • Infuses irony and mild trepidation about robots and AI taking over daily life.

5. Where to Read More

[04:44 – 05:08]

• Francesca plugs her column “The Score” in the WSJ Exchange section for more stock insights:
  • “You can read about more stocks that moved on the week’s news in the Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal’s Exchange section.” (FF, 04:44)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tariff Fears:
  • “Wall Street’s fear gauge, AKA the CBOE market volatility index, was flying higher with its percentage gain hitting double digits during Friday’s session.” (Francesca Fontana, 00:54)
• On Delta’s Comeback:
  • “This sunny outlook is a pretty big departure, pardon the pun, from earlier this year when geopolitical tensions and tariffs weighed down demand.” (FF, 02:12)
• On AMD–OpenAI Deal:
  • “OpenAI committed to purchasing 6 gigawatts of AMD’s chips. And no, sorry, Back to the Future fans, it’s apparently pronounced gigawatts, not gig gigawatts.” (FF, 03:14)
  • “In return, OpenAI will get warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares, roughly 10% of the company at a cent a share awarded in phases under certain conditions.” (FF, 03:23)
• On AI Food Delivery:
  • “Serve Robotics, the maker of AI powered food delivery robots, announced a multi year partnership with DoorDash on Thursday.” (FF, 03:59)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Market Volatility & Tariff News: 00:28 – 01:48
• Delta Air Lines & Airline Stocks: 01:49 – 02:46
• AMD-OpenAI Partnership: 02:47 – 03:56
• Serve Robotics & DoorDash: 03:57 – 04:43
• Further Reading & Wrap-up: 04:44 – 05:08

Tone

• The episode maintains a sharp, witty, and conversational tone, with Francesca’s personal reflections providing light-hearted relief amid market turmoil. The reporting is clear and engaging, mixing financial facts with relatable commentary.

Summary by: WSJ Your Money Briefing Podcast Summarizer