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Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Trump’s new tariffs
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, heavy trucks, kitchen cabinets and upholstered furniture, all of which he said will take effect Oct. 1.
He wrote in a Truth Social post that branded or patented pharmaceutical products entering the U.S. would face a 100% levy, but said companies building drug manufacturing plants in the U.S. are exempt. Heavy trucks will face a 25% tariff, while kitchen cabinets and upholstered furniture will see rates of 50% and 30%, respectively.
Earlier on Thursday, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin warned in an exclusive interview that the U.S. economy hasn’t yet felt the full impact of tariffs on inflation. “The inflationary impulse from tariffs has only passed about 50% through the economy at this point. It’s still coming,” Griffin told CNBC’s “Money Movers.”
2. Deflated hopes
NYSE
Speaking of inflation, August’s personal consumption expenditures price index is due in at 8:30 am ET today. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge is expected to show an uptick in inflation.
Here’s what to know:
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the headline number to rise 0.3% on the month and 2.7% from a year ago.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called “core” PCE is forecasted to rise 0.2% from July and 2.9% year over year.
Stocks are coming off a third straight losing session as investors weigh the state of the artificial intelligence trade. Traders are also monitoring the potential for a government shutdown next week.
Follow live market updates here.
3. Off the clock
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Trump approved a proposed deal for sale of TikTok’s U.S. business on Thursday, keeping alive hopes that the popular social media app will remain available in the U.S.
Under the proposal, a new joint-venture firm will manage TikTok’s U.S. arm, leaving China-based parent company ByteDance with a stake of less than 20%. Sources told CNBC’s David Faber yesterday that Oracle , Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based fund MGX will be the main investors in the U.S. business.
While China still needs to sign off on the deal, the announcement ends months of uncertainty around the fate of the popular short-form video app in the U.S., after a national security law forced ByteDance to either sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face an effective ban.
4. Friends of the court
Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images | Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook got a show of support from central bank alumni yesterday, amid her legal battle with Trump.
Every living former Fed chair — as well as several former Treasury secretaries and former White House economic advisors — signed on to the letter asking the Supreme Court to rule against Trump’s firing of Cook while her case proceeds. Allowing Cook to be fired from the central bank while her lawsuit plays out, the letter said, would “erode public confidence in the Fed.”
Meanwhile, Cook’s legal team told the Supreme Court yesterday that Trump’s request asks the court to “act on an emergency basis to eviscerate the independence” of the Fed.
5. Prime number
Thomas Fuller | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Amazon will be cutting some checks to settle allegations from the Federal Trade Commission that it duped users into paying for memberships to its Prime service.
The e-commerce giant will pay $1 billion to the FTC in a civil penalty and send $1.5 billion worth of refunds to around 35 million customers. It’s one of the largest penalties ever imposed by the FTC.
The settlement comes three days into the trial in a Seattle federal court. Amazon admitted no wrongdoing when agreeing to settle, the FTC said.
The Daily Dividend
Here are some stories we recommend circling back to over the weekend:
Starbucks to close stores, lay off workers in $1 billion restructuring plan
Inside OpenAI’s first data center in the $500 billion Stargate project
How Google abandoned facts for ‘free expression’
FundSeeder’s global casting call for top traders
Can a male-led PE firm save the ‘temple to girlhood’?
How luxury brands are tapping into the Labubu craze
— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie, Annika Kim Constantino, Anniek Bao, Dan Mangan, Pia Singh, Yun Li, Sean Conlon, Erin Doherty, Jonathan Vanian and Annie Palmer contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.