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Good morning on Tuesday. If you have been watching Squawk Box today, you may have noticed a change in the background: the program is being broadcast live from Washington D.C. today, as technology executives are converging in the U.S. capital to discuss artificial intelligence. There will be more information to follow.
Before the opening of trading, stock index futures rose, following a decline on Wall Street yesterday.
Here are five things investors need to know before the start of trading days:
Lunch and study
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to have lunch today with technology leaders, including Anthropic, Mark Zuckerberg from Meta, and Sundar Pichai from Alphabet. This gathering takes place a day after a period of heavy company news from AI.
The latest news is as follows:
According to a report by Ashley Capoot under CNBC, OpenAI has abandoned the plan to release a model that was about to be launched, as the model failed to meet the company's security standards.
Don’t miss the interview with OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer from the OpenAI Annual Developers Conference in San Francisco today. Click here to follow the live coverage of the event.
The source also told CNBC that OpenAI once attempted to invest in Hugging Face – a company that was previously “hacked” by an agent of OpenAI in July – before NVIDIA agreed to acquire it for about $13 billion.
Meanwhile, Anthropic released Sonnet 5.5 yesterday, which is the second model release by the company's CEO after calling on the industry to slow down due to security concerns.
Reuters reported last night that in its IPO prospectus, Anthropic warned that the AI model could pose “catastrophic or existential risks” to humanity.
AMD is acquiring World Labs for $8.2 billion. Kif Leswing of CNBC writes that this AI laboratory, founded by industry pioneer Li Feifei, is developing a so-called world model that can simulate three-dimensional environments.
2. The chill is growing stronger
U.S. Treasury yields continued to climb to multi-year highs this week, putting pressure on Wall Street.
Yesterday, all three major stock indices closed in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 350 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped by nearly 1%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index recorded its largest single-day decline in over a month.
3. The Man of Steel
Trump announced yesterday that Mesabi Metallics plans to invest $15 billion in building a steel plant in Iowa. A White House official told CNBC that the plant will begin production in 2030 and will become the largest of its kind in U.S. history upon completion.
The White House stated that the steel plant's annual production in the first phase is approximately 7.5 million tons and will support up to 6,000 construction jobs. Mesabi, headquartered in Minnesota, told CNBC that this factory will produce “100% American steel.”
As indicated by Kevin Breuninger of CNBC, this transaction occurred before the mid-term elections in November, which are expected to revolve around how voters view Trump's economic management. Prior to this, Trump also decided to impose additional tariffs on imported steel.
4. From Mongo to Meta
Less than a year after serving as the CEO of MongoDB, CJ Desai will leave to join Meta and will report directly to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, taking on the role of head of the company's corporate platform.
In a press release, Meta stated that Desai will lead its new Meta Enterprise Platform platform, which is aimed at corporate customers. The platform will focus on a set of tools, including a new Muse, agent, and a coding tool. Just earlier today, Meta also announced the launch of Muse, for, and Small Business, which is a version of its recently released AI and agent.
MongoDB The stock price plummeted by 18.5% yesterday due to the news of Desai's resignation, marking the largest one-day decline since March. The interim CEO, Dev Ittycheria, will be a guest on CNBC's Squawk on the Street today at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. You can watch the live broadcast on CNBC Pro or CNBC.
5. Cabin Upgrade
Alaska Airlines is joining the competition to attract premium passengers. The airline announced this morning that it will make significant renovations to its premium cabins, introducing new suites and premium economy class seats on its fleet of aircraft, both for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
These two airlines merged in 2024, but they continue to operate under separate brands. They are also pursuing the construction of premium lounges at airports to attract customers willing to pay for luxury travel experiences. Alaska Airlines will open a new lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, while Hawaiian Airlines' new lounge in Honolulu is expected to open in 2028.
On the occasion of this announcement, Alaska Airlines is holding an Investor Day in Seattle today. CEO Ben Minicucci will be a guest on CNBC's Squawk on the Street at 10:20 a.m. Eastern Time.
Daily Dividends
After being fired by the entertainment giant in 2022, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek remained largely silent. However, yesterday, during a promotional tour for his new memoirs, Chapek appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss his experiences during his time at Disney.
– CNBC's CJ Haddad, Ashley Capoot, Kate Rooney, Kif Leswing, Sawdah Bhaimiya, Liz Napolitano, Kevin Breuninger, Samantha Subin, Chris Eudaily, Isabel O, Brien, Leslie Josephs, and Sarah Whitten have contributed to this report.
Edited by Josephine Rozzelle for this issue.
