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Happy Wednesday. Citadel The CEO, Ken Griffin, will donate $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, which the school calls “the largest individual donation in the history of higher education.”
U.S. stock futures saw little change this morning. The three major stock indices closed lower for the second consecutive trading day yesterday.
Here are five important things that investors need to know before the start of trading days:
1. Insiders
How did John Harold Rogers go from being a senior Fed official to becoming a spy suspect arrested by FBI? As reported in a new investigation by Eamon Javers of CNBC this morning, this case is "like a spy novel," as one federal prosecutor put it.
What needs to be understood is:
- Rogers, who is 65 years old this year, was arrested in January 2025. Investigators believe that he passed on information about the central bank to a Chinese government spy.
- Rogers The desire for female companionship seems to have driven his actions, and this was exploited by a Chinese government agent who later became a key figure in both the economist's professional and personal life.
- As written by Javers, the question that needs to be answered is whether Rogers is actually a spy, or merely a "pawn" of the Chinese intelligence services.
- Rogers refused to give any interviews; his lawyer stated that he did not provide any valuable information to the Chinese side. Officials from the Federal Reserve and its Office of the Comptroller General declined to comment.
- CNBC has found previously unpublished text messages, recordings, copies of Federal Reserve documents, as well as dozens of photos.
- Click here to read the full report and watch the documentary.
Farewell to AI, and welcome to SI?
OpenAI launched a series of new products at the developer conference yesterday, including Dots – its new “always online” proxy. The company also released the latest artificial intelligence models GPT-6.1 and Sol; just a few days ago, OpenAI recently canceled the release plans for GPT-6.1 and Astra, as those models failed to meet security standards.
OpenAI is also a focal point of attention for investors and company executives in San Francisco on Tuesday. The CEO, Sam Altman, told CNBC's Kate Rooney that he "does not have a specific timeline," and added, "Now is the time to put safety and mission first." The company's Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, stated later that this ChatGPT developer will go public "when it is suitable for our business."
Meanwhile, in Washington, President Trump stated that he and a group of technology leaders signed a "morally binding" AI agreement after a lunch meeting at the White House. The president also mentioned that he would rename AI as "Super Intelligence" through an executive order, which is clearly an attempt to reshape the image of this technology as public sentiment towards AI weakens.
3. Data Day
Investors concerned about stubborn inflation will see the latest price data this morning, as the PCE Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August – the inflation indicator favored by the Federal Reserve – will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. More data on employment, consumer spending, and GDP will also be announced before the market opens.
Before the release of this round of data, Conference Board reported yesterday that its consumer confidence index had dropped to its lowest level since 2014. Jeff Cox from CNBC wrote that respondents mentioned concerns about the job market and inflation.
Yesterday, the yield on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds continued to rise, reaching its highest level since 2002, and this dragged down the stock market. This morning, futures were trading near parity, as Wall Street awaits new data. Click here for real-time market updates.
4. Changes to Oura
Yesterday, biometric ring manufacturer Oura announced a postponement of IPO, which caught the attention of Wall Street. However, a report from Tobias Burns of CNBC stated that this is not an isolated case.
According to Renaissance Capital, four companies have postponed or completely withdrawn their IPO plans over the past week. This brings the total for the third quarter to seven, which is higher than the four companies in the previous three-month period. The Matthew Kennedy from Renaissance told CNBC: "You really can't attribute all of this to company-level issues."
Analysts believe that the rise in government bond yields is one reason why potential listed companies are becoming more cautious. In the case of Oura, the company attributes this to the "uncertainty" in the market environment, while still expressing a "strong demand" for its shares.
5. No registration required
According to temporary regulations, the Ministry of Finance will begin automatically registering Trump Accounts for millions of children starting this week.
According to the guidance of this department, this change could potentially increase the total number of registered children for Trump Accounts by over 60 million this year. In the future, this approach may also lead to an additional 2 million new registrations each year.
Finance Minister Scott Bessent stated earlier this month that between 7 and 8 million children had registered for such deferred tax investment accounts. However, he said that with the implementation of automatic registration, this number is expected to rise to 70 million.
Daily Dividends
Ford The CEO, Jim Farley, stated yesterday that Europe can no longer withstand the competition from Chinese automobile manufacturers, but the United States still has time to decide on its own approach.
"Looking at what is happening in Europe right now, the situation there is no longer the same. They must face this problem now, but it's already too late." Jim Farley, CEO of Ford
CNBC's Eamon Javers, Ashley Capoot, Chris Eudaily, Kate Rooney, Kevin Breuninger, Samantha Subin, Jeff Cox, Liz Napolitano, Tobias Burns, Jessica Dicker, Kate Dore, and Michael Wayland have contributed to this report.
Josephine Rozzelle edited the content for this issue.
