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Happy Thursday. It’s a busy day in America’s two largest cities. The Knicks will celebrate their NBA championship with a ticker tape parade in New York City, while the star-studded Obama Presidential Center is scheduled to open in Chicago.
Stock futures are rising this morning as traders look to recover from yesterday’s decline.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Kevin’s Heart
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh during a press conference after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
As expected, the Fed held interest rates unchanged yesterday, keeping the benchmark rate in the range of 3.5% to 3.75%. But the real excitement was Kevin Warsh’s actions in his first meeting as central bank chairman.
Here’s what you need to know:
The first Federal Open Market Committee statement under Mr. Warsh was significantly shorter than those at recent meetings and lacked forward guidance or details on how committee members would vote. At a press conference following the announcement, Warsh announced plans for a task force focused on reviewing central banking operations. The chairman said he would not participate in the Fed’s “dot plot” but encouraged his colleagues to continue participating. Of the 18 members who shared their predictions, nine said they expected interest rates to rise this year. Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital told CNBC that Warsh’s first meeting made it clear that he was not the “easy money” leader many had expected. S&P500 It fell more than 1% in yesterday’s trading, marking the index’s worst performance for the first “Fed Day” under a new chairman since at least 1994. Yesterday’s decline dragged the S&P 500 into the red this week. Follow live market updates here.
2. Sign on the dotted line
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the media on the tarmac after arriving at Orly Airport in Paris on June 17, 2026, on his way to a dinner celebrating the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence at Orly Airport in the south of Paris.
Mandel Gunn | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday, three days after Vice President J.D. Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signed the same document.
A 14-point memorandum of understanding aimed at reaching a permanent peace agreement calls for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened free of tolls for at least 60 days. The deal also includes an agreement between the two countries to resolve the issue of how to dispose of Iran’s highly enriched uranium.
Meanwhile, at the G7 Summit, CNBC spoke with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis promoted a US-led artificial intelligence coalition. Speaking at a private luncheon attended by several technology executives and government leaders, the pair said the coalition will work to protect against risks associated with technology.
3. Florida!!! (feat. JetBlue)
A JetBlue plane sits on the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Adam Jeffrey | CNBC
As I mentioned earlier this week, “Jet Blue”plans to expand to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company is currently planning to downsize its New York City area footprint to free up resources.
The company announced to CNBC yesterday that it is cutting its technology operations at Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. It will also close its flight attendant hub at the New Jersey airport and cancel seasonal flights from Newark to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Speaking of Florida, demand for commercial real estate on Florida’s so-called “Space Coast” is surging, and private companies in this area are space x And Blue Origin will grow. One developer told CNBC’s Diana Orrick that building a luxury hotel makes sense because executives and scientists will be in the area to watch the launch.
4. Apple Intelligence
The Intel logo is displayed on a sign in front of Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on January 22, 2026.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
shares of intel The company rose 9% in pre-market trading after President Trump said overnight that the company was forging a new partnership with the United States. apple The announcement comes after the U.S. government last August acquired a 10% stake in the struggling chipmaker, which has made huge profits in recent months after years of decline.
Elsewhere in technology, space x After posting a record IPO last week, it posted a first-day loss. The stock ended Wednesday trading down nearly 5% and was down another 3% before the bell.
5. Carolina Blue?
Roy Cooper (left), former North Carolina governor and North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate, and Michael Whatley (former Republican National Committee chairman and North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate).
Al Drago | Shelby Tauber | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Democrats hope to take control of the Senate majority this fall and are eyeing former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s candidacy for the North Carolina Senate seat as one of the best ways to flip Republican-held seats.
However, despite coming in first in the gubernatorial race in each of the past three presidential elections, Democrats have not won a presidential or Senate race in the Tar Heel state since 2008. As CNBC’s Luke Fountain reports, the state’s long tradition of judging Raleigh and Washington by different rules could weaken the influence of Cooper’s statewide strength.
“The way Republicans frame this issue is not whether voters like Gov. Roy Cooper,” said Eric Heberlig, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “It’s whether they want a new Democrat to help Chuck Schumer control the Senate.”
daily dividend
Here are some articles I recommend you bookmark for the long weekend.
—CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Matt Peterson, Yun Li, Lisa Kai-Lai Hung, Dan Mangan, Eamonn Javers, Kai Nicholl-Schwartz, Diana Orrick and Luke Fountain contributed to this report.
CJ Haddad helped produce this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
