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Happy Thursday. This morning we are releasing our exclusive America’s Top States Business Survey. Fun fact: This is the 20th year of the study.
S&P 500 futures rose this morning after another day of losses for the index.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Increase strikes
US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference during the 2026 NATO Ankara Summit in Ankara, Turkiye, July 8, 2026.
Beata Saurzernul Photo | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s comments regarding war with Iran continue to keep markets on edge. President Trump said yesterday, hours before the US launched additional strikes, that he “doesn’t know” whether he wants to strike a deal with Iran.
Here’s what you need to know:
2. Broad field of view
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman walks through the Hart Senate Building after a meeting at the Capitol on June 3, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Evelyn HochsteinReuter
OpenAI today announced the general availability of GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna models.
As CNBC’s Ashley Capoot writes, the announcement comes two weeks after the startup limited its rollout at the request of the U.S. government. The company previously allowed access to the ChatGPT-5.6 series models only to select groups or organizations whose participation was known to the government.
Don’t miss OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” at 10 a.m. ET. Watch live on CNBC or CNBC+.
3. Red Tab
This photo shows the Levi Strauss & Co logo on pants at a Levi’s store in Paris on March 2, 2026.
Joel Saget | AFP | Getty Images
shares of Levi Strauss Despite the company’s better-than-expected second-quarter results yesterday, shares were down more than 4% before the bell. The denim maker also raised its earnings forecast and dividend.
CEO Michelle Gass told CNBC that Levi’s demand remains “healthy” and key consumer segments are showing “strength.” He said about two-thirds of the sales growth in the quarter was due to units rather than just price increases.
Other points on the revenue side: pepsico reported mixed quarterly results this morning as penny pitch weighed on its North American business. The company said international demand helped offset some of the struggles. Don’t miss CEO Ramon Laguarta on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” at 9:30 a.m. ET.
4. Legal terminology
Author E. Jean Carroll arrives at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on September 6, 2024 in Manhattan, New York, USA. Former President Donald Trump is expected to arrive to ask a federal appeals court to overturn a $5 million jury verdict that found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation nearly three decades ago.
Adam Gray | Reuters
A New York federal appeals court last night rejected President Trump’s bid to prevent him from receiving more than $5 million in connection with a jury verdict that held him civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll.
Hours earlier, a federal judge in the state granted Carroll’s request for $5 million plus interest. Mr. Trump’s lawyers had encouraged Judge Lewis Kaplan not to disperse the roughly $5.8 million in funds Mr. Trump had deposited with the court, but Mr. Kaplan cited language in the parties’ agreement that called for the funds to be given to Mr. Carroll if the Supreme Court denied Mr. Trump’s appeal, which the Supreme Court decided last week.
Meanwhile, President Trump announced yesterday that he is pushing hard for the Supreme Court to reconsider the controversial birthright citizenship case. He also lost an appeals court bid to restore his name to the Kennedy Center.
5. Disturbance of blows
Samuel Boivin | Null Photo | Getty Images
space x Yesterday’s trading once again ended below the debut trading price. As CNBC’s Laura Kolodny points out, stocks have had two rough days since entering the market. Nasdaq-100.
The decline came despite a flurry of bullish voices from Wall Street analysts at banks such as Morgan Stanley and UBS following SpaceX’s inclusion in the index. However, a few companies were less enthusiastic.
Still, some analysts expect SpaceX to be able to build data centers in space. companies such as broadcom, AMD and Nvidia Now, everyone is in the orbital data center space race.
daily dividend
CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin reported yesterday on Blue Origin’s first round of external funding. According to people familiar with the matter, the big numbers are:
Estimated amount raised: $10 billion New valuation of company after raising: $130 billion
— CNBC’s Kevin Browninger, Chloe Taylor, Spencer Kimball, Li Ying Xiang, Jeff Cox, Sean Conlon, Tobias Burns, Ashley Caputo, Gabriel Fonrouge, Amelia Lucas, Dan Mangan, Laura Kolodny and Deena Zaidi contributed to this report.
Luke Fountain helped produce this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
