GoKawiilThis is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Happy Friday. Have any letters you've been meaning to send? You might want to get them in the mail sooner rather than later: The U.S. Postal Service is looking to hike prices as it goes through what it calls a "severe financial crisis." Stock futures are little changed this morning after adding to their post-ceasefire rally in yesterday's session. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Ceasefire complications
A view of the vessels passing through Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman on April 8, 2026. Shadi J. H. Alassar | Anadolu | Getty Images
2. Sticky situation
A customer shops in a grocery store on March 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Inflation was above the Federal Reserve's target even before the Iran war caused energy prices to spike, data released yesterday showed. February's personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed's preferred inflation gauge — rose 2.8% year-over-year, in line with estimates. Core PCE, which strips out food and energy, also matched expectations with a 3% annual increase. Even though the economic fallout of the Iran war renders the report somewhat stale, Thursday's data gives the Fed a valuable look at the underlying conditions before the conflict began. Still, investors don't have to wait long for a more up-to-date read on inflation: The Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index for March is due out at 8:30 a.m. ET this morning.
3. AI wars
CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit of government officials, corporate executives, and labor leaders, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2026. Kylie Cooper | Reuters
As its rival Anthropic gains momentum, OpenAI appears to be trying to reassure investors of its positioning in the artificial intelligence market. The AI company sent a memo to investors this week criticizing Anthropic for "operating on a meaningfully smaller curve," specifically contrasting the two companies' compute expectations. And as OpenAI doubles down on its compute strategy, Meta and Amazon are doubling down on their AI spending. Meta announced yesterday that it will shell out an additional $21 billion on CoreWeave's AI cloud infrastructure, while Amazon CEO Andy Jassy defended his company's $200 billion AI investment in his annual letter.
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