GoKawiilThis is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Happy Thursday. If our minds weren't already racing thanks to wildfire smoke and the cyclospora outbreak, we may also need to worry about rouge artificial intelligence agents. Stock futures are falling this morning after a down day for Wall Street. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. ABCs
The Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
2. Weight of war
Customers pump gas at a Freedom Fuel Network station on July 8, 2026 in Dresher, Pennsylvania. Joe Lamberti | Getty Images
Oil prices are up nearly 5% this morning following reported attacks on tankers off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The gains put U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures back above the $90 per barrel mark, their highest level in more than a month. As CNBC's Matt Peterson writes, rising gasoline and diesel prices are set to weigh on Americans' standard of living this summer. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's diesel benchmark posted its biggest weekly jump since early March last week — a particularly concerning sign, since diesel price can affect prices across the economy.
3. Schoolhouse rock
The U.S. Capitol building is seen on March 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum | Getty Images
The House of Representatives passed legislation yesterday that would block members of Congress from purchasing individual stocks while in office. The bill, named the Stop Insider Trading Act, now heads to the Senate. As CNBC's Justin Papp notes, there is widespread public support for a ban on congressional stock trading. But while more than a dozen Democrats voted in support of the GOP-led bill, others in the party said the legislation doesn't go for enough to stop all stock trading. Meanwhile, the Senate is considering an updated bill that would bar presidents and other federal officials from sponsoring cryptocurrency and other digital assets. President Donald Trump has signed off on the ethics section of the bill, according to Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.
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