GoKawiilThis is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Happy Wednesday. Air travel may be getting more expensive, but a study released today shows consumers are at least reporting higher satisfaction levels with U.S. airports. Stock futures are higher this morning. The three major averages are coming off another losing day. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Decision day
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference at Federal Reserve Headquarters on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
2. Taking sides
Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of Salesforce Inc., left, and Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., during the 2026 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang isn't on board with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call for antitrust exemptions to allow AI companies to coordinate a slowdown in development. In an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer yesterday, he called such a move "completely unnecessary." Meanwhile, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC that she isn't worried about the consequences of hitting the brakes on development. "Even if we stop today, the amount of intelligence that's available in the world is massive," Friar said. Executives of technology companies have diverged this week as the industry debates whether AI firms should pace innovation to address safety concerns. As CNBC's Samantha Subin writes, there are two camps: On one side, President Donald Trump, Nvidia's Huang and former White House crypto czar David Sacks; on the other, Anthropic's Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
3. Conflict costs
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a joint US-Japan announcement on investments in American manufacturing, during the second day of the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Abundance in Houston, Texas on Sept. 15, 2026. Ronaldo Schemidt | AFP | Getty Images
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC yesterday that the closure of Saudi Arabia's vital crude oil pipeline is a "brief and temporary interruption" that will be "measured in days." However, satellite imagery appears to show damage to one of the pipeline's pumping stations, leading some experts to predict that repairs could take months. Despite Wright's apparent efforts to soothe investors on Tuesday, U.S. crude oil prices settled above $105 per barrel for the first time since May. WTI prices are lower this morning following a report that U.S. crude inventories rose last week. The Iran war has cost the Pentagon $38.1 billion through Aug. 1, or an average of $246 million per day, the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday. The nonpartisan agency estimated each additional month of fighting could cost an additional $2 billion to $3 billion.
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