Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Inflation heat check
U.S. stock futures rose ahead of highly anticipated inflation data Tuesday morning. The consumer price index for August is set to be released at 8: 30 a.m. ET, and the investing world will be watching. Analysts think price increases slowed down last month, particularly as fuel prices fell. The report comes ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, at which the central bankers will decide how much further they’ll raise rates. By now, a three-quarter-point is effectively baked in, but Tuesday’s data could alter expectations about what’s next. “The durability of the rally will likely be determined by Tuesday’s CPI report this week and the tone of the FOMC meeting next week,” said Nationwide’s Mark Hackett.
2. Ukraine presses ahead
The Ukrainian military has made even more advances in its shocking counteroffensive against Russia. “From the beginning of September until today, our soldiers have already liberated more than 6,000 square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine – in the east and in the south,” Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy told his people this week. “The movement of our troops continues.” Ukraine’s recent success, fueled by U.S. and western money and arms, has upended the state of the war – and put heavy political pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Experts believe this could either push him to escalate his aggression in the former Soviet state, or perhaps begin cease-fire negotiations in earnest.
3. HBO, Apple and Netflix reign at the Emmys
Warner Bros. Discovery‘s HBO held onto its crown as the ruler of the Primetime Emmys with multiple wins from limited series “The White Lotus” and “Succession.” But Netflix and Apple didn’t have such bad nights, either. In fact, at one point, Netflix’s South Korean smash “Squid Game” looked poised to score an upset in the Outstanding Drama Series category after racking up directing and acting wins. But “Succession” ultimately prevailed. On the comedy side, Apple’s “Ted Lasso” came out on top, but Disney-owned ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” had a strong showing, too.
4. Shakeup at Peloton
Let there be no more doubt: Barry McCarthy is fully in charge at Peloton. The chief executive announced Monday that executive chairman John Foley, one of the company’s co-founders and its CEO for nearly all of its approximately 10 years of existence, was leaving the company. (Hisao Kushi, another co-founder, is leaving his role as chief legal officer next month, as well.) The executive changes come as McCarthy pursues a sweeping plan to rejuvenate the one-time pandemic darling, whose business started to suffer as people ventured out of their homes to exercise as Covid restrictions were lifted. As of Monday’s close, shares of Peloton are down nearly 70% this year.
5. Get your holiday plane tickets now
Why? Because fares are already high, and seats could be hard to come by down the line. Hopper, which tracks air fares, said flights this Thanksgiving and Christmas will be the highest in five years. People are adapting to life with Covid, particularly with vaccines and treatments widely available, and they’re eager to see family and friends they haven’t seen in years. Or they just want to get away. The average domestic airfare for Thanksgiving is $350, more than 20% higher in 2019, before the pandemic, according to Hopper, while domestic round-trip tickets over Christmas are about a third more expensive than 2019, at $463.
— CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Patti Domm, Holly Ellyatt, Sarah Whitten, Jack Stebbins and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
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