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Happy Monday. CNBC’s Brian Sullivan sat down with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this morning in Paris, where Bessent just met with his Chinese counterpart. The Cabinet secretary said that “logistics” could delay Trump’s planned trip to China later this month.
Stock futures are higher this morning after another losing week.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Add fuel to the fire
Gas flares from an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields with an Iranian flag in the foreground in the Persian Gulf, 1,250 km (776 miles) south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005.
Raheb Homavandi | Reuters
U.S. oil prices surpassed $100 last night after President Donald Trump threatened strikes on Kharg Island — the keystone to Iran’s oil industry.
Here’s what to know:
- Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday that the U.S. executed a “bombing raid” on Iranian military targets on the island. While he chose not to damage the country’s oil infrastructure, Trump said he would “reconsider” that decision if Iran interfered with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
- In an interview published over the weekend, the president told NBC News that the U.S. may hit Kharg Island “a few more times just for fun.”
- The island, located about 15 miles off the coast of Iran in the northern Persian Gulf, is responsible for about 90% of the country’s crude exports.
- Meanwhile, Trump is pressuring other countries to send ships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure the crucial maritime passageway.
- Oil prices continued to rise this morning, but pared back gains made earlier in the session.
- Follow live market updates here.
2. Reserve judgment
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell speaks at a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on Dec. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
A federal judge last week blocked subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve as part of the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Chair Jerome Powell.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday that the DOJ would appeal U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s ruling, which said there was a “a mountain of evidence” that the subpoenas were issued to pressure the central bank to cut interest rates.
The blocked subpoenas set off somewhat of a chain reaction: The appeal will prolong the DOJ’s investigation into Powell, so Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will likely continue to block Kevin Warsh’s confirmation to succeed Powell, meaning Powell could remain chair of the Fed longer, and interest rates may stay higher in tandem.
3. AI, CPUs, and GTC
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks during the 2026 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. Siemens and Nvidia announced an expansion of their strategic partnership to develop industrial and physical AI solutions to bring AI-driven innovation to industrial workflow. Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
All eyes are on Nvidia this week, with the chipmaker set to reveal what it has in store for its agentic-optimized central processing units at its annual GTC conference.
Demand for Nvidia’s CPUs has exploded with the rise of agentic artificial intelligence, so much so that some industry watchers are warning the chips could soon face a supply crisis. Dion Harris, Nvidia’s head of AI infrastructure, told CNBC last week that CPUs are “becoming the bottleneck in terms of growing out this AI and agentic workflow.”
4. Save the date
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks to members of the media during a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The SAVE America Act is set to get a vote in the Senate this week, but the Trump-backed voter-ID bill faces an uphill battle to reach the 60 votes it needs to pass.
Senate Democrats have vowed to oppose the legislation, which would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot. “This would be a horror,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on Sunday. With a 53-47 majority, Republicans need Democratic support to pass the bill — unless lawmakers get rid of the filibuster rule.
The SAVE American Act has increasingly become a focus for Trump. The president said in a social media post last week that the bill “must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else.” He said he “will not sign other Bills until this is passed.”
5. Double trouble
David Ellison attends the 48th Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Shannon Finney | Wireimage | Getty Images
If Paramount Skydance manages to clear regulatory hurdles and complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the combined company would be responsible for at least 26 theatrical releases next year. The large movie slate, which could still grow, is roughly in line with Paramount CEO David Ellison’s stated goal of 30 films a year: 15 from Paramount, and 15 from Warner Bros.
But as CNBC’s Sarah Whitten reports, Ellison’s plan to conquer Hollywood’s box office may not be sustainable. It would also be a logistical feat: With 30 movies and only 52 weekends, the merged studio would risk cannibalizing its own ticket sales.
The Daily Dividend
Here’s what we’ll be keeping an eye on this week.
- Monday: Dollar Tree earnings (before the bell); March Empire State Manufacturing Survey
- Tuesday: Lululemon Athletica earnings (after the bell); February pending home sales data
- Wednesday: Macy’s earnings (before the bell); Micron earnings (after the bell); February producer price index; Federal Reserve decision
- Thursday: Darden Restaurants earnings (before the bell); FedEx earnings (after the bell); January wholesale inventories data; January new home sales data
— CNBC’s Garrett Downs, Spencer Kimball, Sam Meredith, Lee Ying Shan, Lim Hui Jie, Holly Ellyatt, Fred Imbert, Dan Mangan, Katie Tarasov, Justin Papp, Kate Dore and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report. Terri Cullen edited this edition.