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Happy Thursday. It's a busy day in two of America's largest cities: The Knicks will celebrate their NBA championship with a ticker-tape parade in New York City, while the Obama Presidential Center is set for a star-studded opening in Chicago.
Stock futures are higher this morning as traders look to rebound from yesterday's losses.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Kevin's heart
Kevin Warsh, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
As expected, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady yesterday, keeping its benchmark rate in a range of 3.5%-3.75%. But the real excitement was what Kevin Warsh did at hist first meeting as the central bank's chairman.
Here's what to know:
The first Federal Open Market Committee statement under Warsh was significantly shorter than that of recent meetings, lacking forward guidance as well as details on how members voted.At his post-announcement press conference, Warsh announced plans for task forces focused on overhauling the central bank's operations.The chairman sat out of participating in the Fed's "dot plot" but said he encouraged his colleagues to continue doing so. Of the 18 members who did share their projections, nine indicated that they expected a rate hike this year.DoubleLine Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach told CNBC that Warsh's first meeting made it clear that the chairman would not be the "easy money" leader that many expected.The S&P 500 tumbled more than 1% in yesterday's session, marking the index's worst performance on the first "Fed day" under a new chair since at least 1994.Yesterday's drop dragged the S&P 500 into the red for the week. Follow live markets updates here.2. Sign on the dotted line
US President Donald Trump addresses the media on the tarmac after arriving at Paris Orly Airport enroute to a dinner to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, at Orly Airport, south of Paris, on June 17, 2026.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday, three days after Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signed the same document.
The 14-point MOU, aimed at developing a permanent peace deal, calls for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without tolls for at least 60 days. It also includes an agreement for the two nations to resolve the question of how to dispose of Iran's highly-enriched uranium.
Meanwhile at the G7 summit, CNBC learned that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis pushed for a U.S.-led artificial intelligence coalition. Speaking during a private lunch attended by several tech executives and government leaders, the pair said the coalition would work to protect against the risks associated with the technology.
3. Florida!!! (feat. JetBlue)
A JetBlue plane sits on the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Earlier this week, we told you about JetBlue's plans to expand in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Now, the airline is planning to reduce its footprint in the New York City area to free up resources.
The carrier told CNBC yesterday that it will cut its tech operations bases at Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. It will also close its flight attendant hub at the New Jersey airport and cease its seasonal service from Newark to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Speaking of Florida: Demand for commercial real estate on the state's so-called "space coast" is booming, as private companies in the sector like SpaceX and Blue Origin grow. One developer told CNBC's Diana Olick that building luxury hotels makes sense as executives and scientists travel to the region to watch launches.
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4. Apple Intel-ligence
The Intel logo is displayed on a sign in front of Intel headquarters on Jan. 22, 2026 in Santa Clara, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Shares of Intel are up 9% in premarket trading after Trump said overnight that the company inked a new partnership with Apple to design and build chips in the U.S. The announcement comes after the U.S. government last August took a 10% stake in the embattled chipmaker, which has seen huge gains in the last few months following a multi-year slump.
Elsewhere in tech, SpaceX saw its first day of losses following its record IPO last week. The stock closed Wednesday's session down nearly 5% and is down another 3% before the bell.
5. Carolina blue?
Roy Cooper, left, former governor of North Carolina and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for North Carolina, and Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee and Republican U.S. Senate candidate for North Carolina.
Al Drago | Shelby Tauber | Bloomberg | Getty Images
As Democrats hope to take control of the Senate this fall, they're eying former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's North Carolina Senate bid as one of their best shots at flipping a Republican-held seat.
But Democrats haven't been victorious in a presidential or Senate race in the Tar Heel State since 2008, despite coming out on top in gubernatorial elections in each of the last three presidential cycles. As CNBC's Luke Fountain reports, the state's long tradition of judging Raleigh and Washington by different rules could dampen the effect of Cooper's statewide strength.
"The question Republicans will frame this as is not whether voters liked Roy Cooper as governor," Eric Heberlig, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, said. "It is whether they want another Democrat helping Chuck Schumer control the Senate."
