This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Happy Thursday. I just got back from a long weekend skiing in Colorado, just in time for yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting.
Stock futures are falling this morning. The three major indexes have come out of the decline.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Progress steadily
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference after the Federal Open Market Committee at the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, March 18, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
2. Stay up to date with the Joneses.
A pumpjack operates in the Inglewood oil field on March 17, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Oil prices continue to rise today, brent Futures prices briefly topped $119 this morning following Iran’s attack on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
In an effort to stabilize volatile oil markets, President Donald Trump yesterday announced a 60-day exemption from the Jones Act, the U.S. shipping law that requires domestic vessels to transport goods between U.S. ports.
Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are scheduled to meet with the oil industry today. U.S. governors and members of Congress will also attend the meeting at the American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group that represents major U.S. oil and gas companies.
3. If you have memories
Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
micron After surging yesterday to beat Wall Street’s earnings and guidance expectations, the stock was down more than 5% this morning as investors took profits after the stock’s 350% rally.
The company is benefiting from a surge in demand. Nvidia’s Graphics processing units are rapidly increasing their memory capacity. Micron announced yesterday that quarterly sales nearly tripled year-over-year and that it expects sales for the current quarter to increase more than 200% year-over-year.
Don’t miss Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” at 9 a.m. ET. Watch live on CNBC+ or CNBC Pro stream.
4. Cargo disputes
Brandis Neal, a United States Postal Service (USPS) employee, delivers an Amazon Prime package in Houston, Texas, on August 18, 2020.
Address Latif | Reuters
Amazon wants to clear the air regarding its relationship with the U.S. Postal Service.
The e-commerce giant yesterday responded to reports that it was planning to reduce the number of packages sent through the Post Office, saying in a blog post that the Post Office “walked away at the 11th hour” of negotiations. Amazon said it hopes to sell more, not less, under the new agreement.
The Postal Service’s contract with Amazon, which has long been its biggest customer, expires at the end of September. Negotiations between the two parties began after Postmaster General David Steiner warned this week that the mail carrier could run out of cash within a year.
5. Missing
A job seeker waits to speak with a recruiter at a job fair on August 28, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida.
Marta Lavandier | AP
Experts have warned that the U.S. unemployment system is not ready if the economy falls into recession.
The bipartisan recommendation says the maximum payment should cover at least two-thirds of a worker’s previous average weekly wage. But an analysis shared exclusively with CNBC shows that most states’ top interests don’t meet that standard.
“The takeaway here is that weekly maximums are stagnant, so[unemployment insurance]won’t be able to function as a stabilizer in 2026 as it did in 2008,” said Michelle Evermore, a senior fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance.
daily dividend
Ally Love, Dwyane Wade, JPMorgan Wealth Management CEO Kristen Lemkau, Tom Brady, Aja Wilson, and Megan Rapinoe at the JPMorgan Chase Athlete Council on March 18, 2026.
Sean McMillan | CNBC
—CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Darla Mercado, Sarah Min, Sean Conlon, Katie Tarasov, Jordan Novet, Kevin Breuninger, Spencer Kimball, Pippa Stevens, Annie Palmer, Annie Nova and Hugh Son contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
