1 kg silver bars handpicked at Conclude Zrt bullion dealer arranged in Budapest, Hungary on Monday, February 17, 2025.
Akos Stiller | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Silver Surfer
Silver is on a wild ride. After surging to record highs this year, the metal yesterday posted its biggest intraday swing in more than five years.
The full text is as follows:
silver futures It fell more than 8% on Monday to below $71 an ounce. The reversal occurred after the price breached the $80 level for the first time in history. Metal prices fell 15% from high to low, the biggest single-day change since August 2020. This move is likely to result in profit taking. Silver is still up more than 140% this year after Monday’s drop. Silver rebounded some early this morning, with the metal last up more than 7%. Elsewhere in metals, copper hit a new record yesterday and is on track for its best year since 2009. Meanwhile, the stock market has fallen to open the final trading week of the year, with major artificial intelligence plays under pressure again. Follow us here for live market updates.
2. Take the wheel
Monday, April 15, 2024, General Motors headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Jeff Kowalski | Bloomberg | Getty Images
general motorsInvestors were in the driver’s seat this year. As CNBC’s Michael Weiland reports, GM’s stock is on track to outperform its competitors in 2025 and post its biggest single-year gain since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009.
The stock price hit a new all-time high this month, having risen about 13% in December alone. The Detroit-based company’s stock is on track for a fifth consecutive month of wins as Wall Street cheers the company’s record of cash generation and resilient earnings.
3. Acquire more AI
Meta This morning, it announced that it has acquired artificial intelligence agent developer Manas.
Earlier this year, the Singapore-based startup launched its first AI agent that can complete tasks such as coding and data analysis. Meta said the acquisition should accelerate the company’s AI innovation and help further integrate automation into products such as AI assistants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the deal was worth more than $2 billion.
This is the latest AI investment for Meta, which acquired wearables startup Limitless earlier this month. In June, the tech giant invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI.
4. President Trump’s focus on the Middle East
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference after meeting at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump didn’t mince words yesterday when discussing Iran. President Trump said he would “smash the hell out” of Iran if it tried to rebuild its nuclear program, but suggested Iran should negotiate a deal.
“Now we’re hearing that Iran is trying to expand its power again. If that happens, we’re going to have to defeat Iran,” Trump said. “We’re going to beat the crap out of them. But I hope that doesn’t happen.”
President Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday and also said he supports an Israeli attack on Iran if the country attempts to rebuild its ballistic missile stockpile or revive its nuclear program.
5. Low row
California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna appears at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call Inc. | Getty Images
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna is losing support among the state’s tech elites after supporting a wealth tax.
Labor groups in California are pushing a ballot measure that would require the state’s billionaires to pay a one-time 5% tax to cover anticipated health care system shortfalls. In a social media post, Khanna responded sarcastically to industry leaders’ threats to leave the state if the ballot item is successful.
As CNBC’s Garrett Downs points out, these technology leaders made their dissatisfaction with Khanna known online. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan wrote, “It’s time to make him a reserve.”
daily dividend
In Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost city, buildings are being relocated one by one due to land subsidence caused by the expansion of the world’s largest underground ore mine. CNBC’s Sam Meredith walks you through the process and what it means for Kiruna residents.
In this aerial photo, the Kiruna Church in Kiruna, Sweden, is transported by land to its new location on August 20, 2025. The church, which weighs 672,4 tons, is being moved in its entirety to a new location 3 kilometers away to avoid damage from LKAB’s iron ore mine.
Bernd Lothar | Getty Images News | Getty Images
— CNBC’s Sarah Ming, Sean Conlon, Michael Wayland, Garrett Downs, Justin Papp, Sam Meredith, Elsa Oren and Dylan Butts contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
