Good evening and welcome to Markets Desk.
Diplomatic pressure on the Russia-Ukraine conflict is intensifying tonight, as Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to arrive in Kyiv following a meeting with Putin in Moscow. Expectations in Ukraine remain cautious, with officials in Kyiv signaling low hopes for any meaningful breakthrough from the visit.
On the energy side, Fervo Energy is betting big on enhanced geothermal power, with a project in Utah designed to deliver gigawatts of capacity into a grid increasingly strained by data center demand. The company argues geothermal deserves a serious seat at the table in the clean power mix, and investor appetite for reliable baseload alternatives is only growing.
And in a story that says something about where brand trust is being built right now, American Express has found an unlikely social media star in its thirty-year company archivist, Ira Galtman. His unpolished, nostalgia-driven videos are outperforming most of Amex's produced content, particularly with younger audiences on TikTok, proving that authenticity is cutting through in ways that high-gloss marketing often cannot.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
