Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and the broader business landscape.
The dollar is slipping today, with the DXY index off by roughly a third of a percent. Falling crude oil prices, down about one percent on WTI, are easing inflation expectations and nudging Fed policy sentiment in a dovish direction. Better-than-expected economic data is keeping losses contained, but the macro picture remains delicate.
Shifting to tech, a federal appeals court has handed the Trump administration a significant legal win, ruling two to one that the Pentagon can blacklist AI firm Anthropic from defense contracts under a national security designation. The D.C. Circuit's decision establishes broad executive authority to apply the supply chain risk label, a precedent with wide implications for how AI companies engage with government work going forward.
And in a separate development touching AI and consumer privacy, Meta has quietly updated its smart glasses policy, now allowing users to opt out of having visual data collected through the device's camera used to train its AI models. The move follows mounting scrutiny over how Meta's wearables gather and handle real-world visual information, and signals the company is sensitive to regulatory and public pressure on that front.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
