Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Amazon's bet on artificial intelligence is paying off in a historic way. The company's eight billion dollar stake in AI lab Anthropic has grown to seventy-four billion dollars, making it one of the most valuable private investments in tech history. Anthropic confirmed Monday it has filed confidentially for an IPO, which would crystallize enormous gains for Amazon's cloud division.
Turning to energy markets, a growing number of large crude tankers remain stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and shipping analysts are raising serious questions about whether they will return in meaningful numbers once they do escape. These vessels have long been the backbone of Middle East crude flows, and any sustained pullback would reshape global oil logistics and pricing dynamics.
In the grain pits, wheat and soybeans are both under pressure at midday Monday. Minneapolis spring wheat is leading losses, down ten to twelve cents, with Chicago and Kansas City contracts also in the red. Soybeans are off three to eight cents across most contracts, with the national cash bean average sliding more than nine cents to eleven dollars and twenty-five cents.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
