Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on the stories moving money and markets.
Geopolitical tension is back front and center after a volatile weekend. President Trump spoke separately with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine launched fresh strikes on Russian territory and Moscow answered with another deadly barrage on Kyiv. Markets are watching closely, as any shift in the conflict's trajectory carries direct implications for energy prices, European defense spending, and risk appetite broadly.
Turning to domestic policy, Social Security's purchasing power problem is drawing renewed attention on Capitol Hill. Data shows beneficiaries have lost nearly fourteen percent of their real buying power over the past decade, a consequence of cost-of-living adjustments that consistently trail actual inflation for older Americans. Lawmakers are weighing structural fixes, though nothing commanding consensus has emerged yet.
And in single-stock news, SoFi has had a rough first half of two thousand twenty six, with shares down thirty-two percent despite what the company calls accelerating growth in its core lending business. The disconnect between fundamentals and price action suggests investors remain skeptical about margin durability and the broader consumer credit environment heading into the second half.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
