Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving and why.
Apple is quietly signaling a major strategic shift. The company is retiring its long-held net-cash-neutral target, and Wall Street is reading between the lines — freeing up that balance sheet likely means a significant acquisition is being considered, almost certainly in artificial intelligence, where Apple has been playing catch-up to rivals.
Shifting to the broader economy, recession odds have just hit an all-time low on prediction markets, and stocks are reflecting that optimism with fresh record highs. The labor market is holding steadier than many feared, and while inflation remains stubborn, investors appear willing to look past it for now, pricing in resilience rather than contraction.
Meanwhile, in the agricultural complex, soft commodities are having a strong session across the board. Cotton is extending Thursday's limit gains, corn is posting modest weekly closes on the back of fresh private export sales, and cocoa is touching a two-and-a-half-month high in London as chocolate demand proves more durable than the bears expected.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
