Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
July's consumer price index came in at zero point one percent for the month, landing exactly where economists expected, with the annual rate holding at three point four percent. That's a number that keeps the Federal Reserve in a familiar holding pattern — not alarmed, but not ready to declare victory on inflation either.
Shifting to dealmaking, StoneX Group has agreed to acquire Banco Travelex, the Brazilian banking arm of the global currency exchange giant, for undisclosed terms. StoneX has been steadily building out its financial services footprint, and folding in a licensed banking operation in Brazil gives it deeper access to one of Latin America's most active currency markets.
And in the AI infrastructure space, CoreWeave's stock is surging following a strong earnings report that drew rare praise from bulls and bears alike. Analysts are pointing to a broadening customer base and firming pricing on GPU cloud capacity — both signs that demand for high-performance compute isn't cooling. For a company that only recently went public, that kind of cross-aisle analyst confidence carries real weight.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
