Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving money and markets.
Intuitive Machines is back in focus after a rough earnings print. The lunar logistics company missed second quarter revenue and earnings estimates, but its one point eight billion dollar backlog is keeping analysts constructive. Institutional buyers have been stepping in, and multiple Buy ratings remain intact, suggesting the street sees a credible path to profitability ahead.
Shifting to the gold space, investors comparing iShares' IAU against State Street's GLD are finding the core exposure essentially identical — both track physical bullion directly — but the cost structure tells a different story. IAU carries a lower expense ratio, which over time compounds meaningfully for long-term holders, making it the more efficient vehicle for passive gold allocation in most portfolios.
And on the retirement front, Social Security's two thousand twenty seven cost-of-living adjustment is being revised lower, as cooling inflation pulls down the forecasting models analysts use to project that annual bump. For retirees counting on a meaningful increase, the message is clear: plan conservatively, because the purchasing power cushion next year looks thinner than many had anticipated.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
