CPI report, Oracle earnings, Trump’s cash promises and more in Morning Squawk

Good morning. President Donald Trump weighed in on the artificial intelligence debate yesterday following startling warnings from several researchers about the risks posed by the technology. Here's what he said.

Stock futures are higher before the bell. All three major averages closed Thursday's session lower.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

Investors are heading into the final trading day of the week with inflation, oil prices and the Federal Reserve all in focus. The consumer price index, which is the Fed's last major inflation reading before its rate decision next week, showed prices continued to rise in August.

Here's what to know:

• CPI rose 0.4% last month and 3.4% from a year ago, according to the report released this morning. Both numbers were in line with analysts' expectations. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% for the month, slightly higher than expected.
• This morning's report comes after Thursday's producer price index rose 0.4% for the month, in line with forecasts, while the annual rate climbed to 5.4%, slightly hotter than expected. Energy was a major driver, with diesel prices in the index surging 24.1%.
• High oil prices are indeed adding to the pressure. U.S. crude jumped about 4% Thursday to again cross the $100 a barrel mark, and U.S. diesel prices hit a record $6 per gallon overnight.
• Traders pushed the odds of a quarter-point Fed rate hike next week above 70% after Thursday's PPI report and oil surge.
• Stock futures are higher in premarket trading as investors digest the CPI report. All three major averages are looking to end a four-day losing streak.
• Follow live market updates here.

Oracle shares are 7% higher before the bell after the software giant beat earnings expectations and reported that cloud infrastructure revenue more than doubled. Overall revenue grew nearly 30% to $19.35 billion, while cloud revenue jumped 62% to $11.61 billion.

As Jordan Novet notes, the growth is coming at a steep price. Oracle spent $28.5 billion on capital expenditures last quarter, more than triple the amount it spent a year earlier, as it races to build data centers. Negative free cash flow tallied $5.4 billion, and the company now carries $125 billion in debt.

Still, demand doesn't appear to be slowing. Oracle ended the quarter with $664 billion in remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted future revenue, and said it signed more than $30 billion in additional AI contracts during the quarter.

Trump's latest promises to put cash directly into Americans' pockets are running into questions about their price, effectiveness and, in one case, legality.

Trump said Wednesday that every adult U.S. citizen would receive a $5,000 "dividend" if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in November. The proposal would cost more than $1.2 trillion and quickly drew criticism from Democrats and some conservatives. It also raised legal questions, since Trump explicitly tied the payments to an election outcome.

Then on Thursday, the White House announced $500 Obamacare refunds for nearly 1 million people beginning in October. Health policy experts said those checks would make up only a fraction of the thousands of dollars some households are paying after enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expired.

OpenAI is coming for some of Wall Street's grunt work.

The company on Thursday unveiled ChatGPT for Financial Services, a version of its enterprise product developed with Morgan Stanley and Evercore that can research companies, analyze financial data and build presentations — tasks traditionally assigned to junior investment bankers.

OpenAI says the technology will make bankers more productive rather than replace them. But Hugh Son and Ashley Capoot write that the rollout raises a bigger question for an industry built around an apprenticeship model: If AI handles much of the research and pitchbook work that trains young bankers, how does Wall Street develop its next generation of dealmakers?

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks transformed air travel, some of the security restrictions Americans came to associate with flying are beginning to loosen.

Travelers at regular checkpoints can now keep their shoes on, reversing a rule introduced after the failed 2001 "shoe bomber" attack. And this week, the TSA announced "Gateside," which allows eligible travelers at 13 airports to enter post-security areas even when they aren't flying — bringing back the possibility of meeting loved ones at their gates.

As Leslie Josephs writes, while some old restrictions fade, security officials are confronting a new generation of threats, including drones, cyberattacks and AI.

Here are a few stories to circle back to over the weekend:

• LIV Golf files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
• Apple makes biggest change to iPhone release cadence in 7 years in Ternus' first showcase as CEO
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says league could rework TV packages in next media deal
• How much does it cost to move a midterm prediction market? Not much
• Elon Musk's Boring Co. turns to Middle East for expansion in reaching $23 billion valuation
• Kimmel says interview with Senate candidate Talarico won't air on ABC amid FCC threats
• Hassett kept up to $5 million Coinbase stake as Trump reshaped crypto policy

— CNBC's Kai Nicol-Schwarz, Jeff Cox, Spencer Kimball, Jordan Novet, Sawdah Bhaimiya, Chloe Taylor, Kevin Breuninger, Greg Iacurci, Hugh Son, Ashley Capoot and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.

Josephine Rozzelle edited this newsletter.