My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, Aug. 12 1. The July consumer price index rose 2.7% on an annual basis, below the 2.8% expected. When stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core CPI rose 3.1%, slightly above the Dow Jones consensus of 3%. The market liked the numbers, with stock futures rising after the numbers were posted. 2. The impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, so far, has not resulted in worrisome inflation. Trump yesterday extended the China tariff deadline by 90 days. That means U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports remain at 30% and China’s tariffs on U.S. products stay at 10%. Both sides are still talking. 3. The NFIB small business optimism index in July rose to its highest level since February. The uncertainty index, contained in the monthly report, worsened last month, just under the February levels. NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said, “While uncertainty is still high, the next six months will hopefully offer business owners more clarity.” 4. Elon Musk threatened to sue Apple , alleging antitrust violations over the way the iPhone maker ranks his Grok AI chatbot in the App Store. Musk said on social media that “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.” Club name Apple integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its devices. 5. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff vigorously denies the “AI is eating software” idea, propounded by Ben Reitzes at Melius Research, the most powerful tech analyst on Wall Street. The Club stock was steady this morning after falling more than 3% yesterday. We also put Reitzes’ Monday note through the lens of our broader portfolio , and Microsoft and Amazon are winners under his thesis. 6. Circle Internet Group shares jumped nearly 7% this morning after the company reported a year-over-year 53% increase in quarterly revenue to $658.1 million. The circulation of USDC, the stablecoin that Circle issues and manages, grew 90% from last year. Circle shares have gained more than 450% from their June IPO price of $31. 7. Piper Sandler upgraded Palo Alto Networks to an overweight buy from neutral and raised its price target on the Club stock to $225 per share from $200. The analysts said Palo Alto has been punished enough for its CyberArk deal. They think the company is doing well. Palo Alto Networks is set to report quarterly earnings this coming Monday. 8. Baird updated Starbucks to an outperform buy from neutral and boosted its price target on the Club stock to $115 from $100. The analysts expressed confidence in CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround. The stock rose more than 1% this morning. Nearly one year on the job, Niccol came to Starbucks from Chipotle where he turned that company around. 9. Piper upgraded Chipotle to overweight from neutral but trimmed its price target to $53 from $50. The analysts said enough is enough and are recommending the stock after a 31% year-to-date sell-off. Chipotle shares rose more than 2% this morning. After the initial shock of Niccol leaving for Starbucks, Chipotle recovered into year-end last year but it fell on hard times in 2025. 10. Swiss sneaker and athletic wear company On Holding had another great quarter, with a 6.5% increase in revenue and a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss. Gross profit margin rose to 61.5%. On raised its full-year guidance on net sales and profitability. The stock soared nearly 17% on the news. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
