The Daily Wrap – May 13, 2026

Stubbornly high producer prices, driven by the ongoing war with Iran, are dashing hopes for Fed rate cuts, setting a tense economic backdrop for the president's high-stakes summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In corporate news, the AI boom continues unabated, as cloud provider Nebius Group reports massive revenue growth while AI-startup Anthropic seeks new funding that could value it at nearly a trillion dollars. Meanwhile, traditional retail giants face significant challenges, with Walmart cutting 1,000 corporate roles and Nike's business in China flailing against the rise of nationalistic local competitors.  

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From Phoenixdraw Pro in Tampa, it's Wednesday, May 13th, and I'm Rachel Anderson with the Daily Rap. The producer price index, which measures inflation before it reaches the consumer, jumped a stunning 1.4% last month. That's the biggest gain since March of 2022. Over the past year, producer prices are now up 6%. This comes just after we learned consumer prices also posted their largest annual gain in three years. The primary driver remains the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has disrupted global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and sent energy costs soaring. Oil prices remain elevated, with Brent crude trading around $107 a barrel. The International Energy Agency warned today that due to the conflict, global oil supply will not meet total demand this year. This persistent inflation makes it nearly impossible for the Federal Reserve to consider lowering interest rates, keeping pressure on the economy and on household budgets. The president landed in Beijing today for his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He's expected to press Xi over China's role as Iran's biggest oil buyer, which has blunted the impact of U.S. sanctions. But that's just one of several critical topics. The two leaders will look to extend a fragile truce and their trade war, discuss the global race for AI dominance, and navigate sensitive issues around Taiwan and access to critical minerals. Joining the president is a who's who of American business leaders, signaling that major deals are on the table. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is there, with the company reportedly close to a historic aircraft order from China. Apple's Tim Cook, who has skillfully navigated US-China trade tensions for years, is also in the delegation. And Nvidia CEO Jensen Wong is attending just months after his company received conditional approval to sell its powerful H200 AI chips to Chinese customers. Perhaps the most watched executive is Tesla's Elon Musk. He's seeking approval for Tesla's full self-driving software in China, a critical step to compete with local EV giants and reverse a recent slide in sales. Chairs of AI cloud provider Nebius Group are soaring today, up over 15%. The company reported a much smaller than expected loss and revenue that more than septepled from a year ago. Citing unprecedented demand, Nebius also announced a new 1.2 gigawatt data center in Pennsylvania and raised its power capacity guidance for 2026. Anthropic is reportedly in talks to raise up to $50 billion in new funding. The deal could value the company at an astronomical $950 billion more than its chief rival OpenAI. The talks come just after Anthropic released a powerful new AI model called Mythos, which has both impressed and alarmed governments around the world. Walmart announced it is cutting 1,000 corporate roles as it works to simplify operations and double down on a tech-focused strategy to compete with Amazon. American icon Nike is facing a full-blown crisis in what was once its most promising market. Revenue in China has fallen 28% over the past five years as the company gets pummeled by fast-moving local competitors like Anta and Li Ning. Chinese consumers, driven by a wave of nationalism, are flocking to domestic brands that are matching Nike on quality and beating it on price and cultural relevance. Nike says it's launching a China for China strategy to turn things around, but it faces a long road ahead to reclaim its former glory. U.S. Treasury yields jumped on new signals of increasing inflation. The 10-year is at 4.47%, the two-year yield is at 3.98%, and the 30-year bond yield is at 5.04%. And now let's check the scoreboard. Wall Street is having mixed feelings today, reacting to a rise in wholesale inflation and waiting on reports from Beijing. Midday the SP was up around 0.3%, the Dow was down almost a half a percent, and the NASDAQ was up roughly 0.8%. That's all for your daily rap today. I'm Rachel Anderson from Phoenixtra Pro Turning Data into Stories.