US inflation gauge cools with little sign of tariff impact, so far
WASHINGTON — A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump's tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped.
Friday's report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.6%. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
32 minutes ago
- Associated Press
The election of a Trump ally in Poland could alter EU and Ukraine policies
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has elected Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and staunch nationalist, as its next president in a closely watched vote that signals a resurgence of right-wing populism in the heart of Europe. Nawrocki, who is set to take office on Aug. 6, is expected to shape the country's domestic and foreign policy in ways that could strain ties with Brussels while aligning the Central European nation of nearly 38 million people more closely with the administration of President Donald Trump in the United States. Here are some key takeaways: Conservative populism on the rise Nawrocki's victory underscores the enduring appeal of nationalist rhetoric among about half of the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union, and its deep social divisions. The 42-year-old historian who had no previous political experience built his campaign on patriotic themes, traditional Catholic values, and a vow to defend Poland's sovereignty against the EU and larger European nations like Germany. His win also reflects the appeal of right-wing nationalism across Europe, where concerns about migration, national sovereignty, and cultural identity have led to surging support for parties on the right — even the far right in recent times. Far-right candidates did very well in Poland's first round of voting two weeks earlier, underlining the appeal of the nationalist and conservative views. Nawrocki picked up many of those votes. As his supporters celebrate his win, those who voted for the defeated liberal candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, worry that it will hasten the erosion of liberal democratic norms. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's troubles Nawrocki's presidency presents a direct challenge to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who returned to power in late 2023 pledging to mend relations with the EU and restore judicial independence which Brussels said was eroded by Law and Justice, the party that backed Nawrocki. But Tusk's coalition — a fragile alliance of centrists, leftists, and agrarian conservatives — has struggled to push through key promises including a civil union law for same-sex couples and a less restrictive abortion law. Nawrocki, who opposes such measures, will have the power to veto legislation, complicating Tusk's agenda and potentially triggering political gridlock. Ties with the Trump administration Nawrocki's election could signal a stronger relationship between Poland and the Trump administration. Poland and the U.S. are close allies, and there are 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in Poland, but Tusk and his partners in the past have been critical of Trump. Nawrocki, however, has a worldview closely aligned with Trump and his Make America Great Again ethos. Trump welcomed Nawrocki to the White House a month ago and his administration made clear in other ways that he was its preferred candidate. A shifting focus on Ukraine While Nawrocki has voiced support for Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression, he does not back Ukrainian membership in NATO and has questioned the long-term costs of aid — particularly support for refugees. His rhetoric has at times echoed that of Trump, for instance by accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of what he said was insufficient gratitude for Poland's assistance. With growing public fatigue over helping Ukrainian refugees, Nawrocki's approach could shift Poland's posture from strong ally to conditional partner if the war drags on much longer. Ties with the EU The election result is a setback for the EU, which had welcomed Tusk's return in 2023 as a signal of renewed pro-European engagement. Nawrocki and the Law and Justice party have criticized what nationalists view as EU overreach into Poland's national affairs, especially regarding judicial reforms and migration policy. While the president does not control day-to-day diplomacy, Nawrocki's symbolic and veto powers could frustrate Brussels' efforts to bring Poland back into alignment with bloc standards, particularly on rule-of-law issues. Market jitters Though an EU member, Poland has its own currency, the zloty, which weakened slightly on Monday morning, reflecting investor concerns over potential policy instability and renewed tensions with EU institutions. Billions of euros in EU funding has been linked to judicial reforms which Tusk's government will now be unlikely to enact without presidential cooperation.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
YC partners say AI founders are closing huge deals fast by taking a page out of Palantir's early playbook
AI founders should see themselves as "forward-deployed engineers," said Y Combinator partners. The term, popularized by Palantir, refers to engineers who embed themselves with clients. Founders have closed "six, seven seven-figure deals" by being forward-deployed engineers, said a YC partner. Some AI founders are landing big enterprise deals by doing something old-school: showing up, writing code, and building the perfect demo — fast. YC partners say this strategy is taking off, and it's straight out of Palantir's early playbook. Startup founders should see themselves as "forward-deployed engineers," said Garry Tan, YC's CEO, on an episode of the "Y Combinator" podcast published Friday. The term, popularized by Palantir, refers to engineers who embed themselves with clients to fine-tune the product on-site. Tan, who was Palantir's 10th employee, said the defense tech company's edge came from recognizing that many government agencies and Fortune 500 companies lacked deep technical expertise in the room. Palantir bridged that gap by embedding technically savvy engineers during sales and implementation. Much of Palantir's success comes from its business with the US government. The Department of Defense is its biggest customer, making up 41% of its fourth-quarter revenue. Startup founders need to be "technical," "great product people," and even "ethnographers" and "designers," said Tan, who worked at Palantir from 2005 to 2007." "You want the person on the second meeting to see the demo you put together based on the stuff you heard, and you want them to say, 'Wow, I've never seen anything like that.' And take my money," he added. This hands-on approach is already delivering big results. YC partner Diana Hu said she and her team have seen founders close "six, seven seven-figure deals" with large enterprises by being forward-deployed engineers. Sometimes, she said, a pair of founders wins a deal by walking into a boardroom, gathering context, and coming back the next day with a tailored AI demo. Once the deal is closed, some of these founders go on-site to work closely with customer support teams, continuously fine-tuning the software or language model to improve performance, said YC partner Harj Taggar. Tan said this model gives AI startups a chance to outmaneuver giants like Salesforce, Oracle, and Booz Allen. "You have big fancy salespeople with big strong handshakes, and it's like, how does a really good engineer with a weak handshake go in there and beat them?" Tan said. "It's actually you show them something that they've never seen before, and like, make them feel super heard." Y Combinator did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine hits air bases thousands of miles inside Russia in audacious military operation
Ukrainian forces have destroyed dozens of Russian warplanes parked at air bases thousands of miles from the front lines, according to a source in the country's security services, in one of Kyiv's most audacious and sophisticated counter assaults since the beginning of the war. The operation, dubbed 'Spiderweb,' saw drones hit targets across a large swathe of Russia, including in Belaya – which is closer to Japan than Ukraine – and at Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, according to the source. More than 40 Russian aircraft were 'burning en masse' at four air bases, the source said. The SBU, Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency, said the strikes caused an estimated $7 billion in damages and hit 34% of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers at its main air bases. The drone attacks came on the eve of expected peace talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, which were already strained by uncertainty and pressure from US President Donald Trump. The Trump administration was not given a heads-up about the operation, an administration official told CNN. The strikes appear intended to send a message to Russia that Ukraine could still apply pressure more than three years since Russia's unprovoked invasion. Kyiv has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of not wanting to end the war as Moscow ramps up its attacks and offensive operations, including launching its largest drone assault on Ukraine since the war began overnight Saturday. The operation, more than a year and a half in the making, involved drones being smuggled into Russian territory and hidden in wooden mobile houses atop trucks, according to the security source. The roofs were then remotely opened, and the drones deployed to launch their strikes. Social media video geolocated by CNN to seven kilometers southeast of the Belaya Air Base in Russia's eastern Irkutsk region, appears to show a drone flying out of a wooden shed loaded onto a truck as smoke rises in the background. Images also show drones stacked inside what appear to be wooden crates with retractable roofs ahead of the operation. 'The planning, organization, and all the details were perfectly prepared. It can be confidently said that this was an absolutely unique operation,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X. Zelensky said 117 drones were used to carry out the attacks, which were played up as a military and propaganda win for Ukraine that caught Russia off-guard. 'The 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions,' Zelensky said on X. More than 40 aircraft were known to have been hit, according to the Security source, including TU-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and one of Russia's few remaining A-50 surveillance planes. 'We are doing everything to drive the enemy from our native land! We will strike them at sea, in the air, and on land. And if needed — we'll reach them even from underground,' the SBU said in a statement. A senior US defense official told CNN that Ukraine's attack showed a level of sophistication that they had not seen before. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth received regular updates as he traveled to Joint Base Andrews on Sunday but has not yet spoken to his Ukrainian counterparts, the official said. The airfields targeted included Belaya in Irkutsk, some 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia, and the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan in western Russia, about 520 kilometers (320 miles) from Ukraine, which is a training center for Russia's strategic bomber force. The Olenya base near Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Ukraine, was also struck, according to the source, as well as the Ivanovo air base, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine. Ivanovo is a base for Russian military transport aircraft. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed Ukraine had targeted Russian airfields across five regions on Sunday, calling the drone strikes 'terrorist attacks.' The ministry said strikes were repelled in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions but that 'several pieces of aircraft' caught fire after attacks in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions. It added that the fires had since been extinguished. There were no casualties as a result of the attacks, the ministry continued, adding that 'some participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained.' The governor of Irkutsk region, Igor Kobziev, said that drones had been launched from a truck near the Belaya base. Kobziev said on Telegram that the exact number of drones deployed had not been determined. Emergency and security services were at the site, he added. SBU drones were targeting aircraft that bomb Ukrainian cities every night, the security source said. One video supplied by the source purportedly shows the Belaya airfield in flames and the voice of the head of the SBU, Lt. Gen. Vasyl Malyuk, commenting on the situation. 'How beautiful Belaya airfield looks now. Enemy's strategic aircraft,' he says. CNN was able to confirm the location of that video, as well as two others posted on social media showing smoke rising from the Belaya air base. It was not immediately able to independently verify other videos provided by the SBU. The security source said that the operation was 'extremely complicated from a logistical point of view,' with the drones carried inside wooden mobile homes that had been carried into Russia on trucks. 'The drones were hidden under the roofs of the houses, which were already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.' One video purportedly of one attack appears to show drones rising from a truck, as vehicles pass on a nearby highway. Another image shows the roof of the truck on the ground. The source added that people involved were already back in Ukraine. Ukraine's operation followed a Russian attack overnight Saturday that involved 472 drones – Moscow's largest drone attack since the war began. It came the same day as a Russian missile strike on a training site used by Ukrainian forces, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 60 others. It also came soon after two bridges collapsed in Russia's western regions bordering Ukraine in unclear circumstances. This chain of events comes as Russia and Ukraine are set to return to peace negotiations on Monday. The talks, which will take place in Istanbul, have been strained by uncertainty. US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration around Russian President Vladimir Putin's resistance to advancing the peace talks. Putin proposed holding 'direct talks' in Turkey earlier this month – but never showed up, despite Zelensky agreeing to meet. In the end, the two nations sent low-level delegations to negotiate instead. A framework from the Ukrainian delegation lists key principles for the talks that include a full and unconditional ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners, and the release of hostages and return of abducted children. CNN's Frankie Vetch, Eve Brennan and Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report.
