Inflation Just Hit A 3-Year High In America

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]First, inflation just hit a three-year high in America. Then, the world's most expensive watch brand just collabed with the cheapest. And Buzzfeed won a Pulitzer and then got killed by its own AI.

[00:00:12]This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, May 13th. And today's pot is the best one. Yeah, this is a T boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Okay, we have the best new baby name. We got to share this.

[00:00:26]What is it, Jack? Well, Edward L said on Spotify that baby boy name, the top one in 2030, it's going to be Claude.

[00:00:32]>> Claude. And why is that? Because they're going to be in charge of baby names, not Jack. Let's hit our three stories.

[00:00:40]For our first story, we just got the celebrity of economic reports. The inflation report is out and it had two big brutal milestones. Prices just passed your paycheck and India is out of Diet Coke.

[00:00:54]>> Yeah, he's checking the calendars here.

[00:00:55]for week 11 of the war. No regime change, no nuclear deal, and a whole bunch of nachos out there. Not a chance.

[00:01:01]Hormuz opens. For Americans, the obvious impact of the war in Iran, it's oil and gas. And we just got fresh data on Tuesday that we can put a number to it.

[00:01:09]Jack's talking about the consumer price index, which is the measuring stick that we use for calculating inflation. Here's the story. Prices rose overall in the economy by 3.8% in April compared to last year. From beef to bras, that is bad. had the biggest year-over-year price jump in 3 years. 40% of the surge in prices in this economy was directly caused by higher energy prices. What about the other 60% of price pops, Jack?

[00:01:34]Indirect price increases also because of high energy. Like airline flights, which rose 21% last month compared to the year before. Good luck kicking it in Cabo.

[00:01:44]Besties gas is now at $4.50 a gallon nationwide on average. And a gas tax holiday, if we pass one, would only shave 18 cents a gallon off that gas will still be 43 bucks a gallon in California. So, Americans are feeling very gassy right now, especially our West Coast brethren. But here's what Jack and I find fascinating. It looks way worse and way stranger in the rest of the world. Because in other countries, it's not just price that's the problem. They're suffering from bizarre and disruptive shortages that would surprise you. Jack, why don't you take us over to Japan? And uh let's not do the business class ticket for this one.

[00:02:21]>> The most popular potato chip company in Japan, basically their Fritolays. Yeah.

[00:02:25]Is now serving their chips in black and white bags. They're removing color from the packaging. And the reason, well, because the chemical needed to color those bags is stuck in the straight of Hormuz.

[00:02:36]>> All right, let's go south and across one of those Southeast Asian oceans.

[00:02:41]>> Yes, Jack. to India where Diet Coke is only sold in aluminum cans in India.

[00:02:46]They're not sold in plastic bottles.

[00:02:48]>> Well, since the world aluminum supply is getting choked up in the straight of Hormuz, Indians cannot buy Diet Coke right now. One Diet Coke super fan in India, however, found a special foreign supply of Diet Coke and hosted a party to celebrate this newly rare luxury, Diet Coke cans. when Indians can't access a Coke and it's an event worthy of a rager. I mean, it's a messed up global situation right now. So, Bessie, this was the point in our research when we assumed these unique shortages. We're part of a much larger inflation star >> and that inflation in the rest of the world would be much worse overall than inflation is here in the States.

[00:03:24]>> Makes sense, right Jack? Like things would be worse over there than over here because we have so much oil, >> right? We're energy independent. So, we don't need oil from the straight of hormones. We're not dependent on yeast oil. we're better able to handle this oil crisis. But then when Jack and I jumped in tea boy style to our research, well, it turns out we were wrong. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies looking at the inflation situation in a complete reversal?

[00:03:50]America now has the worst inflation in the developed world. Besties never thought we'd see it. April 2026, it'll mark two turning points in America's war against the Godzilla of inflation.

[00:04:01]First, April of 2026 was the first time in 3 years that prices in this economy rose faster than wages did. You see, throughout this inflation fight, the silver lining has been that our paychecks were rising faster than the prices were.

[00:04:13]>> But not anymore. Prices rose 3.8% overall in April. Wages rose just 3.6%.

[00:04:20]>> Now, the second surprise is that inflation is worse in America than in any of the other G7 countries. Yes, we are energy independent, but our oil companies are exporting to the rest of the world to take advantage of high prices. Plus, the way we tax gas and the tariffs we added last year make our inflation situation even worse. So, for the first time since 2022, America has the worst inflation of all the G7 countries right now.

[00:04:43]>> Jack, let's look at the roster. The UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, and China. Prices are not popping as much for them as they are for us. So, good luck to Kevin Walsh, who will be confirmed today by the Senate to replace Jerome Pal as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

[00:04:57]>> Cuz besties, if you're our central bank, you're not thinking about cutting interest rates anymore. You now have to think about raising interest rates to fight all of that inflation >> because America now has the worst inflation in the developed world, and it's outpacing our paycheck.

[00:05:12]For our second story, one of the world's most expensive brands is teaming up with one of the cheapest brands and it's controversial as how would the French say this Jack?

[00:05:23]>> I don't know, man. Junqua. It is so controversial. The Odmar pig watch and swatch are collabing and the reason is actually crazy. Oh yeah, it is. If you've ever been to a wedding, you know there are odd couples and then they're just awkward couples. But we just saw the most extreme example of awkward couples.

[00:05:42]>> Yeah, we did, Jack.

[00:05:43]>> And it's rocking the watch and fashion world to its core. We're talking about Odmar Pig. 151 years old, worn by royalty. Pairs well with your second yacht at your third home. One of the most expensive time pieces on Earth.

[00:05:56]It's recognizable because of its octagonal frame with eight visible screws on that face and for its very high price tag. When you look at the watch, it doesn't tell you the time. It tells you your net worth. On the other end of the spectrum though, we have Swatch. The Swatch watch. The 43-year-old shopping mall brand worn probably by your little cousin pairs well with a Pokemon card. Pikachu, if you're lucky. Both of these yetis are Swiss watch makers. But that, well, it's the only similarity they have. Until now, actually, because they just announced yesterday they're collabing on a new watch that they call the Royal Pop. I'm sorry, Jack. Pause the pot here. It's a $50 brand and a $50,000 brand making a $500 watch. What's happening? This is like if Ferrari and Toyota collabed on a vehicle. It's like if Grey Goose and Forloo collabed on a liquor or if Ritz Carlton and the Holiday and Express somehow collabed on hospitality.

[00:06:51]>> One of these watches costs more than a car. The other watch costs the same as a Hot Wheels car. They announced and unveiled this collab yesterday and it drops this Saturday in stores only.

[00:07:01]Basically the plot of She's All That, right, Jack? The popular high school quarterback takes the nerdy outcast to prom. Exactly. But Jack, I got to ask for a sec. Um, what time is it right now? It's crazy time in Switzerland. The whole country is freaking out about their watch companies partnering up like this.

[00:07:18]>> Besties, entire industries are freaking out right now because this collaboration, it breaks our golden rule of luxury. Aspiration and accessibility just don't work together. You see, besties, you can't keep up a velvet rope if you're a brand and then let everyone inside the club.

[00:07:33]>> You got to pick one or the other. You're accessible or you're aspirational.

[00:07:37]>> So, Odmar Pay's owners who have dropped $100,000 on one of their watches are not happy that this dilutes the brand value of their time piece. Well, Odmar Pay's CEO has an interesting response. He says this isn't dilution, it's education.

[00:07:49]>> Education. You see, he made the point that luxury brands can become too unattainable to the point that they're simply unknown. Like you know what the Rolls-Royce is, that's an aspirational brand, but you probably don't even know what Odmar B is or how to pronounce it for that matter or how to write it. I mean, honestly, does anyone really know how to write it?

[00:08:06]>> So, Odmar Pay would argue that they're collabing with Swatch not as a money grab, but to teach the public about who they actually are to boost the name recognition a bit. Show that aspirational 25-year-old that the dream isn't a Rolex, it's an ODM RP. But that's not the real reason that this topshelf watch brand is taking their talents down to the strip mall in a collaboration with Swatch. The more I think about it, it's like if Julia Roberts started dating the guy holding the boom microphone on the camera set.

[00:08:34]>> Pretty Woman.

[00:08:34]>> Exactly. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies wondering about brands?

[00:08:39]If you can't protect it, monetize it.

[00:08:42]Yeties, this is the world's craziest collab, but it's also a crazy copyright situation because Odmarp PK is doing this deal to preempt the dupes. This story is all tied to Odmarp PK's shocking trademark drama from last year.

[00:08:56]We'll explain. You see, this 50,000 Odmar PK watch. It has one distinct design feature that Jack mentioned earlier, the eight-sided octagonal face.

[00:09:04]That's right. Just like Jeep's distinctive sevenline grill or Coca-Cola's silhouette bottle or Tiffany's Robin eggshell blue. All of them are style distinctions, not function. So Odmar applied to protect that distinctive style, the eight-sided watch design with a formal trademark application.

[00:09:23]>> And how did that go, Jack?

[00:09:24]>> Both in the United States and in Japan, the application was denied. They were told that that's just not a unique enough design that you can claim to own.

[00:09:33]>> Sorry, Odmar P. Uh, you didn't invent an octagon. You can't just own geometry.

[00:09:38]>> Another watch company can't trademark the circle either.

[00:09:42]>> So, the theory here is that Odmarpay style is not protectable, and it's only a matter of time before the market gets flooded with knockoffs. So, the strategy here is to get ahead of that wave of dupes by launching their own cheap version with a great brand like Swatch.

[00:09:57]Because, besties, if you can't protect it, monetize it. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

[00:10:08]For our third and final story, BuzzFeed has been BuzzBot. The inventor of virality just sold for 95% less than its peak valuation. We'll tell you what went wrong, but also what went oh so right at BuzzFeed. Oh, Yetis. It is a millennial cringe moment for a bunch of our millennial brands, is it not, Jack?

[00:10:28]Allirds pivoted from sneakers to AI and Under Armour pivoted from Steph Curry to an all-time low stock price. Hold on to your avocado toast, besties, cuz we just got to add BuzzFeed to that list. You see, Yeti's BuzzFeed is nearly bankrupt right now. Buzzfeed stock is down 99% since they spacked onto the stock market in 2021. The shares were trading at 77 cents yesterday morning, but they just got acquired by comedian turned entrepreneur Byron Allen, who also owns the Weather Channel. So now BuzzFeed's founder, Jonah Petty, is stepping down as CEO after 20 years, although he'll remain as head of Buzzfeed AI. So what Disney princess is BuzzFeed right now?

[00:11:05]>> Where would we put them right now, Jack?

[00:11:06]Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

[00:11:08]>> Yeah, not Cinderella Bell. I like Belle.

[00:11:09]>> That rose was down to like one pedal left. Although it is a bit of a late Cinderella story because the stock jumped 90% yesterday from 77 cents to a buck 40. Speaking of Disney, there's a whole tragic side to this Buzzfeed story with Disney as a main character. Why didn't you enlighten us, Jack? In 2013, Disney offered to acquire BuzzFeed, the hot new media brand of the time, for $650 million. But Jonah Peri said no. He said no. And a couple years later, it looked like the right call because BuzzFeed hit a peak private market valuation of $1.7 billion. Good call turning down Disney's offer. Like Zuckerberg turning down Yahoo's offer.

[00:11:46]But Bassy's no one to hold them, no one to fold them. Right, Jack? 13 years after the Disney offer, today BuzzFeed sold for 1/5if of what Mickey Mouse was offering to pay 13 years ago. So, yet Jack and I find this fascinating cuz we interviewed BuzzFeed's founder once and he told us the incredible story of when he invented virality. Here's what happened. He tried to make customized Nikes with the word sweatshop stitched onto the shoe. But then Nike refused to do that. So Jonah made it go viral by emailing everyone he knew. It was the first case of virality. not catching algorithms, catching email chains. And that's how BuzzFeed began. They started with this formula that Jonah Peretti discovered. Give a niche audience a hook topic and a headline that starts a curiosity loop. Boom. Jonah's formula led to the invention of the listicle. X number of things that only Y people will understand. That formula was Buzzfeed's competitive advantage. 12 things you'll only understand if your mom loves the Kennedys. Then you sent that article to everyone you know whose mom, like yours, wishes she'd married a Kennedy instead of your father.

[00:12:49]>> And by 2011, Yetis, BuzzFeed had pivoted from low to high. It was wild. They hired the editor-inchief from Politico to pursue hard DC reporting. Get this.

[00:12:59]Buzzfeed won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism. Yeah, that Buzzfeed.

[00:13:04]>> The site famous for which Hogwarts house are you? Won an award for reporting about Muslim detention camps in China.

[00:13:11]And that's not all. Around the same time, BuzzFeed incipated a whole new form of media. The YouTube talk show Hot Ones that started on BuzzFeed.

[00:13:19]>> Try Guys, that launched on Buzzfeed, too.

[00:13:21]>> The 30-cond food recipe videos without words that you're scrolling each day for that miso salmon glaze. Buzzfeed's tasty invented that format. So, ironically, besties, the content you watch on YouTube and Tik Tok was both Buzzfeed's creation and its downfall. So, Jack, can you whip up one takeaway for us for our buddies over at BuzzFeed? Buzzfeed is actually the first victim of AI slop.

[00:13:43]Now yetis, Buzzfeed could turn around with this new owner. We hope it does, but if it doesn't, the cause of death is clear.

[00:13:50]>> It's advertising dependent business model got eaten first by Facebook, then by Google, then by Instagram, and finally by Tik Tok.

[00:13:56]>> See, nobody leaves their feeds these days. Advertising revenue sold on Buzzfeed.com hasn't risen in years. But the more recent problem that no one talks about, Buzzfeed was actually an early mover in artificial intelligence.

[00:14:07]But that bet on AI was actually wrong because in 2023, BuzzFeed pivoted to AI crafted articles to cut down on their costs. Just after Chat GPD launched, Jonah bet early on AI in a desperate move to save the company and to save costs. But the product, well, it was the first AI slop before we even had the term AI slop. And it just didn't connect with audiences. Buzzfeed. It's both the most disruptive media brand of the last decade, but its final slip was on its own slop.

[00:14:39]Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? The most expensive and the most mainstream watch brands are collabing because Odmar P can't protect their design, so they're monetizing with Swatch. For our second story, prices rose faster than wages for the first time in 3 years last month, according to the April CPI report.

[00:14:56]Because the war in Iran, inflation's worse in America than any other G7 nation. And finally, BuzzFeed has a new owner. We hope the inventor of virality and the Puliter Prize winner can turn things around. If your mom loves the Kennedys as much as Jack's mom does, we see you, Jennifer. Have her set buzzfeed.com as her homepage. But yet, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, are we about to get the first AI laptop?

[00:15:20]Google just unveiled the Google book, a successor to their Chromebook. It's partly a response to the MacBook Neo, which is the lowest priced Apple laptop ever at just 600 bucks. It's also a response to AI, cuz the Google Book has AI running through its veins in a freaky way. Open this new Google laptop, and you will get waterboarded with Gemini's AI assistant. Okay, easy, Gemini. You know me a little too well. And second, eBay's board has rejected GameStop's $55 billion takeover offer, calling it quote, neither credible nor attractive.

[00:15:48]Reminder, GameStop is worth less than 1/4 as much as eBay, and yet it tried to acquire it. CEO Ryan Cohen now has to decide. Does he go hostile and try to get eBay shareholders directly to vote to get sold to him, or will Ryan Cohen try to find another gimmick to try to rekindle the meme investor fire it used to have? And finally, last week of the billionaire beef trial, Sammy Alman has taken the stand in his trial against Elon. Two key former colleagues of Sam Alman called him a liar under oath, which made Sam look visibly sad. So then Sam Alman said this quote, "I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person," which he worded in a way that somehow managed to sound untruthful.

[00:16:26]Yeah, you hear that line. Who says that sentence? Could have just said, "I'm not a liar." Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Jeremy over in lovely Greenwich, Connecticut. It is now harder to get in off the wait list than to get into college in the first place.

[00:16:42]That's right, besties. College weight list have gotten so long their acceptance rate is now lower than the regular acceptance rate. Baylor University, for example, has a 52% acceptance rate. Okay, but to get off the wait list is just a 2% acceptance rate. UVA's weight list acceptance rate is just 3%. Jack, Boston University 0.2% acceptance rate for the weight list.

[00:17:01]>> Now, the reason is because especially with the common application, kids are applying to like 30 schools to get into.

[00:17:08]So, even if you accept a kid, the chance that they actually attend is low. And then schools want to have options, so they have these bigger weight list, which leads to a smaller percentage getting off the weight list. Nick, when I applied to college, I applied to 11 schools. Got into exactly half. That would be five and a half schools. Jack, I got in on the weight list on one of them.

[00:17:26]Yetis, you look fantastic over there.

[00:17:28]Jack, you are glowing. Did you buy the ETF for the UFOs? Are we in on this? We not on this? Do we even believe it exists? We didn't clarify that.

[00:17:35]>> What did you say? You got to keep your streak of uh Gleop language running on Dualingo. Besties, if this was our best one yet, then tap to follow us so you get us every single day. Drop down, give us a fivestar rating, and we love reading your reviews. On Apple, we are this close to 10,000 reviews. And if we hit 10,000 reviews, Jack's mom will make us her new homepage.

[00:17:53]>> I thought you were going to say Jack's mom. We'll change her name to Kennedy.

[00:17:58]Jack and I will see you tomorrow.

[00:18:02]This is Jack. I own stock of Disney.

[00:18:04]Nick owns stock of Nike. And we both own stock of Apple and Spotify.