CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Lower, Inflation At The Wholesale Level Hotter Than Expected, Fed Pressured To Cut Interest Rates 8/14/25

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Wall Street lower today. Major averages like the S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ have been falling from record highs, modestly, on a much hotter than expected inflation number at the wholesale level. This pushed bond yields up, dragging some stocks lower. The Dow down 123 points, a quarter percent. Nike shares leading it lower. They're down a little more than 1%.

The S&P 500 index, down 15. stacks down 30 points. NVIDIA shares are down a half percent this morning. Inflation went up more than forecast in July in the PPI, the producer price index. From our July release of the producer price index, headline number is whoppingly big. Oh, my goodness, up nine-tenths of a percent. And if you strip out food and energy, guess what? It's still up nine-tenths. Boy, that equals June of 22. The COVID-distorted numbers. Let's go year over year. These are warm too.

That's just food and energy. That number coming in at 3.7? That really is a very, very large number. So we see every single metric is warmer than expected. Every single metric is significantly higher sequentially. CNBC's Rick Santelli, investors worry because producer prices can be passed down to consumers down the road so it could push consumer inflation even higher. And investors are also worried because every time inflation related,

numbers rise, which has been happening for several months. It means the Fed will not cut interest rates. The Treasury Secretary, though, has been suggesting the Fed will cut interest rates, not by a quarter percent in September, but by twice that, a half percent. You know, I'm going to say stuff. You mean the Treasury Secretary? It's okay. And I look at what's going on, and I say a double is just some sort of bizarre gambit as if that's going to somehow put a pressure on Powell, who, by the way, does not care about anything. this stuff. He's focused on doing a good job, and I think he's under tremendous pressure to do even a cut. So suddenly they play the 50 basis points. It makes no sense. I mean, not with these

numbers. Right. CNBC MedMoney host Jim Kramer with Carl Kintanilla. Wealthy Americans are somewhat tepid on the prospect of buying classic cars this year at the Monterey auctions, which have just begun. Amazon launching same-day delivery of meat, eggs, produce, and more in more than a thousand cities to compete with Instacart and local grocery stores that do offer delivery. A hearing is scheduled in the Jimmy Buffett estate case today. Buffett's widow and business partner are trustees. They don't agree over what's happening with the assets left after the singer died. The Madden 26 video game is out today.

Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. September 16th, CNBC teams up with two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant and Boardroom for game plan. Exploring the business of sports, music, and entertainment. Register now at CNBCEvents.com slash game plan.