The Fed wanted you to believe inflation was beaten. It wasn't.
CPI jumped 3.8% annually, core CPI 2.8% above Fed's 2% target; PPI +1.4% monthly, real wages declining 0.3%. Broad inflation re-acceleration forces producer cost pass-through; wage erosion will pressure IT capex budgets and extend vendor negotiation cycles in 2026.
Even when temporary outlier categories are out of the picture, prices still rose more than the Fed’s 2% target in April.