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Wall Street is suddenly preparing for higher rates again after April wholesale inflation surged to 6 percent and the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Britain’s government tried to reset its agenda during King Charles III’s annual speech while Prime Minister Keir Starmer fought mounting pressure inside Labour.

Russia added to global tension with a new Sarmat nuclear missile test, oil markets stayed volatile on Iran war disruption, and tariff costs are beginning to bleed deeper into the economy.

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The Senate Wednesday voted 54-45 to confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the most divisive Fed-chair vote in modern history. Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to cross over and support Trump's pick.

Warsh, 56, served on the Fed board between 2006 and 2011 and is widely expected to push a tighter rate path than outgoing chair Jerome Powell. Powell's eight-year term ends Friday.

Warsh's first FOMC meeting is set for June 16-17, where the central bank will weigh a Trump-pressured rate cut against fresh inflation pressure. Markets immediately raised the odds of a December rate hike.

King Charles III Wednesday delivered the British government's legislative program for the coming year as Prime Minister Keir Starmer fought to remain in power after his Labour Party's local-election rout. The speech included new legislation to strengthen UK-EU ties.

Headline measures span a Tackling State Threats Bill on sanctions and counterintelligence, an Energy Independence Bill to accelerate clean energy, and a Removal of Peerages Bill targeting disgraced Lords. The package is Starmer's attempt to reset his agenda before a no-confidence push lands.

Bond markets are on edge as gilts and sterling slid on early speech reactions. A Starmer fall would be the first mid-term Labour leadership change in three decades.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday reported April PPI rose 1.4 percent for the month, lifting the annual rate to a three-year high of 6 percent. Goods prices jumped 2 percent with gasoline alone up 15.6 percent on Iran war disruption.

Services prices accelerated 1.2 percent, the biggest monthly gain since March 2022. Two-thirds of the move came from a 2.7 percent rise in trade services, an early sign tariffs are leaking into broader prices.

Core PPI gained 1 percent on the month and 5.2 percent annually, well above the Fed's 2 percent target. The print all but locks in a Fed hold at June and lifts the December rate-hike probability into the high 30s.

Russia Tuesday test launched its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile as Vladimir Putin pushed fresh nuclear-arsenal modernization. The Sarmat is set to enter combat service by year end and replaces about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in Tuesday for a record seventh consecutive term in a Kololo Ceremonial Grounds ceremony in Kampala. Bobi Wine's opposition disputes the January election result that gave Museveni 71.65 percent.

Amnesty International Tuesday said a Nigerian military airstrike on Tumfa market in Zamfara State killed at least 100 civilians on Sunday. The military said it had targeted a high-level meeting of armed-group leaders and disputes the casualty count.

Justice Department officials are holding internal discussions about settling Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS ahead of a May 20 deadline. A federal judge has ordered both sides to brief whether a true legal conflict exists or the suit should be thrown out.

The House this week is considering HR 5625, Cashless Bail Reporting Act alongside a broader Republican law-enforcement package on bail fraud, court monitors, and policing support. The bill would direct the Attorney General to publish a list of every state and locality that permits cashless bail.

The House Wednesday took up HR 5625 on cashless bail disclosure, part of a Republican law-enforcement package alongside bail-fraud, court-monitor, and policing-support resolutions. The bills move under suspension of rules and are expected to clear the chamber by Thursday.

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The Nasdaq climbed despite the hot wholesale-inflation print Wednesday, with tech stocks shaking off the rate-hike worries that pulled the index down Tuesday. The S&P 500 also added ground while small caps lagged.

Customs and Border Protection has cleared $35.5 billion in tariff refunds to importers as of May 11 after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA-based tariffs in February. The Treasury is running the payments through a new CAPE portal handling more than eight million reprocessed entries.

Wholesale prices in April jumped at fastest pace since 2022, with goods up 2 percent and services up 1.2 percent. Tariff costs are starting to show up in trade-services prices, raising fresh stagflation concerns inside the FOMC.

International carriers Tuesday extended their Middle East suspensions even as UAE airspace stays open, with European regulators yet to clear their carriers to return. Emirates and Etihad are rebuilding capacity but remain well below prewar schedules.

Climate scientists Tuesday warned extreme weather is likely across the Northern Hemisphere into July, citing a strengthening El Nino and ocean heat anomalies. Reinsurers are quietly re-pricing catastrophe risk for the second half of 2026.

A McGill University team Tuesday described a hidden fat-burning switch in brown fat that also affects bone hardening, with results published in Nature. The TNAP-glycerol mechanism may open new paths for osteoporosis and metabolic disease therapies.

Cleveland travels to Detroit Wednesday night for Game 5 of the East semifinals at 8 p.m. ET with the series tied 2-2. The Cavaliers are 3.5-point underdogs after Donovan Mitchell's 43-point Game 4 leveled the series.

Colorado hosts Minnesota for Game 5 at Ball Arena Wednesday with a chance to close out the second-round series after a 3-1 lead. The Avalanche have not closed out a home series since 2008.

Vegas heads to Anaheim Thursday night for Game 6 of the second round after Pavel Dorofeyev's overtime winner Tuesday night gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead. A Vegas win would advance the team to the Western Conference Finals.

Cannes jury president Park Chan-wook opened deliberations Wednesday with Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgard, Ruth Negga, Chloe Zhao, and Isaach De Bankole on his panel. The group will weigh 22 films competing for the Palme d'Or before the May 23 closing.

Marion Cotillard talked through her brutal Karma premiere and the choice to put family ahead of more Hollywood roles. The Guillaume Canet thriller is her 15th time on the Croisette and arrives at Cannes out of competition for a May 15 world premiere.

Eurovision Semi-Final One in Vienna Tuesday night sent ten acts to Saturday's Grand Final, including Sweden, Greece, Finland, and Belgium. Montenegro, Portugal, and Estonia were knocked out on the night.

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What Happened: April wholesale prices rose 1.4 percent for the month, nearly triple economist forecasts, and lifted the annual rate to a three-year high of 6 percent. Goods, services, and core prices all came in hot. The print followed Tuesday's CPI landing at a 3.8 percent annual headline.

Why It Matters: Incoming Fed chair Kevin Warsh inherits an inflation backdrop that all but rules out a rate cut at the June 16-17 FOMC meeting. Real wages are negative for the first time since 2023, and household sentiment surveys have rolled over. The political stakes also rise as Trump weighs suspending the federal gas tax.

Key Variables: Gasoline prices surged 15.6 percent on the month as Iran war disruption clipped global supply and pushed Brent above $108. Services prices accelerated 1.2 percent, with trade services up 2.7 percent in a clear signal that tariff costs are leaking into broader prices. Core PPI cleared 5 percent annually.

What to Watch: Watch April retail sales Thursday and the next University of Michigan inflation expectations print for signs household sentiment has cracked. The bigger tell is whether Saudi Aramco walks back its 2027 oil normalization warning, which would let central banks look through the energy spike. Warsh's first FOMC presser on June 17 will reset rate-path expectations for the rest of 2026.

- An escaped cow triggered an impromptu rodeo in a Denver park after wandering from a Lakewood suburb at 12:30 a.m., proving the Mile High City still earns its frontier nickname when the suburbs let their livestock escape.

- French police are warning drivers about drunken deer staggering into roads after gorging on fermented fruit, which is just nature's way of telling motorists that even the wildlife has been having a week.

- A Michigan Powerball winner says a Zoltar fortune-telling machine coughed up the digits that just won him a million dollars, finally vindicating every kid who pumped quarters into the carnival machine expecting actual answers.

That’s the world in five minutes — the headlines that moved markets, governments and daily life today. If someone in your group chat is always asking, forward them this email and tell them to subscribe.

—The Five Minute Daily Team