CNBC Business News Update Market Open: Stocks Sell Off, Wholesale Inflation Hits Highest Since Last Summer, Amazon Invests Billions In OpenAI 2/27/26
Feb 27, 2026
Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, on the company’s big investment in OpenAI and long-term AI partnership plans. Rick Santelli, market commentator, on a surprising wholesale inflation jump. Gary Cohn, former NEC director, on rising input costs and pressure on producer prices. The conversation covers market sell-offs, inflation data, and major AI funding moves.
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Wholesale Inflation Sparks Market Selloff
- Stocks sold off immediately after higher-than-expected January producer price index (PPI) data triggered broad market weakness.
- The PPI rose 0.5% overall and 0.8% ex-food and energy, the highest since March 2022, pressuring tech and the Dow early in trading.
Input Costs Keep Inflation Lingering
- Rising input costs for commodities, labor, and trade mean producers face sustained margin pressure before consumers feel it.
- Gary Cohn highlighted higher copper, aluminum, steel, nickel, labor and trade costs plus higher interest rates as drivers of lingering inflation.
OpenAI Raises Massive Round With Amazon Participating
- OpenAI closed a massive funding round valuing it at about $730 billion with Amazon among investors.
- The deal signals huge investor appetite and positions large cloud and retail players to partner closely with leading AI developers.