Top Macro & Tech News: 2026-02-13 — US CPI, Taiwan-US Trade, AI Chip Demand

[Para 1: The Lead] The U.S. Department of Commerce will release the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) on February 13, 2026 (January 26, 2026 in local time), a key indicator of inflation and monetary policy outlook. [Para 2: Supporting Details & Context] Taiwan and the U.S. have finalized a trade agreement setting a 15% tariff on Taiwanese exports and committing Taiwan to phase down tariffs on U.S. goods, with a targeted procurement of $44.4 billion in LNG and crude oil between 2025 and 2029. AI-driven semiconductor demand and memory shortages are lifting Applied Materials (AMAT-US) revenue and profits, while memory price gains are squeezing Cisco’s (CSCO-US) margins and pushing it down over 12% in its worst one-day drop since 2022. Apple (AAPL-US) fell 5% on delays to Siri AI and heightened FTC scrutiny of its news platform, its weakest single-day performance since April 2025. Crypto activity tracked: Bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovered near $65,000 as the “digital gold” narrative wanes; gold (XAU/USD) outpaced BTC this year, up 16% versus a -22% loss for BTC.