Premature calls for the Federal Reserve to pause or pivot on its campaign to tame inflation should be politely dismissed given the 0.1% increase in top-line inflation in August. That gain translates into a 8.3% year-over-year increase in the headline number, according to government data released ... READ MORE >
Consumer Price Index
How high must unemployment rise to tame inflation?
Restoring price stability is now the paramount policy goal at the Federal Reserve. Chairman Jerome Powell went out of his way on Friday to point out the lessons of the high inflation in the 1970s and 1980s, and the sacrifice it took to wring it out of the economy after years of delays. "Our aim is to ... READ MORE >
Latest jobless claims and producer inflation show upside surprises
New filings for jobless benefits last week rose by 3.8% to 244,000—the highest level since November, according to government data released Thursday. The steady increase in new jobless claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, were in line with hiring freezes and layoff announcements coming from the ... READ MORE >
U.S. June CPI: Persistent top-line inflation hits 9.1%
The past few years have been characterized by a series of economic shocks that have wreaked havoc with just about every area of the American economy. The most recent set of energy shocks has sent the top-line consumer price index to 9.1%, a four decade high, on the back of an 11.2% increase in ... READ MORE >
U.S. May CPI: Inflation continues to broaden out on higher gas and housing costs
Inflation continued to broaden out across the American economy in May, rising by 8.6% annually and underscoring the urgency among central bankers to restore price stability through an increase in the federal funds rate and a drawdown in its $8.9 trillion balance sheet. Six months into the Federal ... READ MORE >
U.S. April Consumer Price Index: Peak inflation provides no solace
About the best one can say about the April inflation report is that year-over-year metrics appear to have topped while core inflation increased, and housing costs that are up 6.5% from a year ago are now a policy issue that needs to be addressed. The data inside the report reflects a shift in demand ... READ MORE >
Inflation marches higher, hitting 8.5% compared to a year ago
Long ago and far away, it was once taught that inflation has long and variable lags. That still probably applies when setting policy, managing a portfolio or making longer-term investments as top-line inflation jumped by 1.2% in March to 8.5% on a year-ago basis, according to government data released ... READ MORE >
Preview of coming attractions: Inflation surges to 7.9%
The February consumer price index provided an unpleasant preview of coming attractions in the U.S. economy as top-line inflation soared by 0.8% on the month, pushing the year-ago reading to 7.9%, the fastest rate in 40 years. It is important to note that the February estimation of inflation ... READ MORE >
U.S. January consumer price index: Inflation continues to surge
Nothing in January’s consumer price index data released on Thursday implies that the surge in inflation has peaked. Last month's CPI increase will add to the difficult choices at the Federal Reserve on the magnitude of the interest rate hikes that make up the next step of its policy ... READ MORE >
Price stability now a paramount concern as inflation hits 7%
Price stability: Learn it, know it and love it because that is what the Federal Reserve will be talking about over the next two years as the central bank attempts to craft a soft landing following an increase in the Consumer Price Index to a 7% annual rate in December. The Consumer Price Index data ... READ MORE >