Category: Inflation
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
China Inflation: Getting Worse and Coming To A Wal-Mart Near You / Economics / Inflation
By: Dian_L_Chu
On Tuesday Feb. 15, China reported its consumer prices (CPI) rose 4.9% year-over-year (yoy) in January, which came in less than expected. Economists were expecting 5.4% inflation, based on a Bloomberg survey.
However, after digesting the data, Asian markets closed mixed on that news, with China’s Shanghai Composite staying flat after a choppy trading session.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
U.S. Economy Flight 666, On a One Way Inflation Ticket To Zimbabwe Part2 / Economics / Inflation
By: D_Sherman_Okst
Part 1 Here: In the fine book “I.O.U.S.A.” former Comptroller General David Walker said, ”[The] fourth and most serious of all is a leadership deficit.” The material I reviewed underscores Walker’s observation.
I’m a huge Paul Ryan fan. I’m impressed with his handle on our budget. I give him a tremendous amount of credit for addressing our dismal fiscal situation head on. I commend him for making it the center of his work. This is something most politicians refuse to even mention, let alone address in public.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Why Increasing Bank Credit Can Only End in Catastrophe / Interest-Rates / Inflation
By: Richard_Daughty
I have to admit that I was stunned that Fed Credit (the magical fairy dust from which money appears out of thin air) two weeks ago went up by a huge $19 billion, which the Fed itself used to buy $18.4 billion in government debt. In one week! In One Freaking Week (OFW)!!
As Eric Fry, Editorial Director of The Daily Reckoning, puts it, "The effect of this bizarre transaction is that one branch of the government issues debt securities, while another branch of the government purchases those securities"!!!
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
U.S. Fed Inflation Policy Means The Weak and the Slow Get Crushed / Economics / Inflation
By: Fred_Sheehan
"We do not now have a problem.... Inflation made here in the U.S. is very, very low" - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, February 10, 2011
"Inflation is a means by which the strong can more effectively exploit the weak.... [Inflation] introduces an element of deceit into our economic dealings.... [T]he increasing uncertainty in providing privately for the future pushes people who are seeking security toward the government." - Federal Reserve Governor Henry C. Wallich, Fordham University, Commencement Address, June 28, 1978
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
UK Inflation CPI 4%, RPI 5.1%, Real 6.6%, Pressure Building on Wage Price Spiral / Economics / Inflation
By: Nadeem_Walayat
UK Inflation for January 2011 leapt to CPI 4% from 3.7%, leaving the Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King to press print on another letter full of worthless excuses as to why high Inflation is still temporary more than a year on. The facts are that the Bank of England via its policy of HIGH Inflation is destroying a lifetime of accumulated capital of savers, as interest earned on savings after tax will be lucky to be at HALF the official inflation rate, never mind the actual inflation rate that is nearer to 6.6%, all as part of the continuing programme for the transference of wealth from tax payers and savers onto the balance sheets of the bailed out banks that generate fictitious profits on the basis of which billions are paid out in bonuses.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
U.S. Economy Flight 666, On a One Way Inflation Ticket To Zimbabwe / Economics / Inflation
By: D_Sherman_Okst
I’ve finally had the time to thoroughly study Bernanke’s entire Press Club speech, his appearance before Representative Paul Ryan’s House Budget Committee and bulk of the recently released 2005 FOMC minutes.
The conclusion I have drawn from all this data is that the captain of our economy, Ben Bernanke, is either an economic imbecile or a financial terrorist. Through evil intent, or sheer stupidity, the outcome remains unchanged. The bottom-line: He has hijacked our economy flight and changed our destination. Bernanke is about to crash Flight 666 and all 308 million of us sitting helplessly in the passenger cabin into Zimbabwe’s airport known as Hell’s Hyperinflation Field.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Inflation Grand Theft USA – Prices Go Parabolic / Economics / Inflation
By: PhilStockWorld
Two percent! That’s how much the price of EVERYTHING has gone up IN AMERICA since Christmas Day, just 6 weeks ago. This is according to the very reliable Billion Prices Project at MIT, which collects pricing data every day from online retailers using a software that scans the underlying code in public webpages and stores the relevant price information in the database. The daily online index is an average of individual price changes across multiple categories and retailers that provides real-time information on major inflation trends.
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Saturday, February 12, 2011
Evidence Supports Benign Near Term U.S. Inflation Trend / Economics / Inflation
By: Asha_Bangalore
Inflation is not the headline story of 2011; albeit a few glaring monthly readings due to higher food and energy prices are possible. On what grounds can we be sure of this claim? First, the current readings of inflationary measures are below levels consistent with price stability. The FOMC's preference is 2.0% or slightly below 2.0% inflation readings. As shown in Chart 1, inflation measures have posted gains below 2.0% in recent monthly reports and projected growth of the economy in 2011 suggests a benign inflationary environment.
Friday, February 11, 2011
QE2 Sets Off Inflation Alarms / Economics / Inflation
By: Mike_Whitney
Ever since he launched the second round of his bond-buying program (QE2), Ben Bernanke has been on a roll. The S&P has gained 10 percent and the economic data has improved dramatically. Manufacturing and retail have rebounded, consumer confidence has started to brighten, and personal consumption (PCE) is on the rise. Car sales, hotel occupancy and exports are all up, too. Even the banks seem to be more eager to lend than they were just a few months ago. Only housing is still in the doldrums and the Fed chairman probably has something up his sleeve for that, too.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Decoding the Truth About Inflation / Economics / Inflation
By: Richard_Daughty
Proving once again that investing in fixed-yield bonds when the foul, filthy Federal Reserve is creating so much money (so that their governments can deficit-spend it!) is a stupid, stupid, stupid idea because inflation will result, Agora Financial's 5-Minute Forecast newsletter reports that "Already since October, the rate on the 10-year has jumped from 2.4% to 3.6% - a 50% increase." Yikes!
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Friday, February 11, 2011
Inflation - Advanced Economies vs. Emerging Economies / Economics / Inflation
By: Asha_Bangalore
The Bank of England (BOE) and The European Central Bank (ECB) have chosen to stand pat after their recent policy meetings. However, inflation readings in the UK and the Euro area are problematic, particularly in the UK. President Trichet of the ECB, last week, presented a less concerned stance about inflation compared with his comments in prior weeks. Inflation in the Euro area (2.2%) is slightly higher than the target rate of 2.0%.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Investors Finally Fear the Inflation Precipice / Stock-Markets / Inflation
By: Robert_Murphy
Well it's about time. The headline on Monday's CNBC article announces: "Investors Starting to Believe That Inflation Threat is Real."
For some time, I have been a proud member of the fuddy duddies who have been predicting the return of serious stagflation. Thus far, our prognostications have clearly been half-right — the "real economy" is indeed caught in a terrible rut, far worse than most of the Keynesian economists recognized even in late 2008.
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Wednesday, February 09, 2011
G7 Banana Republics ON the Money Printing Inflation Road to ZIMBABWE! / Economics / Inflation
By: Ty_Andros
The global financial cataclysm is mushrooming with every stroke of the keyboard at a central bank, with the issuance of new debt to cover old debt, and with the illusion of creating money out of thin air. It is all debt, nothing else, with no final settlement…. EVER. You exchange the money you work for and save and buy a government bond; they print the money to pay you back and PRETEND you have been paid. The situation is just as Von Mises outlined:
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
How to Beat the Looming Inflation Tsunami / Economics / Inflation
By: Money_Morning
Martin Hutchinson writes:
Inflation is coming our way. Make no mistake about it.
This insidious increase in the general level of prices is currently rattling around in the world's emerging markets - causing China and Brazil to put up interest rates and India to try and suppress it with price controls. It's beginning to appear in Britain, which had a similar crash to the United States, but where the currency has been somewhat weaker.
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Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Phony Official Inflation Statistics Produced by Dirty Rotten Scoundrels / Economics / Inflation
By: Rob_Kirby
The purpose of this paper is to draw particular attention to the recent disparity in crude oil prices – namely the difference between two benchmarks - West Texas Intermediate [WTI] and Brent [North Sea] Crude. Historically the price of WTI trades at a premium to lesser quality Brent North Sea Crude. This paper lays out the case that the extreme, existing, observable price discrepancies is likely the result of engineered and arbitrary market manipulations – to be discussed below. Such arbitrary price manipulations in the oil markets impact negatively on the oil exporting economies and show favor to oil importing economies.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
China, Inflation and Gold, China created paper money and paper money then created Inflation / Economics / Inflation
By: Darryl_R_Schoon
Ralph T. Foster in his invaluable book, Fiat Paper Money, The History and Evolution of Our Currency, writes that paper money made its first appearance in Szechwan, a remote province of China early in the 11th century.
Because of a shortage of copper coins, provincial officials had begun circulating iron coins; but the difference in value and weight between the two metals caused unexpected problems.
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Friday, February 04, 2011
The Cause and Evidence of Inflation / Economics / Inflation
By: Michael_Pento
In a heated debate on the February 1st episode of CNBC's "The Kudlow Report", financial commentator Donald Luskin offered his "textbook" definition of inflation as "an overall rise in the general price level." I countered with the "dictionary" definition. My 1988 edition of Webster's Dictionary defines inflation as follows: "An increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods, resulting in a substantial and continuing rise in the general price level." [Emphasis added.] These differences are not academic and go a long way toward explaining why economists argue so vociferously.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
How the US Government Manipulates Inflation Data / Economics / Inflation
By: PhilStockWorld
The PCE bothered me yesterday.
The Government told us that the PCE core price index for December was 0% - no inflation at all. I found that to be incredible - as in not credible at all and then Tusked asked me how long the Bernank could keep justifying his rampant money printing with fake government data, to which I responded: "I had many derogatory things to say about that but I was literally so sickened by that BS that I couldn’t bring myself to comment on it so I just left it alone but it’s a very sad joke that our government can tell us that there was no inflation in December while the whole planet is falling apart, isn’t it?"
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Inflation is Here to Stay / Economics / Inflation
By: Michael_Pento
In current economic analysis, inflation is largely in the eye of the beholder, and depending on how you choose to look, very different stories emerge. In the U.S., food and beverages count for just 16.4% of the CPI calculation. The Chinese apparently believe that the basic necessities of life should count for more, assigning a 33% weight to the nutritional components. These differences in measurement are partially responsible for the divergent inflation climate in both countries, and make most people believe that inflation is fickle and localized. From my perspective, inflation is a global wave that will ultimately swamp all shores.
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Tuesday, February 01, 2011
China’s Inflation Rate Nudges U.S. Retailers to Look to Other Asian Suppliers / Economics / Inflation
By: Money_Morning
Kerri Shannon writes:
China's inflation rate is climbing faster than expected, triggering a wave of price increases across the country and spurring foreign companies to search elsewhere for suppliers.
China's consumer price index hit 4.6% in December and 5.1% in November - it's highest level in 28 months. Annual inflation for 2010 was 3.3%, which is above the government's 3% target rate.
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