inflation

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Stocks Plunge to End Off Week
Stocks Plunge to End Off Week
Dec 14, 2007 3:51 PM CST

Stocks Plunge to End Off Week

Big consumer price inflation builds concern rate cuts are over

(Newser) - The Dow dived 178.11 points today to 13,339.85 after a 0.8% spike in the consumer price index, the biggest since September 2005, sparked concern that the era of rate cuts might be over. Inflation was “the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” one strategist told...

Consumer Prices Jump Most in 2 Years

CPI surge on rising energy costs sparks inflation worries

(Newser) - November’s consumer price index spiked 0.8%—the biggest rise since September 2005—as soaring energy costs pushed up prices on an array of  goods and services. The increase, higher than the 0.6% anticipated, reignites inflation worries, causing experts to predict that further Fed rate cuts are unlikely,...

China Looks to Buy American
China Looks
to Buy American
Dec 10, 2007 7:27 PM CST

China Looks to Buy American

Seeks investments to adjust yuan growth; US official set for talks

(Newser) - China, increasingly being called upon to more rapidly adjust the growth of the yuan against the dollar, is looking to expand its investment in US assets as a way to funnel its powerhouse currency out of the country, Bloomberg reports today. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visits Beijing Wednesday for a...

WH Pares 2008 Economic Forecast, Hikes Jobless Rate

Housing decline 'more significant' than thought

(Newser) - The White House cut back its expectations for 2008 economic growth today and said unemployment rates are likely to worsen, citing the housing slump. GDP will grow only by 2.7% next year, down from an earlier 3.1%, said officials from Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisers; and...

Inflation Still in Check as Housing Offsets Energy

Housing slump offsets energy rise to keep CPI down

(Newser) - Consumer prices saw only modest gains last month, welcome news for inflation watchers with an eye on rising oil prices and a dropping dollar. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3%, in lockstep with analysts' estimates. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2%. Year-over-year, the increases were...

Bernanke Ups Fed Transparency
Bernanke Ups Fed Transparency
Nov 14, 2007 10:34 AM CST

Bernanke Ups Fed Transparency

Extra reports to give investors clearer picture

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve will issue more detailed reports  twice as often, Ben Bernanke announced today. Starting next Tuesday, the Fed will release projections for inflation, GDP, and unemployment four times a year, accompanied by a “narrative” telling investors what the Fed is thinking. Bernanke also said he’d be...

Fed Slashes Key Interest Rate Another Quarter-Point

Board signals further cuts are no sure thing

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate today by 25 basis points, to 4.5%. The expected reduction is the second of the federal funds rate in two months. The board asserted, however, that growth and inflation risks are now “roughly balanced,” a signal that further cuts...

Wall Street Watching Fed's High Wire Act

Rate cut expected in unusually tough decision this week

(Newser) - All eyes are on the Fed this week, with Wall Street expecting a quarter-point rate cut when the group meets Tuesday and Wednesday. But the decision is an usually tough one, the AP reports, with the tight rope between controlling inflation and keeping markets fluid more precarious than it has...

China's Still Booming, but What About Inflation?

11.5% growth pushes prices worldwide

(Newser) - China's economy is booming and inflation is in check, but for how long? Third quarter growth swelled the economy by 11.5%, putting China ahead of Asian rivals India and Vietnam, and inflation dropped to 6.2%. Beijing says it will keep falling, but inflationary fears sent the Shanghai stock...

What Inflation? Consumer Prices Fall 0.1%

Fed's rate cut looks good as housing, gas prices hit books

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke is likely patting himself on the back right now, Bloomberg reports. US consumer prices fell 0.1% in August, the first decline this year, making Federal Reserve chairman’s rate cut look good, with inflation potentially under control. “Core inflation has now been falling for nearly a...

Greenspan Attacks Bush, GOP
Greenspan Attacks Bush, GOP
Sep 15, 2007 7:44 AM CDT

Greenspan Attacks Bush, GOP

Former Fed Chair decries Republican economic policies

(Newser) - Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan lambastes President Bush and his own party  for disastrous economic policies in a memoir published next week. He criticizes the GOP for abandoning fiscal restraint while it had control of both Congress and the White House, the Wall Street Journal reports. Republicans in Congress, he...

Health Insurance Premiums Soar
Health Insurance Premiums Soar
Sep 12, 2007 1:19 AM CDT

Health Insurance Premiums Soar

Costs outpace wage hikes for 8 years running

(Newser) - Health insurance premiums zoomed 6.1% this year, far outrunning inflation and worker earnings, a new study has found. Since 2001, premiums for family coverage have risen 78% percent, while wages have increased by only 19% and inflation by 17%, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows. Still, this year's hike...

Soaring Inflation Rocks China
Soaring Inflation Rocks China
Sep 11, 2007 3:36 AM CDT

Soaring Inflation Rocks China

Food prices feeding public unrest

(Newser) - China's soaring inflation rate is the highest in a decade, putting pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates for the fifth time in six months to cool China's superheated economy. Food prices have jumped 18%, raising fears of public unrest., Bloomberg reports. Consumer prices rose across the board...

China's Malls Beg for Shoppers
China's Malls Beg for Shoppers
Aug 28, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

China's Malls Beg for Shoppers

China’s mall explosion may mimic US mortgages

(Newser) - The malls keep going up in China, but the number of mallrats isn't keeping up with them. Indications abound of retail real-estate bubble, the Christian Science Monitor reports, but warnings to banks about loaning to malls aren’t halting new construction. Consumption is only 37% of Chinese output—half the...

Iraq's Upper Class Flees
Iraq's Upper Class Flees
Aug 20, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Iraq's Upper Class Flees

2M Iraqi refugees flood surrounding region

(Newser) - More than 2 million Iraqis have left home, mostly crossing the borders into neighboring Jordan and Syria. And the upper class has been the first to go—robbing the country of the doctors, engineers and government officials necessary to rebuild it. With one of ten Iraqis living abroad, the war...

Inflation Softened in July
Inflation Softened in July
Aug 15, 2007 9:52 AM CDT

Inflation Softened in July

Housing slump, fuel prices weaken spending

(Newser) - Consumer prices in the US in July rose at the slowest rate in eight months. The housing slump—and fuel costs—have weakened consumer spending considerably, forcing retailers to slash prices, Bloomberg reports.  Prices rose only rose 0.1% in July, as predicted by analysts. Yields of U.S....

Inflation Eases, Trade Deficit Narrows

New data is mostly positive, and unlikely to influence interest rates

(Newser) - With the exception of energy and food, inflation at the wholesale level rose less than expected last month, while the US trade deficit got slimmer, thanks to an increase in exports. Still, a rise in energy costs in July led to an unexpected .06% uptick in the producer price index...

Four in 10 US Kids Can Balance Books

First national test reveals exposure to economic ideas

(Newser) - A new national test reveals that four in 10 U.S. high school students can grasp economic concepts like tariffs, banking and investment—a result that one expert says is “not discouraging.” Results showed that three in five students can point to factors that increase national debt while...

Fed Stands Pat on Prime Rate
Fed Stands Pat on Prime Rate
Aug 7, 2007 2:30 PM CDT

Fed Stands Pat on Prime Rate

Central bank's top priority remains curbing inflation

(Newser) - The Fed today kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25%, despite concerns that tightening credit will lead to an economic downturn. It's the ninth consecutive time the Fed has left the prime rate unchanged, the Times reports, and a sign that Ben Bernanke's top priority is curbing inflation...

Productivity Up, But Inflation Still Looms

Escalating cost of labor helps drag down growing economy

(Newser) - US productivity increased last quarter, but analysts are still worried about the economy’s ability to grow while keeping inflation at bay. Nonfarm business productivity rose by 1.8%, beating the first quarter’s rate of 0.7%, but the government was forced to lower productivity estimates for previous years,...

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