« Obama Claims He Has It Tougher Than Abe Lincoln | Main | Frantic final phone calls of woman, 19, eaten alive by brown bear and its three cubs: 'Mum, the bear is eating me!' »
August 17, 2011
Is Stagflation On the Way?
Topics: Political News and commentariesAdmittingly, I'm no economist. However, by definition, stagflation is when the inflation rate is high and the economic growth rate is low. So given that our Q2 GDP rose by only 1.3% (with the outlook not looking very promising) ... and the current rate of inflation having ticked up to 3.6% ... the fact that core wholesale inflation is now higher than it's been in 6 month certainly can't be a good sign:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Companies paid higher prices for tobacco, pickup trucks and pharmaceuticals in July, driving underlying wholesale inflation up by the most in six months.The piece goes on to note that economists say the jump in the core index is unlikely to continue ... but given the how poorly Obama's economists have performed so far, if they're an example of those 'economists' - I don't find that very assuring.This measure of inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is known as the core Producer Price Index. It rose 0.4 percent in July, the biggest increase since January.
The overall PPI, which measures price changes in goods before they reach the consumer, rose 0.2 percent last month, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That follows a 0.4 percent drop in June, the first decline in 17 months.
Gas prices fell for the second straight month. Food costs rose 0.6 percent, the biggest rise since February.
Related:
Editorial: That '70s Show -- stagflation Returns
U.S. July Producer Price Index Report (Text)
Posted by Richard at August 17, 2011 11:04 AM
Articles Related to Political News and commentaries:
- Is Stagflation On the Way? - Aug 17, 2011
