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View Full Version : Here comes another piece in the return to Jimmy Carter Game


JustRalph
02-19-2009, 09:10 PM
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wholesale-inflation-takes-apf-14410311.html

Wholesale inflation takes biggest jump in 6 months
Wholesale inflation jumps by largest amount in 6 months, reflecting higher energy costs

Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Thursday February 19, 2009, 8:53 am EST
Yahoo! Buzz Print
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inflation at the wholesale level surged unexpectedly in January, reflecting sharply higher prices for gasoline and other energy products.

The Labor Department said Thursday that wholesale prices increased by 0.8 percent last month, the biggest gain since last July and well above the 0.2 percent increase that economists had expected.

The acceleration was led by a 3.7 percent surge in energy prices with gasoline prices jumping by 15 percent, the biggest gain in 14 months.

Even outside the volatile food and energy sectors, wholesale prices showed a bigger-than-expected increase, rising by 0.4 percent. Economists had expected a slight 0.1 percent rise in so-called core inflation.

Food prices were well-behaved last month, falling for a second straight month. The 0.4 percent decline in January reflected lower costs for beef and dairy products which offset gains in the price of vegetables and chicken products.

In addition to the big jump in gasoline costs, prices for home heating oil were up by 5.4 percent and liquefied petroleum gas, which is often used to heat homes in rural areas, surged by 20.2 percent, the biggest jump in more than six years.

Outside of food and energy, there were increases for pharmaceuticals, light trucks and passenger cars and civilian aircraft.

Despite the big jump in wholesale prices in January, economists do not believe inflation is on the verge of becoming a problem, given the country's deep recession.

more at the link

I hope they are right

BlueShoe
02-20-2009, 12:14 AM
Why is it that the economists say no inflation;deflation is the threat?Those of us that have that little commodity called street smarts know that inflation is coming.Inflation is very simple to understand;too much money chasing too few goods.How much money are the Obama printing presses going to churn out and inject into the economy?Perhaps not immediately,but not far away inflation looms.Shades of Jimmy Carter,double digit unemployment and double digit inflation;welcome back good old Stagflation.

Overlay
02-20-2009, 06:04 AM
Besides the revival of "stagflation", we'll also once again be hearing references to the "misery index" (unemployment rate plus rate of inflation) that Ronald Reagan used in 1980.

JustRalph
02-20-2009, 12:19 PM
Besides the revival of "stagflation", we'll also once again be hearing references to the "misery index" (unemployment rate plus rate of inflation) that Ronald Reagan used in 1980.

The misery index was around long before Reagan.

Jimmy Carter used the misery index against Ford in the Election cycle where Carter got elected. He wailed about how Ford gave us a misery index of 13 and that made him a worse candidate than Carter.

Of course when Carter left office it was at 21, the highest ever.

* Ronald Reagan received one electoral vote in the 76 election also.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/ElectoralCollege1976.svg/800px-ElectoralCollege1976.svg.png