by Jack Hellner
American Thinker
A recent article from Matt Egan at CNN admits that Americans have a problem paying for things… but neither he, nor any of the outlet’s other employees ever bring up Joe Biden or his policies as a significant cause of the problem; read here:
Americans’ cost of living remains a massive headache, even as recession fears fade
The long-rumored recession has been postponed – or perhaps canceled altogether.
The soft-landing vibes are real. Inflation is cooling. The economy is growing at a shockingly strong pace. And unemployment hasn’t been this low for this long since the late 1960s.
And yet, hidden behind these boomy-economic indicators, a frustrating reality persists: Life is far too expensive for far too many.
The one-year anniversary of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is upon us. And while some of the factors behind that catastrophe have been tamped down, a new crop of problems have emerged to cast a shadow over the banking system and the health of the US economy. In the year since, only the sources of difficulty have changed.
Here we go with a new week. Pending are the latest inflation numbers as well as an update on US retail sales. Also pending…who knows? So let’s just take it day by day and see where we are by Friday.
Consumer Price Index data for February is expected to show relatively high monthly inflation on nowcast estimates compared to recent data. If this forecast holds, that would be similar to January, where inflation sees a relatively high monthly increase, but stays close to 3% in terms of the annual inflation rate.
Gold price (XAU/USD) rally hit a pause in Monday’s European session as investors await the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for February, which will be published on Tuesday. The precious metal takes a breather as the inflation data will provide cues about the US interest rate outlook.
CLAIM: President Joe Biden said during his State of the Union address that the record inflation that has crippled the nation during his tenure has been trending down.
A smattering of nondescript storage containers sit nestled on a concrete slab in a back alley in St. John’s, taking up a couple of hundred square feet between the Janeway children’s hospital and Memorial University’s school of medicine.
Imagine, if you will, a world where Nvidia is “worth” more than Saudi Aramco. That’s in quotes because it’s a ridiculous notion.
How does a man descend into bankruptcy?
The eyes of the world may be on the US presidential election. But another, usually sleepy campaign is underway: European Parliament elections in June 2024. Most of the action takes place in the executive and bureaucracy (the European Commission). But Parliament must approve laws. This could have interesting results for the European Union (EU) Green Deal.
Inflation stressing you out? Making you wish you had just a touch of nicotine in your system? Unfortunately, that’ll cost a lot. While prices economywide have risen 3.1 percent in the last year, cigarette prices have jumped 8 percent. On top of federal and state taxes that often make up half the price of a pack, tobacco companies tend to raise their prices faster than inflation to make up for declining sales volume. These and the rest of the numbers in the Reason Sindex use data from November 2023.