from The National Desk
Will Gold’s Price Drop as Inflation Cools? Experts Weigh In.
by Aly Yale
CBS News
Inflation has cooled steadily over the past few months, and experts largely agree that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next meeting.
That’s good for consumers looking to take out a mortgage or swipe a credit card, but what about for investors — specifically those looking to buy gold?
To date, rising inflation has been a boon to the precious metal, sending the average price of gold to record highs several times this year. Will that run-up continue once inflation gets under control, though?
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on gold’s price run. Compare your gold investing options now.
Core Consumer Inflation Accelerates, Pushed Up By Soaring Housing Prices
by John Carney
Breitbart.com
A key measure of consumer prices rose by more than expected in August, indicating an acceleration of inflation from a month earlier.
The Department of Labor said that core consumer prices, a metric that excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent last month. That’s an acceleration from the July increase of 0.2 percent and above the consensus forecast of 0.2 percent.
Compared with a year ago, core inflation is up 3.2 percent.
A big driver of the increase in August was a 0.5 rise in housing prices. Compared with a year ago, the shelter index is up 5.2 percent. Other categories that saw significant price increases include airfares, car insurance, education, and apparel.
Moderate Inflation Affirms Fed’s Path to Easing
by Alexander William Salter
The American Institute for Economic Research
Price growth was moderate in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent last month and 2.5 percent over the past year. On a continuously compounded basis, prices grew at an annualized rate of 2.24 percent in August. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, grew slightly faster at 0.3 percent per month and 3.2 percent per year. The continuously compounded annual rate was 3.37 percent in August.
Inflation rose slightly over the past two months, but not by enough to undermine the general disinflationary trend. Dollar depreciation is back within a steady range. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will likely infer from this data that it’s time to loosen monetary policy.
Why the Fed Targets 2% Inflation
by Akiko Fujita
Yahoo! Finance
US inflation came down in line with expectations in August. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of goods and services across the country, rose 0.2% from July to August, a 2.5% gain from the same period a year ago. Core prices, which exclude the costs of food and energy, were up 0.3% month over month.
The latest data keeps the Federal Reserve on track for a September interest rate cut as the central bank inches closer to its inflation target of 2% over the long run.
“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in August. Powell added that “the direction of travel is clear,” although he did not elaborate on how significant that rate cut would likely be.
Silver Coiling to Blastoff, Plus a Look at Gold, Commodities and Inflation
from King World News
The setup in gold and silver is extremely powerful. This will be a very long and strong phase of the bull market in the precious metals, despite periods of shakeouts. Take a look…
Expect More Food And Commodity Inflation
September 11 (King World News) – Graddhy out of Sweden: Not a permabull because I post bullish big picture commodities charts. Or a goldbug cause I am bullish gold in a resumed secular bull.
No, commodities are simply in a new super-cycle bull since 4.5 years ago.
We are really just lucky bastards being here at this point in time.
Beneath the Skin of CPI Inflation: “Core CPI” Again Accelerates Month-to-Month Fueled by Hot “Core Services” CPI. Durable Goods Prices Drop Further
by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Second month-to-month acceleration in a row. Year-over-year, Core CPI and Core Services CPI show first acceleration since March.
On a month-to-month basis in a most unwelcome development, “core services” re-accelerated for the second month in a row in August, to 5.0% annualized, which fueled the re-acceleration of the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Core CPI. Core Services make up about 65% of the Consumer Price Index and include housing, healthcare, and insurance.
On the positive side of the inflation ledger were durable goods (motor vehicles, furniture, electronics, etc.), where prices dropped even faster in August, and energy, where prices dropped across the board, while food prices remained roughly stable, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics today.
Biden-Harris Policies Have Destroyed the Poor and Middle Classes
by Jack Hellner
American Thinker
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris repeatedly say they want to help the poor and middle classes but their policies, which caused inflation to soar, have absolutely destroyed the dollar’s purchasing power.
People can no longer afford to patronize the establishments they’ve always patronized, because they are living paycheck-to-paycheck, have already depleted their savings, and have run up credit card debt to unsustainable levels—and these chains are falling like dominos. Now, Big Lots is the latest casualty, and preparing for bankruptcy:
Discount Retailer Big Lots Prepares to File for Bankruptcy amid Inflation and Declining Sales
The news comes after the restaurant chain Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed by affordable gym chain Blink Fitness, and Rite Aid pharmacy closed all its stores in Michigan and Ohio amid that company’s recent bankruptcy filings.
“Joy” is Going to Drive Gold Prices to Absurd Levels
by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
Taylor Swift’s announcement pretty much said it all.
After last night’s Presidential debate, the pop star publicly endorsed Kamala Harris because “she is a steady-handed, gifted leader” who fights for “LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body. . .”
I really try to keep an open mind and understand other people’s opinions. But I personally have an extremely difficult time comprehending how someone thinks abortion and LGBTQ rights are the most important problems facing the country right now.
This is a pivotal moment in history. The United States is in serious decline. Among other critical challenges, the national debt is $35 trillion and is set to grow by at least $22 trillion over the next decade (according to the government’s own forecasts).
Fact Check: Donald Trump Claims U.S. Tariffs Did Not Cause Inflation
by John Binder
Breitbart.com
CLAIM: Former President Donald Trump said during Tuesday night’s presidential debate that United States tariffs on imports did not cause the record inflation that has occurred under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
VERDICT: True. Research has repeatedly shown that there is no connection between U.S. tariffs on imports and the ongoing inflation that has gripped the nation’s economy.
“We’re doing tariffs on other countries — other countries are going to, finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world,” Trump said. “The tariffs will be substantial in some cases … [Biden and Harris] never took the [China] tariff off because it was so much money — they can’t … they’ve left the tariffs on.”
“When I had it, I had tariffs, and, yet, I had no inflation,” Trump said.
Trump Falsely Claims Inflation ‘Worst in Our Nation’s History’: Here’s the Truth
Former President Donald Trump wrongly stated inflation is “probably the worst in our nation’s history” during Tuesday’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris—repeating the false claim he frequently makes to criticize President Joe Biden’s economic policies, though inflation has been higher than usual in recent years.
by Sara Dirn
Forbes
Harris has promised to tamp down on “price gouging” if she’s elected, as the Biden-Harris administration has sought to blame inflation partly on what Democrats have referred to as “greedflation,” accusing companies of selling a smaller amount of goods for the same price. Some research (such as a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) shows that markup patterns over the past three years were on par with previous recoveries. Some economists also say general cost-reduction mechanisms could be counterproductive, and price-gouging restrictions are unnecessary as inflation has cooled.