from Gregory Mannarino
NBC’s Memoli: Biden Team Has Given Up On Trying ‘to Fix the Inflation Problem’ and is Trying to Argue Style
by Ian Hanchett
Breitbart.com
On Friday’s edition of NBC’s “MTP Now,” NBC News White House Correspondent Mike Memoli stated that “the Biden team has seemed to concede that there’s nothing they’re going to be able to do to fix the inflation problem” and are trying to reframe things to a “stylistic” argument.
Memoli said, “Every single demographic, every poll shows the number one issue, cost of living, inflation. And the Biden team has seemed to concede that there’s nothing they’re going to be able to do to fix the inflation problem. So, they’re trying to make this a whose side are you on, who are you fighting for question. The president may have some economic announcements to make over the course of the rest of the year to try to say, we’re bringing costs down, we’re trying to forgive student loans to put more money in your pocket.
Fed’s Wait-and-See On Rate Cuts Supported by Worst 6-Month “Core” & “Core Services” PCE Inflation Since Mid-2023
by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Not just housing, but also other core services. However, durable goods inflation is back to normal.
The Fed’s favored “core” PCE price index, which excludes the volatile components of food and energy, jumped by 3.0% annualized in April from March (not annualized, 0.249%), well above the Fed’s target of 2%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis today. But it was a smaller increase than in the prior three months, though far hotter than in late 2023 (blue in the chart).
The six-month annualized core PCE price index, which irons out most of the erratic monthly squiggles, and which Powell cites a lot, accelerated to 3.2%, the worst increase since July last year (red).
Deflation v Inflation v Stagflation – Misconceptions Clarified
by Martin Armstrong
Armstrong Economics
Some people have a very hard time understanding that we are in a massive deflationary spiral; they think that rising prices simply means it is inflation and not deflation. Then they mistake stagflation for deflation and wonder why people are spending more on less. They only see prices, not disposable income, and certainly not economic growth and unemployment.
Prices rose sharply following the OPEC oil price hikes of the 1970s, but the sharp rise in energy crowded out other forms of spending, resulting in rising prices that had nothing to do with a speculative economic expansion but a deflationary contraction they called STAGFLATION occurred with rising prices and declining economic growth.
This is like Biden saying vaguely that he will press corporations to raise wages and lower prices. Great plan, which, as always, means absolutely nothing and illustrates that he has nothing to offer. Biden revealed his position that government is never the problem.
Think Inflation is Done? Think Again!
by Alasdair MacLeod
Gold Money
A lethal combination of budget deficits and trade sanctions are going to be reflected in increasing price inflation for the US. And where the US goes, the rest of us follow.
In this article I focus on two reasons why inflation will rise leading to higher, not lower, interest rates and bond yields. The first is the destruction of credit’s value through its non-productive expansion, mainly by governments running budget deficits. The second has had almost no attention but is at least as serious: the consequences of the repatriation of supply chains being accelerated by trade tariffs and sanctions. I shall briefly comment on the first before turning my attention to the second.
Hyperinflation and the Destruction of Human Personality
by Joseph T. Salerno
Mises.org
Economists and historians have clearly shown that the destruction of the value and function of money by hyperinflation makes economic calculation impossible and leads to economic and social disintegration and widespread poverty. What is not so clearly understood, even by many economists, is that during periods of rapid inflation, the inability to economically calculate undermines the very nature of property and causes a withering of the human personality, which is intimately connected with property ownership. By eliminating the means of appraising and rationally allocating one’s property, hyperinflation eliminates the very basis of independent human existence and personality under a system of social cooperation. The inevitable result is the dissolution of the society of voluntary contract and its replacement by a hegemonic order in which property and personality are collectivized.
The central role of money and property in the formation of the individual human personality under the division of labor has yet to be investigated in any depth, and I will not attempt to do this here. However, I will note that in speaking of the human personality, I am referring to what has been called, usually derisively, the “bourgeois personality.”
Inflation Pressures Lingering From Pandemic Are Keeping Fed Rate Cuts On Pause
by Christopher Rugaber
AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation.
A key reason for the delay in rate cuts is that the inflation pressures that are bedeviling the economy are being driven largely by lingering forces from the pandemic — for items ranging from apartment rents to auto insurance to hospital prices. Though Fed officials say they expect inflation in those areas to eventually cool, they’ve signaled that they’re prepared to wait as long as it takes.
Inflation, Government Spending, and the Importance of Gold
by Money Metals
GoldSeek
This episode of Money Metals’ Midweek Memo, hosted by Mike Maharrey, delves into the impact of government actions on the economy, the role of the Federal Reserve in inflation, and the strategic importance of investing in gold and silver.
Government Incompetence or Malevolence?
Maharrey begins by highlighting the inefficiencies and frustrations caused by government interventions, drawing parallels to everyday experiences like the DMV or navigating Medicare. He questions whether the government’s missteps are due to sheer incompetence or malevolent intent, concluding that it’s likely a mix of both.
Inflation Pressures Are Keeping Fed Rate Cuts On Pause
by AP
Breitbart.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation.
A key reason for the delay in rate cuts is that the inflation pressures that are bedeviling the economy are being driven largely by lingering forces from the pandemic — for items ranging from apartment rents to auto insurance to hospital prices. Though Fed officials say they expect inflation in those areas to eventually cool, they’ve signaled that they’re prepared to wait as long as it takes.
Yet the policymakers’ willingness to keep their key rate at a two-decade peak — thereby keeping costs painfully high for mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer borrowing — carries its own risks.
This Just Collapsed to Lowest Level in 23 Years, Plus More “Transitory” Inflation On the Way
from King World News
This just collapsed to the lowest level in 23 years. Plus a look at more “transitory”inflation.
May 30 (King World News) – Peter Boockvar: Pending home sales in April fell a sharp 7.7% m/o/m, well more than the anticipated 1% decline. This takes the index to just .5 pt from the lowest level on record dating back to 2001.
Pending Home Sales Collapse To Lowest In 23 Years
Price Inflation Isn’t an Accident; It’s a Policy
by Mike Maharrey
GoldSeek
If you listen to government officials and central bankers talk about price inflation, you might think they don’t have the foggiest idea of what caused it. It might have been supply chain problems, or perhaps it was Putin’s fault. Maybe greedy corporations are jacking up prices. Or it could be that consumer expectations are driving price inflation higher.
They can’t tell you exactly why prices keep rising, but trust them… they’re doing their best to stop it!
But this is all deflection and obfuscation. They’re causing price inflation. When they point fingers everywhere else, they’re either unforgivably ignorant or they’re lying.