by Martin Armstrong
Armstrong Economics
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released on April 10 by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation rose by 0.4% on a monthly basis and by 3.5% on the yearly. One must only look at their bills, items in the store, or open their eyes to see that the cost of living in every area has far surpassed this figure. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell released some disparaging comments regarding the data, and we should not expect any rate declines in the near-term. The Fed’s 2% target is simply not possible due to excessive government spending. Inflation was never transitory and we have not had a soft landing. Yet, the Biden Administration insists the “economy is going in the right direction.”
A Whole Foods shopper shared her frustration at reportedly paying $7 for an apple as people across President Joe Biden’s America struggle with crippling inflation.
It’s a given at this point that much pandemic-related fiscal stimulus was lost to fraud. The government flooded the world with money, we were told, to offset the disruption of economies paralyzed by people minimizing social contact and (especially) by mandated closures. Sure, that was a crude “solution” to an avoidable problem. But government officials insist things would have been worse without stimulus.
Yet another gold bull catalyst is emerging. Get ready for another wave of inflation because it’s definitely on the way.
It has become a speculative game in the blogosphere to predict what black swan calamities could lead to a breakdown in civil order and the imposition of some form of martial law. Wars and rumors of war abound. We have already seen a container ship mysteriously knocking down a bridge and closing a key port. Other such scenarios include massive cyber-attacks that shut down the grid and block communication and transportation networks nationwide. The speculation on the variations of such events is virtually endless.
The International Monetary Fund is cautioning against overexuberance in markets as investors look for central bankers to pull off a “soft landing” in their years-long inflation battle.
During an interview with Nexstar Media that took place on Tuesday and was released on Wednesday, President Joe Biden stated that inflation “is being stubborn and not going down to the 2% we need. But, it’s significantly different,” than where it was and “the thing that really affects people’s lives are all the small things that add up to big numbers for people, all these junk fees.”
Exactly two years ago this week, as post-pandemic inflation emerged as a leading public concern, Donald Trump appeared on Fox News and was asked what he’d do to address inflation if he were in the White House. The Republican gave a long, meandering, and wildly dishonest answer, which didn’t even try to address the underlying question.
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled policymakers will wait longer than previously anticipated to cut interest rates following a series of surprisingly high inflation readings.
Bowing to recent data, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday conceded that inflation progress has stalled and the case for rate cuts has weakened.