from Bloomberg Television
Global Fight Against Historic Inflation Surge is Nearly Over, Says IMF
Fund also upgrades growth forecast for U.S. economy, which remains the developed world’s best performer.
by David J. Lynch
Washington Post
Policymakers in the United States and other major economies have quelled the worst inflation in four decades without tumbling into recession, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday, adding that this “major achievement” should pave the way for significant changes in interest rates, taxes and government spending.
The fund also raised its forecast for U.S. economic growth over the next two years, confirming that the world’s largest economy has enjoyed the strongest recovery from the pandemic of any advanced nation.
The United States now is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.8 percent this year and 2.2 percent next year, faster than the fund predicted three months ago. Growth in the euro area economy this year is expected to fall below 1 percent, while Japan will barely grow at all, according to the IMF.
Escape Biden-flation Storm with a Walmart Tiny Home
from Zero Hedge
Housing affordability in the United States under the Biden-Harris administration has hit a generational low. After all, WEF’s slogan of ‘owning nothing and being happy’ has become an alarming reality for millions of Americans in the last 3.5 years.
To counter this hellscape that Democrats have created through the worst inflation storm since the 1970s, folks stuck in the doom loop of renting in dangerous big cities should find a plot of land in rural America. Next, find a tiny home.
We’ve discussed this for years: as the standard of living implodes in the US, the size of homes will shrink. Television shows have popularized tiny homes in recent years, and big-box retailers have been selling them (Home Depot).
Walmart is the latest retailer selling tiny homes. It now offers a 19-by-20-foot “expandable prefab house” delivered by flatbed truck for $15,900.
Not Close Enough for Comfort: Inflation Drops, but Most Continue to Struggle with Grocery, Rental Costs
Seven-in-10 renters say they can’t afford to buy a home yet (30%) or have given up on ownership (41%)
from Angus Reid
October 21, 2024 – As Canadians absorb the implications of another change in the inflation rate – down to 1.6 per cent – many are beginning to wonder what it will mean for their financial futures and pursuits of home ownership. For some, however, relief is lagging behind this key macroeconomic indicator.
Data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds persistently high grocery and rental costs, which have bucked the overall downward trajectory of broader inflation, continue to put immense pressure on lower-income households. Overall, 51 per cent of Canadians say it remains a challenge to keep up with their household food needs, a proportion that has remained relatively consistent since it rose to this level in late 2021. Among those whose annual household incomes are lower than $50,000, the number having a difficult time rises to two-thirds (65%).
Girl Scout Dues Could Rise as Much as 240% Next Year
from Zero Hedge
So much for 2% inflation…
The Girl Scouts could be forced to raise yearly membership from $25 to $85, according to a new report from Fox News. That marks a rise of 240%, for those of you keeping inflation score at home.
Girl Scouts of the USA President Noorain Khan and CEO Bonnie Barczykowski said this week: “We have collectively acknowledged that a membership dues increase is needed which is greater than the 25 percent (or $6.25) the National Board has authority to approve in a single triennium.”
“Over the past few years, costs have increased everywhere, and neither GSUSA nor our councils have been immune to this pressure,” it continued. “Operating at a deficit — spending more than we bring in — as we have been doing, is not sustainable.”
Retail Expert Warns of Weak Holiday Shopping Season with Consumers ‘Stressed by Inflation’
by Amy Furr
Breitbart.com
A former Target executive and retail expert is warning of a not-so-jolly holiday shopping season as Americans struggle in President Joe Biden (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris’s (D) economy.
Former Target Vice Chairman Gerald Storch said during an interview on Fox Business Thursday, “It’s very clear that consumers are running out of money.”
“They’re increasingly stressed by inflation and the exhaustion of their pandemic-era savings. When you take a look over the last several years, what you see month after month, everyone talks about, the consumer’s still spending. They might be, but they’re spending less than the growth of inflation,” he stated.
In 2023, a LendingClub study found a majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, as polling at the time showed only 14 percent of voters believed Biden’s economic policies were helping them, Breitbart News reported.
23% of Tax Revenue ($1.1 Trillion) is Now Interest On the National Debt
by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
The corpse of King Louis XV was still warm when his son and successor, 19-year old Louis XVI, started cleaning the royal house.
French finances were an absolute mess. The country was almost hopelessly bankrupt after decades and decades of costly warfare… and even more costly royal luxury. The young king’s predecessors, Lous XIV and Louis XV, spared no expense when it came to their comfort and grandeur, and the end result was the largest national debt in the history of the world up to that point.
Louis XVI knew something had to be done urgently. So, his first order of business was to appoint a brand new finance minister– the famed economist and philosopher Jacques Turgot.
Buyer Beware: Third-Largest Home Insurer Uses Solar Panels as Justification to Revoke Coverage
by Olivia Murray
American Thinker
After two decades spent as loyal customers to Liberty Mutual, a California couple recently discovered that the insurer had decided to cut ties, sending Janice and Anthony Coleman a “non-renewal” letter when solar panels on the roof were mistaken as moss, mildew, and algae growth. Here’s the story, from a report via Yahoo News:
Janice and Anthony Coleman, longtime homeowners in Fairfield, California, were shocked when Liberty Mutual, their home insurance provider of 20 years, sent a non-renewal notice. The reason? An aerial photograph from space, supposedly showing the roof, was used as justification.
Liberty Mutual claimed the roof had moss, mildew and algae growth, but the Colemans insist the alleged damage was simply their solar panels.
Now, despite the fact that a professional roofer determined the roof was in fine working condition and there was no moss or mildew, Liberty Mutual maintained the revocation of coverage, and the Colemans were left without a remedy; the company’s actions process and actions were completely within the bounds of the the law.
D.C. Workers Spend $350 On Lunches Monthly Amid Inflation
by Amy Furr
Breitbart.com
People working in Washington, DC, are spending a lot of money on lunches as inflation continues to batter Americans in the Biden-Harris (D) administration’s economy.
A recent study found that employees in the nation’s capital are spending $350 on work lunches per month, Fox 5 reported on Thursday:
[…] The information is found in ezCater’s 2024 Lunch Report. “Washingtonians spend $350 on work lunches per month, including lunch from restaurants and groceries for making lunch,” it states.
The study also noted that “79% of Washingtonians’ lunch habits are affected by inflation, with 35% opting for cheaper lunch options and 39% buying lunch less frequently.”
Inflation is Not Dead, It’s Just Resting
by Edward Chancellor
Reuters.com
LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Over the past three years inflation has gone from “transitory” to “persistent” to, well, boring. Across the developed world annual price increases are returning towards the subdued 2% level targeted by many central banks. Commentators are talking of the Goldilocks scenario, where the economy, like the porridge in the fairy tale, is neither too hot nor too cold.
Don’t break out the champagne yet, though. There’s a long history of monetary policymakers prematurely celebrating the end of inflation, only to be caught off guard by its sudden resurgence. Perhaps the best example comes from the early 1970s.
No Central Bank Wants to Stop Price Inflation
by Daniel Lacalle
Mises.org
Many citizens want more government control of the economy to curb rising prices. It is the worst strategy imaginable. Interventionist governments never reduce consumer prices because they benefit from inflation, dissolving their political spending commitments in a constantly depreciated currency. Inflation is the perfect hidden tax. The government makes the currency less valuable by issuing more units of fiat money, partially dissolves its debt in real terms, collects more taxes, and presents itself as the solution to rising prices with subsidies in an increasingly worthless currency. That is why socialism and hyperinflation go hand in hand.
Socialism rejects human action and economic calculation and sells a false image of a government that can create wealth at will by issuing more units of fiat currency. Obviously, when inflation arrives, the socialist government will use its two favorite tools: propaganda and repression. Propaganda, which accuses stores and businesses of driving up prices, and repression, which occurs when social unrest intensifies and citizens legitimately hold governments accountable for scarcity and high prices, are the two main strategies.