from Kerry Lutz's Financial Survival Network
Kerry and Ted Thatcher discussed the concept of “sticky” inflation and its impact on Fed policy. They analyzed the transition from transitory to sticky inflation and the evolving methodologies for calculating inflation. The conversation also touched on the political pressure on the Fed to cut rates, the widening gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and the potential challenges for the average American if inflation continues to rise while job growth slows. They also explored the likelihood of a market “melt up” and the potential consequences for the banking sector. Overall, the meeting provided a nuanced exploration of the complex economic landscape.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio
Sign up (on the right side) for the free weekly newsletter.
Faced with a customer base that believes inflation has made its food too expensive, McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) has announced a $5 value meal to offset the perception. The $5 menu includes a McChicken or McDouble, four-piece chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. Just as the program launched, McDonald’s franchisees said it was too expensive for them to support it, which puts the program in jeopardy.
My sense of what things ought to cost is stuck in pre-pandemic 2019 or so. I suspect I’m far from alone. This means every time I make our family’s midweek run to Trader Joe’s — breaking news, two teenagers eat a lot — the bag of groceries isn’t just going to cost more than I want it to. There’s a good chance it’s also going to cost a few bucks more than I remember it being last time.
Breitbart News economics editor John Carney said Tuesday on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” that it was incorrect for President Joe Biden to blame corporate greed for inflation.
The signals from gold and silver and copper are loudly clanging away. Most have not yet caught on, but they will.
I have a great idea. Let’s wildly print money, let’s systematically destroy the reserve currency of the globe, let’s add a trillion dollars to the national debt every 100 days, let’s strangle the economy with all sorts of ridiculous regulations, let’s dramatically hike interest rates, let’s make things exceedingly difficult for our domestic energy industry, and let’s allow theft, violence, homelessness and migration to run wild. Then we’ll sit back and see what happens. What I have just described is essentially what we have witnessed over the last three years. Joe Biden and others in positions of power in Washington are running our economy into the ground. The system really is coming apart at the seams, and Bidenomics really is the beginning of the end for the U.S. economy.
AMELIA ISLAND, Florida (Reuters) – U.S. inflation data through the first months of 2024 has been “disappointing,” Fed vice chair for supervision Michael Barr said on Monday, leaving the central bank short of the evidence it needs to ease monetary policy.
(Bloomberg) — Australia’s central bank resumed a discussion of interest-rate hikes at its May policy meeting before deciding that the case to stand pat was stronger as it aims to avoid “excessive fine tuning.”
Year ago, I read in a book whose title I can’t quite remember, about economists observing something curious in inflation-wracked Argentina: Consumers were no longer saving money. They were spending instead, spending on themselves, buying up luxury goods in conspicuous consumption, and no, it was not a sign of economic health. Saving money made absolutely no sense as the Argentine peso kept losing value. Far sensible to rack up credit card debts and pay with devalued money or else default.
Fascinating: “Prices that families pay” when they buy homes “can affect their overall well-being.”