Inflation and a Pivot in U.S. to Healthier Snacks Weighs On Pepsico in the Fourth Quarter
by Dee-Ann Durbin
Yahoo! Finance
The Purchase, New York-based company said its revenue fell slightly to $27.78 billion in the fourth quarter. That was short of Wall Street’s forecast of $27.89 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
U.S. demand flagged last year after two years of outsized, double-digit price increases. The average price of a 16-ounce bag of potato chips peaked at $6.68 in October 2023, according to government data.
Americans Rebel Against Inflation and Overconsumption with ‘No Buy’ Challenges in 2025
2025 is shaping up to be the year of underconsumption or “no buy” trends, as Americans express their fatigue with inflation, consumerism, and threats of tariff-related price hikes.
by Chloe Berger
Fortune
Tired of the constant gift guides and endless grocery store receipts, Americans are cutting down on spending. “No buy” challenges have taken off in the past couple of years, gaining traction on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which previously served as showcases of consumption. Now a strict budgeting lifestyle is the way to go for people who are tired of inflation, constant decluttering, and dread that Trump’s tariffs will make essentials even more expensive.
True to its name, the no buy movement refers to a challenge where people stop buying nonessential items for a period of time—often a year. It’s also come under a new viral name, “project pan,” which refers to hitting the pan, or bottom, of a makeup container, or using a product to its end. Just a month into the year, a swath of beleaguered Americans are pledging to practice a “no buy 2025.”
Eurozone Inflation Rises Once Again as Risks to 2025 Outlook Linger
Inflation rose from 2.4 to 2.5% in January, the fourth increase in a row for the eurozone. While it’s set to moderate over the course of the year, upside risks surrounding inflation have far from abated
by Bert Colijn
ING
Inflation across the eurozone ticked up thanks to a higher contribution from energy prices, while food inflation fell and core inflation remained stable at 2.7%. Base effects – which have driven inflation higher in recent months – eased in January, which contributed to keeping the increase in inflation muted.
The trajectory for 2025 should be disinflationary, but the question is to what degree. With wage growth set to drop substantially towards the end of the year, a big current driver of domestic inflation is set to fade. At the same time, energy prices have jumped to higher levels again and businesses are expecting to price higher costs through to consumers as business surveys indicate stronger goods and services inflation in the coming months.
Underlying Job Market Dynamics Retighten as Fed Moves Any Rate Cuts Into Distance Amid Accelerating Inflation
by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
The low point was in September, which had spooked the Fed. But that’s over.
The reason we’re looking at the underlying dynamics of the labor market is to gauge the pressure within the Fed to cut interest rates to prevent the labor market from weakening. And in these underlying dynamics, there are no reasons for the Fed to cut interest rates further. The labor market is not weakening, it has been tightening just a little since September. Over the same period, inflation measures have accelerated some. And that combination has caused the Fed to move any rate cuts into the distance, and even Trump suddenly thought that this pivot to wait-and-see “was the right thing to do.”
Injustice: Doctor Fees Rose Twice as Fast as Rate of Inflation in Finland in 2024
by Connor Morpurgo
Euro Weekly News
Private doctors rates have soared, doubling those of inflation in Finland over the past year, according to benefits agency Kela, today, February 4.
Why is private healthcare now so expensive in Finland?
Citizens can expect to pay on average 8% more for private healthcare in Finland, as reported by Kela, more than double the 3.3% growth in the Consumer Price Index, the standard metric to measure inflation.
Between January and June in 2024 in particular, aggressive rises in rates for doctors in Finland were observed, as private medical specialties such as oncology and neurology took a drastic price hike.
Technical Scoop: Tariff Losers, Inflation Expectation, Gold Win
by David Chapman
GoldSeek
DeepSeek, tariffs, seizure of the Treasury payments system. There was more. Week two of the Trump presidency brought more chaos. The two most significant are the entry of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, as a competitor of the U.S. AI companies, particularly Nvidia. Nvidia set a record this past week on Jan 27 when it set a record for loss of market cap for a company in one day. The week appeared to recover until Friday and tariffs were introduced on Canada, Mexico, and China setting in motion a trade war where everyone is a loser. Retaliatory tariffs were quickly announced by Canada and China while Mexico will be right behind. As history has shown with the trade wars of the 1930’s there are no winners. Trade wars were a major contributor to the Great Depression turning a recession into a depression.
This past week was interest rate decision time and there were no surprises as Canada cut rates by 25 bp while the U.S. stood pat primarily due to resurging inflation. Consumer confidence is already faltering and the expectation is that it will falter further. The impact of the trade wars probably will take a bit of time to work their way through the economy. But expect higher prices for many products.
Milei’s First Year: Liberty, Less Regulation, Low Inflation
One year into his presidency, Javier Milei has outperformed any reasonable expectations, except perhaps his own.
by Michael Munger
The Daily Economy
There’s something happening here. What it is, ain’t exactly clear.
Around the world, there is growing impatience with the orthodoxies and condescension of the progressive left. In the past two years, right-leaning parties have outperformed electoral expectations in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal, and countries such as Hungary, Poland, and — again — the US.
But the country with the most happening, and the least clarity, is almost certainly Argentina. Just over a year ago, Javier Milei won the presidency in what may be the most “out of nowhere” election ever. It is tempting to lump Milei’s success in with the general electoral tilt to the right, but that’s not correct; Milei is different. As a podcast produced by The Economist, put it: “Milei is above all a zealous believer in free-market economics. That is his absolute guiding understanding.”
What Trump’s Tariffs Did Last Time (2018-2019): No Impact On Inflation, Doubled Receipts From Customs Duties, and Hit Stocks
by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
I watched this stuff last time, amazed by the lack of inflation. Sure, “This time it’s different,” but those are the four most costly words on Wall Street.
President Trump has now started implementing his promise to impose new or additional tariffs on goods from various countries, starting with China, Canada, and Mexico. Trump already imposed tariffs in 2018 against various countries. Now, once again, the media are all over how prices are going to jump for consumers because tariffs are a “regressive consumption tax,” and how tax receipts from tariffs won’t go up, etc. etc.
Now we’ll look at what tariffs did and didn’t do last time. One, they didn’t trigger inflation, which stayed below the Fed’s target. Two, they more than doubled tax receipts from customs duties. And three, they hit stocks, and the S&P 500 tanked 20% in 2018.
Americans More Bullish on U.S. Economy Under Trump
by Simon Kent
Breitbart.com
Promise made, promise kept. That is the overwhelming feeling for Americans under President Donald Trump as they are more bullish on the U.S. economy and the stock market while being more hopeful about crushing inflation and borrowing costs than they have been in 10 years or more, a Gallup poll showed on Monday.
Overall Americans’ current outlook on the stock market is the most optimistic Gallup has recorded, while the percentages expecting interest rates, unemployment, and inflation to worsen are among the lowest.
Reuters reports some 53 percent of Americans predicted the U.S. economy will grow over the next six months, based on telephone interviews conducted in the first two weeks of January with about 1,000 adults, Gallup polling revealed. That’s more than in any of its polls since 2005.
Europe Doubles Down On Stagnation at Davos
by Daniel Lacalle
Mises.org
Many market participants appeared astonished to learn that Von Der Leyen and Scholz in Davos were steadfastly pursuing the policies that have severely damaged the EU. However, this is typical bureaucratic behavior.
In a predictable move, EU bureaucrats have chosen to exploit the new Trump administration as an external enemy, rather than seizing the opportunity to unleash the immense potential of their economies. Bureaucrats do not care about results; they care about bureaucracy.
Ursula Von Der Leyen expressed her unwavering commitment to upholding the European Union’s climate and economic strategies when she asserted that “Europe will continue on its current path,” a stance marked by stagnation, high taxes, low competitiveness, and excessive debt. The Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope of all humanity,” she repeated. “Europe will stay the course and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming.” This statement is simply incorrect.