by James Rickards
Daily Reckoning

The January inflation numbers came out this morning, and they weren’t good for Wall Street.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.1% in January. That’s a decrease from December’s 3.4%, but it exceeded consensus estimates of 2.9%.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.9% on an annualized basis, which is unchanged from December. But the consensus estimate was 3.7%. Core inflation also rose at its highest rate since April 2023.

Here I want to make an important point about core inflation. From the point of view of everyday Americans, core inflation is nonsense.

Continue Reading at DailyReckoning.com…

from Peter Schiff

by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street

But that’s how inflation is, once out of the bottle: It serves up nasty surprises.

We’ll start with the “core services” CPI (services minus energy services) because this is so crucial, and because Powell keeps talking about it. We have been concerned here for months about the refusal of core services inflation to ease off, and we’ve found the acceleration in the fall last year “very disconcerting.” But that’s how inflation is – it tends to serve up nasty surprises. And now it did.

Continue Reading at WolfStreet.com…

from WallStForMainSt

by Peter C. Earle
The American Institute for Economic Research

Attending the Super Bowl in person has long been a lavish expense, reserved for those willing to part with a significant sum for the ultimate fan experience. But when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Sunday, February 11 for the 58th such championship, it will be the most expensive yet.

Stubhub is reporting tickets ranging from $5,300 to $107,000, with the average price paid around $9,500. (Ticketmaster and other estimates vary slightly.) That is a 93 percent increase in ticket prices from last year’s Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, and 300 percent over the past ten years. Lodging prices are skyrocketing as well.

A week out from kickoff, rooms at five-star hotels like the Bellagio, Aria, and The Venetian started at $1,500 or more per night for Super Bowl weekend, according to Expedia.

Continue Reading at AIER.org…

Welcome,

Last week I went to an undisclosed coffee shop in the morning and ordered my usual latté. Three minutes later the barista handed me my latte’ and I went into shock. The cup was on crooked, and when I opened it, the contents were half-full and didn’t look very appetizing.

I just sat there as I looked at my $7 receipt and realized I’d just paid that $7 for this so-called privilege, which was more than double what I was paying just a few short years ago. What that meant to me was I was getting less and paying more. But I wasn’t done. After I got my mind on the task at hand I called over the manager over to express my outrage.

I said, “You are not selling coffee in this place, you’re selling inflation.” No wonder this chain just released record earnings, I thought to myself. “You’re just an Inflation Café!”

The manager who was in his early 30’s, just shrugged his shoulders, smiled and went about his day. Believe it or not, that’s when the concept for this newsletter hit me.

That was when the Inflation Café born. I am your personal barista giving you a guided and in-depth tour on inflation, explaining how it’s created, why it exists and providing you with ample evidence of its continued existence and how you might overcome it and make some money along the way.

Think about this. It’s not an accident that inflation happens. It’s a distinct policy that governments around the world have implemented. It is a hidden tax that gets you to work harder for a lesser reward.

As this newsletter and website progress, what we’ll do is explore the inner workings of the inflationary monster and why it will be around for decades to come.

Until you, the public is no longer willing to accept this hidden tax, which grows like a cancer, you’ll be forced to pay it. With this in mind, sit back, relax and learn.

Regards,
Kerry Lutz
Editor ‘n Chief Barista
Inflation Café