The prices of food purchased by American consumers in August saw the most inflation since 1979, government data showed Friday. The personal consumption expenditures index for food was up 12.4 percent compared with a year ago, indicating that food prices were up the most year-over-year since February 1979. Compared with the prior month, food prices were up 0.8 percent, a deceleration from the 1.2 percent gain in July. High food prices are straining family budgets. Polling has shown that 63 percent of American families with children are changing their eating habits, compared to 31 percent that are not, Breitbart News recently reported. … [Read more...] about Food Inflation Rises to Worst Since 1979
Inflation
The Fed’s Preferred Inflation Measure Remains Stubbornly High
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge remained elevated in August, data released on Friday showed, further evidence that the central bank is contending with a stubborn problem as it tries to choke off the worst inflation in four decades. The Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation measure, which is the measure the Fed officially targets as it tries to achieve 2 percent annual inflation, climbed 6.2 percent over the year through August. While that was a slowdown from 6.4 percent in July, it was higher than the 6 percent that economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected. The details of the report were even more concerning. Price increases have been moderating somewhat on an overall basis, partly because gas prices have been declining. But after volatile fuel and food prices were stripped out to get a sense of underlying inflationary pressures, the index climbed 4.9 percent over the year through August, an acceleration from 4.7 percent the month before. And on a … [Read more...] about The Fed’s Preferred Inflation Measure Remains Stubbornly High
Shoppers paying 10.6% more for food than a year ago as inflation hits record high
Shoppers are now paying 10.6% more than they were a year ago as food inflation hit its highest rate on record, figures show. Overall, shop prices rose by 5.7% in September, up from 5.1% in August. It marks another record since the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Nielsen IQ index began in 2005. Food price inflation soared past last month's 9.3% to 10.6%, driven by the war in Ukraine . The conflict - which began in February after Vladimir Putin's Russia invaded its neighbouring country - is continuing to push up the price of animal feed, fertiliser and vegetable oil. According to figures, the war is particularly affecting products such as margarine. Overall, shop prices rose by 5.7% in September, up from 5.1% in August ( Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images) Fresh food products are now a record 12.1% higher than last year, up from 10.5% in August - the highest inflation rate for the category on record. Ambient food inflation also reached a record 8.6%, up … [Read more...] about Shoppers paying 10.6% more for food than a year ago as inflation hits record high
Grim Mood Still Grips U.S. Consumers
Consumer sentiment remains mired down by a pessimistic assessment about the economic outlook and a grim assessment of current conditions. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index ticked up by less than one percent in September, coming in below the mid-month preliminary reading of 59.5. The final reading for September came in at 58.6, essentially unchanged from the 58.2 reading in August. The sentiment index bottomed out at 50.0 in June as gas prices hit record highs and inflation rose to the worst level in forty years. A retreat of gas prices and a cooling of inflation gave rise to a slight recovery in July to 51.5 and then a big jump up in August. The latest figures dash any hope that the recovery would continue on a steep path. Instead, it appears to have stalled. Economists had forecast the final read would hold onto the midmonth figure of 59.5. In a separate report issued Friday, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said that personal … [Read more...] about Grim Mood Still Grips U.S. Consumers
Key midterm states see faster economic decline than average
Several key midterm election states have seen the economies decline by a significantly greater margin than the rest of the country, according to data published on Friday. The measure of GDP state by state showed that several key states have economies that are shrinking faster than the national average. In particular, Arizona , Michigan, Oregon and Wisconsin have seen GDP falls of more than one percent greater than the 0.6 percent national decline. Conversely, the swing state of Nevada saw GDP grow by one percent, one of only 10 states nationally that saw economic growth. With the midterm elections on November 8, the GDP data published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis is one of the last official indicators of how each state is performing economically. The map below has Q2 GDP data for each state. According to Pew Research, voters care about the economy above any other issue, with 77 percent saying it was very important in considering how they vote in the 2022 … [Read more...] about Key midterm states see faster economic decline than average
‘You Can Feel the Fear’: U.K. Borrowers Face Up to a Broken Mortgage Market
LOUGHTON, England — After nearly two decades of renting in one of the world’s most expensive cities, the Szostek family began the week almost certain that they would finally own a home. Transplants to London who fell in love as housemates, Laetitia Anne, an operations managerfrom France, and her husband, Maciej Szostek, a chef from Poland, had long dreamed of being homeowners. They had waited out the uncertain pandemic years and worked overtime shifts to save up for the deposit for a mortgage on a three-bedroom apartment in a neighborhood outside London. Their 13-year-old twins were excited they could finally paint the walls. That was before British financial markets were upended, with the pound briefly hitting a record low against the dollar on Monday and interest rates soaring so rapidly that the Bank of England was forced to intervene to restore order. The economic situation was so volatile that some mortgage lenders temporarily withdrew many products. By Tuesday … [Read more...] about ‘You Can Feel the Fear’: U.K. Borrowers Face Up to a Broken Mortgage Market
Breitbart Business Digest: Peak Disinflation Confirmed
Our call that the factors that brought inflation down in July had run out of steam looks pretty good in light of the most recent report on personal consumption expenditures (PCE). Earlier this week, we said that instead of wondering whether we had hit peak inflation back in June, investors and analysts should turn toward the question of whether we had hit peak disinflation . The word disinflation refers to a slowdown in the rate of inflation, which is different from deflation , which is an actual decline in prices. Peak disinflation implies that the largest part of the slowdown is behind us—at least for now. The personal consumption expenditure price index data released by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Friday showed that inflation re-accelerated in August. The headline figure showed a decline of 0.1 percent in July compared with the prior month, largely due to lower gas prices. In August, the headline figure rose 0.3 percent. Core PCE … [Read more...] about Breitbart Business Digest: Peak Disinflation Confirmed
Marjorie Taylor Greene behind more than half of attempts to impeach Biden
House Republicans have filed nine impeachment articles against President Joe Biden , five of which were sponsored by the same congressperson: Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene . According to a recent report by Axios listing a total of 14 impeachment attempts launched by the Republican Party, two more impeachment resolutions were filed by House Republicans against Attorney General Merrick Garland , while Vice President Kamala Harris , Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas were the targets of one impeachment article each. Last week, Greene introduced a new article of impeachment against Biden "for endangering, compromising, and undermining the energy security of the United States by selling oil from the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve to foreign nations," a practice that the Trump administration also engaged with. Previous impeachment resolutions launched by the Georgia representative included … [Read more...] about Marjorie Taylor Greene behind more than half of attempts to impeach Biden
Woman stuck in Hurricane Ian using “floaty pool” in living room goes viral
A video of the effects of Hurricane Ian simply captioned, "Send help," has been viewed more than 40 million times, with five million likes. Hurricane Ian pummeled Florida on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving millions of people stranded and without power, and burying entire communities on the Florida peninsula. Winds blew up to 150 mph , bringing 12-foot-high waves. In the video, which has been shared 295,000 times, TikTok user Beth films from inside her house, showing herself to be floating in a kids' inflatable pool, while the contents of her living room bob around her. The wind can be seen whipping foliage past the house, while the water laps at the window. Beth can be heard saying, "I've gotta say, if you've ever floated in a floaty pool in your own living room with your refrigerator..." and then she appears to say "at your door." Many users asked for an update of Beth's welfare, urging her to stay safe. "Please let us know that you're okay," wrote Rene, while TikToker … [Read more...] about Woman stuck in Hurricane Ian using “floaty pool” in living room goes viral
European Union to Cut Power Use, Levy Energy Companies
EU ministers on Friday agreed cuts to peak-hour power consumption and windfall levies on energy companies in an urgent effort to bring down sky-high energy prices. The decision, announced by the Czech Republic in its role holding the EU presidency, aims to mitigate energy costs sent soaring by Russia’s war in Ukraine and as the northern hemisphere winter looms. European households and businesses are already staggering under surging energy bills, fuelling record inflation that in the eurozone has hit 10 percent. Extra drama has been injected with several unexplained leaks this week of Russia-Germany undersea gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, that were widely seen as “sabotage”. The EU ministers’ agreement came a day after Germany — the bloc’s export powerhouse that had long been dependent on Russian gas — announced a 200-billion-euro (about $200 billion) energy aid package to shield its consumers. Other EU countries have deployed smaller-scale national measures with the … [Read more...] about European Union to Cut Power Use, Levy Energy Companies