Articles About Inflation

The Federal Reserve is unlikely to follow the European Central Bank’s (ECB) recent decision to raise interest rates and will hold off until there is looming inflation.  The ECB’s move may be the first of several this year as high oil costs drive consumer prices above its target.  That’s not to say that some members […]

The long-feared specter of inflation is finally rearing its ugly head, as consumer prices rose by 0.5 percent in February, according to a report from the Department of Labor.  Take away food and gas prices and the increase was jut 0.2 percent.  “All signs indicate that, against the backdrop of a strengthening economy, inflation is […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is knocking heads with Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), the new chairman of the House Budget Committee, about how to best control inflation while buying billions of dollars worth of Treasury bonds to build up the economy in a process called quantitative easing 2 (QE2). As the nation’s debt climbs to […]

Two significant threats to the economy are receding, although the recovery still has a long way to go. One of the threats was the specter of deflation – which has not occurred since the 1930s – now belied by the 0.3 percent inflation rate reported for August, and driven primarily by rising food and energy […]

Who’s right about the state of the economy and commercial real estate – the bulls or the bears?  Robert Knakal, chairman of New York-based Massey Knakal Realty Services, weighs both sides to help us cut through the mixed messages. In a recent interview for the Alter NOW Podcasts, Knakal noted that the bulls like to […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning that – even as the nation struggles to recover from the worst recession in 75 years – Congress must deal with an “unsustainable” level of debt.  “Our nation’s fiscal position has deteriorated appreciably since the onset of the financial crisis and the recession,” Bernanke said in testimony before […]

The latest numbers on housing starts, new home sales and rising prices indicate that the residential recovery is for real.  Because the housing crash was a primary cause of the Great Recession, word that the sector is rebounding is good news.  Housing permits and starts have increased in the last several months, and new house […]

The recent release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting may hint that the nation is experiencing a sustainable recovery and is possibly facing upwards inflationary pressure.  The yield on 10-year Treasury notes has already surpassed four percent for the first time since last June; oil and copper traded at their highest prices in […]

Economic indicators show that the recession is over.  This is the opinion of Rick Mattoon, a senior economist and advisor in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Rick’s primary research focuses on issues facing the Midwest regional economy. […]

Manufacturing is gradually on the upswing, according to the December ISM Manufacturing Index, which rose to 55.9 from November’s 53.6 reading.  A gain to just 54.3 was expected, so the news is encouraging.  In terms of inflation, prices paid climbed to 61.5; an increase to 57.2 was forecast.  This is great news for a sector […]