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(NewsNation) Fed’s preferred inflation gauge ticks up in August

Chomsky

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(NewsNation) Fed’s preferred inflation gauge ticks up in August
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The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose Friday as consumer confidence has fallen amid rising costs.
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Thursday’s GDP data showed consumer spending is up, which is typically a positive sign for the economy. However, the top 10% of earners account for 49% of all consumer spending, indicating that a two-tiered economy is currently in place.
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It gives credence to the notion that part of the country is in a “silent recession,” while the other part is better able to weather “the short-term pain for the long-term gain.”
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More data was released today, confirming inflation has been stubbornly inching-up in recent months. AUG was no exception.

The data is also showing the top 10% of earners account for 49% of all consumer spending, indicating a two-tiered economy, bolstering the theory that "half the country appears to be in a 'silent recession'".
 
This will only get worse as we see an increasing percentage find themselves in the 'silent recession' group where a decreasing percentage ends up in the healthy pool of consumer spending.

Trump really has no clue what damage he has done to the economy and this nation.
 
More importantly he doesnt care
 

If the Fed Board members are cutting rates into rising inflation, yes, recession fears are obviously on their minds.
 

Tell me again why the Fed remains insistent on cutting rates?
 
Quag said:
More importantly he doesnt care
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Apparent, not. As he just announced new tariffs for us to pay.

100% tariffs on "foreign drugs", which is virtually all generics (90%), which themselves are the majority of drugs everyday working Americans consume (90%).

In essence, Trump is doubling the price of 81% of the drugs Americans consume. On top of all his other tariffs.
 
Chomsky said:
If the Fed Board members are cutting rates into rising inflation, yes, recession fears are obviously on their minds.
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Despite Trump's opinion on this, the fundamental question is why the Fed would decrease rates.

The economic answer is they already see the constraint on consumer spending and the Fed has decided to encourage borrowing. Not necessarily bad but the timing presents itself as defensive monetary policy absent reasonable, or even stable, fiscal and trade policy from government.

Look at it as trying to put out a house fire with a single glass of water.

If trade continues to constrain consumer spending, and fiscal policy ends up in the quagmire known as Congress with threats of shutdown, then encouraging debt based buying is not all that effective in the longer term with everything else out of the Fed's influence causing economic headwinds.
 
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Chomsky said:
Falling employment (which might have ameliorated a bit last month, but may have been a blip).
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But is it? Who knows with the numbers coming out of Washington now!
 
Now Plump added tariffs on medication, furniture and other stuff. Let's pretend that won't be inflationary.
 
OrphanSlug said:
Despite Trump's opinion on this, the fundamental question is why the Fed would decrease rates.
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It is because they valued job losses as more important than slight inflation.
 

Agreed.

The good news is consumer spending his hanging-in there.

The bad news, as described in my OP, is the spending is lopsidedly represented by the top 10%.
 

Yep. Nothing alarm. But, disconcerting.
 


Winter is coming, and along with it higher energy costs.

You are also going to see a lot of countervail activity in reaction to Trumps constant taxing of everything, as everything is going to escalate in price, particularly energy. This year will be the first under the new power sharing agreement between Canada and the US where the price will float with demand. That's going to cost bigly for all consumers, residential and corporate in the north as energy prices will sky rocket.


Trump has given Canada no reason to be 'nice'....so consumers will pay for his stupidity. In fact, he's done what only Hitler could do...he's made us an enemy.
 
MTAtech said:
Now Plump added tariffs on medication, furniture and other stuff. Let's pretend that won't be inflationary.
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If you do the numbers, those 100% tariffs will apply to 81% of Americans' drug consumption.

Generics make-up 90% of the American drug consumption, and 90% of generics are imported.

We're screwed.
 
Cope said:
It is because they valued job losses as more important than slight inflation.
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Bingo!

While inflation is bad, job losses lead to really bad things. Even while neither are good.
 
Fearandloathing said:
Winter is coming, and along with it higher energy costs.
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I see higher energy costs in the Summer months so I am sure it is area based.
 
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