Economic Indicators

The economy has been surprisingly disappointing 👎

"We have enough information to conclude policy mistakes, especially on the demand side, go a long way toward explaining today’s inflation." ~ Alexander William Salter

Provides a "nowcast" of the official GDP growth estimate prior to its first release.

A viral tweet claimed the AriZona Iced Tea was raising its price from 99 cents to $1.29. It wasn't true, but could it happen in the near future?

The average cost of a summer cookout for 10 people is $69.68, which breaks down to less than $7 per person. The overall cost for the cookout is up 17% or about $10 from last year.

Ignore the haters: living standards have improved a lot since the 1980s.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland provides daily “nowcasts” of inflation for two popular price indexes, the price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and the consumer price index (CPI). These nowcasts give a sense of where inflation is today. Released each business day.

The economic cycle is a series of peaks and valleys. Analyzing economic data going back to 1950 helps put recessions into perspective.

Is inflation getting higher? In this infographic we explore how inflation rates have evolved over the last century, putting current numbers into context.

What are the different types of inflation? Which economic forces impact each type? Below, we chart each over modern history.

In this issue of Money Scoop - June 14

Some progressive groups are urging Biden and Democrats to more aggressively cast corporations and billionaires as enemies in the fight against inflation.

Over the next decade, China is expected to surpass the U.S. in economic power, and India is primed to become the world's third-largest economy.

It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see. From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide.

Welcome to the macroeconomic bar fight. Today, fists are being thrown over the causes of high inflation. But off to the corner stands John Cochrane, an economist with a core explanation for rising prices: government borrowing and spending. Check out some of our earlier episodes on inflation: - Why some economists last year were concerned about low interest rates and high government borrowing and spending - Why the term 'transitory' inflation was banned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta as consumers spent and spent in 2021 - How the war in Ukraine raises prices around the world, including food prices, and a look at grain exports stuck in the country - Whether corporate greed is to blame for inflation

The packages keep getting smaller, but we pay the same price.

How have the world's largest economies changed over time? These graphics show countries sized by their GDP, as a share of the global total.

Global GDP growth is forecast to drop from 6.1% in 2021 to 3.6% in 2022. This map shows economic predictions for 2022 and beyond by country.

The most magical place on earth has seen some hefty price hikes. What gives?   From professional sports champions to families everywhere--Disney World has been a destination for the young and young at heart. But as many of those kids have grown older, they've noticed things aren't quite what they used to be when it comes to costs.

A cohort of Democrats say corporate greed has contributed to inflation, but many, including Jeff Bezos, are pushing back.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released their quarterly gross domestic product report this week. It showed GDP shrank at an annualized rate of 1.4%. Not good. But there's a mix of stories in the details. We explain with the help of a bit of music.

The most common error in economics journalism.

“A Phillips curve for Google searches on "inflation" and "unemployment" over the past two years looks about how you'd expect. We've been on vertical part since October 2021.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation soared over the past year at its fastest pace in more than 40 years, with costs for food, gasoline, housing and other necessities squeezing American consumers and wiping out the pay raises that many people have received.

You're not going crazy: That bag of Doritos did have more chips in it, and those paper towels did last longer. They've both been shrunken.