Economic Indicators

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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Workers have seen their hourly pay jump at about the fastest clip in 15 years. But high annual inflation has eaten into those raises.

Researchers are expanding our understanding of the “huge variation” with which inflation strikes households and groups

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation jumped at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years last month, a 7% spike from a year earlier that is increasing household expenses, eating into wage gains and heaping pressure on President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve to address what has become the biggest threat to the U.S.

The inflation rate in the U.S. hit a 40-year high. We look back at historical inflation, and where experts think it may be headed next.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation soared over the past year at its highest rate in four decades, hammering American consumers, wiping out pay raises and reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s decision to begin raising borrowing rates across the economy.

Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase 150,000 in January, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

Seventy-nine percent of U.S. adults expect inflation to go up over the next six months, including 50% who say it will go up a lot.

Gross domestic product accelerated at a 6.9% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, well ahead of the 5.5% estimate.

Web site created using create-react-app

WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of prices that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose 5.8% last year, the sharpest increase since 1982, as brisk consumer spending collided with snarled supply chains to raise the costs of food, furniture, appliances and other goods.