Annual Inflation Increased Very Slightly Annual Inflation rose from 1.31% in August to 1.37% in September. CPI Index rose from 259.918 in August to 260.280 in September. Monthly Inflation for August was 0.32%, for September it was 0.14. The FED holds steady on Assets and FED Funds Rates. Next release November 12th Annual inflation for the 12 months ending in September was 1.37% The CPI index itself was up from 259.918 in August to 260.280. Resulting in a monthly inflation rate of 0.14%. Annual inflation for the 12 months ending in September was up almost imperceptibly from 1.31% to 1.37%. This is a rebound from an astonishingly … [Read more...]
A Guide for Business Owners: How to Prepare Your Organization for Inflation
COVID-19 has brought the global economy to its knees and in response, the governments of the world have opened the money printing spigots. The U.S. FED for instance has bought roughly 3 TRILLION in assets this year (labeled "Quantitative Easing 4" on this chart). Many fear that this much "money printing" will result in massive inflation or even hyperinflation. As you can see from the chart below, high inflation rates were the bane of the 1970s and early 1980s when the inflation rate rarely dipped below 4%. By contrast, the period beginning with the new millennium has rarely seen inflation go above 4%. Inflation in the 1970s caused much suffering and business disruption, … [Read more...]
July’s Annual Inflation 0.99%
Annual Inflation Still Below 1% Annual Inflation rose from 0.65% in June to 0.99% in July. CPI Index rose to 259.101 in July. Monthly Inflation for July was 0.51%, June was 0.55%, May was 0.002%, April was -0.67%, March was -0.22%, February was 0.27%. The FED may be slowing its "Quantitative Easing" in an effort to prevent hyperinflation. FED Funds Rate up slightly but still remains near Zero. Next release September 11th Annual inflation for the 12 months ending in July was 0.99%, June was 0.65%, May was 0.12%, April was 0.33%, March was 1.54% down sharply from February's 2.33% and January's 2.49%. The CPI index itself was up from 257.797 in June to 259.101 in … [Read more...]
Is the FED Tightening or Is Hyperinflation on the Horizon?
Recently a prophecy has been trending on YouTube. In it, the possibility of major upheaval in November is mentioned, combined with the possibility of hyperinflation. As I've mentioned before, beginning in March 2020, the FED created massive amounts of liquidity through Quantitative Easing in an effort to combat the monetary effects of shutting the country down due to the virus. If that is combined with a reduction in the quantity of goods and services created due to the virus or riots shutting down the means of production we could see hyperinflation. So that would play into fulfilling that prophesy. Back on April 1st, I wrote an article entitled Will the $2 Trillion Covid-19 Stimulus … [Read more...]
5 Countries Most at Risk for Deflation
People often confuse Deflation and Depression perhaps because in the 1930s the U.S. experienced a lot of both of them at the same time. This combined with the similarity in the sound of the words tends to compound the confusion. But they are not synonymous, it is quite possible to have an inflationary depression as the Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany from 1919-1923 shows. Just as inflation is more than just rising prices, deflation is more than just "falling prices". In both cases, the terms "inflation" and "deflation" actually refer to the macro "cause" while the change in prices is simply the "effect". Unfortunately, lazy speech tends to confuse the "cause" with the "effect". So when … [Read more...]
Why Inflation Affects Various Individuals Differently
The cause and effect are both commonly called "inflation" which can cause some confusion. Typically, "Inflation" is defined as "an increase in the cost of a basket of goods over time". Technically this should be called "Price Inflation" which is often the result of "Monetary Inflation". As we have discussed in "What is Inflation", monetary inflation can also be referred to simply as "inflation." Inflation is a common phenomenon that affects millions of households every year. Let's look at how it affects various types of individuals. Inflation and Income A fixed income combined with rising prices decreases the ability of people to purchase the same number of goods. As inflation … [Read more...]
April Inflation Near Zero
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its April Inflation report on May 12th, 2020, for the 12 months through the end of April 2020. Annual Inflation Down Sharply... Again! Inflation fell sharply to 0.33% in April from 1.54% in March, 2.33% in February and 2.49% in January. CPI Index in 258.115 in March fell to 256.389 in April. Monthly Inflation for April was -0.67%, March was -0.22%, February was 0.27% typically January through May are highly inflationary so this is VERY unusual. The FED has massively cranked up the "printing presses" using "Quantitative Easing" in an effort to stimulate the economy in the wake of COVID-19. FED Funds Rate down to near … [Read more...]
What Causes Inflation? Rising Prices Explained
Economists say that there are 3 major causes of inflation. They are: Cost-Push Inflation Demand-Pull Inflation An increase in the Money Supply https://youtu.be/UMAELCrJxt0 What is Cost-Push inflation? As the cost of raw materials or wages increases it causes producers to be forced to increase the cost of their products in order to be able to cover their costs of production and a reasonable profit. This results in a “snowball effect” as these new products raise the prices of other products. But that leads us to the “chicken or the egg” question. What caused the cost of raw materials or wages to rise in the first place? It is possible for foodstuffs to be in short supply due … [Read more...]
Will the $2 Trillion Covid-19 Stimulus Cause Inflation?
The current round of massive Corona Virus easing began Monday March 16th, 2020, with the FED buying $40 billion in Treasuries and then buying another $50 billion in Treasuries on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, it had upped the plan to $75 billion PER DAY and added $10 billion in mortgage securities. By Friday morning, the Fed had decided to buy $107 billion worth of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. In its first week, the FED purchased $317 billion worth of assets, which is slightly faster than the Fed balance sheet grew at the height of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Initially, the Federal Reserve estimated purchases of $500 billion but FED chief Jerome Powell said the initial … [Read more...]
Inflation: The Hidden Tax
The media and the Central Bank (i.e. The U.S. Federal Reserve aka. the "FED") tells us that a little bit of inflation is a good thing. Inflation gets the ball rolling, greases the wheels of commerce, and stimulates the economy. The FED sets as a goal 2% inflation, so inflation must be good for us, right? Two Forms of Inflation Well, it is good for someone but not necessarily for you i.e. the consumer. The first problem comes because there are two different types of “inflation” and by interchanging them we end up with a form of Orwellian “double-speak”. The first kind of inflation is “monetary inflation” i.e. an increase in the overall money supply. This is accomplished by a complex process … [Read more...]
