International Inflation Rates Had Ups and Downs Over Past 5 Years. The global economy has suffered some serious setbacks since late 2007, with some economists and experts going so far as to call it the "Great Recession," after the 1920s-era Great Depression. And that certainly is an apt term for it, as the spread of the crisis has not been limited to a few countries. Nearly every country in the world has been affected in some way, which is a telling sign of the modern international economy. Inflation is one of the key indicators as to the health of the economy, but it needs to be looked at in context in order to have any value. Economists often use stretches of five years of … [Read more...]
Deflation Not Over?
The majority of the inflation from 2012 occurred in the first quarter with extremely high monthly rates of inflation. Overall in 2012 there were 6 very inflationary months (on a monthly basis), 5 slightly deflationary months and 1 very deflationary month (November). The first month of 2013 started out pretty inflationary but the first quarter of the year generally shows the most inflation for the entire year. See Table … [Read more...]
The Impact of Inflation on Savings
The obvious impact of inflation on your savings is that the purchasing power is erroded. This means that if you stash $100 under the mattress today and inflation is 3% per year when you come back a year from now your $100 will buy 3% less stuff. Put another way you would need $103 to buy the same amount of goods a year later. When you extend this to 10 years you might think that it would mean that you would need $130 to buy the same amount of goods but because of the effects of compounding you would actually need $134.39. You can use the Retirement Planning Calculator to calculate the impact of inflation on your savings. As time goes on the impact of "only" 3% inflation compounds making … [Read more...]
The Impact of Inflation on Retirement Planning
Planning for retirement is difficult enough without having to worry about inflation. There is a lot to consider when you stop working a regular job. Do you plan on living where you are now. Do you want a change of scenery? Would you prefer a place with less maintenance or a place where you can have a big garden or a workshop where you can build things? There of course the financial aspects to consider as well. Will your retirement savings be adequate to provide the type of lifestyle you desire? There are a variety of Retirement Planning Calculators that can help you try to figure out how much you will need to save to have a happy retirement. You need to estimate your expenses once you are … [Read more...]
The Secret Word: Deflation – And the Next Five Years of Financial Turmoil
The following is a sample from Elliott Wave International's new 40-page report, The State of the Global Markets - 2013 Edition: The Most Important Investment Report You'll Read This Year. This article was originally published in Robert Prechter's July 2012 Elliott Wave Theorist. In the first five months of 2012, there were 20 times as many Google searches on "inflation" as there were on "deflation." This is down from a ratio of 50 times in June 2008. If any theme has been overdone over the past six years, it is the theme of inevitable inflation if not hyperinflation. Inflation reigned for 75 years, from 1933 to 2008. People are so used to it that they cannot imagine the opposite … [Read more...]
Costs of Inflation in Business
The current UK inflation rate is 2.7 percent. So what does this mean? The term inflation refers to a general rise in the price of a goods and services. This means the price of a basket of goods this year are, on average, 2.7 percent more expensive than last year. See Also: What is the Real Definition of Inflation? Costs of Inflation Most countries adopt a inflation targeting policy; for example, the Bank of England targets the inflation rate at 2 percent. Generally, governments prefer inflation so they can repay their debts with money that is worth less. If they had their way they would inflate their debts away at a much higher rate than 2%. So why is high inflation deemed a bad … [Read more...]
Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Sentiment Index Point to Deflation
Two Signs That Deflation is Far From Over Producer Price Index (PPI) turns south The federal government defines the Producer Price Index (PPI) as "the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output." With help from the Federal Reserve's massive inflationary policies, the PPI has climbed even as the economy began to fall in 2008-09. All the while, the financial media persisted with stories of an economic recovery. EWI analysts offer an independent perspective. The New York Times declares, "Economic Gloom Starting to Lift." Corporate America, however, is not so sure. This chart of producer prices [wave labels removed] probably … [Read more...]
Worried About Inflation – Consider Inflation Indexed Bonds
Inflation-Indexed Bonds (aka i-Bond)- Although inflation is currently low it is still a key concern for investors, because with interest rates at record lows and the FED promising to keep them there for the foreseeable future even a small uptick in inflation can prevent an investor from achieving a real return on investment, as returns on investment fail to beat inflation rates. If a return on investment fails to beat inflation, then in real terms you have not earned any money. You may have a larger figure for your total net worth, but in terms of purchasing power this will earn you less as the costs of living increased at a higher rate. On target Inflation is currently tracking at … [Read more...]
In 1929, Deflation Started in Europe Before Overtaking the U.S.
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the "Five Good" Roman emperors and is also considered one of the most important members of the Stoic philosophers. He ruled Rome from 161 to 180 AD. He brilliantly said, "Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too." Today we may be seeing the beginning of the end of the American Empire. As Americans we don't like to think of ourselves as having an empire but according to Daniel Larison, The U.S. treats several key regions of the world as privileged space where it is supposed to have military and political supremacy, and regional challengers to that supremacy are treated as potential … [Read more...]
Inflation’s Effect on Retirement Savings
Inflation and Retirement The stock market crash of 2008 may have left you feeling a little nervous about investing your money in the market. The fear of losing everything to another recession or depression has caused many people to make “safer” investment choices, and some people aren’t even investing at all, choosing to place their money in a “high yield” savings account, instead. Unfortunately, "high yield" these days is still lower than the rate of inflation, causing you to actually lose money. Inflation Worse than a Crash Losing your money to inflation is actually much scarier than losing your money to a stock market crash. Stock market crashes are rare, but inflation is inevitable. … [Read more...]
