According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI report released on June 13th, Annual Inflation declined from 4.9% in April to 4.0% in May. (but according to our calculations, it was from 4.93% to 4.05%.) Monthly inflation was 0.25% for May 2023, compared to 1.10% in May 2022. May 2023 Inflation Summary: Annual Inflation fell from 4.93% to 4.05% CPI Index rose from 303.363 to 304.127 Monthly Inflation for April was 0.25% Next release July … [Read more...]
What are “Sticky Prices” and Why Do They Matter?
What Is Price Stickiness? Price stickiness, aka. "Sticky prices" are prices that tend not to change very quickly. So, despite costs (or demand) going up, a business with "sticky prices" may not raise its prices for an extended period of time. In other words, sticky prices tend to change slowly despite changing underlying factors. Sticky prices are a key component of Macroeconomic theory. Why wouldn't a business raise prices if its costs are going up? You would think that most products and services would respond to the laws of supply and demand, i.e., when demand goes up, prices quickly follow. Or, when underlying costs rise a business would automatically raise its own prices to maintain … [Read more...]
January 2023 Inflation “Disappointing”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Annual Inflation fell from 6.45% in December 2022 to 6.41% in January 2023. Monthly inflation was much higher than expected for January, resulting in a much smaller loss than most experts predicted. With 0.84% monthly inflation for January set to fall out of the calculations, the opportunity for a significant drop in inflation was possible. Monthly inflation for both November and December was negative so it seemed possible that January inflation could be moderate, but instead, it came in at a whopping 0.80%, just 0.04% lower than January 2022, resulting in a minuscule 0.04% decline in the annual inflation rate. January Inflation … [Read more...]
February 2022 Inflation- 7.9%… Is 11% Next?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports February 2022 Inflation Hits Another Record High. Inflation Summary: Annual Inflation highest since January 1982. CPI Index rose from 281.148 to 283.716. Monthly Inflation for February was 0.91% The next release is on April 12th February 2022 Annual Inflation was 7.87%. Jan. 2021 -- 1.40% ** Jan. 2022 -- 7.48% ** Feb. 2022 -- 7.87% Inflation soared again in February 2022. The last time inflation was higher was in January 1982 when it was 8.39% but then it was declining from the March 1980 peak of 14.76%. Although we calculate it to two decimal places the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported February's inflation rate as 7.9%. BLS … [Read more...]
Emerging Technologies
The world today is driven by emerging technology and innovation. These technologies not only make our lives easier but also have resulted in a competitive business market. The adoption of emerging technologies and innovation in institutions has also strengthened management and governance across all business levels. However, with the numerous emerging technologies, you might be wondering which might be the best to explore. Below are some of the top emerging technologies that show growth opportunities. Internet of Things (IoT) IoT provides a network of embedded physical objects for people to connect and exchange data with other systems. This fuels efficiency in performance by lowering … [Read more...]
September Annual Inflation Down to 2.28%
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their monthly Consumer Price Index report on October 11th 2018, for the 12 month period through the end of September. Annual Inflation is Down Annual inflation was down from 2.70% in August and 2.95% in July to 2.28% in September. CPI was 252.439 in September, 252.146 in August, 252.006 in July and 251.989 in June. Monthly Inflation for September was 0.12%, August was 0.06%, July was 0.01%, and June was 0.16% compared to 0.53% in September 2017. Next release November 14th Monthly Inflation: Annual inflation for the 12 months ending in September was 2.28% down from 2.70% in August. "The Consumer Price Index for All … [Read more...]
Zero Monthly Inflation, Annual Inflation UP
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Annual Inflation Rate data for the year through the end of November on December 13th 2017. Annual inflation was 2.20% in November up from 2.04% in October CPI-U up slightly from 246.663 to 246.669 Monthly Inflation for November 0.002% Next release January 12th Monthly Inflation is Essentially Zero If the annual inflation rate is negative that is called "deflation" (i.e. prices have gone down since the previous year) but whenever the monthly inflation rate is negative that is called "disinflation" (i.e. prices have gone down since the previous month). That is what happened in October 2017. This month the CPI-U … [Read more...]
How the Inflation Cycle Influences the Job Market
Inflation is generally a gradual process, so most people don't put much thought into inflation, since it happens so slowly. But certain things can cause inflation to occur at a faster rate than it normally would and at times countries even experience hyperinflation like Zimbabwe did several years ago and Venezuela is now. But even when it is gradual, creeping inflation can have a major effect on just about everyone. Generally, when we think of inflation we think of rising food prices. But although you might never have really thought about it, inflation can have a huge impact on everything from food to cars to the job market i.e. both products and services. Here are a few ways that inflation … [Read more...]
Inflation Up Almost 38% in September
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released their monthly inflation data on Tuesday, October 18th and revealed an almost 38% increase in Annual Inflation in September. The annual inflation rate was 1.06% in August and increased 37.7% to 1.46% in September as a result of the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) increasing from 240.854 to 241.428. For the year meat poultry and fish were down -6.3%, energy was down -2.9%, while Fuel Oil was down a whopping -8.5% and used cars and trucks were down -4.1%. However, Medical care services was up 4.8%, Transportation Services was up 3.0%, Shelter was up 3.4%, and Medical Care Services was up 5.1%. … [Read more...]
October… 0.17% Annual Inflation but -0.05% Monthly Deflation
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their inflation numbers for the year ending October 31st on November 17, 2015. Although Annual inflation was positive at 0.17% monthly inflation was negative (disinflationary) for the third month in a row. This is the result of the CPI index falling consistently from a high in July 2015 of 238.654. In August it was 238.316 resulting in a monthly inflation for August of -0.14%. September 2015 was 237.945 for a monthly inflation rate of -0.16 and then October 2015 was 237.832 resulting in monthly -0.04%. However, Annual Inflation was still positive in two of the three months, i.e. August through October were 0.20%, -0.04% and 0.17% respectively. … [Read more...]
