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producer prices

The Non-Charitable economics of (Not) Inflation

By |2021-09-10T17:10:32-04:00September 10th, 2021|Commodities, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Are giant French freightliners really so generous? Big companies can be known for their philanthropy, of course, but such efforts aren’t usually folded into their own business activities. Generally speaking, the beneficiaries of corporate charity tend to be strangers. If determined giving is actually being applied within the narrower confines of the corporation, that’s not altruïsm but economics (small “e”). [...]

PPI’s Near Ten Yet Treasury Custody

By |2021-08-12T19:47:46-04:00August 12th, 2021|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Two sets of indications, each heading in opposite directions. Or mainly at odds one from the other. To the inflationary side, the BLS reports producer prices that are still rising at substantial rates. The PPI representing the final demand for finished goods was up 9.35% year-over-year in July, slightly faster than the 9.19% posted in June. The latest a new [...]

And Now Three Huge PPIs Which Still Don’t Matter One Bit In Bond Market

By |2021-07-14T17:20:02-04:00July 14th, 2021|Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

And just like that, snap of the fingers, it’s gone. Without a “bad” Treasury auction, there was no stopping the bond market today from retracing all of yesterday’s (modest) selloff and then some. This despite the huge CPI estimates released before the prior session’s trading, and now PPI figures that are equally if not more obscene. The BLS reports today [...]

Copper Corroding PPI

By |2021-06-15T16:50:20-04:00June 15th, 2021|Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Yesterday, lumber. Today, copper. The “doctor” has been in reverse for better than two months now, with trading in the current session pounding the commodity to a new multi-month low. Down almost $0.19 for the day, an unusual and eye-opening loss, this brings the cumulative decline to 9.2% since the peak way back on May 11.Is this just another modest [...]

What CPI (and PPI)?

By |2021-05-13T19:30:20-04:00May 13th, 2021|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

The way it has been described since, yesterday’s CPI estimates for last month represented a seismic shift in the inflation debate. There is no more argument, apparently, and if that wasn’t apparent enough then today it was followed up with even more highly-touted evidence. Producer prices, the PPI, came up even more over-the-moon than those for consumers.The commodities portion, no [...]

The Right Mind Of China Inflation Via Automobiles

By |2021-05-12T19:42:09-04:00May 12th, 2021|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

I’m going to start with what might seem to be somewhat of a non sequitur if only because it’s one of those things you just have to laugh at. Researching historical cases and examples, I typically try to read as many contemporary thoughts or news articles as possible to gain a sense of what “everyone” was thinking at whichever times.In [...]

Scorching, Blistering, Highest In A Decade! Powell’s The Voice of Reason Here?

By |2021-04-09T18:17:50-04:00April 9th, 2021|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

If there is one thing Economists understand very well, it’s mathematics. This is practically all they do, and all that means much to their discipline. If there’s one thing Economists don’t seem either competent with or interested in, it’s the economy. The math is supposed to match the other’s reality, yet rarely does.There are times, however, when simple calculation is [...]

Our Global Inflation Tour Chock Full of Normal

By |2021-03-12T17:48:30-05:00March 12th, 2021|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

It really is about abnormality. What I mean by that is, contrary to popular imagination fed by the Fed and other central banks, ever since 2008 the inflation paradigm has changed. The first global financial crisis (GFC1) has proven time and again how it wasn’t a one-off, and since it was a monetary breakdown (global dollar shortage) that’s been permanent [...]

Two Seemingly Opposite Ends Of The Inflation Debate Come Together

By |2021-02-18T20:02:09-05:00February 18th, 2021|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

It’s worth taking a look at a couple of extremes, and the putting each into wider context of inflation/deflation. As you no doubt surmise, only one is receiving much mainstream attention. The other continues to be overshadowed by…anything else. To begin with, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that US import prices were up on annual basis for [...]

If the Fed’s Not In Consumer Prices, Then How About Producer Prices?

By |2021-01-15T19:38:00-05:00January 15th, 2021|Commodities, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

It’s not just that there isn’t much inflation evident in consumer prices. Rather, it’s a pretty big deal given the deluge of so much “money printing” this year, begun three-quarters of a year before, that consumer prices are increasing at some of the slowest rates in the data. Trillions in bank reserves, sure, but actual money can only be missing. [...]

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