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U.S. consumers turned decidedly more pessimistic in October, according to a report released Tuesday, with households increasingly worried about job prospects. The Conference Board, a private research group, said its monthly Consumer Confidence Index fell to 47.7 this month, from a revised 53.4 in September, which was originally reported as 53.1. The current month's reading was well below economists' projections of 53.2, according to a survey conducted by Dow Jones Newswires. The downturn in consumer confidence at this stage of the recovery is to be expected, as it has occurred in previous recoveries (please see chart below), and does not...

Japan prices tumble at record rate in August Japan core consumer price index falls by record 2.4 percent in August By Tomoko A. Hosaka, Associated Press Writer On Monday September 28, 2009, 9:17 pm EDT TOKYO (AP) -- Prices in Japan tumbled at a record pace in August, intensifying concerns that deflation could undermine the country's fragile economic recovery. The country's key consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, fell 2.4 percent from a year earlier amid rising unemployment and falling wages, the government said Tuesday. The figure marks the steepest decline since officials began compiling comparable data...

Jobless rate hits record 5.7%; CPI continues to slide THE ASAHI SHIMBUN 2009/8/28 The unemployment rate in July rose 0.3 point from June to a record high 5.7 percent, while fears of deflation increased with the latest drop in the consumer price index, reports showed Friday. The jobless rate, on a seasonally adjusted basis, has now risen for six consecutive months, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The previous record high was 5.5 percent marked in June and August 2002 and April 2003. The ratio of job offers to job seekers in July fell 0.01 point from June...

Another day of economic data that doesn’t spell raging recovery. Industrial Production Capacity utilization increased slightly from 68.1% in June to 68.5% in July. Industrial production was up 0.5% which is the first increase in that number since December 2007. Manufacturing production was up 1% but that was almost entirely due to auto companies ramping up production after their summer shutdown which was exacerbated by the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler. Taking autos outo fo the equation, manufacturing was up 0.2%. Overall, the economy still has enormous excess capacity. Their is nothing in these numbers to suggest that new investment...

Markets indices were up slightly yesterday. Meanwhile, there is some breaking economic data to report. The Consumer Price Index came in flat in July, as expected. U.S. consumer prices were flat in July versus June as expected, but fell over the past 12 months by the most since 1950, government data showed on Friday.

Record fall in Japan consumer prices fuels deflation fears By The Associated Press TOKYO - Deflation is clawing its way back in Japan, and it's not good news for an economy trying to recover from its worst recession since the Second World War. Japan's key consumer price index tumbled at a record pace in May, the government said Friday. The core nationwide CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, fell 1.1 per cent from the previous year in the third straight month of decline. The result marked the biggest fall since the government began releasing comparable data in 1971.

Consumer prices flat, industrial production dips By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger, Ap Economics Writer 4 mins ago WASHINGTON – Consumer prices were flat in April, while industrial production fell by the smallest amount in six months — further evidence that the recession's grip is slowly easing. The disappearance of inflation has been a product of the country's deep recession as surging job layoffs dampen wage pressures and weak consumer demand keeps a lid on price increases. Some economists are worried about a dangerous bout of falling prices, but most say that possibility remains remote because the Federal...

Companies throughout the food chain are changing the way they do business in response to soaring grain costs, and consumers are likely to bear the brunt in the form of rising food prices. Farmers are making the broadest cuts to their livestock herds in decades, meaning meat at the supermarket will likely cost more in coming years. Middlemen are trying to shorten the duration of supply contracts to 90 days from one year so they can pass on higher costs more quickly. And food brands are shrinking the contents of their packages, from ice-cream cartons to beverage containers. ...In another...

Why official figures don't tell half the story. By Emma Wall Rising food and fuel prices, as well as increased taxes and other household bills, mean the average family must cope with inflation that is twice as high as official estimates, according to new research by The Daily Telegraph and moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website. Taking all these factors into account, the Real Cost of Living Index (RCLI) is rising at 9.5 per cent. No wonder hard-working families wonder how the Retail Price Index (RPI) can be only 4.2 per cent and the Government's preferred measure of inflation – the...

Surging oil prices are beginning to cut into the profits of a wide range of American businesses, pushing many to raise prices and maneuver aggressively to offset the rising cost of merchandise made from petroleum. Airlines, package shippers and car owners are no longer the only ones being squeezed by the ever-mounting price of oil, which shot up almost $11 a barrel on Friday alone, to $138.54, a record. Companies that make hard goods using raw materials derived from oil, like tires, toiletries, plastic packaging and computer screens, are watching their costs skyrocket, and they find themselves forced into unpleasant...

[snip]In the United States, the producer price index increased 6.9% in the year to March, while that for crude goods increased more than 30%. Like a bowling ball swallowed by a python, that inflation will move through the economic system and eventually be reflected in consumer prices. Indeed, it may already be showing up there; the seasonally unadjusted consumer price index for March was up 0.9% (an annual rate of around 11%) and only a heroic seasonal adjustment of 0.6%, double the next-largest seasonal adjustment for any month in the last 10 years, brought the figure down to an acceptable...

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- If you think the cost of gassing up your car is outrageous, wait until you need to restock your pantry. The price of wheat has more than tripled during the past 10 months, making Americans' daily bread -- and bagels and pizza and pasta -- feel a little like luxury items. And baked goods aren't the only ones getting more expensive: Experts expect some 80 percent of grocery prices will spike, too, and could remain steep for years because wheat and other grains are used to feed cattle, poultry and dairy cows. "It's going to affect...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home construction starts fell in September to their lowest level in more than 14 years, while consumer prices rose at the sharpest rate in four months, separate reports showed on Wednesday. Weak housing data boosted U.S. government bond prices and the U.S. dollar slipped versus euro and yen as some investors saw the data as a sign of continuing headwinds for the economy. U.S. stocks were still expected to open higher with investors more focused on healthy corporate profit reports. "We knew housing was weak, but these numbers show another pretty big drop, so the sector...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumer prices shot up at the fastest pace in 20 months in May, fueled by a surge in gas prices, although inflation pressures were moderate in most other areas. The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index registered a 0.7 percent increase last month, the biggest advance since Hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf Coast oil production in the fall of 2005. Outside of the volatile energy and food categories, inflation rose by a much more modest 0.1 percent. That was slightly lower than the 0.2 percent which had been expected and provided reassurance that...

ICIJ: Poland, Romania served CIA program Published: May 25, 2007 at 3:07 PM WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. group has criticized Poland and Romania for cooperating in secret CIA arrest and detention policies since Sept. 11, 2001. "Both Poland and Romania have sent troops to Iraq, assisted U.S. anti-terrorism policies by detaining terrorism suspects and faced criticism by European Union government investigators for their involvement in a CIA program of secret prisons and extraordinary renditions ... without any legal due process," the Center for Public Integrity said in a statement. The CPI announced the results of a series...

The growing traffic congestion in Texas is a multipronged problem that cannot be solved by one policy. At a time when toll roads appear to be state leadership's primary answer to the dilemma, a bill proposed by Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, has merit. The legislation would index the gas tax to the Highway Cost Index, or the cost of highway construction over time. According to Carona's office, the bill by 2030 would generate about $16 billion in gas tax revenue — or 31/2 times more than the current gas tax would. Not only would more money be available for transportation...

Consumer prices and core inflation both rose higher than expected during January, as food costs jumped and medical care posted the biggest increase in 15 years. The consumer price index rose 0.2%, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The CPI increased 0.4% in December. Core inflation, which is consumer prices excluding food and energy costs, increased by 0.3%, after rising 0.1% during each of the three previous months. Unrounded, the core CPI rose 0.174% in January; it rose 0.256% in December. The median forecasts of 24 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were a 0.1% increase in consumer prices overall and...

Just as U.S. senators are saying publicly that the government has lied to them over Iraq, yesterday’s Barron’s contains an interesting article saying that, “The U.S. government has an inherent bias in its reporting: Inflation is understated and growth is overstated.” Our readers know that our sister publication, Financial Intelligence Report, has long reported that the government inflation figures are misstated to the down side. Mr. Barry Ritholtz, of Ritholtz Research & Analytics, writes in Barron’s that when the Fed first cut rates to half-century lows, “first we reflated, then we inflated.” We agree. Ritholtz goes on to point out...

Inflation 'highest in decade' By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor Last Updated: 1:34am GMT 13/12/2006 Inflation has soared to its highest level for over a decade, fuelling fears that the Bank of England will soon raise interest rates to 5.25pc. The CPI has been lifted by petrol and utility costs The Consumer Price Index jumped from 2.4pc to 2.7pc in November, the Office for National Statistics said. It is the highest annual increase in the inflation measure since November 1995, and brings it closer to the 3pc level at which the Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, would have to write...

Time to Remove Barriers to Boosting Oil Refining Capacity by Ben LiebermanPosted Jul 27, 2006The high price of oil is the main reason that the price of gasoline has nearly doubled over the last three years, but it is not the only reason. The cost of turning oil into gasoline has also risen, thanks in part to costly federal regulations on refinery operations and expansions. Many in Congress are aware of this problem, and the House recently passed the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act (H.R. 5254) to address it. This very modest measure would streamline refinery-related regulations and would be...

FIAT and CREDIT – “The coming Financial Holocaust�   By Nigel Maund June 1, 2006   clivemaund.com Setting the Scene This article builds on earlier essays by the writer based on a similar theme. However, as the reader will see, this gold boom cycle will be like none before it, and, as is often the case in human affairs, events of the past, whilst similar in outline, may differ significantly from presently unfolding events. To quote Winston Churchill, they are "variants on a familiar theme". That theme is determined by repetition of man's own inherent weaknesses: lust, greed and...

Okay. These things are all that and a six-pack of chimichangas..... Many of these were built from modifications to a Honda Fusion scooter, but I find the closest model to do this with today would be the Yamaha Morphous: I found the prices for the ones that they sell at around $21,000. This is a simple currency conversion and doesn't include the shipping -they're only available in Japan......so far.

Inflation ain't what it used to be. That's long been true in the sense that the inflation rate is now a lot lower than it has been for most of the decade. But it's newly true in a different sense: The Fed has a new way of measuring inflation. In its most recent Humphrey-Hawkins report, released last Thursday, the Federal Open Market Committee said it was changing its primary measure of inflation. Instead of forecasting the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index, the FOMC is now forecasting the rate of increase of an inflation measure contained in the...

March 16, 2006 A THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT, BUT NOT ONE BULB BURNING: Hey, Big Spender: Should we have known that President Bush would bust the budget? (Peggy Noonan, March 16, 2006, Opinion Journal) This week's column is a question, a brief one addressed with honest curiosity to Republicans. It is: When George W. Bush first came on the scene in 2000, did you understand him to be a liberal in terms of spending? I, for one, am perfectly willing to admit that I didn't forsee the WoT and the 2% of GDP increase in spending on Defense it would...

Gold closed higher on Thursday despite a CPI report and other data that convinced many inflation is not a problem and the Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates sooner than later. But gold, which serves as a hedge against inflation, still found cause to rally. First, the dollar took a hit after the CPI. The Fed's 20-month-long campaign to raise rates has provided key support to the greenback. Gold, which is priced in dollars, normally rises when the dollar drops, as it takes less money to buy the same amount of the precious metal. Second, crude oil prices, which...

Russian GDP grows 6% in 2005. Government was expecting 6.4%. Inflation was (CPI) 10.9% and (PPI) 20% in 2005. "Gasoline grew 15.8 percent last year, Gref reported yesterday, and the costs of the housing services went up 32.7 percent. But exactly these two vehicles – gasoline and housing services - were ultimately used to contain inflation. " More here

NEW YORK -- If you want to buy home computers, fiber optic cable or blood tests to detect sexually transmitted diseases, you're in luck -- prices for all are falling.But if you want WD-40, Milwaukee Brewers tickets, a Sealy mattress or electricity, prepare to pay more.Inflation is nowhere near its all-time highs, but it is extraordinary in another respect: It's widely uneven. As a result, there's disagreement on Wall Street about whether inflation is much higher or much lower than government data would have investors believe.The argument is more than academic. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 12 times...

...The U.S. expansion has been strong and steady despite the warnings of fragility, the repeated claims of a slowdown, and the fear of China (as intense as the Japan fears of the 1980s). U.S. growth has averaged a fast 3.9% pace since the initial 7.4% tax-cut-related growth celebration in the third quarter of 2003. Thanks in large part to smaller businesses, U.S. unemployment has fallen to 5.1%, with wage and salary income growing at a 10% annual rate in the revised fourth-quarter data. Beyond housing, household liquid assets have increased more than both total debt and foreign debt, helping build...

WASHINGTON, June 26 - Federal Reserve officials, who meet this week, are beginning to suspect that the perplexing decline in long-term interest rates is more than a temporary aberration. The possibility has major implications for the economy, and it creates new puzzles for Fed officials on how they should respond. On Thursday, the Fed is all but certain to raise the federal funds rate on overnight loans between banks by another quarter point, to 3.25 percent. That would be the ninth increase in the last year, and the central bank is expected to signal that it will continue to raise...

Consumer Price Index was released this morning. CPI was down 0.1% in May. Treasuries are up slightly. Core CPI was up 0.1%.

When the March consumer price index showed a 0.6 percent rise for the month and 3.1 percent for the year, many claimed inflation had suddenly become a big problem the Fed will have to battle with a series of interest rate hikes. Those same people did not, however, argue the Fed should lower rates in January simply because the monthly CPI then rose by only 0.1 percent. Nobody should try to find inflation trends in such monthly wiggles. We should be watching for sustained changes in year-to-year inflation rates. And Fed governors should take greater care than they did in...

WASHINGTON - Consumer prices — stoked by more expensive gasoline as well as pricier fruits and vegetables — heated up in October, rising by 0.6 percent, the biggest gain in five months.

Real Average Weekly Earnings Increase.  "Easing inflation in July had the effect of pushing up inflation-adjusted earnings. Real average weekly earnings, which posted a big 0.8 percent drop in June, rose 0.7 percent last month, according to a separate Labor Department report."  ("Consumer Prices Drop, Housing Starts Soar," Reuters, 8/17/04)Housing Starts Rebound Sharply In July.  "Housing starts rebounded sharply in July, making up almost all the ground lost in a June slump by posting their largest monthly percentage gain since September 2002, a report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed.  Starts rose a healthy 8.3 percent to a seasonally...

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com Measuring core inflationBy Alfred TellaPublished July 28, 2004 When the Consumer Price Index is reported every month, the media highlight two numbers: the change in the total index and the change in core prices. The traditional measure of core inflation excludes from the total the volatile components of food and energy. In June, seasonally adjusted core prices for all urban consumers rose 0.1 percent, following a 0.2 increase in May. This was widely interpreted to mean underlying inflation had cooled.     But did it? An alternative and in many respects preferred measure of core inflation says...

<p>May 14 (Bloomberg) -- It would have been hard for today's inflation report to come in worse than forecast.</p> <p>It did.</p> <p>It would have been hard for the report to challenge those who said first-quarter core inflation was overstated.</p> <p>It did.</p>

<p>May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Prices paid by U.S. consumers in April rose 0.2 percent, the fifth straight increase, reflecting higher costs for hotel stays, medical care and college tuition.</p> <p>The increase in the consumer price index followed a 0.5 percent gain in March, the Labor Department said in Washington. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core index rose 0.3 percent after a 0.4 percent rise.</p>

Look, up in the sky: It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the fed funds rate. How high will it go? NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - In case there was any doubt, Friday's jobs report made a Fed rate hike a done deal. The only questions now are: how far and how fast will rates rise? The answer depends on whether or not policy-makers have been watching the right numbers. Friday morning, the Labor Department reported a second consecutive blowout number for monthly job growth, sending economists scrambling to readjust their forecasts for the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate hike since...

<p>U.S. Economy: Consumer Prices Rise in March, Trade Gap Narrows April 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in March, a bigger than expected gain that may make the Federal Reserve more likely to raise interest rates this year. February's trade deficit narrowed as exports rose the most in seven years.</p>

<p>Government's consumer inflation measure reflects higher prices for energy.</p> <p>NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The prices consumers paid for goods rose for the fourth straight month, as a government report Wednesday showed a greater rate of inflation than Wall Street expected.</p>

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.6 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 0.2-percent gain in December and a 0.2-percent decline in November. Rising prices for gasoline led the increase in the finished goods index in January. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 0.8 percent in January, after rising 0.4 percent in the prior month. The crude goods index increased 2.8 percent, compared with a 2.2-percent rise in December. (See table A.)

Anyone understand what this really means. I was concerned that some really bad data related to the increase in Inflation may be represented in these numbers, hence the real delay. Delay of Release of PPI for January 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As announced on February 17, the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) for January 2004 has been delayed from the originally scheduled date of February 19, 2004. The delay was caused by unexpected difficulties in the conversion of PPI data from the Standard Industrial Classification system to the North American Industry Classification System. These difficulties have taken longer to resolve...

U.S. Dec CPI rose 0.2 pct Thursday January 15, 8:30 am ET WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Department monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), 1982-84 equals 100 (except where noted): . Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Dec Nov Dec03/02 All Items 0.2 -0.2 1.9 Excluding Food/Energy 0.1 -0.1 1.1 Energy 0.2 -3.0 6.9 Food and Beverages 0.6 0.4 3.5 Food 0.6 0.4 3.6 CPI-Urban Consumers-X 184.3 184.5 X-Data unadjusted. . Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Dec Nov Dec03/02 Housing 0.3 -0.1 2.2 Shelter 0.3 UNCH 2.2 Rent of Primary Residence 0.2 0.2 2.7 Owners' Equivalent Rent-Y 0.1...

Accounting Problems Found in Major US Economic Indices Contact: Dan Spillane DanSLegal@aol.com Citizens for Corporate Accountability 410 Denny Way #229 Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 860-2858 (Update 3, adds comments) (SEATTLE) 01/06/04 – In a troubling sign that accounting problems have grown beyond corporate balance sheets, two of the main economic gauges used by Wall Street, banks, and in the calculation of Social Security payments have been found to contain serious math problems. The problems were identified in the Consumer Price Index(CPI) and Producer Price Index(PPI) by examining contents of tables provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and comparing...

U.S. consumer prices took a surprise tumble last month, dragging the underlying inflation rate to a nearly 38-year low, even as industrial output and groundbreaking for homes surged, reports showed on Tuesday. A separate report showed the shortfall in the U.S. current account, the broadest measure of America's trade with the rest of the world, shrank more than expected in the third quarter. The slew of data suggested the economy was stronger than most analysts had thought. But with signs inflation was slowing, economists said the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates at basement levels for a long stretch. Prices...

U.S. Nov CPI fell 0.2 pct Tuesday December 16, 8:31 am ET WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Department monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), 1982-84 equals 100 (except where noted): Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Nov Oct Nov03/02 All Items -0.2 UNCH 1.8 Excluding Food/Energy -0.1 0.2 1.1 Energy -3.0 -3.9 6.2 Food and Beverages 0.4 0.6 3.1 Food 0.4 0.6 3.2 CPI-Urban Consumers-X 184.5 185.0 X-Data unadjusted. Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Nov Oct Nov03/02 Housing -0.1 0.3 2.2 Shelter UNCH 0.4 2.2 Rent of Primary Residence 0.2 UNCH 2.7 Owners' Equivalent Rent-Y 0.1 0.3 2.1...

Pricing and Valuing Financial Assets - It's a great time to sell! November 28, 2003 Richard Benson is president of Specialty Finance Group, LLC , offering diversified investment banking services.  Determining the price of financial assets is far easier than determining their value. However, knowing there is a difference between price and value and having the wisdom to see the difference, is a pre-condition for making the right investment decisions.  Over time, it is certainly wise to buy financial assets at a price below their long term value, and to sell them at a price above their long term value.Examining the...

<p>Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- No one much cares about official price measures anymore because inflation is low enough so as not to be a factor in business or consumer decision-making.</p> <p>That, of course, is the Federal Reserve's standard definition of price stability. While the rest of us might benefit from an actual numerical equivalent, the Fed has guided us to the Promised Land without a formal inflation target, and it's not about to institute one as long as Alan Greenspan is at the helm.</p>

<p>Two days after the Bush administration imposed quotas on Chinese-made bras, dressing gowns and knitted fabrics last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of "emerging protectionism" in America. An election year is coming up and the Bushies have shown themselves capable of playing politics with trade, most notably with the steel tariffs that the World Trade Organization declared illegal this month.</p>

U.S. Oct CPI unchanged Tuesday November 18, 8:31 am ET WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Department monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), 1982-84 equals 100 (except where noted): Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Oct Sept Oct03/02 All Items UNCH 0.3 2.0 Excluding Food/Energy 0.2 0.1 1.3 Energy -3.9 3.0 8.8 Food and Beverages 0.6 0.2 2.9 Food 0.6 0.2 2.9 CPI-Urban Consumers-X 185.0 185.2 N/A X-Data unadjusted. N/A-Not Available. . Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Oct Sept Oct03/02 Housing 0.3 0.1 2.4 Shelter 0.4 0.1 2.4 Rent of Primary Residence UNCH 0.2 2.8 Owners' Equivalent Rent-Y 0.3...

U.S. Sept CPI rose 0.3 pct Thursday October 16, 8:32 am ET WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Department monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), 1982-84 equals 100 (except where noted): Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Sept Aug Sept03/02 All Items 0.3 0.3 2.3 Excluding Food/Energy 0.1 0.1 1.2 Energy 3.0 2.7 14.7 Food and Beverages 0.2 0.3 2.5 Food 0.2 0.3 2.4 CPI-Urban Consumers-X 185.2 184.6 N/A X-Data unadjusted. N/A-Not Available. Percent Changes: Seasonally Adj. Unadjusted . Sept Aug Sept03/02 Housing 0.1 0.1 2.4 Shelter 0.1 0.2 2.2 Rent of Primary Residence 0.2 0.2 2.9 Owners' Equivalent Rent-Y...