Un-FUCKING-believable!! Does anyone with half a brain in their head really think that consumer prices were only up .2% in April? It was another fudged number and here is the details- http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080514/economy.html?.v=6 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inflation pressures eased a bit in April despite the biggest jump in food prices in 18 years. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent last month, compared to a 0.3 percent rise in March. The lower inflation reflected a flat reading for energy, which helped offset a 0.9 percent jump in food costs as prices climbed for many basic items, from bread and milk to coffee and fresh fruits. The unchanged reading for energy reflected a big 4.8 percent jump in natural gas prices, offset by a 2 percent decline in gasoline costs. The reported drop in gasoline prices reflected the government's accounting process, which discounts expected seasonal price changes. Since gasoline prices normally rise significantly in April, the 5.6 percent rise in prices for the month turned into a 2 percent drop after the government adjusted for normal seasonal changes. That was little comfort for motorists now paying record prices at the pump, which are nearing $4 per gallon. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, showed prices well behaved in April, rising by just 0.1 percent, compared to a 0.2 percent gain in March. That reading should ease concerns at the Federal Reserve that the sharp increase in food and energy prices this year would lead to broader inflation problems. The Fed, fighting against a severe credit crunch and spreading economic weakness, has cut interest rates seven times since last September in an effort to keep the country from toppling into a recession. However, last month it signaled that it might take a pause in the rate cuts, with some Fed officials expressing worries that further reductions in interest rates could trigger unwanted inflation. The central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged when officials next meet June 24-26. So far this year, overall inflation is rising at an annual rate of 3 percent, down from a 4.1 percent increase for all of 2007. Core inflation, excluding energy and food, is up at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with a 2.4 percent increase for all of 2007. Even with the slowdown in price increases so far this year, workers' wages are not keeping up. A separate Labor Department report showed that average weekly earnings for nonsupervisory workers dropped by 1 percent in April compared with a year ago, after adjusting for inflation. It was the seventh straight month that inflation-adjusted wages were down compared to a year ago. The combination of rising food and energy costs, weak wage gains and falling home prices have left households feeling squeezed, with consumer confidence readings plunging to recessionary levels. While many economists believe the country is in a recession, other analysts contend that the country may be able to avoid a full-blown downturn, especially if consumers spend a sizable portion of the 130 million economic stimulus payments that the government is now sending out. The rise in food costs was led by a 3.2 percent jump in fresh fruit prices. The cost of bread was up 1.5 percent, 14.1 percent higher than a year ago, while milk prices rose by 0.9 percent, up 13.5 percent from a year ago. Gasoline prices, even with the decline in April, were 20.9 percent higher than a year ago. Clothing prices rose by 0.5 percent in April, even though discount stores reportedly engaged in heavy discounting in an effort to spur lagging sales. New car prices fell by 0.2 percent last month, reflecting the trouble automakers are having with sagging demand in the face of a weak economy and soaring gasoline costs. Airline ticket prices, which had been surging because of more expensive jet fuel, fell by 0.5 percent last month but are still up significantly from a year ago.
Im with you papa roach, many will laugh and say the numbers are 100% on but I agree there is no wayyyy those numbers are so tame. NO WAY.
The deception is SOOOOO great, that if the majority of Americans understood the deal we'd be "marching on Washington, carrying signs"....
As far as the market goes, the more important thing is gaming the reaction to the #'s in the context of where the market has come from - for today anyway. The validity of the #'s are not nearly as important short term as the herd direction is. Those are the #'s the we have to react to today.
The Government makes it their business to lie to us. They've been doing it for a very long time. Surprised to see people just waking up to that fact now, over economic statistics no less. But hey, we'll take it where we can get it
fuel is now over $3.90 a gallon in Kentucky there's no way it's declined two percent, it's gained twenty percent
I want to here CNBC,Bloomberg, are someone report on live television that gas prices dropped. Lets see if anyone has the nerve to report this with a straight face. Has anyone heard a financial channel report this yet?
PAPA Roach, I had problems understanding that part of the report also and I was going to post here to see if someone could explain how that could be but you beat me to it. Even a numbskull like me can see my pocketbook getting more lighter every time I gas up. The average price of gas in the Bay Area has risen to $4 and it keeps rising not falling. I don't care how they fudge their numbers, we are not blind. Every restaurant we been to lately has a new menu with the new higher prices. Food and gas are basic necessities people have to buy everyday and those prices have gone way up. "Inflation pressures eased a bit in April", Yea right.
the "seasonally adjusted" increase for gasoline was expected to be 9% but came in up only 7% so the math says that prices for gas dropped 2% see, dont you feel better now?