US inflation unexpectedly increases
US inflation increased by more than expected last month, as higher egg and energy prices helped to push up the cost of living for Americans.
Inflation rose to 3% in January, its highest rate for six months, and above the 2.9% expected by economists.
The rise comes weeks after the US central bank decided to hold interest rates, saying there was significant uncertainty about where the economy might be headed.
It poses a challenge to US President Donald Trump, who made tackling inflation a centrepiece of his election campaign last year, but has put forward policies, such as higher tariffs on imports, that economists say risk pushing up prices.
Since Covid ruptured supply chains and geopolitical tensions changed just-in-time supply chains to just-in-case supply chains, the West has been importing inflation.
This has caused price gouging by Price Makers and crushed the working classes with a cost of living crisis.
Trump’s election risks the beginning of an escalation that risks flocks of Black Swans.
To date we have been told by Trump’s defenders that his wild and mad proclamations are all the spin of a deal maker negotiating the best deal with the worst threats, and certainly the Art of the Deal is just a how to guide for Alpha Jock Dickheads doing Alpha Male Jock Dickhead stunts.
Taking offence at some unrelated issue and causing a Tantrum for emotional leverage to get the best deal you can isn’t Art or a Deal, it’s Alpha Male Jock Dickhead bully behaviour that has all the empathy of an average Andrew Tate bro culture tutorial.
This time around however Trump believes God saved him from an assassination attempt.
The difference between war crime and genocide tends to be believing God is on your side.
If Trump believes he’s the vessel for Christ’s retribution, he’s going to do shit for realzies.
I fear he absolutely intends to ram Tariffs on the world from Canada to China.
The impact of such a sweeping move will see the American currency spike and create an over valued global currency that hurts everyone else.
It hurts China and destabilises their already weak economy.
It hurts Canada and gives fuel to the MAGA movement in Canada and sets a narrative they should become a de facto 51st State.
In NZ, we buy our petrol in American dollars, a soaring over valued American dollar could see our petrol prices spike alarmingly.
Imagine a $4.50 litre petrol. Or $5 a litre?
Imagine the immediate knock on cost to everything off the base of those kind of inflationary pressures?
That makes an OCR cut highly unlikely and could in fact see Orr raise rates to combat a spike in petrol price inflation.
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Trump has been in less than a month and tariffs by-and-large haven’t been in place to date. This is all on the previous administration.
Americans and world citizens are more concerned regarding the corruption and grift being unearthed by DOGE. This corruption and grift is in all Western Nations and is finally being exposed as is the collusion with the establishment media. If Trump (and Musk) can significantly reduce the tax burden by eliminating government waste by a larger amount than inflation tariffs won’t be the opportunity their opponents sense.
It appears Musk (or someone close to Trump) knows exactly what has been going on. If I was the global establishment (both left and right) I would be very worried.
Good summary.
This isn’t inevitable. This is a choice.
The more we deal with s**thole countries which don’t even have sovereignty over their own foreign policy like the US, the more this will happen. The more we deal with free countries like China, the less this will happen.
free countries like China… ‘War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.’
I was going to say that Luxon and Willis will be blaming the Labour government for the inflation but I see Frank has already started blaming a previous administration. They are totally unable to take responsibility for any consequences for any decisions they make which is why they continue to make dumb decisions.
Frank the Wank’s mindless utterances unfortunately are representative of at least 30% of the electorate.
As Steve Keen points out, when you examine the data, inflation correlates with oil prices (and private debt, for that matter), not government increases in money supply (ie so called public debt).
If oil goes up, the squeezed middle will need another notch on their belts.
Mind you, everyone is comfortable now we have our $125/week tax cuts, right??
(https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350063492/families-line-250-fortnight-under-national-tax-cut-package). From that propaganda piece written by hard right nutcase Luke Malpass doing his bit for their election campaign:”The National Party plans to offer the “squeezed middle” tax cuts of up $250 a fortnight for families in its long-awaited tax policy”.
Yeah right.
You poor suckers.
Zelda told me that God and Trump will fix it.
Stevie according to Zelda god and Trump will even come out and fix your potholes for you because Bishop doesn’t know what a shovel is.
The world economy is soon to implode .Governments do not control inflation so untill they realise that we are for ever on the loosing side .
Nicola no boats and Lux Pure Soap Flake will no doubt proclaim they have it all under control, and if inflation spirals out of control then they will follow Bolger and Shipley by simply removing anything from the CPI that is problematic.
Like the cost of existing housing, the cost of land, and the cost of servicing a mortgage.
And people wonder why they are close to starvation, thanks to these glorious Tory bastards.
All the costs you complained about were increased under Labour and are coming down now. The. correction has caused some pain but the next 6 months will see an upturn unless there is another World crisis caused by Trump.
10,000 (& increasing) jobs lost. Lives and families upended. Communities destroyed as the austerity driven economic downturn destroys our economy – all for purely ideological reasons.
And you categorise that by saying: “the correction has caused some pain….”
An unbelievably glib & trite assessment for such unnecessary & wanton economic vandalism.
Trevor rent is still increasing so that’s not correct. The pace of increase may have slowed but that’s because of things like unemployment. What a ridiculous thing to crow about. What about gas prices? You seem to think the coalition controls imported inflation because you give them credit for it coming down. Gas is back up
Trevor rent is still increasing so that’s not correct. The pace of increase may have slowed but that’s because of things like unemployment. What a ridiculous thing to crow about. What about gas prices? You seem to think the coalition controls imported inflation because you give them credit for it coming down. Gas is back up
All the best (or worst) economic plans ….. promises, promises…. and poof!
The tariffs may not have hit yet but they will. Kicking out shitloads of people that were doing jobs Americans weren’t will certainly have a more immediate impact.
It’s absolute rubbish to suggest that the likes of the USAID budget is going to reduce the tax burden on Americans Frank. What percentage of the federal budget goes to USAID? Please tell us. You’ll be disappointed. Stop drinking the cool aid. This “world citizen” is more concerned you buy their bullshit.
America inflation is their biggest export.
And the workers and unemployed will get fucked over some more.
As usual.
I listened to a podcast “interview” with the world’s favourite NZer, Peter Thiel earlier. Thiel has been donating large sums of money to Trump since his first election and basically created JD Vance. Peter was talking about lessons from the bible and how what had been happening was that the world, including the US, was heading towards a “one world govt” and that this was the “anti-Christ”. And that moving in the opposite direction of this “anti-Christ” was the goal, eg. isolationism as a god-given imperative.
We have reached an era of post-rationalism, post-truth, where all the truth in the world means nothing because Trump now actually thinks he was spared by God and those around him all believe in some broken Christian theology around the US’s god-given superiorism and crazy belief in some “anti-Christ” which in their definition is a world of govt cooperation. These people cannot be argued with from a point of logic or facts anymore – it all means nothing to them. Their basis of reality is another universe, with different fundamental physics. We have reached a very dark place indeed.