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The Bulletin: September 26-October 2, 2024

The Bulletin: September 26-October 2, 2024

Persecuted Former FBI Specialist Urges Americans to Stock Up on Food and Prepare For Hardship – modernity

Our Violent Future

New Book Investigates the Trudeau Government Response to the Freedom Convoy, by Using the Emergencies Act – Global Research

US War Profiteers Bring World To Brink Of Armageddon | ZeroHedge

oftwominds-Charles Hugh Smith: What’s Changed? What’s Different This Time?

Oil: Beyond the Peak. Peak oil demand is close. What should… | by Sarah Miller | The New Climate. | Sep, 2024 | Medium

Four Million Without Power, Thousands Of Flights Disrupted As Helene Terrorizes US East Coast | ZeroHedge

British Government Warns Of Weak Military – Says Civilians Must Be ‘Ready To Fight’ | ZeroHedge

John Kerry Says The Quiet Part Out Loud: “First Amendment Stands As Major Block” To “Govern” | ZeroHedge

What is Ecological Overshoot and Why is it so Controversial?

Misinformation Is Bad. Prohibiting It Is Worse | ZeroHedge

Ahead Lies Ruin: The Decay of Social Trust

The Babylon Bee Strikes Back: Lawsuit Takes on California’s Anti-Satire Laws

Politicians Who Promise “Economic Growth” Are Lying 💰

Extreme rainfall leaves over 260 dead or missing in Nepal – The Watchers

Biggest Monetary Shock in 50 Years – The Daily Reckoning

The Digital Puppeteers: Big Tech’s Influence on Society

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Why Climate Denial Is No Longer Possible | Art Berman

The Bulletin: August 23-29, 2024

The Bulletin: August 23-29, 2024

Global Food Production Is Being Limited by a Lack of Pollinators | Technology Networks

There’s No Good News In The Unfolding Of Armageddon

You Don’t Get To Vote On Any Of Your Government’s Most Consequential Actions

Russia warns the United States of the risks of World War Three | Reuters

Common Threads In Societies That Collapse

COUNTDOWN TO CRISIS, CATASTROPHE AND COLLAPSE – The Burning Platform

Inflation is Forever – by David Haggith – The Daily Doom

The Hidden Agenda: How Governments Use Inflation To Redistribute Wealth

MM #16: Recap and Mythology | Do the Math

50 Things That Everyone Should Be Stockpiling To Prepare For Election Chaos, World War III, Cataclysmic Natural Disasters And The Next Global Pandemic

The Coming of the Roman Tax Collectors – Doug Casey’s International Man

Must Go Faster. Must Have More. – by Guy R McPherson

Climate Change Is Making the Middle East Uninhabitable

A Tour of the Jevons Paradox: How Energy Efficiency Backfires

60,000 tons of treated water from nuclear site discharged so far | The Asahi Shimbun

The Permanent Temptation of All Governments | AIER

The future is community – by Patrick Mazza – The Raven

The Lines Between Fact and Fiction Are Blurred… Here’s Why You Should Question the Narrative

Disposable Power Plants: Wind and Solar are the Single-Use Plastic of the Power Plant World

July 7, 2024 Readings

July 7, 2024 Readings

War is Peace: Andrew Carnegie’s “Temple of Peace” in the Hague–Dr. Jacob Nordangard

GOP Senate Farm Bill Framework, Similar to House Bill, Elevates Threat to Health, Biodiversity, and Climate – Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

Crash Or Bear Market, Either Way Stocks Going “Down, A Lot”: Mark Spiegel–Quoth the Raven

150 Million Americans Under Weather Alerts As “Potentially Historic Heatwave” Tests Major Power Grids | ZeroHedge

Communicative Resilience in a World-in-Crisis: It Gets Personal! Part 1–Reslience.org.

60 lives lost, hundreds of thousands displaced as widespread floods hit northeast India – The Watchers

Google’s Net Zero Plans Are Going Up In Smoke–Robert Bryce

Earth’s Latest ‘Vital Signs’ Show the Planet Is in Crisis | Scientific American

Alaska’s Juneau Icefield Is Melting at an ‘Incredibly Worrying’ 50,000 Gallons per Second, Researchers Find | Smithsonian

Startling: Humans Are Absorbing Microplastics, and It Is Increasing Our Risk of Cancer, Diabetes, and Heart Disease–SciTechDaily

Climate change is pushing up food prices — and worrying central banks–Financial Times

 

July 2, 2024 Readings

Groundwater Depletion Maps Reveal Depths of “Extreme” and “Exceptional” Mexican Drought

Saudi Arabia Breaks US Global Power?

Very Hard Times are Coming – Charles Nenner | Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog

“The Train Has Left the Station and No One Can Stop It”. Europe Will be at War with Russia. Serbia’s President A. Vucic – Global Research

Debt Brakes and Treaty Requirements About to Smash the EU – MishTalk

Brazil’s Supreme Court Is Hiring Contractors To Monitor Social Media and Track Dissenters

EU’s Mass Surveillance Faces Fierce Resistance

The Delusion of Advanced Plastic Recycling Using Pyrolysis — ProPublica

‘Gold mine’ of century-old wheat varieties could help breeders restore long lost traits | Science

David Stockman on The Ukrainian Border War Folly – International Man

Episode 61: Psychological Warfare in Pharma Marketing ft: Robert Malone

U.S. Government Historical Debt – by Lau Vegys

Ticking Time Bomb: Space Junk Is Eating Away at Earth’s Ozone Layer

Big Tech Coalition Partners With WEF, Pushes “Global Digital Safety” Standards

World Economic Forum Pushes For AI Use and Collaboration in Fighting “Misinformation”

Wellbeing: UNCONNECT – by Robert W Malone MD, MS

Big Brother on Board: UK Train Stations Use Amazon-Powered AI to Read People’s Mood

The Failure of Switzerland’s Burgenstock “War-Peace Conference”, Russia Not Invited – Global Research

The Confiscation of Reality ⋆ Brownstone Institute

The Entire System Is Crumbling! Major Red Flags Are Popping Up For Banks, Small Businesses And Retailers

The Madness of War. Another Cuban Missile Crisis? USA and France Court Global War. Rodney Atkinson – Global Research

Science Snippets: The Ability to Grow Food is Threatened by Climate Change

Red Sea Diversion Causes Congestion at World’s Busiest Port | OilPrice.com

As Inflation Rises, Prepare for Crime | SchiffGold

“Remarkably Lopsided”: NYT Bestseller Bias Laid Bare | ZeroHedge

The Smoking Gun: Who Started the War. Was it Russia or Was it US-NATO? NATO Confirms that the Ukraine “War Started in 2014” – Global Research

July 1, 2024 Readings

Common Household Cleaning Product Found To Release Trillions of Microplastic Fibers

Widespread floods in Bangladesh leave over 2 million people stranded – The Watchers

Neo-Nazi Junta’s F-16s Flying From NATO Countries – Great Way to Start WW3 – Global Research

Amazon Sparks Outrage with “Do Not Promote” Book Ban List Following Biden Admin Pressure

Russia promises retaliation against US for Ukraine strike on Crimea | Reuters

Massive sewage spill prompts beach closures along California’s Central Coast | KTLA

New tipping point discovered beneath the Antarctic ice sheet

What’s Our Disease?

Is Globalization Dead? Two Views, Brad Setser’s and Mine – MishTalk

You Can’t Taper a Ponzi Scheme – International Man

Inflation Keeps Coming in Waves, but Economist Can’t Even Get on their Surfboards

Yet Another Self-Reinforcing Feedback Loop Ensures the Irreversibility of Climate Change

The Big Squeeze: Inflation as a Cover for Profiteering

What happened to Canada? – Lean Out with Tara Henley

Escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes threaten to spark regional war and force US into conflict with Iran

Norway starts stockpiling grain again, citing the pandemic, war and climate change | AP News

Sydney receives a year’s worth of rain in less than six months, entering one of its wettest winters – The Watchers

From Black Sea to US Midwest, extreme weather threatens crop output | Reuters

Ending Growth Won’t Save the Planet

A Conservative Wins in Toronto for the First Time in Over 30 Years – MishTalk

The Third World War Has Been Cancelled. – by Aurelien

Assange’s Plea: A Controversial End to a 14-Year Legal Struggle and the Impact on Free Speech

Weekend Reads: Big Media’s Big Mistake

The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt? – Nautilus

Delhi Police Deploys Water Cannons on Water Shortage Protesters, Netizens Respond – Thar Tribune

Climate Code Red: 1.5 degrees Celsius is here and now

The “EU Defense Line” Is The Latest Euphemism For The New Iron Curtain

Hurricane Beryl To Intensify Into “Extremely Dangerous Cat. 4” Storm | ZeroHedge

More Than 40% of U.S. EV Buyers Want To Go Back To Combustion Engine Cars, McKinsey Study Says

13 Nations Sign Agreement to Engineer Global Famine by Destroying Food Supply – News Addicts

Odds Are High You’re Going To Need Your Survival Supplies In The Next Few Years

Odds Are High You’re Going To Need Your Survival Supplies In The Next Few Years

In 2020 at the onset of the covid pandemic scare and right before the lockdowns I’ll never forget going on a grocery run on a Friday afternoon only to find near empty roads and near empty stores. The few other people shopping had a glassy stare in their eyes, like they were dazed or shell-shocked. For me and those I know that prep, it was just another day; for those that hadn’t prepped it was a nightmare of uncertainty.

In Montana we didn’t pay much heed to the lockdowns after the first month.  In three months everything was basically back to normal except for the mask mandates which most people ignored. With more data available on the virus it was clear that the chance of death was greatly exaggerated. What scared us far more was the pervasive talk of vaccine passports in 2021. The proposed state and federal restrictions on people that refused to take the jab were familiar – This was the beginning of full blown tyranny unless we stood firm.

In the meantime there was a public rush to buy up as many necessities as they could afford. And of course, the covid stimulus measures helped to trigger a stagflationary crisis that had already been building in the US for many years.

In the face of so many potential threats preppers were still well protected. If vaccine passports became the norm and access to public places was blocked then we had food storage to get us through for a long time to come. If the buying panic and inflation led to a supply chain disaster then we were ready, along with the guns and ammo and training needed to keep what we had. If a fight was coming then we had the means to defend ourselves.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Ideological Battle Behind the U.S. Debt Crisis

The Ideological Battle Behind the U.S. Debt Crisis

The U.S. national debt is at 34.7 trillion dollars. If you laid that many dollar bills end-to-end, it would wrap around the Earth 134,599 times. That’s enough to travel to the sun and back 17 times. Suffice it to say, we’re in a pickle.

America is slowly approaching the precipice of debt default. This is no minor dilemma. A default could cause approximately 8 million jobs to be lost. In other words, the bill would come due.

For many politicians, the debt crisis is not a pressing concern. At least not enough to take measures to fix it. The Biden administration passed a 1.2 trillion-dollar infrastructure bill in 2021, adding 256 billion dollars to the budget deficit over the next ten years. Biden has also forgiven 167 billion dollars in student loans during his tenure, which was financed through increased government spending. Despite already being one of the most indebted countries in the world, politicians continue to dig the U.S. into an even deeper hole. The problem is not simply a monetary one. There is an ideological battle underlying our descent into debt.

The ideas that have caused America’s current debt crisis were birthed during the Great Depression. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a series of spending measures that were intended to stimulate economic activity in what was called the “New Deal.” FDR spent over 950 billion (inflation-adjusted) dollars on the program while being touted as an economic “savior.” The deal was promoted as what released America from the bonds of the recession. In reality, it made the problem worse.

A study conducted by two UCLA economists found that the New Deal actually extended the Great Depression by seven years. By artificially increasing wages while unemployment remained rampant and below projected recovery rates, FDR’s program harmed economic health. Simply pumping money into the economy wasn’t the fix-all solution it was advertised to be.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Aluminum Prices Hit Two-Year High On Smelter Output Limits In China

Aluminum Prices Hit Two-Year High On Smelter Output Limits In China 

Aluminum prices in London reached their highest in two years as the industrial metals rebound theme continued, driven by a combination of supply constraints and the prospect of increased demand in China and the US.

The latest driver for the silvery-white, lightweight metal, used in everything from vehicles to aircraft to window frames to soda cans, comes as China, the world’s top producer, signaled overnight aggressive emission-cutting targets for smelters, in return, tighter metal capacity.

In a further boost for the bulls, China’s State Council pledged to strengthen capacity limits in industries from steel to alumina in a work plan for energy conservation and carbon reduction in 2024-25. The move to constrain additional supply comes at a time when the transition to greener energy is boosting demand for copper and aluminum.

The country will strictly control new capacity for copper smelters and alumina output, and take a reasonable approach in allocating fresh capacity for silicon, lithium and magnesium, the government said late Wednesday.

The government also reiterated strict implementation of the “aluminum swap scheme,” or the requirement for any new smelter to be matched by closure of an existing one. New capacity for aluminum, alumina, polysilicon and lithium batteries must meet advanced levels of energy efficiency, it added. –Bloomberg

With the US economy chugging along with the US government spending $1 trillion every 100 days, i.e., stealth stimulus, demand for metals and other commodities has increased. Easing in China has also boosted the prospect of demand increases for industrial metals. However, Chaos Ternary Research Institute wrote in a note that a near-term pullback in aluminum prices is quite possibly because of inventories in China and deliveries to the London Metal Exchange, which remain elevated.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Is Hyper-Inflation that Destroys a Currency a “Solution”?

Is Hyper-Inflation that Destroys a Currency a “Solution”?

This contrarian sees a strong consensus around the notion that hyper-inflation is the inevitable end-game of nation-states / central banks issuing fiat currencies, i.e. currencies that are not restrained by being pegged to tangible assets such as gold reserves. The temptation to issue (via “printing” or borrowing new currency into existence by selling sovereign bonds) more currency becomes irresistible to politicians and central bankers alike. as the means to mollify every constituency, from elites to the military to commoners dependent on state-funded bread and circuses.

This unrestrained creation of new money far in excess of the expansion of goods and services (i.e. the real economy) devalues the currency, as “all the new money chases too few goods and services.” Gresham’s law kicks in–bad money drives good money out of circulation–as precious metals, fine art, gemstones, etc. are hoarded and the depreciating currency is spent as fast as possible before its purchasing power declines even further.

The Cotillion Effect also kicks in: those closest to the spigot of new money get first dibs on converting the depreciating currency into tangible goods, leaving the non-elites to sweep up the “trickle-down” shreds left as the currency loses purchasing power daily.

The consensus holds that there is no way to stop this decay of purchasing power to near-zero, i.e. hyper-inflation, once it starts. As in a Greek tragedy, the fatal flaw of the protagonist–in this case, fiat currency–leads inevitably to its destruction.

In the real world, things having to do with money tend to occur because they benefit powerful interests. This leads us to ask of hyper-inflation: cui bono, to whose benefit? Exactly which powerful interests benefit when a currency’s purchasing power plummets to near-zero?

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David Stockman on the Continual Rise in the Cost of Living… And Why the Fed has No Shame

David Stockman on the Continual Rise in the Cost of Living… And Why the Fed has No Shame

Rise in the Cost of Living

Jay Powell did it again assuring the 1% that he has their back.

Markets recovered their poise over the last 24 hours, as investors were relieved after Fed Chair Powell stuck to his recent views on the economic outlook. In his remarks yesterday, he said that recent data didn’t “materially change the overall picture” and that on inflation “it is too soon to say whether the recent readings represent more than just a bump.” In addition, he reiterated that if “the economy evolves broadly as we expect, most FOMC participants see it as likely to be appropriate to begin lowering the policy rate at some point this year.” So that all helped to validate market pricing, which still expects 71 bps of rate cuts from the Fed by the December meeting.

Needless to say, the man has no shame. And that’s to say nothing of intellectual firepower. There is not even a smidgen of a case that rate cuts in the present context will help main street, and the Fed heads and their Wall Street megaphones don’t actually even try to make that argument.

Instead, they argue for rates cuts by default. If by some tortured version of the CPI (i.e. the “supercore” index, which eliminates 61% of the CPI items by weight) they can espy the in-coming inflation trend settling into a liberally defined vicinity of 2.00%, that’s purportedly good enough to end the money-printing pause that has been in place since March 2022. Thereafter, it’s back to business as usual, flooding the canyons of Wall Street with cheap credit and a new burst of financial asset inflation.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Biggest Risks of This Decade

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Since the 2020 pandemic, many things have changed, but nothing more than geopolitics. Wars and clashes that used to be largely national have given way to more regional conflicts that threaten to upend the current world order. The Ukraine War and Israel-Iran conflicts have the potential to lead to world war.

The international arena once dominated by the United States has gradually changed into a more multipolar stage. China and India have grown in economic and military significance, and Russia and Iran have reasserted their influence. Rising world powers are increasingly challenging the over-extended leading power.

“The disintegration of the old order is visible everywhere…It is close to collapse.”

The Economist

Half of world’s nations feel that they are victims of economic and political inequality. A similar sentiment is found in the rising tide of populism—even in rich countries—because most people know that their economic situation has worsened in recent decades. At the core of both is the higher cost of energy and materials.

Figure 1 shows that oil price, inflation and interest rates rise and fall in tandem, and are considerably higher now than during the period before the Covid pandemic. The Ukraine War contributed to an energy shock that has moderated but oil prices have averaged nearly 60% higher after 2020 than they were in the six previous years. U.S. interest rates and inflation are more than three times higher.

Figure 1. U.S. inflation and oil price fell in 2023 but federal funds rate increased. Inflation was lower in Q1 2024, oil price rose and federal funds rate was marginally higher.
Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, EIA & Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc.
Figure 1. U.S. inflation and oil price fell in 2023 but federal funds rate increased. Inflation was lower in Q1 2024, oil price rose and federal funds rate was marginally higher.
Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, EIA & Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc.

French president Emmanuel Macron observed in 2022 that these changes are probably secular.

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Record Household Debt, Jump In Delinquencies Signal “Worsening Financial Distress”, Fed Warns

Record Household Debt, Jump In Delinquencies Signal “Worsening Financial Distress”, Fed Warns

While the market remains focused on tomorrow’s CPI print, and to a lesser extent the April retail sales reports, which will both be released at 8:30am on May 15. we should flag another important report that doesn’t typically get a lot of attention: the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report for 1Q 2024 which was just published, and where the latest data on credit card debt and delinquencies has recently been the most important part of the report.

While we already know that in the latest monthly consumer credit report published by the Fed last week and covering the month of March, total consumer debt hit a record high (despite a sharp slowdown in credit card growth) even as the personal savings rate plunged to an all-time low, hardly a ringing endorsement for the strength of the US consumer…

… today’s report provided more granular details which however did not change the conclusion: the US consumer is getting weaker, and while not in a crisis just yet, will get there soon enough.

As the chart from the NY Fed shows, at the end of the first quarter, US household debt reached a record and more borrowers are struggling to keep up: overall US household debt rose to $17.69 trillion, the NYFed’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit revealed (link here). That’s an increase of $184 billion, or 1.1%, from the fourth quarter.

Consumers have added $3.4 trillion in debt since the pandemic, and that increased debt bears much higher interest rates.

And with both credit card rates and total credit at all time highs, the data corroborate the mounting financial pressures on American families in an age of elevated inflation. The persistent rise in the prices of essentials such as food and rent have strained household budgets, pushing people to borrow against their credit cards to pay for necessities.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Inflation is a Policy. Gold Does Not Reflect Monetary Destruction, Yet

Inflation is a Policy. Gold Does Not Reflect Monetary Destruction, Yet

The money supply is rising again, and persistent inflation is not a surprise. Inflation occurs when the amount of currency increases significantly above private sector demand. For investors, the worst decision in this environment of monetary destruction is to invest in sovereign bonds and keep cash. The government’s destruction of the purchasing power of the currency is a policy, not a coincidence.

Readers ask me why the government would be interested in eroding the purchasing power of the currency they issue. It is remarkably simple.

Inflation is the equivalent of an implicit default. It is a manifestation of the lack of solvency and credibility of the currency issuer.

Governments know that they can disguise their fiscal imbalances through the gradual reduction of the purchasing power of the currency and with this policy, they achieve two things: Inflation is a hidden transfer of wealth from deposit savers and real wages to the government; it is a disguised tax. Additionally, the government expropriates wealth from the private sector, making the productive part of the economy assume the default of the currency issuer by imposing the utilization of its currency by law as well as forcing economic agents to purchase its bonds via regulation. The entire financial system’s regulation is built on the false premise that the lowest-risk asset is the sovereign bond. This forces banks to accumulate currency—sovereign bonds—and regulation incentivizes state intervention and crowding out of the private sector by forcing through regulation to use zero to little capital to finance government entities and the public sector.

Once we understand that inflation is a policy and that it is an implicit default of the issuer, we can comprehend why the traditional sixty-forty portfolio does not work.

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Does Inflation Lead To Civilizational Collapse? A Look At Rome

Does Inflation Lead To Civilizational Collapse? A Look At Rome

With the US national debt at $34 trillion and climbing, USD reserve status under pressure, inflation destroying standards of living, and the Biden administration stoking costly war on several fronts, perhaps it’s time for more thoughts on the Roman empire.

In a Tuesday thread posted to X, user ‘Culture Critic‘ (@Culture_Crit) posted a deep dive into the unraveling of the Rome in the 3rd century. Let’s jump in;

 

When Augustus slowed the expansion of the empire, wealth stopped flowing from conquered lands into the treasury. Managing expenditures (construction, armies, bureaucracy) became increasingly difficult.

Whenever costs exceeded tax income, emperors minted new coins to cover it. Mining precious metals increased the supply of gold and silver coinage.

Things remained pretty stable for two centuries…

But the army was an immense burden. In the mid-2nd century, it was 70% of the entire budget — half a million soldiers were on the payroll.

Then, crisis struck.

Frontiers across the empire came under attack in the 3rd century. Military expenses soared as entire provinces were being abandoned and their tax yields lost. Plus, the mines were drying up…

When soldiers’ wages could no longer be paid, “debasing” the currency was the only option.

Emperors issued new denarius (the silver coin troops were paid in) with less and less silver content — i.e., further increasing the money supply.

Nero had already begun clipping coins and diluting silver purity in 64 AD. The state soon got addicted to solving its problems this way — and lining the pockets of political insiders at the same time.

The denarius was down to 60% silver purity by the 3rd century AD. Of course, prices inflated with it.

Still, the state kept spending to maintain the illusion of prosperity, until things got really bad…

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Yoyo Fed and Yoyo Markets

Yoyo Fed and Yoyo Markets

Once again, we have a report saying consumer sentiment is collapsing just as economists were projecting it would be continuing to float along, and once again we have a report of rising inflation, just as the Fed decided to reduce its fight against inflation by slowing down QT to save the federal government from its overwhelming debt financing burden, and once again we have an actual voting Fed official saying the Fed may have to raise rates. Yet, all of that has been OK apparently, since, once again, stock and bond markets have shot up in a buying frenzy because, once again, Fed Chair Jerome Powell filled them with his hot air so they would rise again on the hopes that rate cuts still might be coming this year.

So, the delusion in markets, continues intensely, causing investors to take back more of the financial tightening in the last three weeks that the Fed had finally put back into place, undoing, ONCE AGAIN, the premise Powell rested his hope of rate cuts on back in November, which was that the markets were doing enough tightening on their own that the Fed could stop its own inflation fight sooner. This is the second time he’s undone that tightening by markets; so, we’ll see more inflation and a worse inflation fight down the road because Powell has encouraged the markets to loosen financial conditions with his false hopes.

Consumers get what the Fed doesn’t

The University of Michigan Survey of Consumers sentiment index for May posted an initial reading of 67.4 for the month, down from 77.2 in April and well off the Dow Jones consensus call for 76.

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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