Washington Post (January 25)
“The nation’s economy was supposed to have sunk into recession by now, dragged down by the highest interest rates in two decades and a resulting slump in borrowing and spending. Instead, the U.S. economy has kept chugging along. Even more encouraging, inflation, which touched a four-decade high in 2022, has edged steadily lower without the painful layoffs that most economists had thought would be necessary to slow the acceleration of prices.”
Tags: Acceleration, Borrowing, Economists, Economy, Encouraging, Inflation, Interest rates, Layoffs, Painful, Recession, Slump, Spending, U.S.
The Hindu (February 15)
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das proclaimed the worst of inflation was in the rear-view mirror. Five days later, January CPI estimates “revealed a disconcerting reversal in price gains trend. Headline retail inflation… quickened by 80 basis points last month to 6.5%. Propelling the acceleration was a 175 basis-points jump in food prices.” This “surprise reversal” suggests that “inflationary expectations in the economy are nowhere near anchored and will necessitate further policy action both from the RBI and fiscal authorities.”
Tags: Acceleration, Anchored, CPI, Economy, Expectations, Food prices, India, Inflation, Price gains, Reserve Bank, Surprise reversal
New York Times (September 10)
The Social Progress Index “finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.” Steeper than any other country’s, the decline “is a reminder that we Americans face structural problems that predate President Trump and that festered under leaders of both parties. Trump is a symptom of this larger malaise, and also a cause of its acceleration.”
Tags: Acceleration, Festered, Malaise, Quality of life, Social Progress Index, Structural problems, Symptom, Trump, U.S.