Thursday, April 11, 2024

Inflation remains hot

. . . And interest rates remain high ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 

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The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Thu Apr 11 2024

 

Daniel de Visé Personal Finance Reporter

Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Inflation ran hot for a third straight month in March, Paul Davidson reports, raising questions about when the Federal Reserve will feel confident that price pressures are subdued and it can begin cutting interest rates.

Overall prices increased 3.5% from a year earlier, driven largely by the rising cost of rent and gasoline, according to the Labor Department's consumer price index. On a monthly basis, costs rose 0.4%, similar to the previous month.

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The report also ranks states on lifetime tax costs. And residents of one Northeast state pay $987,117 in lifetime taxes, the analysis found, the highest tab in the nation.

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Three-fifths of parents with adult children gave them financial help in the past year, Pew Research reported in a recent study.

The finding illustrates – in case we needed a reminder – that modern parenting does not end when a child turns 18. But supporting an adult child can get costly, financial planners say. And parents need to make sure their own financial needs are met.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.

The hopes that inflation might soon moderate were dashed when the consumer price index for April rose 8.3% compared to last year. The producer price index for   April confirmed   this further. It rose 11% compared to the same month last year. The PPI measures input costs, or wholesale prices, from the point of view of producers.    The prices of a very few items in the CPI have actually fallen over the past several months. At the top of   this list - the price of food service at schools is plunging (down 43% in April compared with last year), as did the price of food service at businesses (down 30%). In each case, the fact that so many Americans work or attend school from home is likely the cause.    The American consumer is caught in a vice. To a large extent, inflation has been caused by upward pressure on oil prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The war also affects wheat supplies. COVID-19 infections, which have raced through China's two largest cities and shuttered factories, have exacerbated global supply chain problems. (   These are the metros where families pay the least for food   .)    The Federal   Reserve has been called upon, for decades, to help steer the economy between inflation and recession. The Fed does so by setting interest rates and buying bonds. Recently, it has been credited with helping drag the U.S. out of The Great Recession and the COVID-19-driven economic downturn. To accomplish these things, the Fed has kept interest rates near historic lows. This, in turn, has helped consumers with major purchases like homes.     The need for Fed action has changed course, almost overnight, however. Rampant inflation has forced the Fed to raise rates, and it may further raise rates by as much as half a percentage four or five times this year. There is even talk about the   possibility of a 0.75 point bump. And if rates are raised too aggressively, the economy could fall into a recession. (   This is the city with the cheapest groceries in every state   .)    To determine the consumer activity that is plunging in price, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on the consumer price index for all urban consumers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Annual inflation rose again in March to 3.5% as rent kept drifting higher. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, stayed high.

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Plant-A, in collaboration with USA TODAY, has its America's Customer Service Champions 2024 winners.
 

Want to know what businesses have top customer service? Check here.

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