CPI Up 0.4 Percent Last Month (up 4.3%, year-over-year)

[swag]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumer prices rose by a bigger-than-expected amount in January, reflecting big increases in the cost of food and health care, the government reported Wednesday.

The Labor Department said that its closely watched Consumer Price Index posted a gain of 0.4 percent last month, matching the December increase and was higher than economists had expected.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, showed an increase of 0.3 percent, the biggest jump in this measure in seven months.

The higher inflation readings were certain to attract the attention of the Federal Reserve, which has been cutting interest rates aggressively to ward off a recession. The Fed has said that it believes the sharp economic slowdown would keep inflation pressures from rising.


Read more: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080220/economy.html

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Bloomberg amplifies:

Compared with a year earlier, consumer prices rose 4.3 percent, more than the 4.1 percent gain reported for December. The so-called core rate was up 2.5 percent from January 2007, the biggest jump since March 2007, compared with a 2.4 percent increase for all of 2007.

[Earth_First]

1. What the fuck do they care?

You know what?

I'll cut the god-damned toes off my last pair of boots to fit these son-of-a-bitches into them and let them walk for a day in my position.

Don't tell ME how bad things are.

I want THEM to tell me how the FUCK they plan on fixing it!

(Sorry, I am just really angry today)

[Teaser]

2. stagflation?

maybe?

[swag]

3. Certainly smells that way.

[spotbird]

4. lies and damn lies

.3 my ass. .6 would be closer and 1% wouldn't surprise me.

[stevedeshazer]

5. And it excludes food and energy

I'd love to know the REAL number, as these costs are what counts.

Otherwise, it's just counting all the plastic crap we import from the Chinese.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. I wonder if this will stop the interest rate cuts in the near future?

It should. But, you never know anymore.

[Javaman]

7. Pfft! it's about helping the rich not the rest of us. the cuts will continue. nt

[swag]

8. The rich I know don't particularly care to have their piles eroded by inflation.

[swag]

9. I think they go for 50 more in March, then leave it alone for a while.

They're in a tight spot, aren't they?

[Doctor_J]

10. whew. combine that with skyrocketing unemployment and you

have what could be classified as a recession.