Wholesale prices jump 1% in July, matching June increase
PUBLISHED THU, AUG 12 20218:49 AM EDTUPDATED 30 MIN AGO
FTA
Inflation at the wholesale level jumped a higher-than-expected 1% in July, dimming hopes for a slowdown in price increases.
The July gain in the producer price index, which measures price pressures before they reach consumers, matched the June increase with both months advancing by the highest amount since a 1.2% rise in January, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
nflation at the wholesale level jumped a higher-than-expected 1% in July, dimming hopes for a slowdown in price increases.
The July gain in the producer price index, which measures price pressures before they reach consumers, matched the June increase with both months advancing by the highest amount since a 1.2% rise in January, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Over the past 12 months, prices at the wholesale level are up a record 7.8%, surpassing the old record of a 7.3% gain set for the 12 months ending in June.
The report on wholesale prices followed a report on retail inflation on Wednesday that did show some slowing in price pressures. Consumer prices in July rose 0.5% compared to a 0.9% jump in June. Over the past year, retail prices are up a sizable 5.4%, the same 12-month gain that was seen in June with both months recording the largest annual gain since 2008.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/12/wholesale-prices-jump-1percent-in-july-matching-june-increase.html
Questions Raised About Ted Lieu’s Use of Campaign Funds for Stanford Donations
JOEL B. POLLAK 12 Aug 2021
FTA
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) is facing questions about alleged donations to Stanford University from his campaign fund that were apparently made before his son entered school at the prestigious college.
Tim Carney of the Washington Examiner noted Wednesday evening:
Congressman Ted Lieu has a son enrolled at Stanford, according to his social media profile. Lieu’s congressional campaign from early 2016 to mid-2018 donated $50,146 to Stanford University — $50,000 of that in two donations over nine months through the beginning of 2018.
Now, it appears one of Lieu’s sons is enrolled at Stanford, entering as a freshman this month — or at least that’s what his son’s social media account says.
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As explained by the FEC, “Campaign committees can give gifts to charity. The amount donated to a charitable organization cannot be used for purposes that personally benefit the candidate.”
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When one Twitter account tweeted about this today, alleging impropriety, the account was suspended shortly after.
Carney cited original reporting by Jennifer Van Laar of the Red State blog. In 2019, she noted:
Take, for example, a pair of $25,000 contributions Rep. Lieu, the father of two teenage sons, made to Stanford University in 2017 and 2018. Were they made out of pure generosity, or for some other reason?
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Why is Rep. Lieu suddenly giving so generously to his alma mater (which is one of the elite universities involved in the “Varsity Blues” scandal)? There’s nothing concrete tying his gift to any personal gain, but since one of Lieu’s sons is in high school, the timing is rather curious.
It is possible — even likely — that Lieu’s son, who appears to be a high achiever would have been admitted to Stanford even without these donations. Elite universities tend not to notice donations, for admissions purposes, until they reach seven figures.
Yet the donations create an appearance of a conflict of interest for Lieu — not for the first time, Van Lear reported separately, noting that Lieu had apparently donated campaign funds to an organization on whose board his wife sat.