[sixmil]

Thought this was pretty interesting.

[beebuster2000]

my advice: stay away from cut rate ammo. could be a bad reload. just a thought.

[ChewedGum]

I think the last paragraph says it all. Because inflation is so low, the Fed doesn't have to be very pre-emptive. Amid all the complaints, I'm fairly pleased with what I see in the economy. Unemployment is at a reasonable rate (5.6%) and declining slowly. The economy is moving forward, slower than we would like but forward always beats backwards. Inflation is practically flat-line.

I just got the smallest raise I ever have (3%) but it is still almost double the inflation rate (1.7%).

Gum

[Ronzo]

"Those higher prices at the producer and wholesale level are not getting passed along to the consumer," he continued. "Those companies are letting those costs eat into their profits, which they're gaining back from high productivity."

They don't seem to have any problem passing on the high price of commodities at my gas station!

However, the high commodity costs are not a good sign...as costs go up, either prices go up or costs are cut in other areas, like employment. This would help to explain the lack of expansion in employment, which is still a major concern.

However, it's better that prices go up than down. I don't know any economist who thinks deflation is a good thing.