Inflation

The U.S. Labor Department reported yesterday that the Producer Price Index (a measure of wholesale prices) rose by 0.3% in November, an annualized rate of 3.6%. The Labor Department also reported that Import Prices rose 0.7% in November, an annualized rate of 8.4%! The numbers being released confirm…

Here’s how the story plays out… After a 25-year to 30-year leveraging period, as the credit crisis developed in 2008, a period of great deleveraging was born. Banks, which were once all too happy to lend money to people, some of whom should have never qualified for a…

There have been warning signs in China that investors must be mindful of, including high inflation, speculative real estate buying, slower demand, and slower gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The Chinese economy, which had been firing on all cylinders and was the envy of the world, is showing…

As of late, I’ve been expressing my concern about inflation, how I believe our overly generous monetary policies of the past two years and other factors would give rise to sudden and unexpected inflation in America. Inflation, as you know, is already a big problem in many countries.…

China continues to face surging inflationary pressures despite higher interest rates and loan tightening. The country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), excluding food, came in at 4.9% in February, which continues to be way too high. As such, China increased its key interest rates for the fourth time since…

Long-time subscribers know my fondness for stock price charts in determining future trends. I believe, most of the time, that the price of stocks are a leading indicator of what lies ahead, especially for individual stock sectors. Months before the turmoil in Egypt erupted, the price of oil…

Moving outside our normal focus on the North American economy for a moment… Inflation in England surged to 3.7% in December 2010, almost double the Bank of England’s target rate of two-percent inflation. And what will England’s central bank do about rapid inflation? It will need to raise…

The current momentum in stocks is well deserved. There’s no other place for large investors to invest their money and expect to get a return on investment greater than the rate of inflation. There’s also earnings momentum and that’s going to carry share prices further, at least over…

— "Calling the Trend" Column, by George Leong, B.Comm. The recent correction in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) in China was driven by concerns of a real estate and credit bubble forming in China and the decision of the Chinese government to partly halt lending by banks.…

— "Profit Confidential" Column, by Michael Lombardi, CFP, MBA This past weekend, I attended a “Father and Daughter Dance” in support of fundraising for my daughter's all-girl school. The function was attended by about 600 people, 300 girls from grade nine to grade 12 and their fathers. Most…

— "The Financial World According to Inya" Column by Inya Ivkovic, MA China is losing faith — in America's ability to sustain its debt, that is. What we have long feared has started happening. In December of last year, foreign demand for U.S. debt, typically sought in the…

— "Profit Confidential" Column, by Michael Lombardi, CFP, MBA We've all heard the news by now: last night, the Federal Reserve Board announced it would be raising its Discount Rate by a quarter-point to 0.75%. The "Discount Rate" is the interest rate charged to banks for direct loans.…

— "The Financial World According to Inya" Column, by Inya Ivkovic, MA Although I have often swam against the mainstream and although such an approach to investing, more often than not, has worked for me, it is not to say that there are no lessons a contrarian can…

— by Michael Lombardi, CFP, MBA My loyal readers are familiar with my distaste for former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan. The Fed, under Greenspan's regime, created many of the bubbles that burst, spawning the economic mess we face today. I was adamantly against Greenspan bringing interest rates so…

— by Inya Ivkovic, MA After trillions of dollars worldwide have flooded global financial systems in an effort to jumpstart the global economy, policymakers now have become obsessed with how to clean up after themselves. In other words, the liquidity conundrum must be taken care of, unless central…

There are starting to be aggressive moves now by foreign oil-producing countries to try to curb oil production in order to give a boost to the spot price. The rate of descent in the price of a barrel of oil has been stronger than its upward move and,…

Everything goes through waves of enthusiasm on Wall Street. It's fascinating that the marketplace is now focused on the threat of inflation, like it didn't exist just a few months ago. Finally, the price of a barrel of oil has got people thinking that all prices could rise…

Confidence amongst U.S. consumers fell to a 28-year low in May, according to the confidence index of Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The biggest concern among American consumers: Inflation. The two largest culprits behind inflation are presently food and energy. If we take the two out of…

Well, I don't see how you can look at the situation any other way. The news isn't good. Similar to the situation in 1990-1991, inflation is on the increase and the economy is slowing. This makes it difficult for the Federal Reserve to stimulate economic growth without making…

So, the loonie has had a wild ride in the past few weeks. First it hit parity, and it was great, like some great vindication of a currency with a weird nickname. Then the Canadian dollar soared past the $1.10 mark. Of course, it was reason sufficient enough…