The pandemic pulled forward or accelerated an enormous amount of consumer spending that was pent up for months during lock downs and closures. As a result, demand for automobiles, homes, furniture, and appliances all skyrocketed, driving prices higher and evaporating inventories. Much of the pulled forward demand is expected to ease especially among consumers and businesses that modified their business models in order to work from home. As the transition for millions has begu

The pandemic pulled forward or accelerated an enormous amount of consumer spending that was pent up for months during lock downs and closures. As a result, demand for automobiles, homes, furniture, and appliances all skyrocketed, driving prices higher and evaporating inventories. Much of the pulled forward demand is expected to ease especially among consumers and businesses that modified their business models in order to work from home. As the transition for millions has begu

Social Security recipients are due to receive the largest increase in benefits since 1982, but for many recipients, the increase in payments will go towards higher Medicare costs. The Social Security Administration announced a 5.9% increase in benefit payments effective in late December 2021 for disability beneficiaries and in January 2022 for retired beneficiaries. The 5.9% increase is the largest increase since a 7.4% increase in 1982. Many are concerned that the benefit in

Various factors have contributed to bacon’s higher costs over the past year, including rising feed costs, processing costs, increased demand, and newly passed animal confinement rules. As the pandemic shuttered businesses over the past year and kept workers home, processing plants that produce meat products, such as bacon, weren’t able to fulfill demand. Grains and other feed products increased in costs concurrently, adding pressure for producers to increase prices. A Califor

Businesses across various industries are experiencing higher input costs such as fuel, freight, labor, and materials including steel and aluminum. In order to maintain margins and profitability, companies need to raise prices on goods and services, passing the increased costs along to consumers. An expense affecting almost all sectors of the economy is freight, where costs have escalated dramatically due to a shortage of qualified drivers and higher fuel costs. Consumers ha

The United States by far has the single largest consumer market of any country worldwide, representing over 26% of the entire global consumer market. U.S. consumers spent over $12.5 trillion in 2017, nearly three times as much as the second largest consumer market, China. China’s consumer market is currently one of the world’s fastest growing markets, with nearly $4.5 trillion in consumer expenditures. International companies selling to the U.S. marketplace are attracted to

Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which essentially is a measure of inflation. The latest CPI numbers tell us that inflation over the past year (Jan 2017 - Jan 2018) is about 2.1%. The 2.1% reading is a compilation of prices of various services and products consumed throughout the economy. Of the many items monitored, a few stood out as rising faster in prices than the overall inflation rate. Fruits and vegetables, eating out, e