Latest Inflation Numbers and Discussion

[ejman]

A whole entire fish for 5 cents! It seems the deflation we have been warned about is here. The FED better cancel that next rate hike.

 

[jazz4cash]

A whole entire fish for 5 cents! It seems the deflation we have been warned about is here. The FED better cancel that next rate hike.

I just thought it was an empty tray until I zoomed in to read the labels.

 

[tmm99]

I just thought it was an empty tray until I zoomed in to read the labels.

So this was some kind of practical joke, you think? It is rather funny!

 

[JoeWras]

So this was some kind of practical joke, you think? It is rather funny!

Yes, it is a joke, but it was real, seen at a Winn Dixie in Alabama.

One would hope the joke continued when the husband brought home dinner for preparation that night.

 

[Fermion]

Seems like the container might cost more than $0.05.

Reminds me of:

There was a man who had worked at a factory for twenty years. Every night when he left the plant, he would push a wheelbarrow full of straw to the guard at the gate.
The guard would look through the straw, and find nothing and pass the man through.

On the day of his retirement the man came to the guard as usual but without the wheelbarrow.

Having become friends over the years, the guard asked him, "Charlie, I've seen you walk out of here every night for twenty years. I know you've been stealing something. Now that you're retired, tell me what it is. It's driving me crazy."

Charlie simply smiled and replied, "Okay, wheelbarrows!"

 

[NW-Bound]

I just thought it was an empty tray until I zoomed in to read the labels.

Yes, it's easy to miss the whole fish in that shrink-wrapped tray.

Good portion for people on a diet.

 

[Gumby]

BLS release of CPI-U data this morning

CPI-U = 303.363 = Year over year inflation 4.93% = ((303.363/289.109)-1) x 100)

Inflation for last six months, annualized, = 3.59% = ((303.363/298.012) - 1) x 200)


https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
https://www.usinflationcalculator.c...and-annual-percent-changes-from-1913-to-2008/

 

[audreyh1]

Wow, the Fed Funds rate is finally above the 12 month inflation rate. Well, that actually occurred at the last Fed rate increase.

Disappointing that the 12 months number didn’t drop a bit more. It was 5% last month. Seems like housing is still pushing it up, plus used vehicles got more expensive again.

Oil prices, which jumped in April, have come back down again in May, so hopefully the May CPI will be smaller.

 

[Montecfo]

Wow, the Fed Funds rate is finally above the 12 month inflation rate. Well, that actually occurred at the last Fed rate increase.

Disappointing that the 12 months number didn’t drop a bit more. It was 5% last month. Seems like housing is still pushing it up, plus vehicles got more expensive again.

Housing is an aberration. It is on a 6 month lag. Rents falling nationally but that is not reflected in CPI presently.

So I think the decline is actually a bit more than 0.1 if you normalize for that.

 

[Marc]

BLS release of CPI-U data this morning

CPI-U = 303.363 = Year over year inflation 4.93% = ((303.363/289.109)-1) x 100)

Inflation for last six months, annualized, = 3.59% = ((303.363/298.012) - 1) x 200)


https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
https://www.usinflationcalculator.c...and-annual-percent-changes-from-1913-to-2008/

IRMAA threshold has pretty much locked in at 206,000 for MFJ (with four months to go). YoY rates will continue to go down through June and then bounce back up in July and August as last summer CPI-U (unadjusted) was flat for summer. Still waiting for news reports after June CPI report.

 

[audreyh1]

IRMAA threshold has pretty much locked in at 206,000 for MFJ (with four months to go). YoY rates will continue to go down through June and then bounce back up in July and August as last summer CPI-U (unadjusted) was flat for summer. Still waiting for news reports after June CPI report.

Useful related reference with 2024 IRMAA projections https://thefinancebuff.com/medicare-irmaa-income-brackets.html

 

[braumeister]

A far cry from last year, but it looks as if we can still expect a small COLA next year.

The Federal COLA is based on comparing the average CPI-W for Jul/Aug/Sep to the average for the same months last year.

 

[mf15]

8 potted seedlings,30 bucks at farm store. 3 tomatoes,3 petunias,1 basil,1 cuke.
Something is not right,this is nuts,and I'am more nuts paying for them.
Oldmike

 

[Gumby]

One of the reasons I grow from seed, and I try to stick to heirloom/open pollinated varieties and save it from year to year, so I don't have to buy new.

 

[11522914]

I guess the difference is your report is retail and mine is wholesale, which in my mind portends future price increases. It will be interesting to see what happens in the 2nd quarter. I should have been clearer in stating wholesale prices are rising.

As expected used auto prices in the retail sector are on the rise again.

https://wolfstreet.com/2023/05/10/c...-cpi-as-used-car-prices-suddenly-spike-again/

Used vehicles CPI*spiked by 4.4% in April from March, a huge jump. A month ago,*I explained why this would happen, based on wholesale prices which had been surging for months, and based on inventories, which remained very tight, and based on demand, which outstripped supply, with not enough vehicles from fleets and lease returns coming into the used vehicle market.

Enough people – not all – have gotten used to the still sky-high prices and are once again paying whatever, it seems, a very unwelcome development for overall inflation dynamics.

 

[Sunset]

A far cry from last year, but it looks as if we can still expect a small COLA next year.

The Federal COLA is based on comparing the average CPI-W for Jul/Aug/Sep to the average for the same months last year.

This group thinks it will be 3.1%

It also talks about how SS has not kept up with inflation since 2000, what I find really interesting is their view of inflation for seniors over the last 23 years has averaged 6.2% per year.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2023/05/10/social-security-cola-estimated-at-3-1-for-2024/:~:text=The%20estimated%20COLA%20for%202024%20is%20in%20line,power%20since%202000,%20according%20to%20the%20advocacy%20group.

 

[Koolau]

This group thinks it will be 3.1%

It also talks about how SS has not kept up with inflation since 2000, what I find really interesting is their view of inflation for seniors over the last 23 years has averaged 6.2% per year.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2023/05/10/social-security-cola-estimated-at-3-1-for-2024/:~:text=The%20estimated%20COLA%20for%202024%20is%20in%20line,power%20since%202000,%20according%20to%20the%20advocacy%20group.

I can't seem to open the site. Can you bottom line it for me? Does it ring true? It does for me. Housing costs, meds, travel, insurance, medical care, internet, phones, etc. are up a lot for us. YMMV

 

[Gumby]

This group thinks it will be 3.1%

It also talks about how SS has not kept up with inflation since 2000, what I find really interesting is their view of inflation for seniors over the last 23 years has averaged 6.2% per year.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2023/05/10/social-security-cola-estimated-at-3-1-for-2024/:~:text=The%20estimated%20COLA%20for%202024%20is%20in%20line,power%20since%202000,%20according%20to%20the%20advocacy%20group.

Getting 404 "Page not found" error.

 

[Koolau]

Getting 404 "Page not found" error.

Ditto. I even tried copying the URL and using a different browser. No joy. Just an endless number of sites - none of which seemed to quite match the subject.

Would love to see the article if you can give us a better address. Thanks and aloha.

 

[Beststash]

Could be this one....
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2023/05/10/social-security-cola-estimated-at-3-1-for-2024/

 

[Koolau]

Could be this one....
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2023/05/10/social-security-cola-estimated-at-3-1-for-2024/

That appears to be it. Mahalo

 

[Sunset]

Could be this one....
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2023/05/10/social-security-cola-estimated-at-3-1-for-2024/

Yes, that is it.

Sorry for my bad link, a total goof up

 

[jazz4cash]

So this was some kind of practical joke, you think? It is rather funny!

No I figured it was an automated process… load product, weigh product + packaging, wrap, attach label but the load product step was skipped.

 

[jazz4cash]

Seems like the container might cost more than $0.05.

If you zoom you’ll see the label weight is .005 lbs., so $9.99x.005 =$.05.

 

[audreyh1]

No I figured it was an automated process… load product, weigh product + packaging, wrap, attach label but the load product step was skipped.

Did you see there was a fish in there? - a tiny guppy - so product was loaded. Clearly a practical joke.