inflation

Rising costs, changing demand, and economic pressures are reshaping how plant shops operate.

The war in the Middle East is pushing up inflation in the short term, but longer-term expectations are tamer. That’s relieved pressure on long-term bonds, though that could change if the war escalates.

Petrochemicals derived from oil sit on store shelves in the form of plastics, fertilizers, detergents, and packaging.

In March, seasonally-adjusted sales of existing homes were down 3.6%, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The consumer price index for March showed grocery prices are up 2% from last year, with tomatoes, lettuce, and nonalcoholic beverages leading the way.

Prices rose, and consumers managed to keep up. It’s been the status quo for a while now.

Two inflation reports drop this week, but neither captures the full picture of what's happening to prices in real time. The gap comes down to a trade-off economists know well: speed versus comprehensiveness.

The New York Fed’s survey shows people expect inflation to hit 3.4% in a year. That’s up from an expectation of 3% in February, before the war in the Middle East started.

The CEO of JPMorgan Chase articulated his biggest concerns for the economy in an annual shareholder letter.

The Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers Index, out on Monday, showed that the prices businesses pay for what they need shot up 7.7 percentage points in March.