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Consumers confidence drags while economy takes a roller coaster ride

Jan 31, 2022
Higher wages and low unemployment are good news to people. Inflation isn't.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Consumers feel the pinch as inflation, omicron drag on

Jan 28, 2022
Despite good economic data like GDP growth, many Americans are not optimistic.
Though the economic recovery is going strong, inflation is taking a toll on consumer sentiment.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The statistic Fed Chair Powell uses to keep an eye out for wage inflation

Jan 26, 2022
The central bank will scrutinize the employment cost index for 2021’s fourth quarter for signs that rising pay could fuel rising prices.
Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell has turned his efforts toward containing inflation. The employment cost index is one of the economic indicators the Fed examines in setting monetary policy.
Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images

IMF downgrades global economic growth in its latest report

Jan 25, 2022
The IMF's Gita Gopinath talks about the challenges facing the global economy as the world enters its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The global economy did rebound quite strongly in 2021," says the IMF's Gita Gopinath. "The problem is that countries have recovered at very divergent paces." Above, Gopinath at a 2021 interview.
Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

Taco truck economics: What happens when the cost of onions goes up?

Jan 17, 2022
Rising costs have food vendors starting to try and figure out pricing, for meals that customers assume will remain inexpensive.
Elizabeth Garcia takes an order from a customer at her mobile restaurant "La Patrona" in Los Angeles.
Benjamin Gottlieb for Marketplace

Consumer sentiment takes another hit in December

Jan 14, 2022
University of Michigan data shows inflation is starting to bite more for consumers at the low end of the income spectrum.
How consumers feel about the economy versus their own personal economic outlooks are two very different stories.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How do Americans feel about the economy? Not very hopeful, poll finds.

Rising prices for staples like food and gas was a key worry for respondents, along with concerns about COVID and political power.
Rising prices for things like food and gas were key worries mentioned by poll respondents.

Inflation is high, but has it peaked?

Jan 12, 2022
Inflation is high but decelerating. So when will it decelerate to something normal?
Though there are hints that inflation may be near its peak, economists debate how long factors that influence it — like the labor shortage — could persist.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Are wages outpacing inflation? Depends on what you do.

Jan 12, 2022
Real average hourly pay increased 0.1% in December. Generally, wages are beating inflation, but some industries are lagging.
While pay in leisure and hospitality is increasing faster than prices, sectors like construction and manufacturing are lagging behind.
Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images