Consumer prices are growing faster than they have in 30 years

Nov 24, 2021
The Fed's preferred means of measuring inflation jumped 0.6% in October.
Food prices have jumped 4.8% since last year.
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"We simply must pay our bills": Janet Yellen on debt, inflation, infrastructure and what the economy needs

Nov 9, 2021
The Treasury secretary doesn't see a 1970s-style inflation shock on the horizon. "The Federal Reserve wouldn’t permit that to happen."
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Glasgow, Scotland, last week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
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Demand for bank loans isn't strong. Housing loans are the exception.

Oct 15, 2021
Consumers and businesses have used pandemic benefits to pay down loan balances.
While pandemic relief helped individuals and businesses pay the bills, demand for residential loans has remained strong this year.
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How have pandemic relief programs helped people facing financial insecurity?

Sep 14, 2021
Early data from Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy show child poverty dropped after the first child tax credit payment in July.
Democrats want to keep pandemic relief programs like the child tax credit going.
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Why a rise in wholesale inventories could be a beacon of optimism

Apr 28, 2021
Wholesalers are like the middlemen of the retail supply chain, buying goods from manufacturers to sell to retailers.
Increased wholesale inventory signals expectations of strong retail demand. But for how long?
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Food insecurity, payment trouble hit those who lost jobs during COVID, study finds

Apr 14, 2021
For many who lost jobs, relief payments and safety nets weren't enough to stave off the material hardship.
"About 1 in 3 adults reported food insecurity in 2020, 1 in 5 had trouble paying the rent or mortgage, and utility bills," Michael Karpman at the Urban Institute said of households that lost jobs.
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CFPB warns lenders of "tidal wave" of distressed mortgages

Apr 5, 2021
But homeowners are in a better position to avoid foreclosure than they were in the last crisis.
As of January, more than 2.7 million people were still in the programs to put mortgage payments on hold during the pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says.
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