It would be nice if these reports would quit popping up. Japanese wholesale prices fell at their fastest rate since 2002, March figures showed on Monday, as weakening domestic demand on top of falling commodity prices led to worries about deflation. With interest rates already nearly zero, analysts say the Bank of Japan has limited weapons to fight […]
Posts Tagged ‘deflation’
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Consumer Price Report And Some Thoughts On Inflation From Volcker
Posted by Tom Lindmark on February 20th, 2009
In case you missed it, producer prices were up 0.8% in January after falling 1.9% in December. Core producer prices – minus energy and food prices – was up 0.4%. In other words, the deflation devil is not in the room yet. Economic reaction at the Wall Stret Journal Real Time Economics blog included these […]
Prices Stayed Flat In December-Deflation For January?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on January 16th, 2009
As if you needed any further evidence that deflation is not that far away, the CPI for December provided it. Consumer prices fell by 0.7% and the core rate was basically flat. The numbers are seasonally adjusted. Another number that was released was industrial production. It was down 2% for December versus November. That was […]
How Much Can The ECB Do About Deflation?
Posted by Tom Lindmark on January 4th, 2009
Here is my nomination for misleading headline of the year-so far. Fed, ECB prepare to tackle deflation head-on That’s from Reuters this evening. It’s part of an article in which Janet Yellen is quoted extensively about the Fed’s intention to not let deflation get the better of the country. Lucas Papademos, vice president of the ECB, is […]
A Couple Of Economic Data Points
Posted by Tom Lindmark on December 26th, 2008
Jake at EconomPicData had a chart this morning that really caught my eye. Take a look at the growth in debt across all sectors since 1998. Now visualize the likely growth of the government components going forward. On another front, Japan’s industrial output fell 8.1% in November versus October. That’s the biggest one month decline on record. […]
A Chilling Forecast For The Economy Of The U.K.
Posted by Tom Lindmark on December 26th, 2008
An article in the Telegraph this evening suggests that the economy of Great Britain could shrink by between five and ten percent next year. That is a grave number. The article cites the usual complaint about banks not lending money to the private sector. Probably a somewhat valid criticism, though I continue to maintain that […]
Two Big Events Tomorrow
Posted by Tom Lindmark on December 16th, 2008
One more thought before I wander off to the land of Nod. Two big things come down tomorrow. One is pretty much baked in the cake and the other will tell quite a tale. The first is the Fed’s interest rate target announcement. We all know rates are going down the question is by how […]
