Can you say “stagflation”?
The Economy, Real Estate August 14th, 2008
The US economy keeps deteriorating and we are seeing more signs of stagflation. Experts agree this will put even more pressure on the housing market pushing more homeowners into foreclosure. Fasten your seat belts folks!! Things are going to get much worse before they get better.
Take a look at today’s headlines.
Inflation fastest in 17 years; index jumps 0.8% in July
WASHINGTON — Consumer prices jump 0.8% in July, leaving inflation rising at fastest rate in 17 years.
The Labor Department said July’s jump in the consumer price index followed a 1.1% jump in June. July’s rise was far above the 0.4% economists polled by Reuters had forecast.
Prices were up 5.6% from a year ago, sharpest year-over-year rise since 5.7% in January 1991 and well above the 5.1% increase that economists had forecast.
Energy prices rose 4% in July after a 6.6% June gain and were up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. Food costs rose 0.9% following a 0.8% June increase and put food costs 6% higher than a year ago.
Excluding volatile food and energy items, the so-called core CPI rose 0.3% in both June and July, slightly above forecasts for a 0.2% gain in July. On a year-over-year basis, core prices rose 2.5% in July, slightly more than the 2.4% rise that was forecast.
Jobless claims down less than expected last week, indicating continued stress in labor markets
WASHINGTON (AP) — The job market showed continued strains on Thursday when government data said the number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits dropped to 450,000, down by 10,000 from the previous week. That was a smaller decline than had been expected and left the four-week average for claims at the highest level in six years.
The big jump in the four-week average for claims was attributed to a number of factors, including a surge in layoffs and increased publicity surrounding an extension of benefits provided by a law Congress passed in June.
The four-week average reached 440,500, up 19,500 from last week’s revised average of 421,000. A year ago, that number stood at 315,500.
The number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits jumped 114,000 to 3.4 million for the week of Aug. 2, the most recent period for which that information is available.
Wall Street economists had expected that number to drop to 3.3 million.
