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canyonwalkerThe US Bureau of Labor Statistics today published the much anticipated consumer price index (CPI) for October. Economists' consensus was that it'd come in at 7.9%. That'd be a high rate, though less than June's 9.1%, a 40 year peak, or even last month's 8.2% level. Well, the figure came in slightly less bad than expected: only 7.7%. But Wall Street went wild.
Stocks went on a tear today. The S&P 500 index rose 5.5%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ rose more than 7.3%. Within the technology sector heavy hitter Apple was +7.3%, Amazon +12.2%, NVidia +14.3%.
While traders on Wall Street were living it up, I was out grocery shopping on Main Street. The price of the carton of milk I bought today was 13% higher than just one week ago.
It's not just milk that's getting more expensive. Across the past year I've seen prices on many grocery staples rise by 50% or more.
"Why isn't the inflation number higher, like 50%, then?" you might ask.
It's because the official inflation metric used excludes "volatile" things like food. Riiight, one of the core necessities of life, food, is excluded from the statistics.
Stocks went on a tear today. The S&P 500 index rose 5.5%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ rose more than 7.3%. Within the technology sector heavy hitter Apple was +7.3%, Amazon +12.2%, NVidia +14.3%.
While traders on Wall Street were living it up, I was out grocery shopping on Main Street. The price of the carton of milk I bought today was 13% higher than just one week ago.
It's not just milk that's getting more expensive. Across the past year I've seen prices on many grocery staples rise by 50% or more.
"Why isn't the inflation number higher, like 50%, then?" you might ask.
It's because the official inflation metric used excludes "volatile" things like food. Riiight, one of the core necessities of life, food, is excluded from the statistics.
