THOUGHTS ON THIS MORNING’S DATA
by ilene - September 16th, 2009 2:33 pm
THOUGHTS ON THIS MORNING’S DATA
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
CPI came in in-line with expectations. The headline figure was 0.4% while the CPI less food and energy came in at 0.1%. These are relatively benign figures. There are no serious signs of deflation and inflation isn’t running wild. Not too hot and not too cold. A Goldilocks figure in case you’re a Kudlow fan. Unfortunately for those of us who are growing increasingly concerned about the perpetual boom bust cycle created by easy money, this only throws fuel on the fire. Bernanke is now in the exact position he wants to be – wait and see mode. That means the fire can rage while the Fed chief twiddles his thumbs. Much like he did when he kept rates too high in 2007 and much like Greenspan did in 2003 when he kept rates too low. If the global economy begins to take off as it did in 2003 we are almost certain to see a repeat of the boom portion of the cycle in the coming years. Of course, the likelihood of a following bust is high….Econoday has some thoughts on the data:
Several factors kept the core rate soft. The cash-for-clunkers tax credits helped push prices for new vehicles down by 1.3 percent. Apparel slipped 0.1 percent. Shelter costs were sluggish, including owners’ equivalent rent rising only 0.1 percent. The recession has kept rents soft which also impact owners’ equivalent rent which is based on actual rent for owner-type houses. On the upside, prescription drugs increased 0.6 percent and airline fares jumped 1.7 percent.
Year-on-year, headline inflation rose to minus 1.4 (seasonally adjusted) from down 1.9 percent in July. The core rate eased to up 1.5 percent in July from up 1.6 percent the previous month. On an unadjusted year-ago basis, the headline number was down 1.5 percent in August while the core was up 1.4 percent.
Outside of energy, consumer price inflation is subdued, leaving the Fed flexibility for when to start unwinding its balance sheet expansion. Given that the August numbers matched expectations, there should be little market reaction today. But the higher energy costs serve as a reminder that when recovery strengthens, oil prices and headline inflation are likely headed up. Bond traders should take note.
In other news. industrial production came in better than expected at 69.6%. This…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW.