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mahatmakanejeeves

(60,969 posts)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 06:42 AM Jan 2022

Inflation threatens to turn 2022 into 'annus horribilis' for Powell, Biden: Morning Brief

Yahoo Finance

Inflation threatens to turn 2022 into ‘annus horribilis’ for Powell, Biden: Morning Brief

Javier E. David · Editor focused on markets and the economy
Thu, January 13, 2022, 5:07 AM

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe

Thursday, January 13, 2021

Surging prices are now both an economic and political risk

“Annus horribilis,” a Latin term that means “horrible year” is a term once famously deployed by the Queen of England to describe 1992, a tumultuous year upon which she declared she would not regard fondly. ... Given current trends, the same label may yet apply to the year 2022, as inflationary pressures scorch U.S. consumers at a rate not seen in decades, souring the political fortunes of a U.S. president barely a year into his term. It’s also conspiring to make a tough job even tougher for the Federal Reserve chairman he’s recommending for a second term.

On Wednesday, data showed that December’s headline consumer inflation checked in at a sizzling 7% pace year-over-year, with core prices logging a 5.5% gain — the highest since 1991 and the hottest rise over 12 months since 1982. While Wall Street took the news in stride, sending benchmarks on an unlikely rally as investors do what they do best — look beyond the bad news — at least two things have become clear.

First, it’s time to say sayonara to the environment of tame inflation investors and consumers once took for granted. Secondly, not only have businesses become comfortable with charging higher prices, but consumers have become inured to paying them (ideas the Morning Brief warned readers about late last year). ... “Once you have inflation, right, like when inflation goes away, things don’t have to get cheaper,” U.S. Bank chief economist Tendayi Kapfidze told Yahoo Finance Live on Wednesday. “They just have to stop increasing,” he added.

Although bond king Jeff Gundlach — who’s taken up the baton of Wall Street’s “Dr. Doom” from Noriel Roubini — said this week that he sees “recessionary pressure” building, even as strong demand inflates prices, a tight labor market and higher wages are far more than likely than not to keep supporting insatiable demand.

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Inflation threatens to turn 2022 into 'annus horribilis' for Powell, Biden: Morning Brief (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Jan 2022 OP
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Jan 2022 #1
I'm no economist but Joinfortmill Jan 2022 #2
Well remember all the fast-food restaurants offering wages far over the minimum wage doc03 Jan 2022 #3
Real average earnings of production and non-supervisory workers fell 17% during high inflation progree Jan 2022 #4
+1 peppertree Jan 2022 #6
That phrase reminds me of a scene in a British sitcom peppertree Jan 2022 #5
Well, you won't believe what Google Translate came up with progree Jan 2022 #7
Lost in translation, as they say. peppertree Jan 2022 #8

Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Joinfortmill

(16,423 posts)
2. I'm no economist but
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 07:50 AM
Jan 2022

Inflation isn't always a bad thing. But pundits seem to think so. For example, paying a little interest for using people's money, something we haven't seen in years, is a good thing. I'm tired of Corporate America and their view on the world.

doc03

(36,709 posts)
3. Well remember all the fast-food restaurants offering wages far over the minimum wage
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 09:32 AM
Jan 2022

to get workers. That money doesn't come from the CEO's salary it comes from the consumers.
I worked for 50 years through many union contracts where we got a signing bonus and a raise
and saw prices rise taking it away every time. I don't know the solution but the working man never
gains. You tax the rich we pay for it we get a raise in pay we pay for it ourselves. This started back
in 1980 with Reagan and this country is a full blown oligarchy today.

progree

(11,463 posts)
4. Real average earnings of production and non-supervisory workers fell 17% during high inflation
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 01:59 PM
Jan 2022

years.

Real (meaning inflation-adjusted) average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory workers, 80% of the workforce
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000032

Set the start time back to 1970 or before

If fell from $9.37/hour in January 1973 to $7.81/hour in January 1991
a decline of 16.6%
These are all in 1982-1984 dollars

Anyone waxing nostalgic about those years when you got interest on your checking and savings account should remember that those interest rates were far below the rate of inflation, meaning even with "all" that interest, your savings' purchasing power was being badly eroded.

Likewise your wage and salary income.



peppertree

(22,850 posts)
6. +1
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 05:56 PM
Jan 2022

Nostalgia is human nature, I guess.

But people often forget certain realities from the past, and that's when it becomes a problem which demagogues can then exploit ("remember when your mom didn't have to work, and everyone you saw around you was white!?" ).

That said, I'm off to the record store for some more vinyl.

peppertree

(22,850 posts)
5. That phrase reminds me of a scene in a British sitcom
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 05:48 PM
Jan 2022

It was shortly after the Queen declared 1992 an 'Annus horribilis'.

The husband in a typical household starts complaining about this, that, and the other - but his wife wasn't having it.

"Oh, stop your bellyaching. Spare a thought for the Queen - and her horrible anus!"

progree

(11,463 posts)
7. Well, you won't believe what Google Translate came up with
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 05:58 PM
Jan 2022
https://www.google.com/search?q=google+translate&oq=google+translate&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i433i512j0i131i433i512j0i433i512j0i131i433i512j0i512j0i433i512j0i433j0i433i512j0i271.13398j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I set "Latin" as the from language. Result:

awesome year

Then I clicked the double arrow in between the 2 boxes to reverse the order of translation, meaning to translate "awesome year" into Latin. Result:

terribilis annus

peppertree

(22,850 posts)
8. Lost in translation, as they say.
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 06:01 PM
Jan 2022

Even in today's vernacular, of course, we call something very nice 'terrific'.

When, if I'm not mistaken, than word originally meant 'terrifying'.

Oh, well.

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