There might not have been a second round of quantitative easing, if Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shopped at Walmart.
A new pricing survey of products sold at the world’s largest retailer showed a 0.6 percent price increase in just the last two months, according to MKM Partners. At that rate, prices would be close to four percent higher a year from now, double the Fed’s mandate.
The “inaugural price survey shows a small, but meaningful increase on an 86-item grocery basket,” said Patrick McKeever, MKM Partners analyst, in a note. Most of the items McKeever chose to track were every day items like food and detergent and made by national brands.
On November 3, the Fed announced its much-anticipated purchase of $600 billion in Treasury securities. An effort to keep market rates low since the central bank’s benchmark rate is already at zero. The Federal Open Market Committee’s statement said, “Currently, the unemployment rate is elevated, and measures of underlying inflation are somewhat low, relative to levels that the Committee judges to be consistent, over the longer run, with its dual mandate.”
But since that statement, interest rates have actually gone up, backfiring on a Fed chief who wants his quantitative easing to spark inflation of 2 percent annually. A moderate amount of inflation would be considered good for the economy. The problem is that inflation is already running well above a healthy level, investors said, Bernanke is just not looking in the right place, like a Walmart.
“I suspect that when the Chairman thinks about reflation he has a difficult time seeing any other asset besides real estate,” said Jim Iuorio of TJM Institutional Services.
Read More: By: John Melloy, CNBC
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Inflation??? No, hyperinflation. Stock up people. Get food while you can.
The reason for the survey is to show the fantasy world of big government gurus how the real world is faring after all the monumental "Let us "help" you" policies are in place and screwin' the economy into the ground.
After Reading That Wash DC Politicans Live In A Differant Land Of Oz Than Most Tax Payers, Yikeess, How Would They Ever Know That Inflation Is Already Here?? Yippee, Plus If The Manchurian Pres Obama Is At The Helm Lets Check Him Out, Number One Social Security Card A Good One, Than Maybe A Long Form Birth Cert, Yippee, Number Two Without Any Rope-A-Dope Pres Obama, Than Number Three School Records, Yikeess, Just Make A Effort Pres Obama And Please Stop Lying!! Yippee.
Nothing Is Secret At Wal-Mart They Have Good And Cheap Prices, Because They Get The Unions And The Government Out Of There Business, Yippee, The AFL And CIO Unions Could Ruin A Wet Dream, Just Follow The Money Trail With George Soros And The Manchurian Muslim Pres Obama Who Takes His Ball And Gets On Air-Force One, Without The Amazon Mrs And Brats While His Clueless Czars Get Ready For His Next Telepromter Sad Sack Speech, Yikeess, Buckwheat Your Rope-A-Dope Spinning And Blaming GW Bush Is History, Man-Up And Stay Home With The Kids And Misses And Listen To Maybe Rush Limbaugh Program For Your Next Moves, Yippee, Drill Baby Drill Sarah Palin For POTUS.