INFLATION

The uphill battle against inflation for the U.S economy has only grown steeper after the price of wholesale goods more than doubled in the last month and soared by 9.7% for the last year.

The chief of the St. Louis Federal Reserve is urging the central bank to raise interest rates at the next month in March and bring an end to what he perceives as an overly accommodative monetary policy.

President Biden gave an interview to NBC's Lester Holt after the news broke of inflation rising to a 40-year high.

Meme cryptos Shiba Inu and Dogecoin too plunged

Last month, IMF had pointed out a clear correlation between stocks and the Bitcoin movement

Americans’ credit card debt saw a 22-year high increase in Q4 to more than $860 billion now owed by households. This data arrives ahead of a meeting by the Federal Reserve next month when it is expected to raise interest rates.

The U.S economy topped off 2021 on a strong note, notching a 5.7% increase in its overall gross domestic product (GDP) despite risks from COVID-19 and rising inflation. 

The Federal Reserve concluded its meeting on Wednesday without a firm commitment on changing interest rates but signaled it saw room for a hike in March in line with earlier forecasts.

The U.S. trade deficit ballooned in December as import demand increased in spite of the persistent squeeze felt on overall trade by ongoing supply chain bottlenecks.

The incident happened as reporters were being ushered out of the East Room on Monday.

Closed sales of previously owned homes dropped by 6.8 million in December as supply chain constraints continue to plague the housing sector for would-be buyers.

Many retailers are being left with unusable products as Americans have a change of heart about their holiday gifts.

Homebuilders in the United States are seeing their optimism subside into pessimism as they see inflation push up prices for construction material after months of optimism about the market.

Americans’ spending on shopping at the end of last year took a blow as more would-be customers decided it was a better option to stay home out of concern over Omicron. 

Inflation affects different households in different ways – and sometimes hurts those with the least, the most.

Inflation struck a high point in December and reached a level of annual inflation at 7.0%, the highest seen since 1982.

The Federal Reserve is moving in the direction of raising rates to fight back against rising inflation in the economy, and Goldman Sachs has four scenarios where it expects the central bank to raise rates sooner.

While we have reached a more optimistic time in the course of this pandemic, experts say that the rampant spread of the omicron variant could energize inflation.

The U.S service sector has been a driver of economic expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is being saddled with higher costs that hinder business activity. 

Manufacturing activity in the United States did not end on the most positive of notes last year. In fact, it hit its lowest ever recording in the previous 11 months.

President Joe Biden is not starting off 2022 in the most positive of places as 60% of Americans expressed their disapproval of how he has handled the economy in his first year in office.