| berlutte@sympatico.ca 2004-03-26, 10:59 pm |
| Fits right in with DD, bks and Wide Wade's World outlook:
If that grotesque charade is still swallowed by the polly multitude
(many are born every minute), *they* won!
LOL
Teach 'em I say!
""PPI Hostage Release?
The BLS has held the January PPI figure hostage for the past month and
said the February PPI will also be delayed. So although scheduled for
release today it probably will not. For those who question government
inflation statistics the PPI hostage situation has been intriguing.
Apparently, the BLS says its old computers are not capable of handling
the reclassified data. What they should say is that they are having
trouble reclassifying a surge in commodity prices with the official
mantra that inflation is too low. Perhaps the monumental breakout in
the CRB index this year has something to do with it? The Institute
for Supply Management's indexes of prices paid and supplier deliveries
both rose to nine-year highs of 81.5 and 62.1, respectively, in
February. The last time these gauges were that high, the federal funds
rate was 5.5 to 6%. But the Treasury and Fed are convinced that the
dollar's decline has not stoked inflation and that it remains
quiescient. This is the party line so the numbers must match. Remember
that if there is an inflation scare the bond market will back up and
the Fed’s easy money recovery stops dead in its tracks. If both
the January and February PPI remain hostage, the bond market should
not take that long to figure things out. The falling dollar has stoked
inflation and was the main reason behind this w 's record high trade
deficit as the cost of oil imports surged."
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