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Food, rental housing bump up U.S. consumer inflation - The Globe and Mail - 1 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article18000700
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  • U.S. consumer prices rose in March, but inflation pressures remained generally benign, which should give the Federal Reserve ample scope to keep interest rates low.
  • The Fed targets 2 per cent inflation and it tracks an index that is running even lower than the CPI. The rise last month could ease concerns among some policymakers about inflation being too low.
  • Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.1 per cent rise last month. In the 12 months through March, consumer prices increased 1.5 per cent after rising 1.1 per cent over the 12 months through February.
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  • The so-called core CPI, which strips out the volatile energy and food components, also rose 0.2 per cent in March after edging up 0.1 per cent the prior month.
  • In the 12 months through March, the core CPI advanced 1.7 per cent after rising 1.6 per cent in February.
  • The Labor Department said on Tuesday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.2 per cent last month as a rise in food and shelter costs offset a decline in gasoline prices. The CPI index had gained 0.1 per cent in February.
  • In March, food prices increased 0.4 per cent after rising by the same margin in February. A drought in the West has pushe
  • In March, food prices increased 0.4 per cent after rising by the same margin in February. A drought in the West has pushed up prices for meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables.
  • More price increases could be on the way after food prices at the factory gate posted their biggest gain in 10 months in March. Gasoline prices fell 1.7 per cent, declining for a third straight month.
  • Within the core CPI, shelter costs increased 0.3 per cent, which accounted for almost two-thirds of the rise in the index. Rents increased 0.3 per cent.There were also increases in medical care, apparel, used cars and trucks, airline fares and tobacco. The cost of recreation, and household furnishings fell.
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Consumer spending increases in February while inflation stays low - latimes.com - 0 views

www.latimes.com/...erve--20140328,0,6562228.story
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  • Consumer spending increased last month the most since November as Americans appeared to start shaking off the effects of severe winter weather.
  • Spending rose 0.3% in February, up from 0.2% the previous month, the Commerce Department said Friday. The report was in line with economists expectations.
  • After a robust 0.6% increase in November, spending tailed off to just a 0.1% increase in December as bitter cold and snow swept in to much of the country.
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  • Consumers had more money to spend last month. Personal income was up 0.3%, matching January's gain. It was the second straight monthly increase.
  • "Looking ahead, we expect consumer spending to be significantly stronger in the second quarter as the impact of winter economics starts fading away," he said.
  • The figure is well below the Federal Reserve's annual target of 2% and could raise deflation fears as the central bank continues to scale back a key stimulus program.
  • Year-over-year inflation was 1.2% in January and hasn't been running below 1% since October.
  • Despite higher spending, inflation remained in check. Prices were up just 0.9% last month compared with a year earlier, the Commerce Department said.
  • There have been mixed views on how Americans are feeling about the economy, with a private report released Friday showing a drop in consumer confidence this month.
  • Still, views about the state of the economy and expectations for the coming months have been largely unchanged during the harsh winter, indicating an improvement is on the way, said Richard Curtin, chief economist for the survey.
  • “Consumers have finally begun to expect sustained gains in their personal finances, especially among younger households," he said. "Consumers are ready to celebrate a delayed spring with renewed spending.
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Food, housing costs rise sharply in March; overall inflation low - latimes.com - 0 views

www.latimes.com/...index-20140415,0,2564059.story
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  • Food and housing costs rose sharply in March, but overall inflation remained low, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
  • The federal government's consumer price index rose 0.2% in March, a measurement that shows average price changes in goods and services purchased by Americans. In the last 12 months, overall core inflation -- excluding the volatile food and energy indexes -- rose 1.7%.
  • Recent drought and other extreme weather patterns have driven up the price of beef to all-time highs and that was reflected in the government's food index, which rose 0.4% in March, following an identical increase the month before. 
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  • It showed much steeper increases in certain food categories. The index for poultry, meats and eggs, for instance, showed a second consecutive increase of 1.2% last month.
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Tax Revenue Rockets Up, Helping Lessen the Deficit, Treasury Department Says - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ecreasing-deficit-us-says.html
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  • In March, the Treasury collected $216 billion in taxes, up 16 percent from a year ago, helping reduce the deficit for the month to $37 billion, from $107 billion last year. Spending also sank by 14 percent, or $40 billion.
  • The budget gap last month was the smallest deficit recorded for the month of March since 2000, when economic growth was running at a much faster pace than it is today.
  • While some of the increase was a result of tax increases that took effect at the beginning of 2013, budget experts said it also reflected who was benefiting the most in the current recovery.
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  • “It’s higher-income people and it is mainly from the stock market; it’s not mainly wages,” said Alice M. Rivlin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration.
  • Corporate tax collections jumped by $17 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, to $117.5 billion, and Social Security receipts also surged.
  • In addition to the boom in tax revenue, the federal government’s books are being helped by lower military spending, a drop in outlays for benefits like unemployment insurance, and payments to the Treasury from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants that were taken over by Washington in 2008.
  • Military spending in particular has dropped sharply, especially as operations in Afghanistan gradually wind down. In the first half of the 2014 fiscal year, which began last October, the Defense Department’s military spending fell by $20 billion.
  • Over all, the deficit is expected to equal 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2014, down from nearly 10 percent in 2009, during the depths of the recession.
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Japan's Central Bank Holds Off More Stimulus - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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  • The Bank of Japan stuck to its existing monetary policy on Tuesday, confident that it did not need further stimulus to beat chronic deflation even as a sales tax increase clouds the outlook for Japan, the world’s third-largest economy.
  • the country is on track to meet its 2 percent inflation target by around April next year, signaling that no further easing would happen soon.
  • “Japan’s economy continues to recover moderately as a trend, albeit with some fluctuations caused by the tax hike,” the central bank said in a statement announcing the policy decision. “Business sentiment has continued to improve, although some cautiousness about the outlook has been observed.”
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  • the central bank maintained its commitment to increasing base money, its key policy gauge, at an annual pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen, or about $580 billion.
  • Bank of Japan officials have been largely unfazed, pointing to positive signs such as shrinking slack in the economy.
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Japan to oppose fishing subsidies ban in TPP trade negotiations | The Japan Times - 1 views

www.japantimes.co.jp/...-ban-in-tpp-trade-negotiations
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  • Tokyo plans to oppose a U.S.-proposed ban on fishing subsidies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks that Japan will join from July, due to the numerous adverse effects it might have on the nation’s fishing industry, government sources said Saturday
  • If the interdiction is implemented by the 11 current TPP member states, the government will call for its scope to be limited to subsidies that would unquestionably lead to overfishing, as the Japanese fishing industry heavily depends on this source of funding, according to the sources.
  • The government’s position also reflects concern the ban may include subsidies for the construction of ports and other infrastructure, hindering recovery efforts in coastal regions where the 2011 earthquake and tsunami ravaged local fishing industries
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BBC News - No change on North Lincolnshire housing grant ban for smokers - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...uk-england-humber-25154871
shared by azuccolo15 on 09 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • A council has said it will not change its policy on refusing housing grants to tenants who smoke, despite spending just 10% of the available budget
  • North Lincolnshire Council is responsible for distributing government money to help people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy
  • The change in housing benefit rules was introduced in April and has been dubbed the "bedroom tax" by Labour
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  • The authority's payment ban also applies to social housing tenants who subscribe to satellite television channels
  • The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides £25m per year in Discretionary Housing Payments to allow local authorities to provide support for tenants affected by the change.
  • Under the changes, 14% is deducted from housing benefit for people with one spare bedroom, and a quarter for two or more.
  • "If their spending includes satellite television. If it includes smoking then what we say to you is we can't give you extra taxpayers' money to support you to continue to make those life choices.
  • He said: "I find it quite shocking that the council are saying they're not going to use the money to support people if they happen to be in a contract for satellite TV, which they might have taken before the bedroom tax came in to effect, or they are smokers
  • azuccolo15 on 06 Jan 14
     
    MLA Citation: "No Change on North Lincolnshire Housing Grant Ban for Smokers." BBC News. BBC, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-25154871 This article best applies to the microeconomics section of this course. To be more specific, it is a good example of negative externalities and how governments try to combat them, as well as the idea of subsidies.
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Climate change risk to food supplies - 0 views

www.latinamericanpost.com/...e-change-risk-to-food-supplies
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  • Climate change will pose sharp risks to the world’s food supply in coming decades, potentially undermining crop production and driving up prices at a time when the demand is expected to soar, scientists have found
  • rising temperatures will have some beneficial effects on crops in some places, but that globally they will make it harder for crops to thrive — perhaps reducing production over all by as much as 2 percent each decade for the rest of this century
  • The scientists describe a natural world in turmoil as plants and animals colonize new areas to escape rising temperatures, and warn that many could become extinct
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  • While it did warn of risks and potential losses in output, particularly in the tropics, that report found that gains in production at higher latitudes would most likely offset the losses and ensure an adequate global supply
  • Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent every year to reduce emissions in response to past findings from the group, though many analysts have said these efforts are so far inadequate to head off drastic climatic changes later in the century
  • On the food supply, the new report finds that benefits from global warming may be seen in some areas, like northern lands that are now marginal for food production. But it adds that over all, global warming could reduce agricultural production by as much as 2 percent each decade for the rest of this century.
  • During that period, demand is expected to rise as much as 14 percent each decade, the report found, as the world population is projected to grow to 9.6 billion in 2050, from 7.2 billion today, according to the United Nations, and as many of those people in developing countries acquire the money to eat richer diets.
  • Any shortfall would lead to rising food prices that would hit the world’s poor hardest, as has already occurred from price increases of recent years. Research has found that climate change, particularly severe heat waves, was a factor in those price spikes.
  • The agricultural risks “are greatest for tropical countries, given projected impacts that exceed adaptive capacity and higher poverty rates compared with temperate regions,” the draft report finds.
  • If the report proves to be correct about the effect on crops from climate change, global food demand might have to be met — if it can be met — by putting new land into production. That could entail chopping down large areas of forest, an action that would only accelerate climate change by sending substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the air from the destruction of trees
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Parliament Congratulates Gallant Farmers … As Dr. Owusu Afriyie Pleads For Ch... - 0 views

thechronicle.com.gh/nge-in-fertilizer-distribution
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  • Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie has suggested to government to move from the Invoice System of distributing fertilizers to farmers, to the Pass Book System
  • The Invoice System, according to Ranking Member for the Food and Agriculture committee in parliament, had accounted for increased smuggling of fertilizers in the last five years, whilst compelling farmers to purchase fertilizers at black market price.
  • “Change the system of distribution of fertilizers, during Kuffour’s regime, it was based on a card slip and every farmer has a pass book and there was sole distributor in the district and beyond. You go with your pass book and sign to receive two bags for which you pay the subsidized price
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  • Continuing, he said farmers do not get fertilizers to buy and even if they do, they pay black market price which was far more than the market price
  • For instance, he said this year, government had imported 180,000 tonnes of fertilizers but argued that the amount that would go to farmers was not known because under the invoice system of distribution, beneficiaries of the subsidized fertilizers could not be traced and recorded
  • And is our proposal to the government to increase their allocation to the ministry
  • He urged the government to channel a large chunk of the revenue that would be generated from the oil and gas sector into the development of agriculture in the country
  • The Atwima-Nwabiagya South MP urged his colleague MPs to use their positions to help solve the challenges the farmers faced in the countr
  • Mr. Abu, on his part, stressed the need to make the farming profession lucrative in order to reduce the retention rate and attract the youth.
  • “It is important that our farmers are encouraged to remain in Agriculture and adopt scientific and modern practices of farming to enable them increase their production and productivity every season to reduce hunger and poverty,” he said.
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