12/17/2003: 
Stuff That Doesn't Suck
in the form of a question
cnn|money has an interesting story: "Where's the inflation?" Answer: up your ass. Apparently a lot of the prime indicators of inflation simply are not there, contradicting the bond market vigilantes saying fed rates are due for an increase. The lesson to learn here is : do not fux0r with @|@n gr33sp@n, h@X0r ec0n0m1st
Aside from the interesting subject matter, the authors also created two new terms to insert into our cultural vernacular: bond market vigilantes and stealth inflation. I know what I'm naming my next mp3.
4 Annotations Submitted
Wednesday the 17th of December, prof_booty noted:
9r3E\5p4N 15 go)
Wednesday the 17th of December, rafuzo noted:
H3 15 +h3 0G -- 0r1g1n@l gr33nsp@n
Wednesday the 17th of December, IBNR noted:
Inflation is a strange beast, and many of the indicators that are used to measure it are inaccurate or very subjective at best. This is not to say that I don't believe in the CPI , I do, as it is the best overall indicator to gauge inflation. I have done some work on analyzing the yield curve of current and if one looks closely at it the yield curve is steep which translates into the fact that short term rates will be on the rise. If you think about it it makes sense since the fed fund rate has been at a all time low for the past few years - it can only go up and it will. This will contribute to inflation in the near term. Also, the article does mention inflated health care costs and those costs will be passed on to the end consumer leading to higher prices and thus a higher CPI indicator. In my opinion medical inflation is what is going to drive the CPI higher. Don't know if i have drawn a strong enough connection between the yield curve and inflation...
Wednesday the 17th of December, prof_booty noted:
my understanding was that the CPI doesn't, or until recently didn't, include consumer products like cell phones and other modern appliances. do the specific products matter that much or is it the aggregate?
