At the end of the day, the main culprit in all this is China, for intentionally or unintentionally releasing COVID19. Not because someone at a bat or something. After that, you can blame politicians and bureaucrats and such “public health officials” for stoking too much fear, locking things down, shutting businesses down, and then keeping it going too long. Not just here in the U.S., but, many 1st World nations. Of course, some nations are recovering better than others. The U.S. was recovering well till Biden took office. Now? Not so much.
Consumers may already be reeling from higher prices for things like groceries and energy, but S&P Global Ratings says inflation has more surprises in store.
“Packaged food and household products companies have yet to pass through all of
their price hikes, and so consumers will likely face more sticker shock before prices stabilize,” wrote Sarah Wyeth in a note published Thursday.“As grocery and gas bills increasingly squeeze budgets, we expect that consumers will defer some expenditures and switch to less-expensive brands in the second half of the year.”
The U.S. inflation rate has reached a 40-year high of 7.5%. With prices heading north, some shoppers are already tightening their belts with the help of off-brand everyday goods.
But for many shoppers, government stimulus programs and other COVID-related conditions have offered a cushion.
Hmm, so all those programs are just pushing the pain off, and, really, making the coming pain worse.
The S&P forecasts that inflation will ultimately drive shoppers to more closely consider their budgets. Retailers will have to respond with discounts and other measures.
“We believe the credit quality improvement will slow in the year’s second half, as retailers will need to resort to sales and promotions to move products when consumers are less eager to shop.”
But, therein lies the problem: inventory quantity is already way, way down. It’s not really getting much better. Retailers can often not really afford to do big sales, because they do not have the amount of sales to be able to discount on quantity. Will there be enough in the 2nd half? Good thing Brandon is working hard to enact policies that make things worse.
Read: Who’s Ready For The Next “Sticker Shock” From Chinese Flu/Brandon Economy? »
California became the first state to formally shift to an “endemic” approach to the coronavirus with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Thursday of a plan that emphasizes prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks over mandated masking and business shutdowns.
The human costs of natural disasters are the most profound, but the dollar-value losses are quickly increasing due to climate change.
As the deep ocean faces growing peril from climate change, seabed mining and other threats, scientists have discovered that seafloor sediments are home to vast populations of previously unknown organisms that may play a crucial role in carbon sequestration and marine food webs.
Canada’s Justice Minister, David Lametti, has told Trump supporters who donated to the “Freedom Convoy” to “be worried” about having their bank accounts frozen.
Student climate groups at Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and MIT have filed complaints with attorneys general in their respective states arguing the schools have violated state law by investing in fossil fuels.
