Surging inflation has eased in recent months, but more evidence is needed to show that price increases are coming down in the long term, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
Prices rose half a percent in January, according to the latest consumer price index. That is up from a 0.1 percent decline in December, and five times the 0.1 percent increase in November.
The monthly uptick was in line with expectation, though the year-over-year rate came in higher than expected 6.4 percent, a marginal drop from a 6.5 percent rate in December.
Shelter (i.e. housing) contributed the largest share to the monthly increase, rising 0.7 percent.
Energy costs were also up across the board. The price of piped gas shot up 6.7 percent, while energy overall was up 2 percent after two straight months of declines.
Food prices, meanwhile, were up 0.5 percent. That is up from 0.4 percent in December, but still low relative to the last six months.
Used car prices also continued their steady decline, dropping 1.7 percent month-over-month and 11.6 percent year-over-year.
Despite the month-over-month drop, the annual rate has slowed for seven straight months.
Microsoft "permanently disabled" Internet Explorer on Valentine's Day, shutting down a web browser that for a long time has stood in the shadow of Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari.
Cheddar News takes a peek at another day of earnings, this time from Roku, Shopify, Twilio and Kraft Heinz along with a look at January retail sales numbers as well as other economic data.
Airbnb topped estimates in the latest quarter and reported its first profitable year. The company also gave a favorable first-quarter outlook, citing strong travel demand.
Mark Walker, co-founder and CEO, Direct Digital Holdings & Keith Smith, co-founder and President, Direct Digital Holdings, join Cheddar News to discuss the meaning behind launching just the ninth black-owned company to ever go public in the U.S., how Black History has impacted their careers, and how they plan to grow the company.
Lorenzo Esparza, CEO of investment firm Manhattan West, joined Cheddar News after a mixed day on the trading floor after the release of CPI data and his thoughts on what lies ahead with inflation.