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.
Jon Wilk, CEO of CompoSecure, discusses how the adoption of tap-to-pay is expanding the longevity of physical cards and the growth opportunities within the crypto cold storage ecosystem.
The largest tech convention in the world kicks off this week. CES, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, will run from Wednesday Jan. 5 through Friday Jan. 7, featuring more than 2,000 exhibitors showing off their latest tech products in Las Vegas. Ian Sherr, editor at large at CNET, gives a first look at some of the biggest trends expected this year.
Verizon and AT&T have agreed to delay the launch of their 5G networks for two weeks following pressure from the Federal Aviation Administration, airline companies and even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The aviation industry is concerned the 5G rollout could bring technical challenges or safety concerns on top of the current disruptions they're already dealing with from COVID and severe weather. Hugh Odom, founder and president of Vertical Consultants and former AT&T attorney, discusses how the Biden administration was able to come to this agreement with the wireless carriers.
Angelo Zino, Senior Industry Analyst & Vice President at CFRA Research, breaks down the tech giants' valuation milestone and discusses the areas of Apple's business that could see further growth.
Housing has been one of the bright spots in the broader economy in 2021, as Americans borrowed more than ever to buy homes. Mortgage lenders issued an estimated $1.61 trillion in purchase loans this past year with sales of existing homes expected to reach their highest level since 2006. Orla McCaffrey, reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News.
Brian Walker, Chief Strategy Officer at Bloomreach, breaks down the impact returning gifts have on retailers and how stores can benefit from the rise in ecommerce.
Events and media company Emerald X has acquired Colorado-based news company Marijuana Business Daily for $120 million, which includes the live business conference, MJBizCon. David Doft, chief financial officer at Emerald X, and Chris Walsh, CEO at MJBizDaily, joined Cheddar to talk about the deal and what it means for the growth of the legal cannabis industry. As cannabis becomes more mainstream, Walsh noted that part of the industry's growth will come from major corporations that now "feel more comfortable" conducting business with the industry.
General Motors rolled out the newest addition to its EV fleet with the all-electric Silverado pickup truck. Deborah Wahl, chief marketing officer at GM, joined Cheddar to talk about the latest EV offering and how it matches up to its past gas-powered versions. She said she expects demand to soar after the "first-level truck" sold out in just 12 minutes and talked about steps GM plans to take to regain its title as top U.S. auto seller after being dethroned by Toyota in 2021 with emphasis on the EV market. "I think this is an exciting new inflection point for the market overall, for [an] idea of an all-electric future, and certainly shows that we're extremely committed to the idea of everybody in an electric vehicle," said Wahl.
With the annual CES convention underway amid COVID, HP unveiled rolled out a number of new products virtually this year, including new gaming PCs and 4K display monitors. But as industries look toward a greener future, HP is working with the climate crisis in mind. James McCall, chief sustainability officer at HP, joined Cheddar's Kristen Scholer to discuss the company's climate goals, which includes reducing its carbon footprint to net-zero by 2040. He admitted that reaching the ambitious goal will be difficult because much of the company's emissions totals come from third parties. "A large part of our footprint is outside of HP's direct control. A lot of it comes either from our incoming supply chain, the materials, our manufacturing process, or about 30 to 40 percent of it comes from our consumer-use base," McCall told Cheddar.
