The Federal Reserve is meeting this week to decide on its latest interest rate hike, and one of the big questions going into the meeting is how the nation's top bankers are thinking about inflation.
The latest numbers from the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, which is the Fed's preferred measure, show prices increasing 0.1 percent month-over-month in December.
This compares to the latest consumer price index, which showed prices falling 0.1 percent.
Excluding volatile energy and food prices, the PCE measure is up at a slightly higher rate of 0.3 percent — though the index overall is at a 15-month low.
"It all adds up to a real break for consumers, real breathing room for families, and more proof that my economic plan is working," said President Joe Biden earlier this month.
Yet whether or not the recent price moderation is enough for the Fed to go ahead with a 25-basis-point rate hike as expected won't be clear until the FOMC meeting on Wednesday.
Much like all the upheaval shaking the world, the huge swings rocking Wall Street may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, this is normal.
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A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
