Offshore wind industry hammered by inflation, interest rates

Jun 17, 2024
Economics has frustrated efforts to expand the turbine fleet and meet clean energy goals. But the industry is adjusting.
Michael Brown, a wind energy executive, says construction plans are becoming more flexible after the disruptions of the last few years. Above, a crane loads turbine blades onto a barge at a Massachusetts port.
Daniel Ackerman/Marketplace

How does the cost of housing figure into the consumer price index? It's complicated.

Jun 14, 2024
Owners' equivalent rent measures the market cost of living in a home — which is a bit different from how much we actually spend on housing.
The cost of housing makes up more than a third of the CPI.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Bad news for the job market could be good news for inflation

Jun 13, 2024
Initial jobless claims hit a 10-month high last week. If that takes pressure off prices, the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates.
Higher unemployment can contribute to the cooling of inflation, but it comes at the expense of people's livelihoods.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Why is the Fed still so cautious about interest rates?

Jun 13, 2024
Despite the CPI coming in unexpectedly low, the Federal Reserve needs more convincing that inflation is really getting better.
"Consumers change their buying habits, they move from steak to chicken, from the upper shelf down to the lower shelf," said Dan North with Allianz Trade about inflation.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

How the Federal Reserve's inflation fight today compares with the '70s and '80s

Decades ago, the Fed was battling double-digit inflation, and Chair Paul Volcker took aggressive action that drove interest rates way up.
As Fed chair, Paul Volcker aggressively fought raging inflation, driving interest rates far higher than they are today. Above, Volcker in 2005.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

What do people think causes inflation?

Jun 12, 2024
A survey reveals the general public doesn't always agree with economists on what causes higher prices.
"People have a very valid lived experience that just sometimes doesn't align with our official statistics," said Harvard economist Stefanie Stantcheva.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Small businesses are apprehensive these days

Jun 11, 2024
The NFIB reports a spike in its uncertainty index, perhaps triggered by thrifty consumers and the upcoming election.
The feeling of certainty about future business conditions has waned among merchants, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Austin Powers and Dr. Evil can teach us to adjust for inflation

Jun 11, 2024
Don’t be like Dr. Evil, who didn’t check the CPI before making ransom demands.
"One meeellion dollars!"
Still from "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery"

Why the European Central Bank is cutting interest rates now

Jun 6, 2024
Inflation has eased in Europe as prices fall for electricity and other items that were affected by supply shortages from the Ukraine war.
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank. Energy prices, lifted by supply shortages caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, played a big role in inflation on the Continent.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Will the May jobs report show more of a slowdown in wage growth?

Jun 6, 2024
Wages were running hot two years ago, rising about 6% annually. Things have cooled since then, with April average wages up just under 4%.
Economists expect continued moderation in wages.
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