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Prices

August CPI shows inflation's sticky in services

by Justin Ho
Sep 11, 2024
Airline tickets and eating out cost more in August than July. But price gains are easing in other previously sticky industries.
Airfares rose nearly 4% from July to August, according to the consumer price index.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
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$10.24 for a burrito? Here’s why some restaurants don’t round up.

by Janet Nguyen
Jul 24, 2024
While you might expect the cost of a meal to end in "99," some businesses use unusual pricing to ensure they get the profit margins they want.
Some restaurants use specific prices to ensure they're getting the profit margins they want.
LauriPatterson/Getty Images Plus
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Inflation's way down, but consumers still flinch at high prices, Fed observes

by Elizabeth Trovall
Jul 18, 2024
Price-sensitive shoppers are buying fewer or lower-quality items and retailers are offering discounts, according to the Beige Book.
Many shoppers are looking for discounts these days.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Some small businesses are squeezed between rising costs and customers with other options

by Stephanie Hughes
Apr 18, 2024
For restaurants and retailers in particular, it can lead to something the Federal Reserve's Beige Book calls "lumpy" pricing.
Restaurants and retailers don’t necessarily have to raise prices to protect their profit margins, says Adrienne Slack at the Atlanta Fed. They can also save money by cutting back.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
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Some small businesses worry they've hit the limit on raising prices

by Justin Ho
Jul 11, 2023
It could signal that wage and other cost pressures are easing or that sales are weakening and the economy is slowing.
Downbeat sales expectations could cause more businesses to decide against another price hike, said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist with the National Federation of Independent Business.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Egg prices have doubled over the last year

by Justin Ho
Dec 26, 2022
Bird flu has decimated flocks. Meanwhile, demand for eggs has increased.
Bird flu has infected millions of chickens, putting stress on egg production and moving prices up.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Consumer sentiment inched up in December — from all-time lows

by Mitchell Hartman
Dec 23, 2022
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose 5% from November, but was still 15% lower than one year ago.
Gas prices falling from their summer peaks have helped lift consumer sentiment — if only slightly.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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How do consumer products companies decide how much they'll raise their prices?

by Justin Ho
Oct 20, 2022
It depends on the ingredients that go into a product and how much competition it faces.
Consumer products companies like Procter & Gamble and Nestle have recently raised prices on some items rather than a blanket price increase.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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Another price that's rising: The cost of a night in a hotel

by Justin Ho
Oct 17, 2022
There isn't enough supply and there's too much demand.
Issues sprung from the pandemic are still affecting the hotel industry.
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Inflation may be losing momentum. But not everywhere.

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Oct 14, 2022
Labor Department numbers for September show inflation slowing in some sectors.
In this economy, inflation is running at different speeds in different sectors.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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