The Three Stooges of Inflation
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5 percent in January, its biggest increase in nearly a year. The CPI core rate, which excludes energy and food prices — like any of us can go without gasoline or food — rose 0.2 percent. Both increases surprised analysts, but normal people — people who actually pay money for goods and services — weren't surprised.