Inflation speeds up in April as consumer prices leap 4.2%, fastest since 2008
- The Consumer Price Index rise for April from a year earlier was the sharpest since September 2008.
- Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 3.6%.
- One big reason for the acceleration was base effects – at this time a year ago, the economy was hit with the worst of the Covid pandemic and inflation was unusually low.
- Federal Reserve officials see the current rise as temporary and not likely to influence policy.
Federal Taxes, Spending and Deficit All Set Records Through April
(CNSNews.com) – Federal taxes, spending and the federal deficit all set records through the first seven months of fiscal 2021 (October through April), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement.
Federal tax revenues hit a record $2,143,134,000,000 for the period while federal spending climbed to $4,074,970,000,000, resulting in a federal deficit of $1,931,836,000,000.
This is the first time that federal spending has exceeded $4 trillion in the first seven months of a fiscal year.
Stanley Druckenmiller: Current Fed policy is totally inappropriate
Stanley Druckenmiller, CEO of Duquesne Family Office, and Christian Broda, managing director at Duquesne, argued in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that the Fed shouldn’t be in emergency mode after the emergency has passed. They warn that the distortion of long-term interest rates is risky for the economy and for the Fed itself. Druckenmiller and Broda also say there are political pressures in the not-too-distant future that require the Fed to stop enabling fiscal and market excesses now. Druckenmiller joined “Squawk Box” on Tuesday to discuss. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: cnb.cx/2NGeIvi