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1 Consumer Prices Rose More Than Expected Year-On-Year
It was a bad day yesterday for those hoping for an interest cut soon. The consumer price index rose 3.5-percent in March, which was higher than economists expected. Experts were looking for a 3.4-percent number, and while it seems like a small difference, the report sent the stock markets falling, with the Dow Jones losing 400 points yesterday on the news. The biggest driver of the “all-items” index? Shelter and energy costs. Energy rose 1.1-percent from February to March, while shelter costs increased by 0.4-percent since February and 5.7-percent year-over-year. While overall food prices only increased 0.1-percent in March, that doesn’t reflect some of the large price gains in the category. Meat, fish, poultry, and eggs climbed 0.9-percent, driven in large part by a 4.6-percent jump in egg prices. Food away from home increased 03.-percent, while butter fell 5-percent and cereal and bakery products declined by 0.9-percent. While economists and the Federal Reserve itself had been signaling a cut in interest rates as soon as this summer, experts reacted to yesterday’s report with the opinion that any cuts coming from the Fed might not happen until September at the earliest.
2 Arizona Republicans Block Quick Attempt To Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
The bipartisan backlash against the Arizona Supreme Court ruling this week saying that an 1864 abortion ban in the state is enforceable is growing, but Arizona Republicans aren’t in a hurry to address it. The group blocked efforts yesterday to advance a bill that would repeal the near-total ban on abortions in the state, which will make receiving or helping someone receive an abortion a felony punishable by jail time. After the state House blocked the bill, Speaker Ben Toma said that there was no rush to pass it, since it would take effect just as quickly whether it was passed yesterday or before the end of the session. Tuesday’s ruling has been called “cruel” by President Joe Biden, and talking to reporters on an airstrip yesterday, former President Donald Trump was asked if he thought the Arizona Supreme Court went too far with its ruling. Trump responded by saying that it had, but that “they’ll fix it.” The only exception in the law, which predates Arizona’s statehood and women’s right to vote, only has one exception…to save the life of the pregnant woman. The state House in Arizona voted to adjourn for a week in a 30-29 vote after the bill was brought to the floor yesterday.
3 USPS Proposes Raising Stamp Price To 73-Cents
Inflation is about to hit the things you send through the mail. The United States Postal Service is proposing a hike in the cost of a first-class stamp to 73-cents, which would be a 7-percent jump on all postage. The proposal has been sent to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for final approval. If the commission accepts the proposal, the new prices would start in July.