Jerome Powell and co. gain ground on inflation

01/27/23 • 8 min

2 Listeners

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, out this morning indicates that inflation tempered last month. FHN Financial Chief Economist Christopher Low helps us look behind the numbers. And, China’s holdings of developing countries’ debt is beginning to play into the wider U.S.-China relationship, says David Dollar of the Brookings Institution.

Previous Episode

Why are there fewer scientific innovations nowadays?

A new paper in the journal “Nature” finds that the rate of scientific innovation has been on a steady decline, despite living in the most technologically advanced age in the history of humanity. Co-author Russell Funk, a professor at the University of Minnesota, helps us understand what’s going on. This round of corporate layoffs could portend a larger slowdown in the labor market, which has remained hot. And, yesterday’s GDP numbers may be good on the surface, but there are some less-than-ideal signs deeper in the report.

Next Episode

Save a little, spend a little

The American consumer saved more and spent less in December, cutting back on restaurants, movies and sporting events. Will that slow inflation? We’ll talk about that on today’s show. Plus, the confusing economy, who holds U.S. debt, and what’s behind the growing business of liquidation.

Need some Econ 101? Sign up for our Marketplace Crash Course and get weekly lessons to complete at your own pace!