Word: raws
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...been little rise in workers' wages, which has kept overall manufacturing costs down, and companies have absorbed higher costs to keep their goods affordable in the jobless recovery. But new jobs are finally being created, which means more consumers can accept higher prices. Meanwhile, a surge in demand for raw goods--led by China--is adding to upward pressure on prices. Last week's inflation announcement "was a watershed report," says Mark Zandi of Economy.com He believes the uptick marks the end of 25 years of falling inflation and the onset of a long cycle--that may last perhaps...
...this approach yields a smaller permanent work force, more temporary workers and more permanent layoffs." The temp-services industry calls this "strategic staffing"--keeping a core group of full-timers while adding and subtracting temporary and contract workers as needed. Employees call it a new career path--or a raw deal that deprives them of job benefits and security. Either way, more workers are going to have to get used...
...back. the government confirmed it last week, saying that consumer prices in March surged at an annualized rate of 6.2%. The news took a toll on the markets: interest rates jumped, stocks slumped. But it's hard to know why anyone was surprised. Before the announcement, prices for raw materials--from soybeans to steel--had been soaring for two years. Wholesale food prices, like those for pork bellies and grains, rose 47% during that period; metals went...
Investors should lighten up on bonds, which lose value as inflation rises. You also might want to shift 5% to 10% of your portfolio into commodities to take advantage of the first robust market for raw materials in a quarter century. How do you do that? Leave actual pork-belly trading to the pros. You can brace for inflation with mutual funds that invest directly in commodities, like Pimco Commodity RealReturn Strategy (up 43% in the past 12 months) and Oppenheimer Real Asset (up 35%). Funds that invest in stocks of companies in the raw-materials business include T. Rowe...
Health care and education are inflation's mainstays, and gasoline has been going up for a while. But in March, the prices of hotels, clothing, airline tickets and used cars all showed big jumps. Next to climb will be anything tied to raw materials, the prices of which have been on a tear (see YOUR TIME, page 148). Nails, envelopes, paper clips, wallboard and such foods as cereal and meat should reflect the pinch soon. Services from gardening to accounting will probably cost more later...