Via the Big Picture:
The idea behind the Billion Prices Project is that we can track inflation by collecting prices from hundreds of online retailers around the world on a daily basis. Thus, the BPP currently monitors the daily price fluctuations of ~5 million items sold by ~300 online retailers in more than 70 countries.
That’s a pretty cool way to track real time inflation.
At the WSJ, Justin Lahart quotes Rutgers University economist Michael Bordo, who has reviewed the methodology: “It seems to me it’s a brilliant way of measuring the deep fundamentals of inflation.”
This is really cool.
I think this will be an interesting graph to follow over the next few months to see the effects of Obama and The Fed’s QE2.
By the way, I wonder what happened February 14th 2009?
But, but, but … there’s DEFLATION! Dontcha know?
We’re in trouble. Big trouble.
Little ole unknown me has predicted more accurately, explained the problems more precisely, and offered more real solutions than Greenspan, Bernanke, and all the other “smartest guys in the room” combined. So have countless others. Why we let unaccountable politicians, bureaucrats and bankers control both our money and economy is something I’ll never understand. Nothing has a more perfect track record of total destruction than central planning. When will people learn?
I love it when liberals try and point to the stock market as if that is evidence that things are getting better.
Commodity prices are spiking with no end in sight and The Fed is making it worse.
Central planning sucks.
They don’t understand the economy, financial markets, or anything for that matter. The stock market is inflated because that’s where a lot of the excess money from prior moves went. It’s precisely what Bernanke was trying to do. Trouble is, there’s nothing of substance behind those gains. It’s all air. It’s going to come crashing down. Hard.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see it rise first, more inflation, but that’s another story altogether. But you’re right, commodity prices reflect the value of the dollar, and it ain’t good. You’re right that there’s no end in sight either. Where does it end? As prices rise, what does that do to family budgets? Retailers? Mortgages? Bills? Landlords? Where does it end?
On top of all that, you can’t open a lemonade stand without the EPA and FDA coming down on you.