September 12 to September 16
September 12, 2022
September 13, 2022
Inflation Turns Higher Again in August, Although Posting a Slight Dip Annually Consumer prices rose 0.1% in August, after being unchanged in July, as rising food and shelter costs offset the improvement in energy prices, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday. The 8.3% annual rise in the consumer price index was slightly lower than July’s 8.5% increase, but the core index excluding food and energy rose more than expected, 0.6% for the month. On an annual basis, core CPI rose 6.3% after posting a 5.9% increase in July.
Photo: US News
CDC Data: U.S. Coronavirus Cases Reach Nearly 2 Month Decline The daily average of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. has nearly halved over the past two months. Since the most recent coronavirus peak of about 130,000 average daily infections in mid-July, the number has declined to roughly 67,000 as of Sept. 8, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a worrisome sign, there were indications that price increases were taking hold across the board, despite some improvement in gasoline, used vehicles and air fares. However, analysts will point out the number is backward looking and that other signs point to some slowdown in the rate of inflation. The sharp drop in the price of gasoline from $5 a gallon in June to its current price of $3.71 helped, but not enough to bring the annual rate down to the 8% range expected by forecasters. The Fed is acting on demand, by raising rates to cool off the economy and the strong demand for labor, while improvements in global supply chains are working to alleviate pricing pressures brought on by shortages of key goods.
“The seven-day average daily deaths are still too high, about 375 per day – well above the around 200 deaths a day we saw earlier this spring and, in my mind, far too high for a vaccine-preventable disease,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing last week. Nearly 53% of the population lives in an area with a medium or high COVID-19 community level, according to CDC data. According to the agency, people living in those areas should consider taking additional mitigation measures to protect themselves and others, like masking. The percentage has been on the decline for weeks as coronavirus cases, deaths, and hospitalization fall.
Photo: US News Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-09-12/cdc-data-u-scoronavirus-cases-reach-nearly-2-month-decline
Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2022-09-13/inflation-turnshigher-again-in-august-although-posting-a-slight-dip-annually
September 14, 2022
September 15, 2022
Biden administration announces plan to develop floating offshore wind turbines for West Coast The Biden administration on Thursday announced several new initiatives to develop technology for massive, floating offshore wind turbines as part of the effort to launch offshore wind in California and elsewhere on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Photo: CNN News
End of Covid-19 pandemic is in sight, WHO director-general says, 'so let's seize this opportunity' The world has never been in a better position to end the Covid-19 pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in a news briefing in Geneva on Wednesday. "Last week, the number of weekly reported deaths from Covid-19 was the lowest since March 2020," he said. "We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We're not there yet, but the end is in sight.
The administration said last year that it was moving to advance offshore wind power on the coast of California for the first time. When developed, the regions selected have the potential to generate enough green energy for up to 1.6 million homes over the next decade, administration officials said at the time. The deep-water regions off the West Coast -- and other coastal areas, including the Gulf of Maine -- will require turbines to be installed on floating platforms and tethered to the sea floor. The platforms will also allow turbines to be installed farther from the coast. US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm estimated floating turbines could unlock up to 2.8 terawatts of clean energy in the future -- more than double the country's current electricity demand. Outgoing White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy called offshore wind a "new American industry that's really booming" and said the new initiative were designed so the US can try to position itself "to lead the world on floating offshore wind.
"A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view; she runs harder with all the energy she has left," Tedros said. "So must we. We can see the finish line, we are in a winning position, but now is the worst time to stop running. Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work." Decreases were reported in five of the WHO regions: 31% in the European Region, 25% in the South-East Asia Region, 22% in the Region of the Americas, 11% in the Western Pacific Region and 10% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. There was a 10% increase in deaths in the African Region. Photo: CNN News Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/14/health/pandemic-end-in-sight-who/index.html
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/15/politics/floating-offshore-wind-turbines-bidenclimate/index.html
September 15, 2022
Photo: CNN News
US consumer spending rose in August as gas prices fell Another month of falling gas prices gave Americans' wallets a bit of a reprieve in August. That sent consumers back to stores last month. The Census Bureau reported Thursday that a key measure of August US retail sales rose unexpectedly by 0.3% monthly, following a revised decrease of 0.4% in July. Retail sales, which are not adjusted for inflation, were up by 9.1% from a year ago. The continued decline in gas prices was reflected by a 4.2% drop for the month on spending at gas stations. Backing out this volatile component, sales rose by 0.8% for the month. Persistently high food inflation showed up in a 0.2% increase in spending at grocery stores on a month-over-month basis. The strong reading, indicating a resilient consumer, is likely to give more ammunition to the Federal Reserve, which has been raising interest rates in a bid to tamp down the highest inflation in 40 years. Consumer prices in August rose by 8.3% over the past year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Fed officials, though, will also have to consider crosscurrents like the surprising downward revision to July's retail sales data, which was recalculated to reflect a 0.4% drop from an initially flat reading. This suggests that the consumer is beginning to show some fatigue, analysts said. Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said there is evidence that wealthier household balance sheets are holding up while lowerincome families struggle to buy necessities, but this economic stress is creeping up the income spectrum. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/15/economy/august-retail-sales-consumerspending/index.html