Used vehicle prices rising at an unseasonably strong rate
Consumershopingforadealthisspringonaused car or truck might be out of luck, as wholesale used vehicle prices increased for a third consecutivemonthinFebruary.
Cox Automotive on Tuesday reported wholesale used vehicle prices increased 4.3% in February from January — marking the largest increase betweenthetwomonthssince2009.
Although the prices were down 7% from inflated levels a year earlier, they’re trending back toward record levels, according to Cox’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehiclessoldatitsU.S.wholesaleauctions.
Government details 'fee free' family airline seating with new dashboard
Thefederalgovernment hasrolledoutanewonline dashboardshowingwhichairlinescharge—anddo not charge — families to select seats next to each other.
"After weeks of USDOT and the Biden Administration pressing airlines to improve their customer service, some of them have stepped forwardtoguaranteethatparents cansitwiththeir young children without getting nickel and dimed," said the Department of Transportation in a statement.
The DOT said that it is also working on "a commonsense rulemaking" that would ban airlines from chargingfamiliestosittogether.
Thefamilyseatingdashboardisanexpansionofthe DOT's airline customer service dashboard, which launched in September to address airlines' commitments around what customers are entitled to when their flights are disrupted by delays and cancellations.
Souce:
https://www.ksl.com/article/50593715/government-details-fee-free-family-airlineseating-with-new-dashboard
The unseasonably strong increase is bad news for consumers hoping for a deal, as well as for the Biden administration, which has seen pre-owned vehiclepricesasabarometerforeasinginflation.
Higher interest rates mean vehicles become less affordable for consumers, who have been dealing with record-high new and used vehicle prices for severalyearsnow.
The cost of food is down, but grocery bills are still up
Between January 2022 and January 2023, groceries got11.3%moreexpensive.Manyfoodcompaniesare forecasting that they might slow down or pause priceincreases—butnotlowerthem.
In part, it’s because food producers have other expenses that remain pricey, like labor and transportation,comparedtoafewyearsago.
But critics and industry experts say the cost increases gave food makers cover to hike prices above what those increases called for, boosting profits and correcting what they saw as too-low pricesinpreviousyears.
And now that they’ve seen that people would pay more, they’re not rushing to give up profits by chargingless.
Prices for agricultural commodities are down after peaking in May, according to the USDA. And the downward trajectory continues: Wheat, coffee and cocoa commodity prices all fell in the last week in February, according to a recent Rabobank report. Butingredientstypicallymakeupasmallportionof overallfood costs. Manufacturers are mostly paying up for other things like transportation, packaging andwages.
Souce: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/08/economy/food-prices-inflation/index.html
Private sector job growth grows by 242,000 in February
Hiring by U.S. companies increased more than expected in February, pointing to a labor market that remains tight even in the face of higher interest rates, according to the ADP National EmploymentReport.
Companies added 242,000 jobs last month, beating the 200,000 gain that economists surveyed by Refinitiv predicted. It marks a major increasefromtheupwardlyrevisedgainof119,000 recordedinJanuary.
The bulk of the gains in February stemmed from the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 83,000 new workers. Other industries that saw payroll growth last month included financial activities (62,000), manufacturing (43,000) and educationandhealthservices(35,000).
The biggest losses, meanwhile, were in the professional and business services sector, which shed 36,000 positions in February. Construction alsosawadeclineinpayrollsofabout16,000.
US solar power installations slow in setback for climate goals
ThepaceofnewUSsolarpowerinstallationsdeceleratedlastyearforthefirsttimesince2018,undercutting goalstocutcarbonemissionsfromelectricitysupplies.
The20.2gigawattsofaddedgeneratingcapacityamountedtoa16percentdeclinefrom2021asaresultof “policy-drivensupplyconstraints”,accordingtoareportreleasedonThursdaybyWoodMackenzieandthe SolarEnergyIndustriesAssociation.Obstaclestogreaterdeploymentincludedtraderestrictionsandsupply chainproblems.
The drop came despite state-level clean energy incentives and run against US president Joe Biden’s goal ofhalvingemissionsbytheendofthedecade.Installationsareexpectedtoreboundthisyear,inpartthanks tonewfederalgreensubsidiesincludedinthelandmarkInflationReductionActwhichpassedlastAugust. Supplychainsnarlsexacerbatedbytraderestrictionshavestrainedsuppliesofmodules.
Morethan53GWworthofsolar,windandelectricitystorageprojectsranintodelaysasofthefourthquarter of 2022, with solar accounting for nearly two-thirds of all projects, according to estimates from American Clean Power, an industry association. Supply chain challenges persist across solar development, with wait timesforequipmentsuchastransformersnowstretchingmorethanayear,saydevelopers.
Souce:
https://www.ft.com/content/2f8b47f5-c403-4e65-b8d5-18245bd77347