BULLISH ya! Tenang aja ini BULL bakal lama. On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 9:56 PM, <bayu_kusuma_wardh...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of living in the U.S. rose in January less > than anticipated and a measure of prices excluding food and fuel fell for > the first time since 1982, indicating the recovery is showing few signs of > inflation. > > The consumer-price index increased 0.2 percent for a fifth straight month, > led by higher fuel costs, Labor Department figures showed today in > Washington. Excluding energy and food, the so-called core index unexpectedly > fell 0.1 percent, reflecting a drop in new-car prices, clothing and shelter. > > Companies may have little success raising prices with unemployment > projected to end the year at 9.5 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury > note fell after the report showed restrained inflation will allow Federal > Reserve policy makers to keep interest rates close to zero to help support > the recovery. > > “The broader picture remains one of subdued inflation, and this gives the > Fed ample reason to stay on the sidelines until at least very late in the > year,” said Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com in West > Chester, Pennsylvania, who forecast no change in the core index. > > Economists forecast the consumer-price index would rise 0.3 percent in > January from a month earlier, according to the median of 78 projections in a > Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from no change to a gain of 0.6 > percent. > > The core index was forecast to rise 0.1 percent, according to the > Bloomberg survey. The decline in the core was the first since December 1982. > > Treasuries, Stocks > > Treasury prices rose, pushing down the yield on the 10-year note one basis > point to 3.79 percent at 8:42 a.m. in New York. Stock-index futures > maintained losses, with futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring > in March declining 0.4 percent to 1,100.7. > > Energy costs jumped 2.8 percent in January, led by higher prices for fuel > oil and gasoline. The cost of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange > averaged $78.40 last month, up from $74.60 in December. > > Gasoline prices increased 4.4 percent, the most since August. The cost at > the pump rose 10 cents to $2.71 a gallon on average in January, from $2.61 > the previous month, according to AAA. The price has since retreated. > > Compared with January 2009, the CPI rose 2.6 percent after climbing 2.7 > percent the previous month. The year-over-year gains in the consumer price > index have been getting bigger as crude oil prices increase from an almost > five-year low in December 2008. > > Food, Shelter > > Food costs, which account for about 15 percent of the CPI, increased 0.2 > percent in January, reflecting higher prices for dairy products, meat and > fruits and vegetables. > > Shelter costs that include lodging away from home and rental properties > fell 0.5 percent. Owners-equivalent rent, one of the categories used to > track rental prices, fell 0.1 percent last month after no change. > > New-car prices fell 0.5 percent in January, the most since August, and > apparel costs dropped 0.1 percent. Medical-care costs rose 0.5 percent in > January, the most in two years. > > The Fed’s long-term forecast for its preferred measure of inflation, the > Commerce Department’s index tied to consumer spending and excluding food and > fuel, calls for gains in a range of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. That gauge, > which is typically lower than the CPI, was up 1.5 percent in the 12 months > ended in December. > > ‘Subdued Inflation’ > > Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that the central bank expects > economic conditions, including “subdued inflation trends,” that may warrant > an “exceptionally low” benchmark interest rate “for an extended period.” > > Central bank policy makers last month “agreed that underlying inflation > currently was subdued and was likely to remain so for some time,” according > to minutes of the Jan. 26- 27 meeting released this week. > > Consumers in the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary survey, > released Feb. 12, said they expect an inflation rate of 2.8 percent over the > next five years. Those figures are tracked by Fed policy makers. > > The CPI is the broadest of the three monthly price gauges from the Labor > Department because it includes goods and services. Reports this week showed > 1.4 percent gains in both the cost of imported goods and wholesale prices in > January. Both increases were more than anticipated. > > Almost 60 percent of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services > ranging from medical visits to airline fares and movie tickets. Airline > fares fell 2.5 percent in January, the most since February 2009. > > Companies Reluctant > > Even with higher production and material costs, U.S. companies are > reluctant to pass on the expenses to consumers. Wal-Mart, the world’s > largest retailer, reported fourth-quarter sales yesterday that trailed its > projection after cutting grocery and electronic prices. > > The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company reduced the cost of laptop > computers, along with turkeys and cranberry sauce for holiday meals, to > attract shoppers living paycheck to paycheck. “We see the influence of the > paycheck cycle as pronounced now as it’s been in the past,” Chief Financial > Officer Tom Schoewe said on a call with reporters. > > To contact the reporters on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at > thom...@bloomberg.net > > === > Sent from Bloomberg for Blackberry. Download it from the Blackberry App > World! > > > > Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry® > > ------------------------------------ > > + + > + + + + + > Mohon saat meREPLY posting, text dari posting lama dihapus > kecuali diperlukan agar CONTEXTnya jelas. > + + + + + > + +Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
