STOCK MARKET TO LIMP ALONG

摘要

It has become increasingly clear that inflation and interest rates are not the only factors influencing stock prices. Earnings are just as important. In August the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.2% and the consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.1%. The actual declines were due to a drop in energy prices, which already have been reversed in September. But even excluding food and energy, the results were excellent. The core CPI rose its usual 0.2%, the finished goods core PPI rose only 0.1%, and the intermediate goods core, often considered the best leading indicator of inflation, actually fell 0.1%. So if higher energy prices are to be passed along to consumers later this year, it hasn't yet shown up in the Bureau of Labor Statistics indexes.