Curious: About the Inflation Rate

The core inflation rate, for some reason, does not include two metrics that are very important: the price of food and the price of fuel. That seems bizarre to me. Those are two of the most important commodities that affect the wallets of everyday Americans

Economic and financial historians sometimes talk about “primary trends” – i.e., long-term swings in one direction or another. In a recent issue of The Daily Reckoning, Bill Bonner gives examples for the US stock markets:

“Stocks hit a high in 1929, after which investors waited 27 years (inflation adjusted) for a new high. Measured from the bottom, in 1932, prices rose for 34 years to reach the next top, in 1966.

“Then, it was down again, with investors in a losing trade for the next 29 years. Finally, in 1995, the Dow traded once again (inflation adjusted) at levels last seen in 1966.

“And then, with the Dow at 5,300, it was off to the races with another huge bull market run, which took it over 36,000 in 2021. From the bottom of that cycle – which came in August 1982 to today – stocks have been going up for nearly 40 years.”

Interesting: God Bless You! 

This de rigeur reply to a sneeze has a very interesting origin. It came into use as a result of a mandate by the Roman Catholic Church. On Feb. 16, 600, Pope Gregory I issued a papal edict stating that the phrase “God bless you” was the correct response whenever a Christian was within earshot of a sneeze. The pope hoped to ward off illness and death by encouraging Christians to answer any sneeze with a blessing.