Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Inflation

Garbo: The Left’s silence says more than their spin ever could
Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Garbo: The Left’s silence says more than their spin ever could

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice They don’t talk about egg prices anymore. Inflation has disappeared from their daily talking points. You’ll hear nothing about tariffs, the stock market, or the border crisis they once screamed about nonstop. Why? Because those issues - once weaponized against President Trump - have all improved under his leadership. And with Trump back in office, once again tackling these challenges head-on, the left has lost the argument - and they know it. Every one of these “crises” was once a cudgel. The media elevated each one with the clear goal of assigning blame to President Trump. Yet every time, Trump didn’t run from the issue - he took it head-on, and in full public view. Trump Faced the Fire - and Fixed What They Broke Let’...
Denver rent down $65, but rising costs leave renters struggling
Approved, Denverite, Local

Denver rent down $65, but rising costs leave renters struggling

By Kyle Harris | Denverite When Cassie Welch Rubin moved to Denver in 2022, she paid $1,400 a month for a bug-infested, rundown studio apartment in University Hills, a neighborhood she hated. To get to her job, she took a two-hour bus ride each way.   This year, Rubin left her University Hills studio for a one-bedroom in Capitol Hill. She’s still paying $1,400 – but for a larger place in a central Denver neighborhood. “I’m really happy with the location,” she said.  Trees line the blocks. She’s close to museums, the botanic gardens and the zoo. She wakes up long before dawn for her 3 a.m. shift as a produce manager at King Soopers. But now she’s a short walk — not a two hour-long bus ride — away from her job. Like many other renters in Denver, Rubin has found ...
O’Donnell: It’s costly to live in Colorado—and now we top the charts in personal debt
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

O’Donnell: It’s costly to live in Colorado—and now we top the charts in personal debt

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Since 2021, inflation has been higher in Colorado than in any other state, mostly because of the cost of owning or renting a home. But this is also because the state legislature enjoys imposing new fees (you aren’t allowed to call them taxes) on seemingly anything they can think of. Colorado residents may not, however, realize that because it is now so expensive to live in the state, Coloradans owe more money in mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, student loans and other consumer obligations than residents of ANY other state. The latest data from the Consumer Credit Panel at the New York Federal Reserve indicates that during the fourth quarter of 2024, the 4,983,560 households in Colorado EACH owed an average of $90,540 i...
New data shows Denver’s inflation rising above national average
Approved, Local, The Center Square

New data shows Denver’s inflation rising above national average

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Inflation in the Denver metro area has outpaced the national average in recent months, according to new data. In February and March, prices in the area were up 0.22%, compared to 0.17% nationally, recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. “This has inverted the annual trend of national price growth outpacing Colorado,” the Common Sense Institute, a free-enterprise think tank, said in an analysis of the data. Over the last 12 months, prices went up 1.9% in Denver while nationally prices increased 2.4%. In February and March, costs went up for education and communications (5.34%), medical care (0.94%) and  housing (0.53%). Costs went down for recreation (-1.3%), transportation (-.1%) and food (-.1%).  ...
Federal Reserve leaves key interest rate unchanged amid uncertainty over economy, inflation
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Federal Reserve leaves key interest rate unchanged amid uncertainty over economy, inflation

By Eric Revell  | Fox Business The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced that it will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged as policymakers continue to assess uncertainty around inflation and economic conditions in light of federal policy shifts. The central bank's decision leaves the benchmark federal funds rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%.  The move comes after the Fed left rates at that level at its previous meeting in January, which came on the heels of three consecutive rate cuts at its preceding meetings — which involved a 50-basis-point cut in September and a pair of 25-basis-point reductions in November and December. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
Producer inflation stopped cold in Trump’s first month, core prices fell
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Producer inflation stopped cold in Trump’s first month, core prices fell

By John Carney | Breitbart Promises made, promises kept. “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One,” Donald Trump said on the campaign trail last summer. Critics claimed, without evidence, that Trump’s tariff plans would raise inflation. Many economists argued that while the rate of price increases might slow, prices would not decline and Americans would simply have to adjust to the new higher price level. In February, however, the core producer price index for final demand declined by 0.1 percent. In other words, prices of goods and services— excluding food and energy—sold by U.S. businesses came down. The broader index for producer prices was flat for the month, indicating that there was no inflation at all in the month. READ THE FULL STORY ...
Inflation slowed slightly to 2.8% in February ahead of Federal Reserve meeting
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Inflation slowed slightly to 2.8% in February ahead of Federal Reserve meeting

By Eric Revell  | Fox Business Inflation cooled slightly in February even as the pace of price growth remained well above the Federal Reserve's goal ahead of the central bank's policy meeting next week. The Labor Department on Wednesday said that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – increased 0.2% in February compared with last month, while it rose 2.8% on an annual basis. Both the annual and monthly increases in headline inflation were cooler than the expectations of LSEG economists. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
House Bill 1208: Price controls for a minimum wage mistake
Approved, completecolorado.com, State

House Bill 1208: Price controls for a minimum wage mistake

By Ari Armstrong, Complete Colorado What happens when the price of eggs soars? People buy fewer eggs and start looking for substitutes. What would happen if, say, government set a $10 minimum price on a dozen eggs, higher than the usual price in stores these days? People would buy fewer eggs, yet producers would want to sell all the eggs they could. Some eggs would sit around unpurchased. No one disputes the economics of price controls on eggs. (We can leave to another day discussion of legislative attempts to set de facto price limits on products.) But, somehow, when it comes to wages, we’re supposed to throw basic economics out the window and pretend that price controls don’t matter. Obviously no one thinks that price controls never matter. If government set a minimum price of a...
Inflation rose to 3% in November in producer price index, surprisingly hot
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Inflation rose to 3% in November in producer price index, surprisingly hot

By Zach Halaschak | Washington Examiner Inflation, as measured by the producer price index, rose four-tenths of a percentage point to 3% for the year ending in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The hot inflation rate is more than economists had anticipated and adds to recent signs that price pressures have not yet abated as President-elect Trump prepares to take office. In fact, November marked the largest rise in PPI inflation since February 2023. On a month-to-month basis, the producer price index increased by 0.4%. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Mortgage rates higher for third straight week, with 30-year at 6.44%, market survey finds
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Mortgage rates higher for third straight week, with 30-year at 6.44%, market survey finds

By Breck Dumas  | Fox Business Mortgage rates continued their upward climb this week, further hindering demand in the housing market amid elevated rates and high home prices. Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage surged to 6.44% from last week's reading of 6.32%. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.63% a year ago. "The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased for the third consecutive week, moving closer to 6.5%," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS