Producer Price Index Hits Peak 11.3 Percent Inflation Driven by Biden Energy Policy – Service Prices Now Indicate Recession


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 14, 2022 | sundance

The “Producer Price Index” (PPI) is essentially the tracking of wholesale prices at three stages: Origination (commodity), Intermediate (processing), and then Final (to wholesale). Today, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released June price data [Available Here] showing another 11.3% increase year-over-year in Final Demand products at the wholesale level.

Overall, the wholesale inflation rate is being driven by energy prices.  The June calculation shows exactly that problem with energy prices embedded in goods driving 10% of the price increase.  However, there is some good news in the short-term for July and August, as the intermediate and raw material costs are leveling off temporarily.  Unfortunately, that raw material price plateau is almost certainly the result of a drop in demand.

CTH has modified Table-A and Table-B to take out the noise.

The June inflation rate for final demand goods (2.4%) is driven mostly by higher energy prices (10%).  Energy costs are passed along through every stage of the supply chain contributing to an overall wholesale price increase of 2.4% in June, 11.3% year-over-year.

Notice the slight drop in final demand services; that is important.  What we are seeing is a contraction in the service economy overall, as the service sector -which includes restaurants- cannot pass along the scale of energy price increase to customers. People are changing their spending habits – service demand overall is dropping.

Additionally, the producer price index gathers data from inside the supply chain, backwards from the final stage (wholesale) into the intermediate stage (various processing) and also raw material prices.   Here is where things are getting interesting, and now I can make some direct forward predictions.

I modified Table-B so you can see how the supply chain for goods is responding to both: (A) energy prices, and (B) consumer spending.  You can click on the graphic to expand the image and spend some time on it if needed.

You can see from the left side of modified Table-B that both levels of intermediate goods were heavily impacted by energy prices.  “Intermediate” processed goods rising 2.3% in June, 22.2% year-over-year.  Intermediate unprocessed goods (raw materials) rose 9.5% in June, 58.0% year-over-year.

However, if you subtract the massive June energy costs, you will note the intermediate price of nonfood processed goods significantly dropped to 0.2% in June.  And if you subtract the energy costs, you will notice the raw material prices for nonfood durable goods actually declined 2.2% in June.

Here’s what is going on…

The inflationary impact of Joe Biden’s Green New Deal energy program is running into the inability of consumers to pay for the price increases it creates.  That is what is causing the demand side drops in retail economic activity on Main Street.  We all know this.

As a result of these high prices, there is less internal demand within the supply chain for both goods and services.  Inventories are climbing and the demand for raw materials to produce durable goods is now declining.  Subtract the energy costs and nonfood prices are dropping. The decline is a raw material demand outcome.

June energy prices were extremely high.  That’s driving the current PPI price outcome at all stages; but behind that issue is low manufacturing activity.

Remember, two months ago we said food prices would plateau in July and August.  This PPI report shows the entry into that plateau.  However, there is a problem on the horizon that is not measured in this data.

The high energy costs to farmers (fertilizer, diesel, oil, energy, etc.), a cost already seeded (forgive the pun) is right now in the fields…. waiting…. sitting somewhat dormant and ignored by the statisticians… but that higher origination price is growing and lurking….

When the farming harvests take place, those higher field costs will enter the supply chain again and end up finding their way, via wholesalers and supermarkets, to your fork.  Big Ag is going to maximize this opportunity.

Farmers will not be the ones benefitting.

♦ For the next two months the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index will show inflation stability and possibly even price declines.

Those reports will come out in August (for July) and September (for August) and will give the impression that inflation has moderated, and the Fed has been successful.  However, in/around Sept and October the harvest cost will hit the stores.  At that point, energy prices -already high- will take a backseat to the rate of inflation driven by massive increases in food prices.

Oct, Nov and December, all the way through the winter, will be painful at the grocery stores and supermarkets.   Also, restaurants this fall and winter, are going to get hit hard as their suppliers start to deliver food at much higher prices.  Those people in the food service industry need to prepare now for what is looming.

Everything I just described above is happening at the same time as consumer demand for durable goods and non-essential services is dropping.  The current economic activity on Main Street is tepid at best.  Housing values have peaked along with rents.

Every element of the U.S. economy is now entering a phase where success or failure in a Main Street business is directly connected to the customer being able to afford the product or service.

Two-thirds of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is driven by consumer spending.  Our borders are open, our wages are flat, our prices are high, our discretionary spending is contracting.  Our manufacturing and service driven economy will contract, and we are two months away from food stability, prices, affordability and potentially scarcity, being the primary focus of everyone.

FUBAR

Prepare your affairs accordingly.

70% of 10-Year-Olds Cannot Read After Lockdowns


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 14, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Children suffered the worst long-term consequences of the lockdowns. “The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update,” found that an alarming 70% of middle and lower-class 10-year-olds across the globe cannot read. There is no greater freedom than knowledge, and reading comprehension is essential to our modern-day existence. “Only the richer segments of the population—those with broadband connectivity, access to devices for the use of each family member, a place to study, availability of books and learning material, and a conducive home environment, among other conditions—were able to maintain a reasonable level of education engagement,” the study cited. We are now in the midst of an education crisis where children have fallen perhaps too far behind to catch up with their peers.

Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Asia saw the most notable declines in learning as schools there completely closed and many did not have access to online education. Sadly, many of the organizations that pushed for the lockdowns and school closures, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, would like to step in to help re-educate these children. They will try to reshape an entire generation of vulnerable children as they see fit. “Fighting this learning crisis is the challenge of our times if we do not want to lose this generation of children and youth,” the report said.

“COVID-19 has devastated learning around the world, dramatically increasing the number of children living in Learning Poverty,” said Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education at the World Bank. “With 7 in 10 of today’s 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries now unable to read a simple text, political leaders and society must swiftly move to recover this generation’s future by ensuring learning recovery strategies and investments.” They are calling this phenomenon “learning poverty,” but the issue was not based on class. This drastic decline in reading comprehension is a direct result of lockdowns and school closures.

The report tries to claim that “learning poverty” was prevalent before the lockdown, but there is no denying that allowing children to miss 273 days of school in certain areas of the world caused this problem. The report says learning poverty violates children’s right to education, but the lockdowns and tyrannical crackdown on a largely unlethal virus harmed ALL children across the globe.

So now, children risk losing $21 trillion in lifetime earnings, equivalent to 17% of global GDP. Our model has been targeting 2030 for many years as a major turning point. Unsurprisingly, this report claims that if we follow the guidance of the same agencies who forced school closures, we can attain a newly indoctrinated, I mean educated, population by 2030.

World Bank: The Poor Will Suffer From Carbon Taxes


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jul 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The World Economic Forum is praising Denmark for implementing the world’s strictest carbon tax laws. Companies will soon be forced to pay $159 for every tonne of CO2 emitted, marking an additional $53 per tonne. The government claims this will cut CO2 levels by 3.7 million tonnes in just one year.

“This incentivizes companies to clean up for themselves,” the WEF reported. In the midst of an extreme energy crisis, punishing energy suppliers will undoubtedly backfire. These costs will be passed along to the already struggling consumer. Even the World Bank admitted that the poor will suffer from the carbon tax.

The World Bank stated on its blog:

“There are good reasons why governments may not want to use carbon taxes, and one of them relates to their welfare impacts. For example, a carbon tax on fossil fuels is often regressive in its impact- hurting poorer people relatively more than richer ones. Even when it might be progressive, poorer people still suffer a welfare loss when prices rise, making their consumption basket more expensive.”

Furthermore, they admitted that the carbon tax “aims to restructure economies by raising the cost of a critical resource – the juice that makes it run.” Precisely. We NEED fossil fuels right now, there is no other viable alternative available to provide energy to the world. Since nations have succumbed to the climate change agenda, they have lost their energy-independent status. Europe shot itself in the foot by eliminating any diplomatic relations with their number one supplier of gas for a country that they did not acknowledge prior to February 2022.

Other nations with the ability will drill and sell oil to those under WEF leadership at a premium. India is already buying Russian oil at a discount, refining it, and selling it to the US for a premium. This is more than just bad business as it is a clear attempt to cut off a “critical resource” to “restructure economies” as seen fit by the WEF.

400,000 Chinese Lose Their Life Savings Instantly


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Officers in plain clothes disrupted a peaceful protest outside the capital of Henan, as seen in the video above. Depositors were protesting to demand that their savings be returned as thousands have been unable to access their money for over a month. Banks in Henan first froze client assets, and then the Chinese government changed the victims’ COVID QR passes to red to deny them the freedom of movement. The most recent protest was among the largest seen in China since the pandemic began.

Over $6 billion (39 billion yuan) is missing. A reported 400,000 people have been affected. Imagine going to the bank only to realize that your entire life’s savings were gone instantly? You worked hard, saved, and did everything right for years or decades, only to have it all abruptly taken away. Even the most ruthless government is in trouble when the people have nothing left to lose. Imagine if the Chinese were permitted to own guns? There would be uncontrolled civil unrest.

So where is the money? Chances are that the banks do not have the liquidity to pay out all of the depositors. Instead of cracking down on the banks, the government is coming after innocent people. Officers in plain clothes attacked protestors, including the elderly and women, and civilians were left wondering why their own people would attack them when they were clearly the victims. Governments are completely ruthless and DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE.

Tucker Carlson Outlines How Joe Biden is Implementing the Green New Deal Energy Program and Killing the U.S. Economy, and Standard of Living, in The Process


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 13, 2022 | Sundance

During an extensive opening monologue on Tuesday evening, Fox News host Tucker Carlson walked through the origin of the modern American push for a transformation in the U.S. energy system; as outlined in the Green New Deal advocacy of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and how Joe Biden is implementing the agenda by executive fiat.

The Green New Deal is domestically to the U.S. as the Build Back Better agenda is to the rest of the western nations who follow the instructions from the World Economic Forum. Collectively the economies of western government are starting to collapse as the underlying energy policies (climate change) are being implemented.

Carlson walks through several examples of countries who have tried and failed to switch from oil, gas and coal to the “green renewable” energy programs. Everything from farming to home heating is now under attack by the governmental energy policies of western nations.  Civil society is starting to collapse in according to the schedule of the nations who have tried to transition.  Perhaps the worst part about it, is that western politicians -like Joe Biden- do not care how much damage is done, they are doing it anyway. WATCH:

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Something has to change, and soon.  As a nation we are going to self-destruct if we do not stop this mad effort to use windmills and solar energy as alternative power sources to oil, coal and natural gas.  Already there are signs that states like Texas are bordering on an energy crisis because there is not enough wind to power their windmills.

From the complete restructuring of farming under the guise of climate change (the intentional shift to eating bugs and lab-grown meat), to the complete collapse of stable energy as a result of chasing climate change goals, we are fast approaching the point of no easy return.

We are not going to like the civil unrest and national instability that comes along with public desperation.

Eva Vlaardingerbroek Summarizes all the Merging Food, Energy and Farming Issues with Stark Advice to Americans


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 | Sundance 

Eva Vlaardingerbroek is a GB News correspondent and conservative voice from Holland.  In this interview segment with NTDNews Ms. Vlaardingerbroek outlines what is happening in the Netherlands with the Dutch farm protests and how it connects to the larger Agenda 2030 goals.

In the last 20 seconds of the segment, Vlaardingerbroek has some solid advice for Americans.  WATCH (2 mins):

To really get a strong reference point for how the global ruling elites at the World Economic Forum think about farming and climate change, which includes the brain trust at the World Health Organization, I would urge you to read THIS ARTICLE from the Irish Farmers Journal.

When I first read this article about Irish farming -mostly referencing government policy- what stood out to me more than anything was the open hubris and arrogance in the mindset of the people cited.

They openly say the goal of the fundamental change in the global food system is to control what people eat, allocate specific amounts of calories according to the goals of the climate change officials, and completely take over the way farming is done.

The article is written from a sympathetic standpoint of how government needs to help farmers transition away from their agricultural world as they lose their farm operations. The openly communist outlook is really quite remarkable.

“Significant food system change is needed to address food security and climate challenges, but it risks decimating farm incomes. Policy analyst Anne Finnegan examines a new OECD FAO report.” ~ READ HERE

Neil Oliver Analyzes the Global Uprisings that are Rejecting the Build Back Better Agenda


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 | Sundance

Appearing on GBNews with Dan Wootton, UK commentator Neil Oliver discusses and connects the Sri Lanka protests, the uprising in the Netherlands, and the aligned protests in Poland, Italy, Germany and much of the European continent.

As Oliver notes the pretorian guards for western politicians, aka the ‘western media’, are doing everything they can to ignore the global scale of the popular uprisings that are directly connected to the globalist agenda of the World Economic Forum and their Build Back Better orders to the western politicians.  The media ignore the issue until it reaches a point like Sri Lanka where it can no longer be ignored.  WATCH:

The Canadian trucker protests were targeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an effort to quickly stop the spread of any opposition to the globalist agenda. However, in the Netherlands the Dutch farmers have several distinct advantages in their ability to impact the life of ordinary Dutch people, as they refuse to become victims to the new global feudalism.

Like Sri Lanka, the Netherlands is a case study in raw people power, where the government is represented by a select few people.  The only thing keeping the Dutch from storming the politicians’ palaces and government buildings is a preference for polite society.  If that preference changes, and it might as people get more desperate, well, katy-bar the door.

Sri Lanka (top)

The Netherlands (bottom)

Both uprisings are connected to the exact same dynamic.

Rivian Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Planning Layoffs


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2022 

Two things about this report showing Rivian is planning layoffs for its workforce.

First, the larger ‘layoff‘ issue is going to be more prevalent as the economy contracts and consumer demand declines.  There is almost no expanded investment going into any Main Street business that sells non-essential goods.

The economic contraction, the drop in consumer demand that indicates a recession, is very real and now very easy to spot.

Second, Rivian is backed by the financing of Ford and Amazon and operates in California, Michigan and Illinois (three deep blue states).  Rivian is also the supplier for Amazon electric delivery vehicles having previously announced (in 2019) a deal to purchase 100,000 vehicles from Rivian.  Additionally, Rivian has lost 69% of its market value this year.

LA TIMES – Rivian Automotive Inc. is planning hundreds of layoffs to trim its workforce in areas where the electric-vehicle maker has grown too quickly, according to people familiar with the matter. […] The Irvine company, which has more than 14,000 employees, could target an overall reduction of around 5%, the people said. The layoffs are still in the planning stage, and nothing has been decided.

[…] The manufacturer is poised to join companies across corporate America pruning their operations amid growing worries about an economic downturn. Tesla is cutting 10% of its salaried workforce, while protecting manufacturing jobs, after Chief Executive Elon Musk said he sees a recession as inevitable. (read more)

Sri Lanka’s Economy Completely Collapsed


Armstrong Economics Blog/Tyranny Re-Posted Jul 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Protestors swarmed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s palace in Sri Lanka, forcing him to flee and step down. The entire government in Sri Lanka will be restructured. When the people are hungry, no amount of rules and restrictions will prevent them from protesting. Sri Lanka ran out of food and ran out of fuel to cook whatever happened to be available.

The country’s foreign reserves were depleted. The government began to cut the power grids daily for increasingly longer periods. There was not enough fuel to power generatorsInflation soared to 45.3% in May, with food costs rising 58%. The United Nations estimated that 22% of the entire population had become food insecure and 86% of families  “are resorting to at least one coping mechanism, including eating less, eating less nutritious food and even skipping meals altogether.”

“Gota Go Gama” (Gama meaning village) or GGG protests arose throughout the nation. Labor migration rose 286% this year, according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment. The government owes $51 billion in debt and cannot make any payments on loans. Their currency collapsed 80% and was basically worthless. Tourism halted after the pandemic, adding to the crisis. The people had hit rock bottom and knew exactly who to blame. President Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, are extremely corrupt. They allowed the problem to become a crisis; living lavishly as their people starved.

The revolutionary wave has only just begun. I warned that it would first come for emerging countries. However, do not think this incident will be isolated to one nation. Unrest is rising as living standards decline.

Another Dead Politician


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jul 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

We warned that 2022 would be the year from political hell. There has been another assassination, but this time in Brazil. Brazil’s leftist opposition Workers’ Party (PT) Marcelo Arruda was enjoying his birthday celebration in the city of Foz de Iguacu, Parana, when he was shot dead.

Jorge Jose da Rocha Guaranho is responsible for the shooting. Reports state that the two men had some sort of disagreement that led to gunfire from both sides. Gurarnho was also shot but lived to tell the tale, although he was originally declared dead by the media. Arruda died on the scene. Yet, there may be more at play. Witnesses say that the murderer showed up uninvited and began shouting insults at the politician while praising far-right President Bolsonaro. He left the party but returned shortly after to kill Arruda.

“Another dear comrade passed away this morning, a victim of intolerance, hatred and political violence,” Gleisi Hoffmann, the PT’s national president, stated.

This comes before Brazil’s presidential election in October, which is likely to bring more violence and civil unrest. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is the current PT candidate and is leading in the polls ahead of Bolsonaro. However, Bolsonaro hinted that he may not accept defeat and plans to remain in power. In response to the shootings, Bolsonaro tweeted: “I ask these types of people, for consistency, to change sides and support the left.” Things are getting ugly.