The U.S. economy is slowing, but not crashing. In the dismal science, this is what counts as good news. That’s the message I took away from the latest inflation data, released May 15, 2024, which showed U.S. consumer prices rising 3.4% in the 12 months to April 2024. This is down slightly from the 3.5% […]
Why do airlines charge so much for checked bags? This obscure rule helps explain why
Five out of the six biggest U.S. airlines have raised their checked bag fees since January 2024. Take American Airlines. In 2023, it cost US$30 to check a standard bag in with the airline; today, as of March 2024, it costs $40 at a U.S. airport – a whopping 33% increase. As a business school […]
Americans are returning to the labor force at a quickening rate – do they just really need the work?
The U.S. economy surprised analysts by adding 467,000 jobs in January, overcoming omicron concerns and continuing a long streak of gains, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Feb. 4, 2022. Yet at the same time, the unemployment rate ticked up a notch, from 3.9% to 4%. Confused? Shouldn’t a large increase in jobs drive […]
Inflation report is a mixed bag – an economist explains why some items are rising faster than others
Economists worried about soaring inflation got some good news to start the year: The rate of inflation has eased. The first report card of 2023 on consumer prices, released on Jan. 12, showed that the overall cost of goods and services decelerated to an annual pace of 6.5% in December, the slowest in over a […]