Prices Are Up. Again.

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What's Happening Today

Good morning, it's Kristin with your daily morning digest.

There are a lot of 80s fans out there, but today's inflation numbers aren't giving us warm feelings of nostalgia. The latest reading of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released this morning showed that in December inflation rose 7% over the last 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the highest annual increase since 1982. The CPI is an important gauge of inflation in the U.S. and essentially tracks the costs of goods and services in the country. The number has been rising for a while, as you have no doubt noticed when buying things.

At a Senate hearing yesterday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that the central bank is committed to fighting inflation, and markets rebounded on the news. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all closed higher yesterday following Powell's statement, and are on the rise again this morning, despite those red hot inflation numbers.

And good news for Bank of America and Wells Fargo customers. The banks have joined Capital One and Ally Bank in reducing and eliminating fees associated with overdrafting accounts and insufficient funds. A study from the government's consumer watchdog found that banks raked in close to $15.5 billion dollars from these fees in 2019.

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

Inflation Rises to 7%, Fresh High Since 1982 (The Balance)

Fed Chair Pledges To Fight Inflation if Rehired (The Balance)

Pressures Aligning on Biden, Democrats to Forgive Student Loans (The Hill)

Schools See Big Drop in Attendance as Students Stay Away, Citing COVID-19 (Wall Street Journal)

Off the Charts

Nearly two years into the pandemic, vaccinated adults still lag behind the unvaccinated in working or looking for work, and that gap is widening with worries about the fast spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19, according to a new survey.

The labor force participation rate—the percentage of adults either working or looking for work—has remained stubbornly low during the economic recovery, but was trending higher for both groups since September as the delta-variant wave subsided. But the groups diverged in early December, as data from Morning Consult shows, soon after the World Health Organization declared omicron a "variant of concern."

Number of the Day

3.83% - That's how high the average 30-year mortgage rate has spiked—up from 3.50% just a week ago, according to lender data provided to The Balance.

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