Hooray for quantitative easing…

By the fall, people will most likely be paying more … as rising prices hit most consumer goods, say retailers, food companies and manufacturers of consumer products.

Cotton prices are near their highest level in more than a decade, after adjusting for inflation, and leather and polyester costs are jumping as well. Copper recently hit its highest level in about 40 years, and iron ore, used for steel, is fetching extremely high prices. Prices for corn, sugar, wheat, beef, pork and coffee are soaring. Labor overseas is becoming more expensive, meanwhile, and so are the utility bills to keep a factory running.

Bottom line: if you have anything from a major purchase (e.g. high basic metal containing items – refrigerator, dishwater, etc) all the way down to your basic cotton skivvies, it might be time to stock up before the prices move skyward. Similarly, we can’t really do much about manufactured food items since so many products contain high fructose corn syrup, but to combat food inflation, you can start a backyard garden to help soften the blow.

Source
New York Times
STEPHANIE CLIFFORD, MOTOKO RICH and WILLIAM NEUMAN
Companies Warn That Higher Prices Are Looming