Holiday shopping season off to record start

[Cruella]

That's mostly due to the drought in the Mid West.
I don't think Christmas shoppers are focused on groceries anyway.

If the drought was causing inflation in food prices, then we can expect to see the prices to go down in a good year. That's not going to happen. Over the past few years I have seen prices doubling and in some cases tripling. Even the packaging has shrunk in size.

 

[dogtowner]

If the drought was causing inflation in food prices, then we can expect to see the prices to go down in a good year. That's not going to happen. Over the past few years I have seen prices doubling and in some cases tripling. Even the packaging has shrunk in size.

midwest drought does not explain euro versions. high enrrgy prices from the weakening dollar and euro do

 

[PLC1]

If the drought was causing inflation in food prices, then we can expect to see the prices to go down in a good year. That's not going to happen. Over the past few years I have seen prices doubling and in some cases tripling. Even the packaging has shrunk in size.

Funny how prices never seem to go down when growing conditions improve. I can remember many years ago, back when sodas were 15 cents from the machines, there was a cold front that destroyed the sugar crop in Hawii, and the price of sodas went up dramatically, even the diet ones. When the weather turned to normal, and sugar once again became cheap, the cost of sodas never went down.

The loss of the corn crop is driving at least some of the increase in food prices as a lot of foods depend on corn or animals fed on corn. When and if the crops return to normal, it will be interesting to see if prices come back down again.

 

[Cruella]

The loss of the corn crop is driving at least some of the increase in food prices as a lot of foods depend on corn or animals fed on corn. When and if the crops return to normal, it will be interesting to see if prices come back down again.

I can see how a sustained draught would affect prices, but farmers learned a long time ago how to store food/feed crops for bad times.

What's really sad is here in CA. We have a lot of agriculture, but I can go to an ethnic market and buy produce etc a lot cheaper grown in Mexico and other countries, than I can buy Calif. grown produce.

 

[PLC1]

I can see how a sustained draught would affect prices, but farmers learned a long time ago how to store food/feed crops for bad times.

What's really sad is here in CA. We have a lot of agriculture, but I can go to an ethnic market and buy produce etc a lot cheaper grown in Mexico and other countries, than I can buy Calif. grown produce.

That's because California produce is sold on the world market, and so the price is set globally. The exception is the fruit stands and small dealers who sell locally grown produce in season at very low prices. Usually, what they sell is also superior to what is in the supermarket as well. Of course, you can't buy much right now. Farmers are picking persimmons, will soon be picking citrus, but most of the rest has already been harvested and will have to wait until next year.

You can buy stone fruit from Chile, but it's not cheap due to shipping costs.

What amazes me is that the stores sell wine from Chile, Spain, Argentina, and Australia here in California where there is a winery on every block. Cali wine is a lot better, but not necessarily cheaper.

 

[dogtowner]

Funny how prices never seem to go down when growing conditions improve. I can remember many years ago, back when sodas were 15 cents from the machines, there was a cold front that destroyed the sugar crop in Hawii, and the price of sodas went up dramatically, even the diet ones. When the weather turned to normal, and sugar once again became cheap, the cost of sodas never went down.

The loss of the corn crop is driving at least some of the increase in food prices as a lot of foods depend on corn or animals fed on corn. When and if the crops return to normal, it will be interesting to see if prices come back down again.

and corn was already high from ethanol.
it is interesting to know that.in the.period you mention there were other sugar crop problems south of the border thst had bottlers upping the ratio of corn syrup. you may not have noticed but when New Coke came out sugar stopped being the first ingredient listed replaced by corn syrup. this was the primary reason for new coke

 

[PLC1]

and corn was already high from ethanol.
it is interesting to know that.in the.period you mention there were other sugar crop problems south of the border thst had bottlers upping the ratio of corn syrup. you may not have noticed but when New Coke came out sugar stopped being the first ingredient listed replaced by corn syrup. this was the primary reason for new coke

Corn syrup is, or at least was, cheaper than sugar made from beets or cane. It really isn't much different, though.
It's time to end the ethanol mandate. It never was about more than the profits of corn producers anyway.

 

[dogtowner]

Corn syrup is, or at least was, cheaper than sugar made from beets or cane. It really isn't much different, though.
It's time to end the ethanol mandate. It never was about more than the profits of corn producers anyway.

yes its cheap and.relianly produced. but Coke had mafe a big.deal of the.secret formula so an obvious change was not easy for them. of course "dugar" had been getting redefined regularly by FDA to the point that cane sugar was a far smaller compinent of the whole. Pepsi never made any bones about changing its formula all the time.

the other big reason was to make it lighter on the tongue whiched appealed to the rest of the world. domestic sales were stuck so growth elsewhete was important. the boss at the time wad foreign.

 

[Dr.Who]

Inflation is actually pretty low just now.

I believe you are correct.

However, from wiki:

"Depreciation and devaluation are sometimes incorrectly used interchangeably, but they always refer to values in terms of other currencies. Inflation, on the other hand, refers to the value of the currency in goods and services (related to its purchasing power). Altering the face value of a currency without reducing its exchange rate is a redenomination, not a devaluation or revaluation."

We are experiencing devaluation as a result of quantitative easing we are not experiencing inflation.

The saddest part of quantitative easing is that it is intentional on the part of our government, it hurts the poor most, the rich benefit (perhaps even are instramental in creating it), the gov uses it like a hidden tax to reduce the effect of its debt. It is like a direct redistribution of money from the poor and middle class to the gov and the rich.

 

[dogtowner]

i hear Target actual sales are down a point

 

[Cruella]

i hear Target actual sales are down a point

I wonder if the Christmas shopping will be affected by what's going on with the fiscal cliff, Obamacare and higher taxes looming out there.

 

[PLC1]

I wonder if the Christmas shopping will be affected by what's going on with the fiscal cliff, Obamacare and higher taxes looming out there.

Doubtful.

A looming 3% increase in the top marginal tax rate isn't going to affect the middle class very much, and the wealthy already have enough to do their Christmas shopping.

 

[dogtowner]

Doubtful.

A looming 3% increase in the top marginal tax rate isn't going to affect the middle class very much, and the wealthy already have enough to do their Christmas shopping.

uh... everyone's rates increase and worse still is the AMT which will take a very large chunk of the mid to upper middle class' butt.

$3000-4500 will certainly get people's attention but I'm sure most Obama voters are oblivious to this.

 

[Cruella]

The Senate already passed a bill awhile ago stopping middle class tax increases. The House has yet to vote on it, but Pelosi is doing a round-about behind Boehner's back as we speak.

Nice set up by the Democraps.

 

[PLC1]

uh... everyone's rates increase and worse still is the AMT which will take a very large chunk of the mid to upper middle class' butt.

$3000-4500 will certainly get people's attention but I'm sure most Obama voters are oblivious to this.

I'm sure it would.
How did you arrive at those figures?