An inflation surge poses a growing threat

But what can be done?

Jerome Powell.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Economists are starting to question whether the Federal Reserve missed its chance to act on inflation, said Christopher Rugaber in The Associated Press. Consumer prices rose 7 percent in the past year, the steepest climb since 1982. The latest U.S. jobs report also "raised alarms," showing "another sharp drop in the unemployment rate" even as businesses are still reporting a labor shortage. That has forced "an unexpectedly large increase in hourly pay" to attract and retain workers. With no sign of the price crunch easing, inflation has "become the most serious threat to the economy, a growing worry for the financial markets, and a major political problem for the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress."

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