Inflation | featured news

Global food prices will remain high and volatile as record food production will only just meet demand, according to the UN.

Left unchecked, climate change aligned with population explosion and low agricultural yields will drastically increase global poverty and hunger over the next two decades, warns the international aid organization Oxfam in a report released today ...

The rising labor costs for companies that supply Chinese goods to the West may result in higher consumer prices.

Consumer spending rose less than expected in April as high gasoline prices continued to squeeze household budgets, according to government data on Friday which also showed annual inflation accelerating at its fastest pace in a year.

Consumers paid more for gas and food in April, pushing inflation to its highest level in two and a half years. But so far this month, inflationary pressures have begun to ease.

Hunger was such a constant companion in Yao Qizhong's childhood that even now, at age 40, he'll stoop down to salvage a single clove of garlic that falls from his table at the Beijing market where he hawks fresh produce....

Consumers felt better about the short-term outlook for the economy in April as expectations about the pace of inflation and concerns about the labor market eased.

China's inflation will fall slightly in the second half of 2011, but it will be tough to keep the full-year rise in consumer prices below the government's 4 percent ceiling, an official said in remarks reported on Sunday.

As food costs are expected to rise about four percent in the United States and Europe from last year, McDonald's plans to raise its prices slightly and gradually. In March, the company raised all menu items by one percent, reports Nation's Restaurant News, and plans to "keep taking small, additional menu price increases."Read More...

The Consumer Price Index report for March said that outside of food and energy, prices remained subdued last month, rising just 0.1 percent.