Good and Bad News?

First, the good news. Industrial production was up 0.8% in November. That’s the fourth gain in five months. Depleted inventories are being replenished, and this might actually help the unemployment rate. The bad news is that prices at the wholesale level rose 1.8%. That number includes food and fuel, which tend to be volatile. Take those items out, and wholesale prices were up just 0.5%. That’s actually not bad news at all. Considering the high unemployment numbers, it’s a wonder prices can rise at all. Also remember that deflation is still a threat to the U.S. economy. So from that…