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Inflation Held Steady at 2.7% to End 2025

William Attardi on January 18, 2026

Consumer prices rose 2.7% in December, virtually unchanged from November and roughly in line with analysts’ expectations, per the latest reading from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation was helped by falling used car and truck prices, but rising grocery costs prevented the rate from making more progress toward the Fed’s 2% target. Food prices spiked 0.7% in December—the fastest monthly gain since 2022, the New York Times noted. Compared to the same period in 2024, food prices were up by 3.1%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has previously said he expects the peak impact of tariffs to show up in Q1 of this year. Morning Brew

US Inflation Gauge Cools with Little Sign of Tariff Impact, So Far

William Attardi on May 30, 2025

A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.7%, and the lowest in more than four years. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed.  US Inflation Gauge Cools With Little Sign of Tariff Impact, So Far – tEDmag

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”