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The household items inflation is hitting hardest

11 June 2021
Dan Ackermann
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Michelle McGhee/Axios

While a 5% increase in the Consumer Price Index grabbed headlines on Thursday, a third of it was driven by higher prices for used cars and trucks, which jumped 29.7% from a year ago. And the gas index was up 56.2%.

Why it matters: Underneath the hood of the CPI numbers, it's clear that not all items moved in tandem.

  • Cosmetics, perfume, bath, nail preparations and implements were down 0.7%.
  • While beer, ale and other malt beverages increased 2.4% when consumed away from home, those same items enjoyed at home were up only 0.4%.
  • Similarly, the cost of wine sipped away from home increased 1.8%; at home, it was up 1.2%
  • Whiskey is only measured at home (three fingers is best!), where it was up 3.7% from last year.

Between the lines: Inflation — and crucially, inflation expectations — has a psychological component, both for consumers and investors.

  • If consumers expect prices to keep going up, they'll try to purchase now, which, in turn, will push prices even higher.
  • Investors and financial markets aren't worried — yet. The markets largely shrugged off Thursday's report, even though the headline number was higher than expected.

Be smart: Some economists are putting more of a premium on next month's data, when the so-called "base effect" will be less pronounced.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.