The Balance Today: News You Need To Know on Nov. 7, 2022

Do you think inflation has been going up, staying steady, or coming down? Or have prices just been so high lately that you don’t really notice much anymore? This week, we’ll find out how much prices have been rising when the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) is released on Thursday. And that could in turn tell us whether the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates further, hurting your pocketbook even more. 

Economists are expecting the annual rate of inflation to slow from 8.2% to 7.9%. If it doesn’t fall by at least that much, that doesn’t bode well for any of us, and here’s why: The Fed has been doing everything it can (mainly raising interest rates) to bring inflation down.

If we see on Thursday that the interest rate hikes haven’t been working, it means the central bank will have to get far more aggressive in its fight against inflation. Which means all of us, investors and regular consumers alike, could be in for more economic pain. Think more unemployment, even higher loan rates, and greater chances of recession.

Stocks are on the rise right now ahead of more company earnings and the release of the latest inflation data, which could give markets a better sense of what we could expect from the Fed. 

-Kristin