Opinion
The threat of a global ‘buying strike’ rises as cost-of-living hits
The worry now is that anything people can cut back on — from eating out to summer holidays to new clothes, white goods, cars or gadgets — may take a hit if food, fuel and housing costs remain high.
Rana ForooharContributorInflation in America is at a 40-year high, while household incomes, adjusted for rising prices, are falling at the fastest pace since the government began collecting data in 1959.
That’s largely because the cost of food, fuel and housing has been climbing so dramatically. The price of commodities shows no sign of going down much anytime soon, thanks to the war in Ukraine, while a tightly constrained housing market in the US may keep prices higher than normal for the next few years, even as interest rates rise.
Financial Times
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