Methinks Stephen should find a new career: “Stephen Brown, an economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a client note Thursday that the surge in core PPI "was due to a head-scratching increase in margins for wholesalers and retailers."”

Ripe pickings for the wallet inspector.

The inevitable result of the Trump Tariffs Tax

Discovering that the earth isn’t flat is always going to be hard. Especially when Trump has told you that it’s flat. @chrislhayes.bsky.social

How about some stories on how headlines are created? Is it becoming automated? Is it hampered by legal issues? Is it a search for clicks?

How to tell people you have lice without saying it.

I scratch my head when thinking of the consequences of inflation raging unchecked because the government simply refuses to acknowledge it. There are a few people alive today that can remember deflation.

At the same time Donold is demanding the Fed drop interest rates drastically. My first mortgage was FHA - and escalated in the 6 weeks between signing and close to 16.9%. Yeah, it’s a BIG destructive possible self inflicted mess.

Just had an extended back and forth on LinkedIn MAGA devotee who insists that despite all this week's reports that there is NO inflation. Remember: "Remain Calm, All Is Well"

I feel like this is required:

No one could have predicted this. Not even all the finance folks who need to make 8 figures for their brilliance. Just no way to see this coming.

Not head-scratching...more like head-knocking against the wall that any legitimate media would call it head-scratching.

Author is auditioning for a NY Times gig I reckon

Only a head scratcher for the knuckle draggers out there.

I feel like those analysts are incompetent.

Can't they just fire someone and make up new numbers?

Wonder which 'Bean Counter' will get replaced for this? Sounds Real Too Much like, "The Beatings Will Increase, Until Morale Improves!"

If you've been thinking realistically about the most likely effect of tariffs and find data supporting rising inflation head-scratching, you should have someone check you for lice.

Only for those drunk on MAGA-i-cal thinking.

If a reporter can’t tell the truth, they can claim it’s unknowable. If they want to get promoted, they should go with sabotage.

No. It’s not a mystery at all; what’s been a mystery is how long it’s taken.

Is somebody else at BLS getting fired?

Nah. He’ll bring big balls in from his recuperation to just shut the place down. Winning!

This is like the news coverage I've seen of Canadian tourism to the US being down, and folks are like, "It must be because of the rainy weather." A lot of people are really dedicated to missing the obvious when it comes to Trump!

To be perfectly fair, it's important to remember that the media are complicit.

Siri, what are tariffs?

My wife works for a Turkish textile company in the US and in when earlier tariffs were imposed, lots of customers complained and fought and tried to hide the price increase. Now they just accept it and everything gets more expensive. They’re no longer holding out for relief, this is just how it is.

I am shocked. Shocked, I say.

So weird!

It is not

Maybe the writer just needs to use extra strength Head ‘n’ Shoulders.

Came here to say that. Are journalists just not engaged with their jobs?

Soon, Trump-cooked data will show zero inflation, but consumers will still pay higher prices. That will be interesting. When will people realize they are being lied to?

Trump might as well issue a 5-year plan, Soviet Style. The data will be exactly as accurate.

Perhaps this is sarcasm?

Higher costs for portfolio management? Portfolio management is a euphemism for 'Doing whatever your investment software tells you to do'.

If you’re clueless.

Right? Head-scratching for who?!? 🙄

To be fair, it is “head-scratching” to Trump-sniffing sycophants.

We ain’t seen nuthin’ yet, bbbaby.

They put it in sorta quotes in headline then nobody in the story actually says it. Excellent work pathetic editors

The opening sentence in the video is: "I want to start with you and that wholesale inflation data which is a bit of a shocker" followed by "yeah it was definitely much hotter than expected by a long shot" so I think paraphrasing it is fine

OMFG 🤦🏼‍♀️

Tariffs are a Tax on the Goods You buy.

The head-scratching is that everyone could see this coming, but they pretended it wasn't.

Pretty sure the black lady told us this would happen. And then when nobody listened to her dozens of economists said it would happen. And then when the media ignored them thousands of regular people said it would happen too!

Not in the least. Tariff revenues increased. CPI didn’t. That leaves the companies taking the hit. For now.

The market saw core CPI increase, to now above 3%, and then decided that a rate cut was almost certain. There is a lot that is head-scratching, but the PPI levels are not in that bucket.

If I were working for yahoo finance and wrote this, I’d be very puzzled about what everyone else in the office is doing

I wonder who will be fired today.

For the MBAified brains in our business press and C-suites it is the most stupifying thing imaginable.

It’s head scratching if your I.Q. is lower than your shoe size.

Agree, does not seem surprising at all

I'm no economist, but I think I figured it out

In other news.... Economists at Yahoo Finance trace reaction to July inflation in core production numbers to outbreak of psoriasis.

…or The Clap!!! These numbers are sure to rattle the markets today… 😟🥺😩

It’s a mystery, Kai, a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside of an enigma with a 45 percent enigma tariff.

And enigmas never age

Who is trump going to fire now?

Headline writer and photo editor clearly don't agree

Hmm, I thought most of us saw this coming. 🤔

It's only head-scratching when you observe that so many people in important jobs in the financial and corporate sector are putting their fingers in their ears and yelling, "Na na na na na, you can't make me pay attention to the real world! I love tax cuts!"

I think it's head scratching in that prices accelerated faster than expected. Everyone knew this was coming, but many didn't expect it *yet*.

And by "everyone," I mean everyone who has put any real thought into this at all. So that likely excludes the president, along with many folks on his team and most of his followers.

Cannot for one moment understand why this would have happened.

It is if the writer wants to still have a job tomorrow? Maybe we need something like Unicorn Riot but for financial and economic news.

No, Kai. Not at all head scratching. These folks are tiptoeing around it because they're afraid of hell it will bring on them from trumpanzee.

If only someone could have foreseen something like this happening.

Head-banging perhaps

Is Trump's wig bothering him? Ivanka has told people that her father's wigs are "glued to his scalp", so it could be the glue.

Geez. C’mon Yahooodie. You couldn’t think this one through? You know - lots of empty ports? Truckers laid off? An insane loonie tunes moron in charge of it all?

The head-scratching is taken out of context in the headline. It never said that the rise in inflation was head-scratching. The rise in profit margins was head scratching. It points to price-gouging under the guise of tariffs. IMO.

No one could have predicted this!

Not at all head scratching. Unless a) you're a Maga fanatical, b) youre a news outlet afraid of getting sued, c) you live under a rock.

Trump "fake news" tweet coming in 3,2,1...

It’s the complete opposite of head scratching! It’s blatantly obvious.

Who could’ve foreseen that adding costs would increase prices

The "head-scratching" part is why it didn't hit sooner.

I am not an economist. I work in international trade. If anyone is surprised they have not been paying attention. #TariffsAreTaxes

Yahoo trying to be cute.

Thank you for retaining some level of sanity and intelligence when it seems like almost everyone else has found the “stupid” switch. The inability for folks to think for a moment that tariffs might cause inflationary action is just beyond flabbergasting

Head scratching?

No not really

So let's see here. Who owns yahoo and who wrote this?

"Thursday's data suggests, then, that companies will not absorb all costs incurred from tariffs but will pass some of these costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices." oh word?

What a totally foreseeable turn of events.

"Hey guys, we set everything on fire, and now there's all this smoke in the air and our stuff is gone!"

It appears that the primary qualification for reporters these days is having recently fallen off a turnip truck.

Or willfully pretending they have.

What world if that reporter living in

Wait... Was everyone who voted for donnie in a coma? www.cnn.com/2024/10/23/p...

Self induced coma, perhaps. They were all looking for reasons not to vote for Harris, and found them. Seems humans are really good at finding reasons not to do things, no matter how flimsy or against their own self interest. Strange creatures we are.

I’m not an economist; just a consumer. I’ve been buying non-perishables on sale since Nov2024. This was entirely predictable. I’m awaiting the MAGA tears in their morning coffee.

Well... Could be, "...in their morning Chicory", now that #China is buying all that Coffee from #Brazil that #Trump is restricting from coming into #America.

nah they'll pump SPY up another 2% and post AI trump memes on deranged stocktwits posts, but I mean they do them. That money is inevitably going to fucking burn unfortunately. There are only a small handful of stocks actually preparing for this.

I too scratch my head when a manifestly stupid thing brings about obvious consequences

It certainly _is_!! You're addressing the willfully ignorant and they scratch their heads a _lot_.

Don’t buy big ticket items till tariffs die

no it is not "head scratching"

It’s pretty simple with Trump says tariff revenues have increased by a few hundred billion that money came from either a company’s pocket or a consumers pocket. Both hurt the economy. And yet Trumps deficits haven’t decreased.

Nope. It's painfully obvious.

So who does Trump fire to get better PPI numbers?

Himself? I'm all in with that.

The BLS reporting an unflattering number? Yes, it's downright bewildering. I can't imagine how bad the real inflation figure is.

maybe they have lice, that can be itchy but unrelated

Related because RFK jr

Only if you don't understand tariffs.

We all said this would happen

Who said this? Fire them!

This admin can give one hives

Guess saying “head scratching” generates more clicks than “told ya so.”

Bingo

"Compared to baseline,yesterdays CPI reading was quite elevated. Itss true that the tariff inflation impulse seemed to slow in key affected items like furnishings & recreation, but that ignores the fact that inflation in these categories is running WAY above where it normally does at this time of yr

"The truth is that inflation is starting to run hot and should continue to rise in the remainder of the year."

If your brain is a head of broccoli, yes.

I found their confidence in an interest rate drop to be a head-scratcher tbf.

In the sense that it hasn't been nearly as severe/rapid on the CPI side of things. Listen, we just wrote our articles two months ago about how the scaremongering about how tariffs would impact prices were overblown because CPI was down.

It’s not really about any inflation surge. It’s just a rash.

Narrator: Those of you scratching your heads are trained animals

When there is no brain in the head, it is head-scratching. Otherwise, it's obvious to one and all. Seriously, people don't know how to write headlines.

They are scratching their heads trying to find where their braincells went, maybe

It is if you have a truth arbiter on staff

Who would have thought that placing big tarrifs on American importers wiuld increase prices? 🤔🤦

NOPE.

Steel is sold by weight. Higher volume = better price. My small business buys small quantities. But a quote yesterday is head scratching. Per item prices are all over the place. Avg price $1.03/lb is good. Per item prices are all over the place. How do I value inventory?

Is my wholesaler is trying to limit inventory by making smaller sizes exorbitant? Or are the mills trying to limit production of lighter sizes? Already we have to design around availability of sizes we commonly used in the past. I suspect that narrowing availability will continue.

Then I’ll just retire and my small business will disappear.

Tariffs innit.

The new BLS guy is in trouble. 🤡 And this is before the real chunky tariffs kick in.

No. It’s actually underreported according to my forecast. Will be revised upward.

I agree…will we hear about it? Will it get buried?

It can’t be buried because there are too many privately maintained indicators available. September inflation reports of every stripe are going to be heart stopping.

lol it won’t be revised upwards, that person would get fired.

See the BLS website.

I own a manufacturing company, I am seeing with my own eyes what is happening to input prices. They are definitely going up. My comment was a joke in reference to the last jobs numbers that were reported

Gotcha. I really feel for you. It’s hard enough to manage customer expectations in normal conditions. This is… well, it’s something we have not seen since Smoot-Hawley. And even then, those tariff levels were mild compared to these.

Independent analysts aren’t beholden to Donold.

Yahoo Finance, hello! Have you heard of tariffs? It’s been in the news lately.

I'm shocked that raising prices on goods (tariffs) is resulting in higher prices for consumers (inflation).

Stagflation

What could possibly be causing a rise in prices????

it depends on who is writing/editing this and for what specific intended audience....who may or may not distill macro info within the noisy day to day data...

Pisses pants....yahoo, wet pants head scratcher.

Today I have issued an Executive Order banning percentages who have been very unfair to your favorite President. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Not if you've been paying attention.

But, hey, 'both sides' eh?

Who knew tariffs could lead to inflation???

It's not head-scratching if they were listening to you every day.

The people know before the analysts……

File this under “no shit Sherlock” “Thursday's data suggests, then, that companies will not absorb all costs incurred from tariffs but will pass some of these costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices.”

I’m pretty sure it’s going to get much, much worse before it gets better.

It is not. Folks have been screaming about price increases for the last 2 quarters.

MAGA investment advisors-plus Wall Streets embrace of crypto-guarantees a hard rain’s gonna fall.

Its kinda the opposite

Only head scratching to those not paying attention

So, somehow this is difficult to farhom: president Trump wants US businesses to 'absorb' the extra cost of tariffs so they are hidden from consumers. They are starting to rebel against that. After all, these businesses will have lower profits, thereby paying less taxes. This seems unproductive.

It's easy to fathom when you understand: Shitler is just fucking outright stupid. The definition of moron and/or idiot.

You only need a high school economics class and a little thought to get this one right.