It was a big week for economic data releases as well as some bizarre market activity. The Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index both rose 0.4% in September, a higher jump than expected. Read on for more articles on rising mortgage rates, the El Salvador Bitcoin experiment, and progress on the financial literacy front.

Economics

• In a speech this week, Fed vice-chair Lael Brainard reiterates that the Fed will maintain its stance on increasing interest rates in its efforts to rein in inflation. She elaborated on how the Fed views and handles the more complex global issues that may impact the economy. (NYT)
• September PPI came in at a 0.4% increase over the previous month, which had shown a slight decline. The increase was double the expectation. (CNN)
• The September CPI came in hotter than hoped for. Increases in service prices seem to be driving this. Supply chain issues are having less of an impact on goods prices. (AP) (BLS)
• The Median and Trimmed-Mean CPI measures are actually increasing. (Cleveland Fed)
• Social Security recipients will get a whopping increase in January. (CBS News)
• Mortgage rates hit a 20-year high. (CNN)
• Retail sales were flat on a nominal level in September, but the story is in which components were up and which were down, as consumers seem to be holding off on large purchases but spending on services. The details of this announcement include a breakdown of the sales as well as import and export prices. (Reuters)
• UK sacks its Finance Minister, taking the fall for the tax cutting plan that created chaos in the market. (CNBC)

Investing

• The S&P had its 5th largest intraday turnaround on Thursday. Markets went up after initially going down on the CPI release. Are they betting this is the last big increase? (CNBC)
• Yahoo Finance provides a good summary of the week’s financial markets activity.
• Kroger announced it is buying Albertsons. Kroger and Albertsons are the number one and two grocery operators in the US, but Kroger trails behind Walmart in revenue. (Yahoo Finance) (CNBC)

FinTech/Banking

• Apple announced the addition of a high-yield savings account tied to its card. Between that and its BNPL offering, it appears to be more and more like a bank. (The Verge)

Managing Credit

• Consumers are reverting to pre-pandemic credit habits, with number of credit cards, credit balances, and delinquencies all rising. (Seeking Alpha)
• A new company wants to give you a credit card and help you build your credit through gamification. (TechCrunch)

Crypto

• This is not the first article on the El Salvador Bitcoin experiment, but it is a very thorough evaluation with interesting data. (CNBC)

Financial Literacy

• If you are looking for anecdotes about how people overcome their inherited bad money habits, try this article by Jackie Lam for CNET.
• Progress on the financial literacy front, as more state say yes to high school classes. (Forbes)

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.