Money

Axios

• The Consumer Price Index yesterday was as good as an economic report can get. In June, CPI fell (yes, deflation!) for the first time since 2020.The unemployment rate is edging up, but still at an historically low level.
• Those looking at their 401(k)s can be pleased: Stocks are near a record high.
• From the standpoint of the Biden administration, the economy is performing just as they would have hoped.

The price of a ‘Forever’ stamp will increase by five cents, from 68 cents to 73 cents, marking the second postage price increase this year by the USPS. Since the introduction of ‘Forever’ stamps in 2007 at 41 cents, their cost has steadily risen, most recently from 66 cents to 68 cents in January 2024. Unsurprisingly, as everything is nowadays, other postage rates are also increasing: domestic postcards will now cost 56 cents, a 3-cent rise, and international postcards and letters will each cost $1.65, a 10-cent increase. Overall, postage costs will rise by 7.8%.

CNN - Consumer prices in the US fell in June for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.1% from May, which helped to slow the annual rate of inflation to 3% from 3.3% in May, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Falling gas prices as well as a drop in new and used car prices helped to usher in the first month-on-month decline since May 2020, the data showed. The better-than-expected inflation report further bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates sooner than later and help make borrowing money less expensive for many Americans.