To Order Close Print Help
| Segment# |
| 2 |
| Location |
| |
| Date |
| 2/26/2008 |
| |
| Story Name |
| TOUGH TIMES STAGFLATION |
| |
| Notes |
| |
| |
|18:33:09 |
|Prepared by The Transcription Company, , (818) 848-6500 |
|Which takes sole responsibility for accuracy of transcription |
|18:33:09 CHARLES GIBSON |
|(OC) Well now, to the economy. And a word not heard since the 1970s. |
|STAGFLATION. That occurs when prices go up just as the economy slows |
|down. STAGFLATION plus inflation. |
|GRAPHICS: PRODUCER PRICE INDEX |
|18:33:21 CHARLES GIBSON |
|(VO) And the government reported today that wholesale prices shot up 1% |
|in January. And are now up almost 7.5% in the past 12 months. ABC's |
|David Muir is joining us now. David? |
|18:33:33 DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS |
|(OC) Good evening, Charlie. The inflation you speak of this evening is |
|growing at a rate not seen since 1981. And consumers are really beginning |
|to feel it across the board. In fact tonight, a new ABC News poll, of |
|consumer confidence, shows Americans are feeling the worst they have felt |
|about the economy in 14 years. |
|18:33:50 DAVID MUIR |
|(VO) From getting groceries to getting gas, to just plain getting better. |
|The new numbers show inflation is rising at its fastest rate in nearly |
|three decades. Wholesale prices, what companies and stores pay to stock |
|their shelves, are rising dramatically. The wholesale price of eggs, up |
|60% year-to-year. Pasta, up 30%. |
|18:34:12 PEDESTRIAN |
|I notice it on eggs. |
|18:34:14 PEDESTRIAN |
|Oh, everything - everything is so expensive now. |
|18:34:17 JOSEPH LAVORGNA, CHIEF ECONOMIST |
|We are seeing inflation really across the board - food, energy prices. |
|We're seeing higher motor vehicle prices. Certainly pharmaceutical |
|prices. |
|18:34:27 DAVID MUIR |
|(VO) Just today, oil set a record high. A barrel of crude closed at just |
|over $100. And what so worries economists, is that potential dynamic, |
|STAGFLATION. |
|GRAPHICS: STAGFLATION |
|18:34:38 JOSEPH LAVORGNA |
|Current environment is similar in style to the late '70s, early '80s, in |
|that inflation is high and rising and the economy is weak and slowing. |
|18:34:49 DAVID MUIR |
|(VO) Today, Home Depot posted its first-ever drop in sales for last year. |
|Profits down more than 27% in just the last quarter. Contractor Raul |
|Gonzales shops there. The problem is, his own phone isn't ringing. |
|18:35:04 RAUL GONZALEZ, CONTRACTOR |
|If I have less work, I'm buying less materials. |
|18:35:06 DAVID MUIR |
|(VO) So, what to do? Congress already pushed through a stimulus |
|package. And the Fed will likely cut rates again. Why if it could lead |
|to even more inflation? Well, as one economist said today, you've got to |
|tackle the economy itself first, inflation later. |
|18:35:20 ANNE MATHIAS, RESEARCH DIRECTOR |
|It is much easier for the Fed to tackle high inflation than it is for the |
|Fed to try to resuscitate an economy on its death bed. |
|18:35:29 DAVID MUIR |
|(OC) And that right there was the consensus in talking with economists |
|today. That the sluggish economy is the bigger issue to tackle here. |
|That inflation can be tackled down the road. The problem is, that's the |
|economists' view. In talking to the folks at the grocery store, the gas |
|pumps today, they're all asking for relief now, Charlie. |
|18:35:45 CHARLES GIBSON |
|(OC) All right. David Muir on the economy tonight. |
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.