Inflation Surge Was Due to Gasoline Prices, Not to an Overheating Economy;
Beware the Fed!

January 2017 Monthly CPI Inflation Rose by 0.55%,
Pushing Annual CPI-U Inflation to a 58-Month High of 2.50%, with
CPI-W at 2.51% and ShadowStats at 10.3%

January Monthly PPI Goods Inflation Up by 1.01%,
Construction Up by 0.26%, Services Up by 0.27%, Total PPI Up by 0.63%;
Total Final-Demand PPI Annual Inflation at a 29-Month High of 1.73%

Inflation-Adjusted Annual M3 Growth Is Signaling an Economic Downturn

January Nominal Retail Sales Gain of 0.36% Was Less than Inflation;
Inflation-Adjusted Real Sales Declined by 0.19% (-0.19%) for the Month

Real Earnings Contracted Quarterly in Fourth-Quarter 2016,
On Track for First-Quarter 2017 Annual and Quarterly Declines

January Production Was Down by 1.11% (-1.11%) from Its Pre-Recession High,
Down by 2.00% (-2.00%) from Its One-Month, November 2014 Recovery;
Manufacturing Was Down 5.69% (-5.69%) from a Never-Recovered Pre-Recession Peak

Despite Continuing Nonsense Volatility in Monthly Data and Revisions,
Smoothed Housing Starts and Permits Held in Non-Recovering, Low-Level Stagnation,
Down Respectively by 45% (-45%) and 43% (-43%) from Pre-Recession Peaks

Broad Outlook of Continuing Economic Stagnation/Renewed Downturn Is Unchanged