Author: Patti Mohr

Governments And Markets React To Variant Found in South Africa November 26, 2021--The World Health Organization identified a new variant, called Omicron, as a cause for concern on Friday and established a technical advisory group to study it. It comes as much of the world tries to recover from economic recessions due to the global pandemic. "This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs," said the WHO release. Financial markets reacted worldwide as governments instituted travel bans and braced for the potential for infection rates to rise. The scientific name is SARS-CoV-2 variant: B.1.1.529. Since scientists first discovered it on November...

November 10, 2021--The Consumer Price Index increased 0.9 percent in October and 6.2 percent for the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. While the rise in prices was "broad-based," the cost of energy, shelter, food, and vehicles rose at higher levels, the BLS said. Meanwhile, prices of airline fares and alcoholic beverages declined. Excluding food and energy, inflation still rose 4.6 percent, which was the "largest 12-month increase" since 1991. Over the last 12 months, energy prices increased the highest at a rate of 30 percent with fuel prices climbing by 49 percent. In recent meetings, the central banks for Europe, Britain, and the United States predicted inflation would rise higher this year and into 2022. Yet all three monetary policy boards left interest rat...