Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Narayana Kocherlakota delivered his first-ever media briefing on the state's economy on Tuesday. He was among a handful of Fed officials calling for more openness from the organization, and he thinks the Fed should be much more clear about the trade-offs between unemployment and inflation. Wells Fargo senior economist Scott Anderson says there is some risk to pulling back the curtain on the Fed's new openness initiative.
"Now they're going to see the sausage-making a little more," Anderson said. "They might just find out the Fed doesn't have a perfect track record."
Gas heading higher
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States surpassed $3.50 last week, well ahead of seasonal price hikes and posing the chance that gas could surpass $4 per gallon this summer. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service, told the Los Angeles Times there are plenty of reasons to expect a big price surge this spring.
"Early February crude oil prices are higher than they've ever been on similar calendar dates through the years," Kloza said. "And the price of crude sets the standard for gasoline prices."
Frugal consumers and General Mills
On Friday, General Mills reduced its earnings forecast for its fiscal year ending in May, citing weak demand. The company revised its earnings for fiscal 2012 to $2.53 to $2.55 per share, down from $2.59 to $2.61 per share.
"Consumers are still being frugal," Kenneth Shea, a senior consumer products analyst with Bloomberg Industries, explained in a Bloomberg news story. "Food companies are experiencing year-over-year cost increases, and they aren't being offset by price increases."
PATRICK KENNEDY
