'Toss away your money': Bloomberg is mercilessly mocked after advising Americans to 'spend their pay check immediately' and 'borrow lots of money' as a way to cope with inflation
- Bloomberg article used advice from Argentinians as a template for Americans
- Among the handy tips were 'negotiate a pay rise - or two' and 'buy a house'
- Article was savaged by critics who said it was hopelessly out of touch
- Comes as Americans are facing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years
A Bloomberg article has been mercilessly mocked for advising people to 'spend their pay checks immediately' and 'borrow lots of money' to cope with inflation.
The piece takes advice from Argentinians on how they deal with soaring inflation in a country ravaged by 50 percent price rises in a typical year.
Among the handy tips, it advises Americans to 'negotiate a pay rise - or two' and to 'buy homes and cars.'
The article has been savaged by commentators who claim it is hopelessly out of touch with Americans facing the highest rate of inflation rate in 40 years.
Journalist Ian Miles Cheong wrote: 'America is turning into the Weimar Republic with financial magazines advising people to spend their paychecks as soon as they get paid. Hyperinflation is coming.'
Empty shelves at a supermarket in Washington DC amid supply chain woes and surging prices
The consumer price index rose 6.8 percent in November from a year ago, up from October's gain of 6.2 percent and the biggest annual gain since 1982
'You will own nothing and you will be happy,' former investment banker Carol Roth tweeted.
Spectator columnist Stephen L. Miller joked: 'Just wear a sweater.'
'Bloomberg next week – "Some of the advice on how to cope with rising inflation includes: Stop using cash and switch to bartering,"' Sen. Ted Cruz advisor Omri Ceren tweeted.
The article says: 'In a high-inflation economy, money that sits in the bank is losing value. Each day, those $100 on deposit buy a little bit less. As a result, many Argentines spend their paychecks as soon as they receive them, carting away weeks worth of groceries in a single shopping trip, even if some of it - excess meat, chicken, fish - will sit in the freezer for months.
'The practical application of this technique in the U.S., where inflation isn’t quite high enough to warrant such a mad pay-day dash, is to expedite plans to buy big-ticket items - appliances, bicycles, furniture. If you have the money to pay for that sofa now, do it.'
Joe Biden on Friday admitted that inflation was a 'bump in the road' – but predicted that prices would drop from current levels, after a new monthly report showed the highest jump in prices since the early 1980s.
'So I think it's it really is it's a real bump in the road. It does affect families,' Biden said in response to a question at a democracy summit held virtually at the White House.
'You walk into a grocery store and you're paying more for whatever you're purchasing,' he continued, speaking to public concerns after a new report showed a 6.8 per cent jump in prices in November compared to a year ago.
'It matters when you're paying more for gas, although in some states, we've dropped the price down below three bucks a gallon,' Biden said, taking some credit for the decrease after announcing policies including pumping oil from a strategic reserve.
'But the point is, it's not gone down quickly enough - but I think it will,' Biden said.
Biden said he recognized that inflation is a 'real problem.' But he predicted: 'I think it's the peak of the crisis.'
The US inflation rate has hit its highest level in nearly 40 years, adding woes for consumers and compounding the issue as a political liability for Biden.
The consumer price index rose 0.8 percent last month after surging 0.9 percent in October, the Labor Department said on Friday.
It pushed annual inflation to 6.8 percent in November, the highest increase since June 1982 and well above October's 6.2 percent annual rate.
A labor shortage is boosting wages, sending costs higher for businesses, and chaos in the supply chain is showing little sign of easing, indicating that high inflation could persist well into 2022.
Biden, who has been hammered by critics over soaring inflation, responded to the latest report with a statement insisting that 'price and cost increase are slowing, although not as quickly as we’d like.'
'Half of the price increases in this report are in cars and energy costs from November. Since then, we have seen significant energy price reductions,' argued Biden, adding that strong gains in employment and consumer savings mean that 'economic growth is stronger here than virtually any other nation.'
A customer shops in the prepared food section of the Trader Joe's Upper East Side Bridgemarket grocery store in New York on December 2. Grocery prices were up 6.2% overall in November from a year ago
Surging energy prices drove much of the headline inflation, with the energy category up 33 percent on the year
The national average price of gasoline has dropped slightly since November, but remains well above prices in recent years
Annual inflation rates are seen for groceries (black) gasoline (purple) and new cars (yellow) over the past 20 years
Global stock markets mostly rose Monday ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week that is expected to accelerate plans to wind down economic stimulus.
Fed officials said earlier they were ready to try to cool inflation by winding down bond purchases and other stimulus that is boosting stock markets.
London, Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while Frankfurt opened lower. Oil prices rose by more than $1 per barrel.
On Wall Street, more than 70% of the stocks in the S&P 500 rose Friday.
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The Fed previously planned to raise ultra-low interest rates in late 2022, but investors now expect that to be moved up to mid-year.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.10 to $72.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, advanced $1.02 cents to $76.17 per barrel in London. It gained 73 cents the previous session to $75.15 per barrel.
The dollar gained go 113.51 yen from Friday's 113.43 yen. The euro declined to $1.1271 from $1.1311.
