I can't really figure out how the .3% lost from the Producer Price Index in November is supposed to be a good thing[1]. This number came out before the negative Consumer Confidence data which was credited with taking the market lower. In any case, they still don't say much about what falling producer prices mean in an era of cheaper dollars and more expensive raw materials.
A broad index of commodities, the CRB, has risen 7% in November (and has been on the rise for months), so their drop in prices can only be the result of a lack of pricing power. A lack of pricing power is, of course, an indication of deflation not inflation, and thus really stirs the pot. The Fed says there's no longer any real risk of deflation, but they still didn't raise rates. The economy is expanding but isn't producing any jobs. Everywhere one looks, the data is conflicting. What's an amatuer economist to do?
[1]By the time I captured the Wall Street Journal article for my archive, they had started spinning it neutral. They had been blowing positive when the market seemed to like it. Eventally, they decided it must not be positive since the market thought it wasn't.
