Quote from Martinghoul:
This is the key passage...
If what you describe above is the case, invest in companies/entities that are able to raise prices like this and you'll be just fine. So, I dunno, ConEdison, Aetna, local muni bonds, etc...
Thanks for these very good suggestions.
And for those of you who believe that there is no inflation out there, get a clue! Perhaps if you are not keeping a fairly meticulous budget you are immune to seeing this, but inflation is here right now, and I'm not the only one seeing it. Yes, crude is behind much of it, and crude is not counted in core CPI (hence, my "bullshit" comment), but here are some of my personal year-over-year statistics here in Long Island, NY, which tells the whole story:
- Food is up over 6% (crude and droughts behind much of this)
- Electric - Rates up Up 8 % year over year (crude behind this)
- Home Heating Oil - Cost/gallon up 5% year-over-year
- Health Insurance - Up 17% year-over-year
- Tuition Increases - NY State Universities - 5% increase for next
5 years
- Gasoline - Up 5% year-over-year
- Local Taxes - Up 4% year-over-year
And the list goes on.....................Like I said, I had between 7-8% inflation year-over-year. If I strip out crude's impact, what good does that do for me? It's still 7-8%.
Unfortunately, my old company's 401K only allows me to buy from 20 or so funds, so I cannot short bonds or anything else, which I think will be a good play in 2013.