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US inflation falls to three-year low

August 15, 2024

Stephen Maher

Shopping in a Whole Foods Market supermarket in New York on Monday, August 12, 2024.

(ÂPhoto by Richard B. Levine)

Annual US inflation came in at 2.9% in July, the lowest level since March 2021, according to numbers released Wednesday. The news will bolster the case for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, and could provide a boost for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

A closer look: Annual core inflation — which strips out volatile energy and food costs — fell from from 3.3 to 3.2 since June, suggesting pandemic-era supply constraints continue to ease. Grocery prices rose only 1.1% and gas prices fell 2.2% over the past year.

These trends mirror what’s happening north of the border, where falling inflation allowed the Bank of Canada to begin cutting rates this summer for the first time in four years.

The political impact: Falling inflation should in principle be good news for American Democrats and Canadian Liberals, since incumbents are typically held to account for economic perceptions. That said, Justin Trudeau’s polling numbers are so bad right now it’s hard to see what, if anything, could temper the negative vibes around him.

For Kamala Harris, meanwhile, the numbers provide a fresh tailwind as she flies into North Carolina for her economic policy rollout speech on Friday.

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Putin ramps up attacks as Ukraine flies blind

People stand at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on March 8, 2025.

REUTERS/Nadia Karpova

Russian forces bombarded Ukraine for two consecutive nights this weekend, killing over 25 people in Donetsk and Kharkiv. Moscow also retook three towns in Kursk after troops crawled for miles through a gas pipeline and staged a surprise attack.

Kim Jong Un shows off North Korea’s first nuclear-powered sub

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visits a shipyard, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 8, 2025.

KCNA via REUTERS

Cigarette in hand, and with the toothiest of grins, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un posed for photographs at a shipyard next to the makings of a “nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.” The vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one, with a payload of 10 missiles, in line with plans unveiled at the Hermit Kingdom’s 2021 party congress.

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Syria sees worst fighting since Assad’s fall

Syrian forces head to Latakia after fighters linked to Syria's ousted leader Bashar Assad mounted a deadly attack on government forces on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

Nearly 50 people were killed on Thursday in the deadliest clashes Syria has seen since the overthrow of Bashar Assad. Pro-Assad militants attacked security checkpoints around the western coastal town of Jableh, a stronghold of the former regime.

US may target Iranian tankers

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, in May 2022.

REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo

The Trump administration is reportedly considering a strategy to disrupt Iran’s oil exports by stopping and inspecting Iranian oil tankers at sea. The US would use the Proliferation Security Initiative, established in 2003 to prevent the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, as a legal justification for the inspections.

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US inflation falls to three-year low

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Nearly 50 people were killed on Thursday in the deadliest clashes Syria has seen since the overthrow of Bashar Assad. Pro-Assad militants attacked security checkpoints around the western coastal town of Jableh, a stronghold of the former regime.

EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday to answer two big questions: How can Europe defend Ukraine in the short term and defend itself in the long term?

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