Lupe Fiasco Anarchist? China Inflation Spilling Out, PPI Up, and Small Businesses Worried About Inflation

Wow, check out the video for Lupe Fiasco's Words I Never Said

Check out some of these lyrics:

I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit
Just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets
How much money does it take to really make a full clip

Your childs future was the first to go with budget cuts
If you think that hurts then, wait here comes the uppercut
The school was garbage in the first place, that's on the up and up
Keep you at the bottom but tease you with the uppercrust
You get it then they move it so you never keeping up enough

Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist
Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit
That's why I ain't vote for him, next one either
I’ma part of the problem, my problem is I’m peaceful

Jihad is not a holy war, wheres that in the worship?
Murdering is not Islam!
And you are not observant
And you are not a muslim
Israel don’t take my side cause look how far you’ve pushed them

Dude definitely nails it at some points.  And check out the A in his album cover:

Somebody seems to be trying to tell us something about their political (or rather non-political) views.

Big news today as China's inflation rate reaches 5.5% and the Central Bank raises the reserve requirement to 21.5%.  Via Bloomberg:

China ordered lenders to set aside more cash as reserves after inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in almost three years in May and industrial production rose more than estimates.
A half percentage point increase announced by the central bank today and effective June 20 will take the ratio to a record 21.5 percent for the biggest lenders. The move was hours after data showing the inflation rate climbed to 5.5 percent.

Still, the pace of inflation remains the slowest of the so-called BRIC nations, with the latest data showing annual rates of 6.6 percent for Brazil, 9.6 percent for Russia and 9.1 percent for India. China’s peak this year may be “slightly above” 6 percent in June, Bank of America said.
Food prices in China rose 11.7 percent in May from a year earlier as pork costs surged and vegetable prices rebounded late in the month, the statistics bureau said today. Low-income nations from India to Algeria are struggling with food prices that climbed to a record in February according to a United Nations gauge. The Food and Agricultural Organization index was up 37 percent in May from a year earlier.

Every time inflation increases in China, the Central Bank is one step behind raising reserve requirements.  The inflationary boost can't last forever though unless China wants to see even more protests.

Speaking of inflation, the new Producer Price Index stats are out:

The Producer Price Index for finished goods rose 0.2 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This advance followed increases of 0.8 percent in 

April and 0.7 percent in March. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by 

manufacturers of intermediate goods climbed 0.9 percent in May, and the crude goods index 

declined 4.1 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods moved up 7.3 percent for 

the 12 months ended May 2011, the largest year-over-year gain since an 8.8-percent advance in 

September 2008.

This of course comes on the back of a new report from the National Federation of Independent Business showing that the Index of Small Business optimism has dropped .3 points to 90.9 in May, the third monthly decline in a row:

Here are the key indicators from the report:

• Job market indicators continued to deteriorate, anticipating very weak job creation and a higher unemployment rate.
• Capital spending plans and inventory investment plans all weakened and remain at recession levels.
• Inflation continues to rise, a notable business concern for owners who are raising their own prices at the fastest pace seen in years.
• And driving the economic uncertainty, one in four owners still report weak sales as their top business problem (followed by taxes and regulations and red tape, only 3% cite financing).

Are Bernanke and Krugman watching?  As rumors of QEIII continue to swirl around, Bill Gross of PIMCO has weighed in via Twitter:

I will end with some news that will surely drive the hoard-fearing Keynesians crazy:

Japanese safe maker Eiko Co. says sales jumped more than 40 percent after the March earthquake and tsunami, a sign that consumers will hoard more cash at home and restrain an economic rebound.
“The television footage of the tsunami destroying everything in its path must have served as a warning for cash- rich people,” said Tsutomu Ishii, head of sales for the Tokyo- based company. “They have cash at home and they don’t want to leave it without any protection anymore.”

Update- Here is the Ron Paul highlight video from last night's CNN debate:

And of course Ron Paul was the only person on stage who talked about both the Fed and military industrial complex.  And once again he was the only one to elucidate any substantial economic theory, you can see either Romney or Pawlenty with their pasted on empty smile beside him trying their best to understand as Paul goes over malinvestment and the need to clear the market.  Good thing Romney is the front runner, right?