Finimize - 🍪 Cookies hit a 40-year high

Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for February 11th in 3:07 minutes.

📈 You know inflation’s a major issue by now, so let’s discuss what you can do about it. Join LifeGoal Investments co-founder Taylor Sohns for The Limits Of Cash In Times Of Inflation on Wednesday, and find out how to invest when inflation’s on the up. Get your free ticket

Today's big stories

US consumer prices rose by the most since 1982 last month
Our analysts explores what might be next for investing in the retail investing landscape – Read Now
Disney reported better-than-expected results as its parks fill up again

State Of Replay

What’s Going On Here?

Okay, we could do with changing the record right about now: data out on Thursday showed that US consumer prices rose the most since 1982 last month.

What Does This Mean?

Even for a financial newsletter, we’re using the word “inflation” a lot these days. So here’s an idea: instead of saying “inflation”, let’s use the word “cookies”. Supply shortages and demand for just about everything continued to push up prices last month, with used cars and energy – which cost about 41% and 27% more than they did in January 2020 – accounting for a big chunk of the gains. Rent, clothing, and food were up too: 4%, 5%, and 7% respectively. That drove cookies to a higher-than-expected 7.5% – a 40-year record. See? We’re having more fun already.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Too little, too late?
The Federal Reserve (the Fed) has already said it’s on track to raise interest rates next month, and data like this will give the central bank more confidence that it’s making the right decision. But some economists think it’ll up the ante and raise rates by 0.5% – rather than the more typical bump of 0.25% – for the first time since 2000. That’d be tantamount to an admission from the Fed that it’s been slow to act and needs to play catch-up.

Zooming out: PepsiCo gets cocky.
One of the reasons food costs are going up is because consumer staples are charging more for their products, and feel confident about doing so because customers need what they’re selling. And it’s clearly paying off, with PepsiCo – which posted quarterly earnings on Thursday – growing its revenue by a better-than-expected 12% last quarter versus the same time in 2020. And even though its outlook for this year wasn’t as strong as expected, investors – who might’ve wanted a piece of that so-called “pricing power” – still initially sent its stock up.

You might also like: These markets could make a fortune from rising interest rates.

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Analyst Take

Will This Investing Renaissance Last?

Andrew, Analyst

What’s Going On Here?

The world of investing has become almost unrecognizable over the past four years.

Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum for retail traders had about 275,000 subscribers back then. It’s now up to more than 11 million.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation fund managed just $1.2 billion. It peaked at more than $28 billion last year, propelling Wood from obscurity to household name.

And one bitcoin cost about $7,000, having lost two-thirds of its value over the previous six months. It’s now worth over $44,000.

The big question now is what this new investing landscape will look like going forward.

So that’s my last ever Insight: what four years at the coalface of investor education has shown me, and where we might be headed next.

Read or listen to the Insight here

WFH isn’t going anywhere

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*Returns as of 11/12/21. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Individual investment results may vary. All investing involves risk of loss.