Consumer spending surges in October as inflation heats up - November 29, 2021

A new coronavirus variant, dubbed the omicron variant, sent the world into high alert over the holiday weekend, driving a sharp increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations across South Africa. Governments around the world announced travel restrictions that target African regions, triggering resentment among Africans who believed that the continent was again being the target of Western countries' panicked policies. The World Health Organization believes the omicron variant poses a "very high" risk as it may be more transmissible than other strains of the virus. How Omicron Variant Rattled the World in One Week - The Wall Street Journal How vaccine makers plan to address the new COVID-19 omicron variant - NPR @SeanDefoe: Ten possible cases of the Omicron variant in Ireland have been sent for full genome sequencing. They were selected from positive Covid tests as they show a thing called 'S-gene dropout' which is linked with variants, not all of which are Omicron Inflation rose at its fastest pace in October since the early 1990s, according to the Commerce Department. Consumer spending rose 1.3% for the month. Minutes from the Fed’s November meeting showed worries about inflation dominated the monthly policy meeting, with officials saying they would be willing to raise interest rates if prices keep rising. Additionally, jobless claims plummeted to the lowest level in more than half a century at 199,000, another sign of a post-pandemic economic rebound. High inflation? Low polling? White House blames the pandemic - Associated Press Millennials Confront High Inflation for the First Time - The New York Times @RBReich: We need to talk about the deeper structural reason for inflation, one that appears to be growing worse: the concentration of the American economy in the hands of a few corporate giants with the power to raise prices. The Biden administration on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to lift the court-ordered stay on stay on the sweeping workplace COVID-19 vaccination mandate, urging the 6th U.S. Circui