This is only news to the wealthy. The rest of us already knew things were bad.

Wholesale Inflation Rate Soars

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level soared in January, pushed higher by rising costs for food, energy and medicine.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that wholesale prices rose 1 percent last month, more than double the 0.4 percent increase that economists had been expecting. (emphasis mine)

The January surge left wholesale prices rising by 7.5 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest pace in more than 26 years, since prices had risen at a 7.5 percent pace in the 12 months ending in October 1981.

The worse-than-expected performance was certain to capture attention at the Federal Reserve, which has chosen to combat a threatened recession by aggressively cutting interest rates in the belief that weaker economic growth will keep a lid on prices.

In other news:

- US Home Foreclosures Soar in January
- Home Prices Drop 8.9 Percent in 3 Months
- Spending on Health to Rise Dramatically