The scariest word this spring might not be "recession." It might be "stagflation." That's at least one possible implication of the Labor Department's report today that wholesale prices went up 1.1 percent last month. That's the second-largest increase in the price of goods sold by producers in the last 33 years—and the biggest one came only last November. Energy costs aren't letting up—home heating prices soared 13.1 percent, while gas prices went up 1.3 percent. Other than families trying to get by in a slow and expensive economic environment, to whom will this report matter most? These price increases are sure to catch the Fed's attention and make Ben Bernanke wonder if lowering interest rates is still such a good idea.
