Here is some economic news I’ve picked up over several days pertaining to the stock market and prices on goods around the country.

About 47 percent of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite Index are down at least 20 percent from their peak in the last 12 months while more than 40 percent have fallen that much in the Russell 2000 Index and the Bloomberg IPO Index.

Here is a breakdown of Producer Prices

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for the 12 months through August, producer prices increased 1.8 percent after rising 1.7 percent in July.

Prices for services related to securities brokerage and dealing fell 4.5 percent in August.

Gasoline index fell 1.4 percent.

Prices for utility natural gas, chicken eggs, diesel fuel, electric power, and raw cotton also moved lower.

The index for potatoes surged 28.0 percent.

Prices for pharmaceutical preparations and jet fuel also advanced.

Consumer Price Index showed decreases and increases as well. I highlighted the bigger jump in food prices jumping with inflation.

Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.7 percent. The energy index fell 2.6 percent, with the gasoline index declining 4.1 percent and the indexes for natural gas
and fuel oil also decreasing.

Food index rose 0.2 percent in August after increasing 0.4 percent in July. The food at home index was also up 0.2 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.5 percent in August, the largest increase among the groups. The index for beef and veal rose 4.2 percent, its largest increase since November 2003. The index
for dairy and related products rose 0.6 percent, and the cereals and bakery products index advanced 0.2 percent.

Over the last 12 months, the food at home index has risen 2.9 percent, with the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs up 8.8 percent.

And finally, picked up an explanation on gas prices stabilizing or decreasing here lately.

The fall in the gasoline index can best be understood in terms of the increased oil productivity in the U.S. OPEC production continues to hover between 36mbd and 38mbd. BUT, non-OPEC output rose to a record 54.8mbd during July. Contributing to that record high is US oil field production, which is soaring and reached almost 9.0mbd in early September. The US is now exporting 3.7mbd of crude oil and petroleum products.

Hat Tip many sources