Feeling The Heat of Inflation

Has the economic bane of the 1970s returned to haunt the late 1980s? For several years, inflation has seemed like a vanquished problem of another era. Price increases during the past half-decade have been remarkably small, never more than 5% annually. Vigilant economists have spotted warning signs from time to time but never any present danger. Now, however, comes fresh evidence that inflation may be making a comeback at a time when it could play havoc with the aging economic expansion and the new Administration. A serious rise in prices would force the Federal Reserve to fight back by pushing interest...