“Work eight hours and sleep eight hours and make sure that they are not the same hours.”

– T. Boone Pickens

Long-suffering readers will be aware of our low opinion here at Notes of government economic statistics. The truth of the matter is that many of them are fudged. Don’t just take our word for it. According to Kevin Philips, former Republican Party strategist and author of Bad Money, “Ever since the 1960s, Washington has gulled its citizens and creditors by debasing official statistics, the vital instruments with which the muscle and vitality of the American economy are measured.”

I heard comedian Drew Hastings on the radio the other morning.  Actually, I should say I heard Drew’s alter ego Jack Freeman on the radio the other morning.  Drew does a parody of success gurus with the character of Jack Freeman. 

UBS Posts $1.7 Billion Loss; Infosys Forecast First Sales Drop; FDI in China Slips Again; Annual CPI Falls For First Time Since 1955; Homebuilder Sentiment Rises; BofA Raises Credit Card Transfer Fees to 4%; Cisco Deal Clears FTC; Brazil’s Bonds Rise On Interest Rate Cuts

Despite the chaos on Wall Street, the Fed yesterday left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2%.

Martin Hutchinson says the Fed has finally starting doing its job: putting price stability over Wall Street’s demands. Real interest rates are negative. This is feeding inflation. It also means Treasury bond yields – also currently below the rate of inflation – are too low and should begin to rise again.

Martin says investors can profit from this situation with the Rydex Juno Inverse Government Long Bond Strategy (MUTF:RYJUX).

US consumer price inflation rose at its fastest rate since November 2007 as oil and energy costs continue to soar.

The US Labor Department said prices increased by 0.6% in May, a higher increase than forecast.

John Mauldin examines the causes of inflation in in Outside the Box…

Whip Inflation Now…Where Can We Get Help on Inflation?…The Patient Died Anyway…Inflation in Asia and Europe…There Are No Good Solutions

Here’s a not-too-controversial prediction. Later this month, Big Merv King will get the Basildon Bond out and pen his missive to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, explaining why inflation has gone over 3.0%.

The US inflation rate rose by 0.6% in May — the highest monthly increase since last November.

The core inflation rate, however, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, only rose 0.2%, easing fears that rising commodity prices would feed into more widespread inflation

But can the government’s inflation data be trusted? John Brown in The Daily Reckoning doesn’t think so…

I was delayed on my way in this morning. By the Luftwaffe. Yes, an unexploded bomb in east London played havoc with the District Line.