You certainly know that energy prices have gone up this year. In particular, the price of oil has risen. And energy price increases have played havoc with Western economies.

As rocky as the global markets have been, the worst is yet to come, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (ADR: RBS) warns.

As much as I poke fun at my home state of Oregon (with its decidedly liberal tendencies), it’s a phenomenal place to live. Not only are the people spectacular, so is their attitude.

Investors better keep an eye on bonds this week.While the stock market may be more fun to follow, fixed income is often a stronger gauge of investor expectations of the economy, future U.S. Federal Reserve policy, and inflation.

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

The lastest oil advance was what I call a “melt-up.”

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…

Gold was slightly higher in Hong Kong and early London trading on Wednesday, then rose steadily during the NYMEX session before leveling off through the Globex and finishing at $880.10/oz., up $13.50. Overnight, gold has fallen off.

You are supposed to see consumer prices fall with technological advances. You are supposed to see price benefits from cheaper foreign labor. Right? How has this played out for American consumers?

Has Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke suddenly turned into an inflation fighter? To my knowledge, Bernanke has never before stressed the dollar’s decline, the inflationary dangers it poses and his intention to guard against these as much as he did yesterday.