The Rising: Prices

Retailers and other merchants sat on price rises during the downturn for fear of chasing away customers, but they could only continue to do so for so long. According to a quarterly Barlow Research Associates survey of 149 retailers and restaurants with annual sales of $10 million to $500 million, 53% lifted prices during the past 12 months, up from 32% a year ago, and 61% plan more price increases in the next 12 months. The US Labor Department reported inflation at 1.8% -- excluding food and energy -- in July 2011, the biggest jump in more than a year. Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the average hourly earnings of all US private-sector employees rose 2.3% in July from a year ago, the highest level since October 2009.