Keep your eye on the three Fs

HIGH inflation in the United States basically reflects two forces.

On one side, there is a lot of disruption: Rising oil and food prices (made worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine), snarled supply chains and so on. These factors are the reason inflation is way up everywhere, not just in America.

On the other side, the US economy is running very hot, with widespread labour shortages. You can see this overheating in lots of data, but it is also visible to the naked eye.