Green comet approaches Earth: How to watch comet ZTF's path ...

Stargazers around the world will be able to see Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the predawn sky throughout January and into early February.

The comet, which was discovered just last year, will be closest to the sun on Jan. 12 and will pass Earth at a distance of 26.4 million miles on Feb. 2.

Depending on viewing conditions and the comet's brightness, it could be possible to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with a naked eye.

To kick off 2023, Earthlings could catch an extraordinary sight in the sky as a recently discovered comet travels past our world.

The comet, dubbed C/2022 E3 (ZTF), was first sighted in March 2022, according to NASA. It likely traveled hundreds of billions of miles to reach the inner solar system.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be closest to the sun on Jan. 12 and will pass Earth at a distance of 26.4 million miles on Feb. 2, NASA said.

If the comet ever returns, it won't be at least for another 50,000 years, experts say. Here's what you need to know about viewing the once-in-a-lifetime event.

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Where can I see Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)? What time is it visible?

For people in the Northern Hemisphere, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be visible in the predawn sky with binoculars or a small telescope for all of January. The Southern Hemisphere will be able to observe the comet at the start of February, NASA said.

Between city lights, pollution and/or the moon's glare, viewing a comet can be challenging. To best observe C/2022 E3 (ZTF), you'll want to find dark, clear skies.

A December telescopic image captured by astrophotographer Dan Bartlett shows C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with an impressive "brighter greenish coma, short broad dust tail, and long faint ion tail," NASA writes.

The comet's coma "has a distinctive green color in photographs due to its chemical composition," Space.com reports, adding that the color "suggests the presence of diatomic carbon, or dicarbons."

Can I see the comet with a naked eye?

Depending on viewing conditions and the comet's brightness, it might be possible to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with a naked eye.

"Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it'll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it's just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies," NASA noted in its January 2023 skywatching tips.

"This comet isn't expected to be quite the spectacle that Comet NEOWISE was back in 2020. But it's still an awesome opportunity to make a personal connection with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system," the agency added.

In September:New images from James Webb Space Telescope showcase Neptune and its rarely seen rings

Where did C/2022 E3 (ZTF) originate from?

According to CBS and Newsweek, experts say that the comet likely originated from the Oort Cloud – the most distant region of our solar system that NASA describes as "a big, thick-walled bubble made of icy pieces of space debris the sizes of mountains and sometimes larger."

Assuming C/2022 E3 (ZTF) originated from this region, the comet has traveled hundreds of billions of miles from the Oort Cloud to its upcoming passage of the sun and Earth.

Britannica.com says the part of the Oort Cloud where new comets originate is between 40,000 and 50,000 astronomical units from the sun, or more than 3.72 trillion miles.

Will Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) return? Not for at least 50,000 years

The future of the comet's journey after it passes through the inner solar system remains unknown. But don't expect to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth's skies again in your lifetime.

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"We don't have an estimate for the furthest it will get from the Earth yet – estimates vary – but if it does return it won't be for at least 50,000 years," Jessica Lee, an astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich, told Newsweek.

She added that "some predictions suggest that the orbit of this comet is so eccentric it's no longer in an orbit," meaning that C/2022 E3 (ZTF) may never return.

January and February may also mark the only time in recorded history that humans will be able to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth.

"Most known long-period comets have been seen only once in recorded history because their orbital periods are so, well, long," NASA said in a statement to CBS. "Countless more unknown long-period comets have never been seen by human eyes. Some have orbits so long that the last time they passed through the inner solar system, our species did not yet exist."

Lithium Valley: 3 leaders fight to keep benefits in Imperial County

On a glaringly bright spring afternoon, with temperatures hitting the high 90s, Imperial County Supervisor Ryan Kelley ascends bumpy Red Hill. He points out places he’s known all his life: Obsidian Butte nearby where his family picnicked; the pale brown Chocolate Mountains to the east, and Mt. Signal, a guidepost for early desert dwellers, 40 miles south.


Why eggs have been so expensive this year

New York CNN Business —

Several grocery items have gotten more expensive this year. But nothing comes close to the rise in egg prices.

In the year through November, not adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices jumped 49%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since early this year, a deadly avian flu has been reducing poultry flocks — specifically turkeys and egg-laying hens. That’s one reason for the unrelenting increase in prices. But the situation has been exacerbated by elevated feed and energy costs for producers, in addition to high demand in the supermarket.

Experts think that the peak has passed, but until these conditions improve, expect to pay more for eggs in the grocery store.

Wholesale prices hit a record

Avian flu has been a problem in the US for several months now, but in recent weeks wholesale prices have been hitting records.

As of last week, “prices have been escalating for nine consecutive weeks… setting new record highs on a daily basis since the week of Thanksgiving,” said Karyn Rispoli, editor of the Egg Price Current for Urner Barry, which offers food market data.

On Friday, Midwest large eggs, the benchmark for eggs sold in their shells, hit $5.46 per dozen, Rispoli said, citing Urner Barry’s data. This time last year, Urner Berry’s data shows, that price was around $1.70.

Eggs have gotten much more expensive this year. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

One reason for the increase? Not enough supply.

“There’s simply not been enough production to support the incredibly strong retail demand we’ve seen this year,” Rispoli said. Supply has been constrained by the deadly bird flu.

The current outbreak of Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza started in the US around February, and has persisted throughout the year. The last major bird flu outbreak in the United States was in 2015. But that one was contained by June of that year, noted Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein in CoBank.

“This year, we’ve continued to see flock depopulations throughout the entire year, and there’s an expectation that we’ll continue to see it into 2023,” he said, noting that he expects “we’re going to see a tight supply situation and elevated pricing environment moving forward.”

About 60 million birds are gone because of the disease so far, according to the USDA. Of those, about 43 million are egg-laying hens, according to USDA data provided by the American Egg Board, a farmer-funded group which markets eggs.

Still, farmers have been able to moderate the losses. “Our producers learned a lot of hard lessons from 2015,” said Emily Metz, CEO of the American Egg Board. Some farmers have been able to repopulate their flocks, decreasing the net impact on flock sizes and egg supplies. As of early December, there were about 308 million hens laying eggs for consumption, down from about 328 million in December 2021, according to the USDA.

The supply squeeze isn’t the only thing contributing to higher egg prices, said Metz. Higher fuel, feed and other producer cost are also driving up wholesale prices, she said. And then there’s that high demand for eggs, which spikes this time of year.

Egg demand remains high

People buy more eggs around the holidays, when they’re baking and cooking more, and eating breakfast at home more often.

Wholesale prices tend to go up in the winter because of those habits, noted Earnest. That has “brought about a very strong market condition.”

Year-round demand for eggs has also also been strong.

Even while prices have soared, sales of eggs have only ticked down about 2% by unit in retail in the year through December 4th, according to data from IRI, a market research firm.

Shoppers have been accepting high prices at the grocery store as they pull back on restaurant visits. And even though eggs have gotten more expensive, they still cost less than other proteins.

A deadly avian flu has led to the death of millions of poultry this year. Mario Tama/Getty Images

As that peak holiday demand passes, wholesale prices are expected to fall.

“Based on current trade values and market conditions, it appears that the market may have finally reached its peak,” said Rispoli. Friday’s wholesale prices were the same as Thursday’s, the first time pricing held steady since October, she said.

“Several suppliers have reported to us… that they are seeing their orders slow,” in the week leading up to Christmas, she added. By then, “most grocers have pulled in whatever inventory they’ll need for the holidays.”

It might take another three to six months for prices to moderate in retail, said KK Davey, president of thought leadership at IRI and NPD, and even longer for prices to come down to what they were last year.

“It may take some more time,” he said.

Grocery store prices aren't coming down anytime soon | CNN Business

New York CNN Business —

Some sobering news for US shoppers: There’s little relief in sight on grocery store bills.

Grocery prices climbed 13.5% in August from the year before, the highest annual increase since March 1979, according to government data.

Executives at large food manufacturers and analysts expect inflation to hover around this level for the rest of 2022.

Next year, the rate of food inflation is expected to moderate — but that doesn’t mean prices are going to drop. Once prices hit a certain level, they tend to stay there or go up, but rarely down.

A number of factors have contributed to the surge in prices. Producers say they’re paying higher prices for labor and packaging materials. Extreme weather, like drought or flooding, and disease, like the deadly avian flu, have been hurting crops and killing egg-laying hens, squeezing supplies.

Even if some of these situations stabilize, it will take a while for those changes to reach consumers.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” said David Ortega, food economist and associate professor at Michigan State University. It’s not clear when the war in Ukraine will end, or how weather will impact crops in the future. “That’s one of the reasons why prices take longer to come down.”

Producers aren’t “seeing any end to inflation in terms of their labor and commodities cost,” said KK Davey, the president of client engagement at market research company IRI. The firm expects food inflation to rise between 5% and 10% next year.

Meanwhile, demand is high. Consumers may be able to pull back on some discretionary items, but they have to eat. And paying higher grocery prices may still be cheaper than dining out at restaurants, where menu prices are also rising (though at a slower clip). And many people are still working from home and consuming more of their meals there.

This imbalance means companies can pass along higher prices to shoppers without sales plunging.

“The cycle will break when supply is high and demand moderates,” said Davey.

Companies continue to raise prices

“We do expect the near-term inflation to remain high,” Mondelez (MDLZ) CEO Dirk Van de Put said on an earnings call this summer. The maker of Oreo and Ritz said that its energy, transportation, packaging and raw materials costs remain elevated, and it announced further price increases to offset those increases.

General Mills (GIS), which makes everything from Cheerios to Blue Buffalo pet food, expects that its costs will increase by 14% to 15% for its 2023 fiscal year, led by a rise in prices of ingredients such as nuts, fruits and flavors. The company is planning additional price hikes for its retail customers.

For now, consumers haven’t balked at the higher prices, noted CEO Jeff Harmening during a September earnings call.

Cereal maker General Mills is predicting higher cost inflation next year. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

“So far, we haven’t seen really any change in elasticities, which for us was a positive in the quarter,” he said. Elasticity refers to how easily customers change their shopping behavior in response to higher prices. Consumers accepted the higher prices more than General Mills would have expected, Harmening noted.

Between costs continuing to rise and people continuing to buy, there’s little reason for companies to discount their products.

“We think the risk of promotions ramping up significantly over the next couple of quarters is quite low,” Harmening said during the call.

For manufacturers to increase promotions, supply chain disruptions would have to end and costs would have to fall significantly, he said. “We don’t see any of those things.”

Why grocery prices are so sticky

In general, prices tend to go up over time. Government data shows that from 1974 to 2021, grocery prices dropped only during two years. Every other year, they went up, though some years the increase was very slight.

“There’s always a general increase in prices overall,” said Ortega, the food economist. “That’s just the nature of the economy.”

Typically, however, grocery prices go up about 2% or 3% a year, he said — far slower a pace than the increase happening now.

In the past, consumers may not have noticed higher prices because their wages kept pace with the increases. Right now, that’s not the case.

“Consumer prices are increasing faster than wages are increasing,” he said. “What we’re seeing now is really a cost of living crisis.”

Grocery prices in particular are sticky also because of how much of a hassle it is to change them.

When food manufacturers raise prices for retailers, those retailers don’t necessarily pass prices along to consumers. Some may opt to keep prices low — if they can afford it — to attract customers into the store.

Retailers also don’t like to raise prices little by little because it frustrates consumers, said Andy Harig, vice president of tax, trade, sustainability and policy development at FMI, a food industry association.

“A lot of people shop every week … and there’s lots of consistency in what they buy,” he said. So when prices change, even slightly, “they really notice that, and feel those changes.”

When retailers do switch prices in stores, they have to print out new labels and enter the new values into their sales systems. Stores carry tens of thousands of different items, so when prices go up across different categories, making adjustments becomes a ton of work.

That means that “when you do see increases happen, they tend to stay in place,” Harig said.

Danielle Wiener-Bronner Nathaniel Meyersohn

Food prices are skyrocketing, and it's not just because of inflation ...

New York CNN Business —

Inflation may be slowing overall, but food prices are still sky-high.

Over the last 12 months, grocery prices soared 13.1% — the largest annual increase since the year ending in March 1979, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.

The prices of nearly every grocery item have ballooned over the past year.

The cost of eggs has soared 38%, and prices for other goods have also jumped: Flour is up 22.7%, chicken 17.6%, milk 15.6%, ground beef 9.7% and bacon 9.2%. Fruits and vegetables got 9.3% more expensive.

Grocery items are still going up. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A number of factors have contributed to the rise in food costs: A deadly avian flu has meant fewer eggs in the United States, a severe drought in Brazil slashed coffee crops and the war in Ukraine led to a spike in wheat prices in the spring.

While commodity prices are falling, it will take time before those lower costs pass through to consumers. Plus, plenty of other costs for producers — such as fuel, labor and packaging — have also been high.

And as supply has been disrupted, demand has grown.

Demand for groceries grows

Unlike discretionary items, consumers can’t simply stop buying food when prices rise. They may, however, opt for less expensive options. Producers, grocers and restaurant operators have noted that consumers are indeed trading down — swapping out higher-priced items for more affordable ones.

Earlier this week, Tyson (TSN) said demand for steak is falling while interest in chicken is rising. Wendy’s (WEN) traffic has been hit because some customers are deciding to pack lunches or eat breakfast at home, CEO Todd Penegor said during a post-earnings analyst call Wednesday.

Penegor added that about 82% of meals were eaten at home pre-pandemic, but that figure jumped three percentage points since then and has stayed there.

“The consumer has been a little more strapped, so there’s a few more meals prepared at home,” Penegor said. “Inflation has been high, so net disposable income has been a little bit pinched.”

Restaurants have also been raising prices, but at a slower clip: In the 12-month period through July, menu prices rose 7.6%, less than overall inflation.

Plus, food prices are largely unaffected by current government efforts to curtail spiraling costs.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged as much during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in June, saying that raising interest rates to fight inflation wouldn’t lower food prices.

The Fed believes that “food and energy are influenced by global commodity prices in a way that tells them, ‘Hey, these items aren’t really directly under your control,’” noted Michael Gapen, head of US economics at Bank of America Global Research.

Essentially, the thinking is this: Because the US can’t control international factors such as the war in Ukraine and higher shipping costs, it can’t fully control domestic food prices.

What’s more, the US government doesn’t have a stockpile of food as it does of oil, noted Rob Fox, director of the knowledge exchange division at CoBank, which provides financial services to agribusinesses.

“There’s no ability for the government to release extra stalks of wheat and corn and cheese and so on,” Fox said.

What got more expensive in June

The result has been steadily higher prices in the grocery aisle, with some items seeing larger month over month spikes than others.

In July, adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices popped 4.3% compared to June. Coffee and peanut butter each got 3.5% more expensive. Flour rose 3.2% and bread prices went up 2.8%. Cheese jumped 2%, while chicken got 1.4% pricier.

There was some relief, however. Citrus fell 3.2%, and whole milk dropped 1.4%. Uncooked beef roasts fell 1.3%, and uncooked steaks fell 1.1%. Ham got 1% cheaper.

The biggest decline was in hot dog prices, which dropped 6.1%.

When will people get fed up with high prices? | CNN Business

New York CNN Business —

Americans have watched prices for everything from diapers to gas go up over the past year. So far, they have kept reaching for their wallets. But what happens when they reach their breaking point?

The pandemic and the supply chain crisis have pushed the cost of virtually everything higher. Food and cars are more expensive, as are transport and labor costs, making inflation the buzzword of the moment.

In February, consumer prices increased at a level not seen since the start of 1982. And odds are it won’t stop there.

“A month ago, we were generally looking at inflation that was primarily in areas that you were spending more on because of the pandemic,” such as cars, housing and home renovations, said Frances Donald, global chief economist and strategist at Manulife Investment Management. “These were more optional types of inflation.”

After a year of soaring costs, the Ukraine-Russia conflict is pushing prices for more essential categories, like food and energy, up even more.

The price hikes Americans are likely to experience in the coming months will be much harder to get around, Donald said.

“We don’t see a lot of what economists call elasticity when it comes to demand for fuel and food. We don’t have a choice. You can’t not eat. You can’t not drive to work,” she said.

Gas and food prices on the rise

The cost of cooking dinner and fueling the car have already shot up over the past year. Gasoline prices rose 38% in the 12 months ended February, while prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs jumped 13% over the same period, according to Labor Department data.

Now gas prices are rising even further and people are struggling to keep up.

“I try to catch the weekend sales and freeze meat,” Kathy LeGoux, who lives in Palm Coast, Florida, with her husband, told CNN Business. “[I] can’t buy a lot of fish because it’s too expensive now.”

LeGoux, who is in her 60s, is retired, as is her husband. A high cost of living made them move from Nevada to Florida before the pandemic. But the high prices have followed them, she said.

Retirees and others who live on fixed incomes get hit especially hard when prices go up like they have recently.

LeGoux and her husband have postponed home improvement projects and no longer go on road trips, due to the cost of fuel.

“And the gas price rolls into food prices,” she said. “We’re not even talking about inflation any more here. It’s more.”

Soaring food prices are a difficult problem to solve, according to Donald, especially when it’s really a problem of global supply. Russia and Ukraine are huge exporters of grain and fertilizer. With trade hamstrung by the conflict, the global food supply chain has already started to feel the pain.

“The greatest risk facing global supply chains has shifted from the pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and the geopolitical and economic uncertainties it has created,” Moody’s Analytics economist Tim Uy wrote in a report Thursday.

For governments and central banks around the world, this is a new challenge for which typical policy changes that were used to fight inflation in the past might not prove as useful. The Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates and combat pandemic inflation, for example, will do little to change the dynamics of the global food supply. That also means it won’t help the financial pain many Americans will feel as prices keep going up.

Consumers’ breaking point

There is some good news: American households are better funded than in previous crises, which should help them absorb some of the price increases. During the pandemic, stimulus checks and altered spending patterns helped many households shore up their savings.

But the more price spikes affect necessary products and services, people will need to reach deeper into their wallets, putting a strain on household finances. This will be particularly hard for lower-income Americans, who don’t have excess savings as a result of the pandemic and for whom gas and energy costs generally make up a larger portion of their spending.

“A 10% increase in oil prices would shave 0.2% from discretionary spending,” assuming a one-for-one response from consumers, said Jefferies chief economist Aneta Markowska.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US oil prices have risen more than 11%.

That matters because consumer spending is the single most important driver of US economic growth. If people have less money to spend outside of necessities, that could weigh on economic growth this year.

Even though the pandemic recession is firmly in the rearview mirror by now, economists are growing concerned the US could be heading toward a period of stagflation, during which low economic growth and high prices limit consumer spending.

In short, the inflation situation is a headache for lawmakers and the American people alike.

Meanwhile, questions are arising about the record profits companies have been reeling in during this time of high prices. Last week, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the matter, showing some lawmakers are clearly concerned about corporate profiteering at the expense of working people who are seeing their hard earned money afford less and less.

So far surging prices haven’t driven customers away from their favorite stores, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.

Coca-Cola (COKE) CEO James Quincey said in February that consumers will only accept higher prices for so long. And rising gas prices could push people to their breaking point – if they’re not already there. When household finances become strained, nonessential items and big-name brands with a cheaper alternative are the first to go.

“It’s easier to do pricing in a stimulus environment where everyone else is going up,” he said at the time. “It’s much harder when there’s a real squeeze on income.”

Here's what's getting more expensive at the grocery store | CNN ...

New York CNN Business —

Inflation may be slowing just a bit, but food prices are on fire.

Food prices were 9.4% higher in April 2022 than in April 2021 – the largest annual increase in 41 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. Grocery prices jumped 10.8% for the year. (The prices do not reflect seasonal swings.)

A number of factors have squeezed food prices recently, ranging from bad weather to the war in Ukraine. Weather has lowered crop yields and Russia’s invasion has increased wheat and other prices.

Individual items, too, are facing unique challenges. Avocado prices soared after the US briefly suspended imports in February from Mexico’s western state of Michoacan. A few months later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott required “enhanced safety inspections” of commercial vehicles entering Texas for a week, slowing down deliveries from across the border.

And, notably, a deadly and highly infectious avian flu has forced US farmers to kill millions of egg-laying hens, reducing the country’s egg supply and driving up prices. The damage to the egg industry hit consumers hard in April, when egg prices soared 10.3%, adjusted for seasonal changes. Without those adjustments, egg prices spiked 22.6% over the 12 months ending in April.

And those aren’t the only items that saw big increases this year.

Meat and dairy products got much pricier. Bacon cost 17.7% more, and chicken prices were up by 16.4%. Butter and margarine together popped 19.2% and milk prices went up 14.7%, with fresh whole milk jumping 15.5%.

Flour prices surged by 14% and coffee by 13.5%. Fruits and vegetables also got a lot more expensive, as citrus shot up 18.6% and lettuce rose 12.7%. Even canned fruits and veggies weren’t immune: they increased 10.4%.

At restaurants, menu prices grew 7.2% for the year, as operators raised prices to offset their costs.

While the grocery aisle and your delivery app may feel bleak, there’s good news on the inflation front.

Prices overall still increased last month, but at a slower pace than in previous months. The Consumer Price Index was up 8.3% in the 12 months ended in April, a bit higher than economists had predicted but a slight decrease from the 8.5% recorded in March, the highest level since December 1981.

Here’s what changed in the grocery store in April

US egg prices soared in April David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Breakfast, in particular, was a bummer. Nothing jumped quite as dramatically as that 22.6% spike in egg prices in April, but other items got more expensive.

Margarine was 7.1% more expensive, with butter jumping 3.7%. Milk went up 3.1%. Instant coffee got 3.7% more expensive and roasted coffee prices grew by 2.6%. Bacon got 2.5% more expensive. Breakfast cereal grew by 2.4%. Even the price of hash browns is up — potatoes got 2% more expensive.

A few items did get cheaper.

Uncooked beef steaks fell 2.1%, and the cost of ham dropped 1.8%. And the prices of shelf stable fish and seafood — canned tuna anyone? — fell 2.5%.

— CNN Business’s Anneken Tappe contributed to this report.

New York CNN Business —

Food is still getting more expensive, but at a slower pace than earlier this year.

In the month of October, food was .6% pricier compared to September, adjusting for seasonal swings, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For the year through October, without seasonal adjustments, food got 10.9% more expensive, with groceries increasing 12.4% and restaurant prices jumping 8.6%.

The increases are less than the record highs clocked just a few months ago, but food prices are still outpacing the overall rate of inflation, which hit 7.7% for the year.

The Federal Reserve has been attempting to curb inflation by raising interest rates, but that doesn’t do much for grocery and restaurant prices.

Egg prices have been especially high this year. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty images

When it comes to food, a number of far-flung factors are disrupting supply.

Extreme heat and drought and a deadly avian flu are hurting some crops, as well as squeezing the supply of turkeys and egg-laying hens. Volatility in the grain market caused by the war in Ukraine as well as high energy prices, which impact fertilizer and transportation costs, are also raising food prices.

“Those things are still problematic,” said Tom Bailey, senior analyst of consumer foods with Rabobank.

Issues like these have led to soaring prices throughout the grocery store.

What’s getting more expensive, and what’s getting cheaper

In the year through October, eggs got a whopping 43% more expensive. Butter went up 26.7%, the price of flour went up 24.6%. Lettuce jumped 17.7%, potatoes popped 15.2% and poultry increased 14.9%. Bread, rice and coffee each went up 14.8%.

A handful of items, however, have seen decreases this year, especially in the meat aisle. Uncooked beef steak fell 6.9%, and beef and veal prices dropped 3.6%.

“We’ve seen a little bit of retailer easing of pricing for some of the beef products,” said Bailey. That’s a sign that they are trying to get customers into stores, he noted.

Even as prices cool down, shoppers are still feeling the pain.

“For the consumer, the share of spend of their wallet on food is still well above where we’ve been in the last two decades,” said Bailey.

In October, some prices jumped compared to the previous month.

Eggs saw the highest increase with a 10.1% jump from September. Lunch meats got 3.4% more expensive, lettuce went up 3.3%, tomatoes jumped 2.3% and flour rose 2%.

But several items got less expensive. Fresh fruit fell 2.4%. Uncooked beef roasts and hot dogs both dropped 2.3%, breakfast sausage went down 2% and fresh doughnuts, sweet rolls and coffee cakes fell 1.9%.

Some relief for consumers. Prices on a few grocery items are ...

New York CNNBusiness —

Is there anything at your local grocery store (besides avocados) that’s getting less — not more — expensive as families plan their upcoming Thanksgiving Day meals? Well, yes, but you have to look carefully.

While 90% of grocery items right now cost more than they did last year because of high inflation, there are some deals to be had, though you may have to hunt them down. Market research firm Nielsen IQ recently looked at more than 2,500 fresh and packaged foods to find bargains.

For most consumers, price breaks on their groceries come as welcome relief given that store food prices overall have surged 12.4% through October versus a year ago. For shoppers on fixed budgets, the extra cost of food is especially hard to absorb.

So, what’s getting cheaper?

In fresh produce, the average unit price for prepared mixed vegetables from July to September (the latest data available) dropped 68% versus the same period last year. In fruits, the average unit price is down 1.8% for tangerines and has declined 7% for dates in the same three-month period.

Some packaged baked goods such as assorted bagels fell 48%. Bakery sweet goods, such as fruit cobbler and honey buns, are also seeing declining prices.

Elsewhere, bulk dried beans prices are 5.1% cheaper. Prices for cranberry and apple sauce have also eased. In beverages, kombucha drinks have dropped 22.7%.

A lot of fresh seafood options are cheaper as well: the average unit price for striped bass fell 41.8% (July through September) over the prior year. The cost of lobster is down 7.2%, mackerel dropped 6% while crab prices fell 9.5% and conch is down 13.2%.

Stew Leonard Jr., CEO of the Stew Leonard’s supermarket chain, told CNN’s Alison Kosik on Wednesday that he’s noticed prices are easing on some meats, including chicken and beef.

“You’re are seeing a little bit of an increase in turkey [prices] but you are also seeing a little bit of reduction in chicken. Our filet mignon is going to be $2 a pound less than it was last year,” he said.

“Meat prices seem to be easing, chicken prices easing. Lobster, which was off the charts last year, has come down to half the price. You’re starting to see a little bit of a heartbeat out there in pricing,” he said.

Overall, spending on groceries will increase as more families cut back on eating out and cook more at home to curb their discretionary spending, said Carman Allison, vice president of consumer insights for NielsenIQ, which tracks point-of-sale data from retailers

Even so, there’s a bigger reset going on: budget shoppers are fundamentally changing how and where they buy food, Allison said. “They are shifting from brand names to private label alternatives that cost less. They are also shifting to value and discount food shopping to score better deals.”

And most consumers are not buying in bulk. “If a family is a heavy user of an item, they will buy larger sizes,” he said. “But if it’s a smaller household or they want to experiment with some foods, they are opting for smaller sizes.”

As shoppers try to control their spending on groceries, they will likely gravitate to what Allison called “higher yield,” options like dried beans, rice and pasta. “These items can produce many servings. A can of soup is another example. You can add more water and have more servings,” he said.

Nobody likes self-checkout. Here's why it's everywhere | CNN ...

New York CNN Business —

“Unexpected item in the bagging area.”

“Please place item in the bag.”

“Please wait for assistance.”

If you’ve encountered these irritating alerts at the self-checkout machine, you’re not alone.

According to a survey last year of 1,000 shoppers, 67% said they’d experienced a failure at the self-checkout lane. Errors at the kiosks are so common that they have even spawned dozens of memes and TikTok videos.

“We’re in 2022. One would expect the self-checkout experience to be flawless. We’re not there at all,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia who has researched self-checkout.

Customers aren’t the only ones frustrated with the self-checkout experience. Stores have challenges with it, too.

Self-checkout is everywhere, despite its issues. George Frey/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The machines are expensive to install, often break down and can lead to customers purchasing fewer items. Stores also incur higher losses and more shoplifting at self-checkouts than at traditional checkout lanes with human cashiers.

Despite the headaches, self-checkout is growing.

In 2020, 29% of transactions at food retailers were processed through self-checkout, up from 23% the year prior, according to the latest data from food industry association FMI.

This raises the question: why is this often problematic, unloved technology taking over retail?

Making customers do the work

The introduction of self-checkout machines in 1986 was part of a long history of stores transferring work from paid employees to unpaid customers, a practice that dates all the way back to Piggly Wiggly — the first self-service supermarket — in the early 1900s.

Instead of clerks behind a counter gathering products for customers, Piggly Wiggly allowed shoppers to roam the aisles, pick items off the shelves and pay at the register. In exchange for doing more work, the model promised lower prices.

Shoppers at Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service supermarket, in 1918. Library of Congress/Corbis Historical/Getty Images

Self-checkout, however, was designed primarily to lower stores’ labor expenses. The system reduced cashier costs by as much as 66%, according to a 1988 article in the Miami Herald.

The first modern self-checkout system, which was patented by Florida company CheckRobot and installed at several Kroger stores, would be almost unrecognizable to shoppers today.

Customers scanned their items and put them on a conveyor belt. An employee at the other end of the belt bagged the groceries. Customers then took them to a central cashier area to pay.

The technology was heralded as a “revolution in the supermarket.” Shoppers “turn into their own grocery clerks as automated checkout machines shorten those long lines of carts and reduce markets’ personnel costs,” the Los Angeles Times said in 1987 review.

But self-checkout did not revolutionize the grocery store. Many customers balked at having to do more work in exchange for benefits that weren’t entirely clear.

It took a decade for Walmart (WMT) to test self checkout. Only in the early 2000s did the trend pick up more widely at supermarkets, which were looking to cut costs during the 2001 recession and faced stiff competition from emergent superstores and warehouse clubs.

Walmart first tested self-checkout in the late 1990s. Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images

“The rationale was economics based, and not focused on the customer,” Charlebois said. “From the get go, customers detested them.”

A 2003 Nielsen survey found that 52% of shoppers considered self checkout lanes to be “okay,” while 16% said they were “frustrating.” Thirty-two percent of shoppers called them “great.”

The mixed response led some grocery chains, including Costco (COST), Albertsons and others, to pull out the self-checkout machines they had installed in the mid-2000s.

“Self-checkout lines get clogged as the customers needed to wait for store staff to assist with problems with bar codes, coupons, payment problems and other issues that invariably arise with many transactions,” grocery chain Big Y said in 2011 when it removed its machines.

Walkaways

The move to self-checkout has created unintended consequences for stores as well.

Retailers found that self-checkout stations were not autonomous and required regular maintenance and supervision, said Christopher Andrews, a sociologist at Drew University and author of “The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets and the Do-It-Yourself Economy.”

Stores have challenges with self-checkout, including higher levels of theft. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Although self-checkout counters eliminated some of the tasks of traditional cashiers, they still needed to be staffed and created a need for higher wage IT jobs, he said.

Self-checkout, Andrews added, “delivers none of what it promises.”

In the biggest headache for store owners, self-checkout leads to more losses due to error or theft than traditional cashiers.

“If you had a retail store where 50% of transactions were through self checkout, losses would be 77% higher” than average, according to Adrian Beck, an emeritus professor at the University of Leicester in the UK who studies retail losses.

Customers make honest errors as well as intentionally steal at self-checkout machines.

Some products have multiple barcodes or barcodes that don’t scan properly. Produce, including fruit and meat, typically needs to be weighed and manually entered into the system using a code. Customers may type in the wrong code by accident. Other times shoppers won’t hear the “beep” confirming an item has been scanned properly.

“Consumers are not very good at scanning reliably,” Beck said. “Why should they be? They’re not trained.”

Other customers take advantage of the lax oversight at self checkout aisles and have developed techniques for stealing. Common tactics include not scanning an item, swapping a cheaper item (bananas) for a more expensive one (steak), scanning counterfeit barcodes attached to their wrists or properly scanning everything and then walking out without paying.

Stores have tried to limit losses by tightening self-checkout security features, such as adding weight sensors. But additional anti-theft measures also lead to more frustrating “unexpected item in the bagging area” errors, requiring store employees to intervene.

“There’s a delicate balance between security and customer convenience,” Beck said.

Self-checkout is here to stay

Despite self-checkout’s many shortcomings for customers and store owners, the trend is only growing.

Walmart (WMT), Kroger (KR) and Dollar General (DG) are piloting exclusively self-checkout stores. Costco and Albertsons have brought self-checkout back after removing it years ago. Amazon (AMZN) has taken the concept a step further with cashier-less Amazon (AMZN) Go stores.

It may simply be too late for stores to turn their back on self-checkout.

Amazon has developed cashier-less Go stores. Other retailers are trying to jump in on the trend. Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Stores today are catering to shoppers who perceive self-checkout to be faster than traditional cashiers, even though there’s little evidence to support that. But, because customers are doing the work, rather than waiting in line, the experience can feel like it’s moving more quickly.

Store owners have also seen competitors installing self-checkout and determined they don’t want to miss out.

Video Ad Feedback This AI technology lets you skip the checkout line 02:22 - Source: CNN Business

“It’s an arms race. If everyone else is doing it, you look like an idiot if you don’t have it,” said David D’Arezzo, a former executive at Dollar General, Wegmans and other retailers. “Once you let it out of the bag, it’s pretty difficult not to offer it anymore.”

Covid-19 has also hastened the spread of self-checkout.

During the pandemic, many customers opted for self-service to avoid close interactions with cashiers and baggers. And challenges hiring and retaining workers have led stores to rely on the machines more heavily to get customers through the door.

Get ready to spend more at the grocery store. Food prices expected ...

If you think paying $10 for a pound of bacon or $6 for a pound of butter is bad, it's about to get more expensive.

Pretty soon, you'll be paying even more for just about everything when it comes to eating in or dining out, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"All food prices are now predicted to increase," the USDA's Food Prices Outlook for 2022 March report said.

The increases are the highest in decades as grocery prices got more expensive and rose nearly 9% for the year.

The USDA's Economic Research Service updated its March report predicting a 4.5%-5% rise in food prices this year. Eating out will see the highest increase, 5.5%-6.5%, the report said.

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Grocery prices impacted by inflation

Grocery prices are expected to rise between 3% and 4% in the coming months. And that's on top of all the other increases consumers faced over the past several months.

No food category, the USDA said, decreased in price in 2021. And now the USDA revised its forecast upward for all food categories, including meats, poultry, eggs, dairy products, fats and oils, and more. The only category that the USDA revised downward was fresh vegetables.

Beef and veal had the largest increase and fresh vegetables the smallest. Prices for wholesale beef are predicted to increase between 4% and 7%.

Contributing to the higher retail poultry and egg prices, the report said, is avian influenza. Prices for poultry are predicted to increase by 6% to 7% and 2.5%-3.5% for eggs.

"An ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza could contribute to poultry and egg price increases through reduced supply or decrease prices through lowered international demand for U.S. poultry products or eggs," according to the report.

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Strong demand for dairy products is driving up retail prices. The USDA's outlook in 2022 for dairy predicts a 4% to 5% increase.

Also putting pressure on food prices is Russia's invasion of Ukraine and increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

"The impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and the recent increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve are expected to put upward and downward pressures on food prices, respectively. The situations will be closely monitored to assess the net impacts of these concurrent events on food prices as they unfold," the report said.

Inflation came in at 7.9% for the last 12 months — the highest year-over-year increase since April 1981, according to February's U.S. Consumer Price Index, released in March.

Follow Susan Selasky on Twitter: @SusanMariecooks.

High egg prices affecting you? Share your thoughts with USA TODAY

Are you changing your Easter or Passover plans because of rising prices? Share your thoughts with USA TODAY for possible inclusion in future coverage. If you don't see the form below, click here.

Food prices are soaring, and that's changed how we eat | CNN ...

New York CNN Business —

Lisa Altman used to take pride in being able to eat what she wanted without worrying much about the cost.

When she was growing up, seconds weren’t served and side dishes were rare. “My mom had a budget every week, and she stuck to it,” she said. “As I got older and became more financially independent, having a full pantry and being able to eat what I wanted was a sign of success for me,” she added.

“It was very humbling to have to go from that situation to where we’re at right now.”

Altman and her wife live in Austin, Texas with their three children. Recently, they’ve been relying mostly on one income. Their reduced earnings, coupled with inflation, have dealt a blow to their finances.

And that has changed, radically, the way they eat. Altman is not alone in making big changes.

We asked CNN readers how inflation has impacted their eating habits, and many mentioned dining out less often, buying less meat and giving up splurges. Some said they are very worried about the future.

Food prices have spiked 11.4% over the past year, the largest annual increase since May 1979, according to data released in mid-September by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Grocery prices jumped 13.5% and restaurant menu prices increased 8% in that period.

With food prices soaring, people are changing how they shop and eat. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Consumers are responding by looking for deals and switching to generic brands, according to July data from the market research firm IRI. Companies like Tyson (TSN) have noticed customers are switching from beef to chicken, and Applebee’s and IHOP have reported an uptick in higher-income customers who are likely trading down from pricier restaurants. Some people may be dining out less often, or avoiding restaurants altogether.

For those who struggled to buy food even before prices shot up, rising costs could mean falling into food insecurity, a state of unreliable access to affordable food.

“If food prices continue to increase at a rate that outpaces increases in wages, that is the inevitable consequence,” said Jayson Lusk, head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University. “The last time we had a big run up in food insecurity rates was in the wake of the Great Recession.” Last year, about 10.2% of US households were food insecure, according to the USDA, slightly below the 10.5% rate in 2020 and 2019.

Even for those not at risk of hunger, the surges in food prices are jarring.

Food “matters a lot to our self esteem, our mood,” said William Masters, a professor at Tufts University’ school of nutrition science and policy who is also a member of the economics department faculty. “Not being able to buy the foods that people are used to — that your children are asking for, that your family wants — that’s a really hard thing,” he said. “Any disruption of habit is very, very hard.”

Giving up on simple pleasures

Carol Ehrman taking a Thai cooking class over Zoom during the pandemic. Courtesy Carol and Tommy Ehrman

For Carol Ehrman, cooking is a joyful experience.

“I love to cook, it’s my favorite thing to do,” she said. She especially likes to cook Indian and Thai food, but stocking the spices and ingredients she needs for those dishes is no longer feasible. “When every ingredient has gone up, that adds up on the total bill,” she said.

“What used to cost us $250 to $300 … is now $400.” Ehrman, 60, and her husband, 65, rely on his social security income, and the increase was stretching their budget. “We just couldn’t do that.”

About six months ago, she realized she had to change the way she shops for groceries.

In an effort to bring their immediate costs down, Ehrman stopped shopping in bulk as often as she used to. Now, she hunts for sales, avoids buying beef, and opts for boxed wine instead of nice bottles when she buys wine at all. She’s also cooking simpler meals, and saying goodbye to dinner parties.

Ehrman haș even given up preparing basic items, like tomato sauce, because of the expense, opting instead for a pre-packaged version.

“I know that I can make it much healthier,” she said. And “it always tastes so much better.” Those fresh ingredients are just too pricey now.

Ehrman’s husband is retired due to chronic health problems, and it’s been difficult for her to work because of her own health issues — she recently had pacemaker and heart catheterization procedures. The couple, who live in Billings, Montana, were frugal before the current spike in prices, enjoying simple pleasures. But now, even those are out of reach.

“Before, we at least found joy in being home and having friends over and family over, cooking and sitting around the table and just being content,” she said. Now, “I’m not entertaining at all. It’s really sad.”

From Coke to Pepsi

Video Ad Feedback Local markets, generic brands help family save money on groceries 01:25 - Source: CNN Business

Rick Wichmann, 64, and his wife have been dining out less often in recent years, due to the pandemic and in an effort to eat healthier. With menu prices rising because of inflation, they see no reason to change their habits.

“Eating out is expensive,” he said, noting that he’s often happier with home-cooked meals than restaurant food anyway.

But grocery shopping is also more expensive. Over the past year, Wichmann noticed that he had been spending about 25% more shopping for groceries for himself, his wife and their son than he used to.

To help mitigate those costs, Wichmann, who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, started going to different grocers. He avoids Whole Foods and Stop & Shop, opting instead for Costco and the local chain Market Basket.

He’s also switched to store brands, if he feels the quality is the same, and will sometimes choose products based on price rather than brand loyalty — like, for example, buying Pepsi when it’s cheaper, when he’d otherwise choose Coke.

Wichmann also pays attention to events like weather, and how they might affect prices. When he saw reports of a possible tomato shortage due to droughts in California, he took notice. The next time he saw tomato sauce on sale he stocked up on enough to last for months.

A vegetable garden in the front lawn

Video Ad Feedback Turning to gardening to save money on food 01:33 - Source: CNN Business

Like Wichmann, Jenni Wells, 38, pays attention to weather patterns and food systems. A former chef and rancher, she noticed price increases well before the current bout of inflation.

“My alarm bells started going off for prices going up in 2019,” she said, when devastating floods in the midwest drowned livestock and destroyed grain stocks. Wells decided back then that she’d like to be more self sufficient.

“I saw the food prices going up, and I realized that it was going to quickly overwhelm our budget,” she said. So in February, she ripped up the grass in the front lawn of her home in Fort Worth, Texas, which she shares with her husband and best friend, and planted a vegetable garden.

“I just wanted to see what I could grow for myself,” she said. This year, she’s managed to grow broccoli, cauliflower, okra, tomatoes, peppers, squashes and more in her garden.

There are upfront and maintenance costs for the garden, of course. And it’s not easy to grow vegetables. But the household’s weekly grocery spending, excluding meat, has fallen from about $200 to $50, she said.

With the money left over, Wells and her household have been able to eat at restaurants, something that would have been “too much of a luxury” had they still been spending $200 a week on groceries. And there’s the satisfaction of growing your own food.

“There’s a huge sense of reward,” she said. “I feel pride in every meal that I make with it.”

Changing for good

A recent weekly grocery haul for Lisa Altman. Courtesy Lisa Altman

Some consumers have made changes because of current circumstances that they plan to hold onto.

Now, Altman, the Austin parent of three, aims to keep her grocery bill to about $100 to $125 per week by buying store brands, lots of pasta and a limited amount of protein each week.

Instead of ordering in or grilling steaks or ribs, Altman’s family eats more basic meals with smaller portions. “Now our meals consist of one primary dish, and that’s it, maybe some bread on the side, or a salad.” If they go out to eat, they’ll pick up a fast food meal with a few sides, like one burger and two fries, split the items and have beverages at home.

When Altman is able to afford it, she’ll go back to buying more fruits and veggies. But she’s hoping some habits, like encouraging her children to avoid mindless eating and reducing food waste, will stick.

“I’m not going to be spending $1,200 a month on groceries,” she said. “This has taught us that that’s not necessary.”