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President Donald Trump has faced no shortage of criticism over his sweeping tariff policy \u2014 much of it focused on the risk of higher inflation. But the latest consumer price index report delivered a genuine surprise.<\/p>\n
CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman, who issued stark warnings about Trump\u2019s tariffs earlier this year, appeared caught off guard as he read the CPI numbers live on air Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d he said, glancing down at the release (1). \u201cMaybe coming in a little bit better than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
He soon added: \u201cI’m not calling, I’m just reading the headlines here, year over year, 2.7. Ex food and energy, core, 2.6. So four tenths off. That is a very good number here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Headline U.S. CPI rose 2.7% year over year in November, down from a 3.0% increase in September (2). Core CPI \u2014 which strips out volatile food and energy prices \u2014 also eased to 2.6% year over year in November, from 3.0% in September.<\/p>\n
Liesman has been among the most vocal critics of Trump\u2019s tariff strategy (3). Back in March, he warned bluntly: \u201cI\u2019m going to say this at the risk of my job. What President Trump is doing is insane,\u201d adding that \u201cthere\u2019s no bounds around President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
But on Thursday, as he dug deeper into the latest report, even the month-over-month figures looked encouraging.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not looked at the internals \u2014 I\u2019ll look at them now \u2014 but it suggests that the internals are good as well,\u201d he said. \u201cLet’s see. … Seasonally adjusted index for all items, less food and energy, rose 0.2% over the two months. So correct my math here \u2026 but 0.2 divided by two is 0.1. So therefore that’s a very, very low monthly rate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liesman wasn\u2019t alone in his reaction.<\/p>\n
In a separate CNN segment, Harvard economist Ken Rogoff acknowledged he was surprised too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised. It was a better number than anyone was expecting,\u201d he said (4). \u201cPeople were expecting it to be above 3% \u2014 it was well below 3%.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rogoff also highlighted the market implications of the softer inflation print.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the president will take this as good news. The investors will think that interest rates will get cut more, so it was positive news \u2014 there\u2019s no other way to spin it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Markets seemed to agree. Stocks had experienced a four-day slide ahead of the release, but they rebounded sharply on Dec. 18: the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4%, while the S&P 500 rose about 0.8%.<\/p>\n
That upward momentum carried into Dec. 19, with the Nasdaq up 1.3% and the S&P 500 gaining 0.9%.<\/p>\n
The Federal Reserve has already cut its benchmark rate three times in 2025. If inflation continues to cool, it could give policymakers room to deliver additional cuts in 2026 \u2014 a potentially favorable backdrop for investors.<\/p>\n
Of course, consistently picking winning stocks isn\u2019t easy. That\u2019s why legendary investor Warren Buffett argues that most people don\u2019t need to pick individual companies at all to benefit from the stock market\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n
Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable money rules to turn $9,800 into a $150B fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich)<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn my view, for most people, the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund,\u201d Buffett has famously stated (5).<\/p>\n This approach gives investors exposure to 500 of America\u2019s largest companies across a wide range of industries, providing instant diversification without the need for constant monitoring or active trading.<\/p>\n With platforms like Robinhood<\/a>, you can invest in ETFs like the Vanguard S&P 500 to get a start on your nest egg.<\/p>\n Robinhood also has 24\/7 support, and you won\u2019t pay any commission fees<\/a> on stocks, ETFs and options. Their platform also offers both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, so you can benefit from tax-efficient retirement investing.<\/p>\n Even better, new Robinhood customers can also get a free stock<\/a> curated from top American companies once you sign up and link your bank account to the app.<\/p>\n Lower interest rates don\u2019t just lift stocks \u2014 they can also breathe life into the real estate market. When borrowing costs fall, mortgages become more affordable, which can boost demand and support property values.<\/p>\n But real estate isn\u2019t only about benefiting from lower rates. It has also long served as a hedge against inflation, as both property values and rents tend to rise alongside the cost of living.<\/p>\n In fact, real estate has been a cornerstone of wealth-building in America \u2014 and President Trump knows that better than most. Before politics, Trump made his fortune in real estate. High-quality properties can generate rental income, offering a dependable stream of passive cash flow.<\/p>\n As Trump told Steve Forbes back in 2011, \u201cI just notice that when you have that right piece of property, whatever it might be, including location, it tends to work well in good times and in bad times (6).\u201d<\/p>\n Buffett has also pointed to real estate as a prime example of a productive, income-generating asset. In 2022, Buffett stated that if you offered him \u201c1% of all the apartment houses in the country\u201d for $25 billion, he would \u201cwrite you a check (7).\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, you don\u2019t need $25 billion \u2014 or even to buy a single property outright \u2014 to invest in real estate. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived<\/a> offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.<\/p>\n Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of rental homes with as little as $100<\/a>, all without the hassle of mowing lawns, fixing leaky faucets or handling difficult tenants.<\/p>\n The process is simple: Browse a curated selection of homes that have been vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, select the number of shares you\u2019d like to purchase and then sit back as you start receiving any positive rental income distributions<\/a> from your investment.<\/p>\n Another option is First National Realty Partners (FNRP)<\/a>, which allows accredited investors to diversify their portfolio through grocery-anchored commercial properties without taking on the responsibilities of being a landlord.<\/p>\n With a minimum investment of $50,000, investors can own a share of properties leased by national brands like Whole Foods, Kroger and Walmart<\/a>, which provide essential goods to their communities. Thanks to Triple Net (NNN) leases, accredited investors are able to invest in these properties without worrying about tenant costs cutting into their potential returns.<\/p>\n Simply answer a few questions \u2014 including how much you would like to invest \u2014 to start browsing their full list of available properties<\/a>.<\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.<\/p>\n @CNBCtelevision (1<\/a>); Bureau of Labour Statistics (2<\/a>); @RpsAgainstTrump (3<\/a>); @RapidResponse47 (4<\/a>); CNBC (5<\/a>, 7<\/a>); @Forbes (6<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chip Somodevilla \/ Getty Images Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,105917,1890,969,113,8858,61,1095,60,3916,15124,106416,2354],"class_list":{"0":"post-201084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-core-cpi","10":"tag-dave-ramsey","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-energy-prices","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-inflation","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-jeff-bezos","18":"tag-steve-forbes","19":"tag-steve-liesman","20":"tag-warren-buffett"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}