The bad news for bargain hunters
If you were hoping grocery bills, rent, and everything else would finally take a victory lap back to normal soon, Dana M. Peterson just poured a little cold water on that dream. The Conference Board's chief economist says inflation may not reach the Fed's 2% target until 2028, because market shocks have helped lock in higher consumer prices.
Why this matters to markets
This is the kind of forecast that keeps the whole "higher for longer" trade hanging around like a bad group chat. If prices stay sticky:
- the Fed has less room to cut rates aggressively,
- borrowing costs can stay elevated,
- and consumers may keep getting squeezed on discretionary spending.
The investor translation
For stocks, that's a mixed bag at best. Companies with pricing power can keep passing along costs. Companies that rely on cheap financing or consumers feeling flush? Not so much. So even without a fireworks headline, this is another reminder that inflation isn't dead — it's just quietly being a nuisance.
Big picture: the market loves a clean inflation victory lap, but this forecast says the finish line might still be years away.