the false inflation boost

inflation hits consumers, and boosts profits first.. ----------- By this time, though, retailers are running out of ways to avoid passing on the higher expenses. An uptick has quietly begun. Companies are “raising prices, but are trying not to broadcast it for competitive reasons, and it also doesn’t look good for public relations reasons,” said John D. Morris, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets. “They’re doing it before they’re actually incurring some of the higher costs,” Mr. Morris said, adding that steeper increases will mainly occur in the fall and winter. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/business/23prices.html